Does anyone know what the actual rules are for lounge access when connecting from Club Europe to a Domestic flight? I can't seem to get much clarity from BA directly myself! My understanding (and experience!) has always been that you can use the Galleries Club lounges, but on my way back from Asia (via Zurich) a couple of months ago I was told in no uncertain terms that this wasn't possible. I thought that maybe the desk agents might have been a bit confused because my ticket was complex, so I emailed BA afterwards to clarify for future reference The reply was quite vague but certainly implied that the agents were in fact correct and there is no lounge access when connecting from CE to Domestic, however it was also extremely apologetic and included 7,000 Avios being added to my account. I'm certainly not complaining at the Avios, but it all just seemed a little over the top if the issue was really me being wrong. If anyone has a copy of the rules, or any contacts at BA who could clarify this definitively, I'm sure I'm not the only one it would help! Many thanks!
I presume you don't have any status with BA, or else are Bronze or Blue and so cannot get in on the basis of a card. Often your onward domestic boarding card will have BusinessUK on it, and that secure entry to the T5 Club Lounges. The BA web site says: You can use them if you are: flying with British Airways in First, Club World or Club Europe If you get BusinessUK on the BP then you should get access: Added convenience with Business UK Sometimes you need the flexibility to change your flights without worrying about additional charges. Our fully flexible Business UK fares give you that peace of mind. And to help make your journey even smoother, they also include access to our network of elegant departure lounges and priority boarding at the gate. To book, just select the 'flexible' ticket type when you search for a flight.
Thanks for the reply. Yeah no status sadly (I ended up just going to the Priority Pass lounge in T5 instead, which was perfectly adequate). It's just a bit confusing because I've used the lounges in the same circumstances many times before without a problem - and my (Cathay Pacific printed) boarding pass for the domestic flight actually did say "Business" on it. There must (should?) be something up to date written about this somewhere as I imagine it's a situation that comes up every day.
This happened to me when flying Club to India in October and I was really hacked off with it. We flew Manchester to Heathrow and onwards to India and were denied entrance to the lounge in Manchester which seems ridiculous when I booked a Club ticket. ON the return leg however we were fine accessing the lounge in Heathrow which makes no sense whats0ever!
They said that because there was no Club Europe on the flight from Manchester to London (all economy seats) that we did not qualify which just seems strange when we booked all the flights together after selecting Club class. I totally understand they cannot magic up a Club Class in the actual cabin but I fail to see why that would prevent us from accessing the lounge. In direct contrast in Mumbai on the return leg we were upgraded to the First Class Lounge!
