TG lounge SYD

[get me outta here]

As a few of us are going TG First compliments of USDM, thought I'd look around to see what the lounge reviews are ex SYD F. On AFF they have been not too good.

Found this glowing review, what do people think as I am working out how long to allow in the lounge on TG476 at 1000 on a Friday when I arrange my conn? Do they really get you on arrival in BKK and take you off the the lounge or was that for connections only?

Nov '13: No Cookies | thetelegraph.com.au

ROYAL FIRST CLASS - Thai Airways
Flight details: TG 476
Sydney-Bangkok
Lounge: Thai uses the Air New Zealand lounge which has impressive views of the tarmac in Sydney, but the real surprise comes on arrival at Bangkok where passengers are greeted by a personal assistant and whisked by private buggy to the Royal First Lounge for a lengthy list of champagnes, full-service restaurant and one-hour spa treatment.
Seat: The seat extends, as expected, to a 2m bed with lengthy counter space on one side. The 1 x 2 x 1 configuration ensures direct aisle access for everyone. Thick pillows and comfy pyjamas help soothe travellers into deep slumber.
Food: Service begins with Dom Perignon champagne followed by a caviar cart with all of the expected accoutrements. The menu includes traditional Thai curries, but passengers have the option to pre-order their meal online from two dozen choices including lobster thermidor, barbecued duck or delicious pad thai.
Entertainment: Bose headphones make even the most draconian movie more enjoyable and the large screen is packed with a choice of sitcoms, movies, and music.
Worth it? Not having to lift luggage or wait at Bangkok security is a huge perk and the onboard toiletry kits created by brands such as Porsche Design and Rimowa are worth keeping. Within seconds of boarding, a team of flight attendants bows gracefully and greets passengers by name at every interaction from take off to touch down, almost making flyers want to stay awake the whole flight just to enjoy it the friendly addresses.
- RAMSEY QUBEIN

 

[zainman]

Maybe you can use the new SQ lounge?

 

[dk4]

...thought I'd look around to see what the lounge reviews are ex SYD F.

At check in they will direct you to the NZ lounge at SYD T1, which I personally find quite adequate.

Star Alliance rules state that you can also use the SQ lounge. At NZ, there is a large expanse of windows running along the length of the lounge with views across the tarmac towards Botany Bay. Personally I would try to minimise time in the lounge and board early, to enjoy a glass of Dom Pom on the ground, as I prefer the taste and bubbles served without altitude.

Some pics of the two types of B747 cabin layout at TG (also shows A380 F), and more pics from the latest B747 version.

Do they really get you on arrival in BKK and take you off the the lounge or was that for connections only?

On arrival at BKK TG transport F customers via a waiting cart, through to arrival formalities (if you are not connecting) OR they will guide you through security and deposit you in the lounge if you are connecting. For your departure, here's a trip report about getting from the airport hotel, through check in to the lounge.

 

[get me outta here]

Thanks dk4 this and yr TR on BKK a/port and the other links are a great help, much appreciated.

Now, just to get some more onfo on the SYD SQ F (?) lounge. I have to be up at 0400 to conn w' that SYD-BKK flt so am hoping for a pick me up at whichever lounge is best.

Star Alliance rules state that you can also use the SQ lounge. At NZ, there is a large expanse of windows running along the length of the lounge with views across the tarmac towards Botany Bay. Personally I would try to minimise time in the lounge and board early, to enjoy a glass of Dom Pom on the ground, as I prefer the taste and bubbles served without altitude.

QUOTE: Some pics of the two types of B747 cabin layout at TG (also shows A380 F), and more pics from the latest B747 version.

On arrival at BKK TG transport F customers via a waiting cart, through to arrival formalities (if you are not connecting) OR they will guide you through security and deposit you in the lounge if you are connecting. For your departure, here's a trip report about getting from the airport hotel, through check in to the lounge.[/QUOTE]

 

[sergeyvzn]

No access for you to the SQ lounge - you must be a revenue customer on a Star Alliance airline or travelling on a Singapore Airlines's own flight to be able to access it. USDM award ticket will not let you in, unfortunately

Air NZ lounge is the only one you can access. It's perfectly adequate though I'd say these seats need to be refurbished asap. Good views over the tarmac

 

[get me outta here]

Ok, that's good to know. It seems I'll get the good treatment though when I dep TG F BKK-HKG (on to GUM). I'll make sure to book the 1 hour massage.

No access for you to the SQ lounge - you must be a revenue customer on a Star Alliance airline or travelling on a Singapore Airlines's own flight to be able to access it. USDM award ticket will not let you in, unfortunately

Air NZ lounge is the only one you can access. It's perfectly adequate though I'd say these seats need to be refurbished asap. Good views over the tarmac

 

[get me outta here]

Apparently not as I'm not an SQ revenue raiser, just another GUM free loader.

Maybe you can use the new SQ lounge?

 

[smit0847]

No access for you to the SQ lounge - you must be a revenue customer on a Star Alliance airline or travelling on a Singapore Airlines's own flight to be able to access it. USDM award ticket will not let you in, unfortunately

Air NZ lounge is the only one you can access. It's perfectly adequate though I'd say these seats need to be refurbished asap. Good views over the tarmac

I'm not sure this is correct - I've heard of several people gaining access to the SQ F Lounge in SYD on TG award tickets. I thought TG had specifically negotiated SQ F access for its TG F pax because the NZ offering is not an F standard and I cant imagine there are many F rev pax considering TG hand out award seats like candy.

I've visited the NZ Lounge in SYD and while its a perfectly fine J lounge, it is definitely not an F lounge and I certainly would not be arriving especially early on an F ticket to check it out. It is HUGE (the NZ Lounge in MEL is about 1/5th the size) and because about 47 different airlines use it, there's likely to be hundreds of people in there. It does have excellent views of the tarmac and the food is quite good in that there's lots of it and its very filling (hearty foccacias and savoury muffins etc). Dont fill up on lounge food though - you'll be served caviar onboard.

I would def TRY getting into the SQ Lounge (play dumb) and if they dont let you go to the TG Lounge. Under *A rules SQ MUST let you into the SQ J Lounge (I've visited the MEL and BKK SQ J Lounges on a TG J rev ticket without any problem), its the SQ F Lounge that you may have difficulty with. It may be worth emailing *A prior to your trip to get clarity and taking the email with you. Without having seen the SQ SYD J Lounge I would be guessing as it is brand new that it would be better than the NZ Lounge anyway.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

No access for you to the SQ lounge - you must be a revenue customer on a Star Alliance airline or travelling on a Singapore Airlines's own flight to be able to access it. USDM award ticket will not let you in, unfortunately

Air NZ lounge is the only one you can access. It's perfectly adequate though I'd say these seats need to be refurbished asap. Good views over the tarmac

What? thats wrong.lounge access rules are found at: Lounge Access Policy - Star Alliance

Customers have access to International First Class1 and/or any Star Alliance member carriers' own lounges.

• Customer must present a boarding pass for travel in International First Class on a Star Alliance flight
• Customer must be departing from the lock yal airport in International First Class
• Customer must be a revenue customer
• Customer is entitled to one guest
  
  1 Except: LH HON/First Class Lounges in FRA/MUC; LX HON/First Class Lounges in ZRH/GVA; OS HON/First Class Lounges in VIE; TG Spa Lounge in BKK

Revenue customer INCLUDES those on award tickets. Those ARE revenue tickets. NON-REV passengers are those on staff travel etc.

STAR ALLIANCE REVENUE PASSENGERS:

• Revenue ticket/customer: All customers excluding airline staff. Customers travelling on discounted fares, frequent flyer award tickets or upgrades are considered revenue customers and are included as revenue customers. Airline employees flying on free or service charge tickets, or Industry Discount (e.g., ID50. ID75, ID90) tickets are not considered revenue customers

 

[sergeyvzn]

Sydney SQ lounge isn't a F lounge
No access for TG F customers, period

 

[get me outta here]

Good suggestion, I'll email AND play dumb and smile. It will just be the one of me, and I find being just one gets all sorts of advantages.

I'm not sure this is correct - I've heard of several people gaining access to the SQ F Lounge in SYD on TG award tickets. I thought TG had specifically negotiated SQ F access for its TG F pax because the NZ offering is not an F standard and I cant imagine there are many F rev pax considering TG hand out award seats like candy.

I've visited the NZ Lounge in SYD and while its a perfectly fine J lounge, it is definitely not an F lounge and I certainly would not be arriving especially early on an F ticket to check it out. It is HUGE (the NZ Lounge in MEL is about 1/5th the size) and because about 47 different airlines use it, there's likely to be hundreds of people in there. It does have excellent views of the tarmac and the food is quite good in that there's lots of it and its very filling (hearty foccacias and savoury muffins etc). Dont fill up on lounge food though - you'll be served caviar onboard.

I would def TRY getting into the SQ Lounge (play dumb) and if they dont let you go to the TG Lounge. Under *A rules SQ MUST let you into the SQ J Lounge (I've visited the MEL and BKK SQ J Lounges on a TG J rev ticket without any problem), its the SQ F Lounge that you may have difficulty with. It may be worth emailing *A prior to your trip to get clarity and taking the email with you. Without having seen the SQ SYD J Lounge I would be guessing as it is brand new that it would be better than the NZ Lounge anyway.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

I cant imagine there are many F rev pax considering TG hand out award seats like candy.

There are plenty of Thai premium revenue passengers. You are beginning to sound like a broken record on this issue.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Sydney SQ lounge isn't a F lounge
No access for TG F customers, period

What is it then?


Browse and find airport lounges - Star Alliance

 

[sergeyvzn]

What is it then?


Browse and find airport lounges - Star Alliance

it's a shared lounge with J and F sections, not an exclusively F lounge

http://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/travel-information/lounge-silverkris/lounge-silverkrisoverseas/

if you can please read what is says about the access at the bottom of the page

One of the reasons SQ has built their own lounge was to segregate their own customers from other *A folk

 

[Aussie_flyer]

it's a shared lounge with J and F sections, not an exclusively F lounge

Worldwide SilverKris Lounges

if you can please read what is says about the access at the bottom of the page

One of the reasons SQ has built their own lounge was to segregate their own customers from other *A folk

Star Alliance lounge policy is very clear on this matter. If you can please read it as I have shown you above. SQ has no right to disallow people from their sydney lounge.

I have accessed the SQ lounge in Sydney before the refurb without any issue when flying TG.

Have you been denied access yourself? If so then Star Alliance needs to be notified and the lounge staff need to be refreshed on access policies. they are known to redirect people to other lounges but will usually back down if you know your rights.

 

[sergeyvzn]

I was told quite clearly (travel in Feb, Thai F to BKK on a United award ticket) by a very polite SQ lounge lady I couldn't access it as I wasn't flying SQ or was not on a VA codeshare. I did not want to argue as I had about 40 min to spare anyway and simply walked another 20 meters to the Air NZ lounge
Happy to be proven wrong

 

[Aussie_flyer]

I was told quite clearly (travel in Feb, Thai F to BKK on a United award ticket) by a very polite SQ lounge lady I couldn't access it as I wasn't flying SQ or was not on a VA codeshare. I did not want to argue as I had about 40 min to spare anyway and simply walked another 20 meters to the Air NZ lounge
Happy to be proven wrong

She is wrong according to published star alliance rules. I haven't got any opportunities to go and fight the case anytime soon though. Is it any wonder they are known as 'dragons'? If somebody else is travelling soon in this situation, even if in business on another star carrier please give it a go. Have the star alliance website ready to go on your tablet or smartphone.

 

[smit0847]

Sydney SQ lounge isn't a F lounge
No access for TG F customers, period

Whats the difference between and F lounge and a shared lounge with an F section then?!

it's a shared lounge with J and F sections, not an exclusively F lounge

Worldwide SilverKris Lounges

if you can please read what is says about the access at the bottom of the page

One of the reasons SQ has built their own lounge was to segregate their own customers from other *A folk

That page says:
You can enjoy access to our lounges if you are our Suites, First or Business Class passenger, or PPS Club and KrisFlyer Elite Gold members departing on Singapore Airlines operated flights. For travellers on codeshare flights, lounge entitlements would depend on the rules of the airline operating your flight.


Does SQ codeshare on TG SYD-BKK flights? If so, the rules of the airline operating your flight would surely be that you can access any F lounge in SYD with an F ticket (the SQ F section being the only one at SYD).

I was told quite clearly (travel in Feb, Thai F to BKK on a United award ticket) by a very polite SQ lounge lady I couldn't access it as I wasn't flying SQ or was not on a VA codeshare. I did not want to argue as I had about 40 min to spare anyway and simply walked another 20 meters to the Air NZ lounge
Happy to be proven wrong

As I said, when I have travelled TG award J out of MEL at check-in I was advised I could use the NZ Lounge. I went to the SQ Lounge as I know its better (both are quite good) and the lounge agent said 'you know you can use the NZ Lounge?' to which I replied 'yes I do but I would prefer to use this lounge as it is better' to which she replied 'no problem - welcome'. She was lovely - certainly not a 'dragon'.

Sergeyvzn, were you trying to access the SQ J Lounge and were denied? If so, this is a clear breach of *A policies and should be reported to *A. I suspect you just got a bad staff member as I can't imagine the policy would differ from state to state.

It would be very good if we could get a clear answer from either SQ or *A on this as I know a LOT of AFFers have booked TG F rev tickets for travel this year (I'm flying out in Oct).

I understand about only difference in MEL between the SQ J and SQ F lounges is the champagne served so it's not a huge deal if you are relegated to the J Lounge on a TG F ticket but there may be a greater difference in the SYD lounges.

 

[adrian]

So this is my experience, from about 3 weeks ago....

Was travelling TG F, on US Div Miles ticket. At checkin they told me to use the NZ lounge (but having been there a few months earlier, I was pretty keen not to use it again). Fortunately, I did the Turkish status match last year, and they matched my AA EXP to *Gold on TK. So I went to the SG lounge, presented my boarding pass & TK Gold card. There were 3 people at the desk. The one on the left took my ticket and told me I could use to the NZ lounge, and I mentioned that I thought I had access to SG lounge also. They all looked down and nodded. The one on the right asked what class my ticket was in, one on the left said F, and the one on the right told me that in that case I could use the F section of the lounge (I didn't even know that they had one) and pointed at the door on the right.

I just assumed that access was granted because of the Gold card.

As to the lounge, it is very nice. Nicer than most F lounges in non-home airports that I have visited, if that makes any sense. It was separate in the same way the the QF lounge in AKL has J & F sections. Lots of seating, very nice finishes. View of the tarmac. I liked the food, it was prepared out the back. There was table service, and the waiter was really trying hard to be good. I can't remember the wines, but I assume they were good Nothing there I could complain about.

Hope this helps some...

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Good to hear. Gold card wasnt necessary though unless you had a guest.

I dont understand why the lounge agents take it so personally. .. like you are stealing from them