NZ F Lounges

[gumpy]

Hi Guys

My company previous to this had a contract with the OneWorld folk. Recently we were given more freedom to choose different carriers.

As my head office is in NZ Air NZ matched my Platinum status with QF. Do Air NZ and star alliance have F Lounges and does Elite Gold get you in them? I suspect the answer isn't a simple one... any help is greatly appreciated.

I have two around the world business class flights coming up this year with a lot of time in transit so I'm looking for the most comfortable option.

thanks

 

[anat0l]

Some airlines have their own first class lounges (e.g. LH in FRA and MUC, SQ in SIN and LX in ZRH).

Star Alliance, unlike oneworld, has only one level of common cross-alliance lounge access and that is for Star Alliance Gold members, who can use eligible lounges marked with a Star Alliance Gold symbol on the front. In many cases (all?) this is the airline's lounge which business class passengers would have access to or a special jointly operated Star Alliance Gold lounge (i.e. it doesn't "belong" to a single airline).

So in short, unless you fly first class for given airlines, you won't be given access to their first class lounges, even as a NZ Gold Elite.

 

[gumpy]

Some airlines have their own first class lounges (e.g. LH in FRA and MUC, SQ in SIN and LX in ZRH).

Star Alliance, unlike oneworld, has only one level of common cross-alliance lounge access and that is for Star Alliance Gold members, who can use eligible lounges marked with a Star Alliance Gold symbol on the front. In many cases (all?) this is the airline's lounge which business class passengers would have access to or a special jointly operated Star Alliance Gold lounge (i.e. it doesn't "belong" to a single airline).

So in short, unless you fly first class for given airlines, you won't be given access to their first class lounges, even as a NZ Gold Elite.

Thanks heaps for that, answered everything.

 

[SeaWolf]

Lufthansa (and therefore Swiss and some of its other wholly or partially owned airlines) are the exception here. You'll generally find you have access to First Class check in and lounges when travelling with Lufthansa. They label this pretty clearly by having a "Star Gold" logo at check-in and the lounges. They have a page:
Lufthansa - Lounge variations and access
to help you figure it out if you're travelling with them.

 

[anat0l]

Lufthansa (and therefore Swiss and some of its other wholly or partially owned airlines) are the exception here. You'll generally find you have access to First Class check in and lounges when travelling with Lufthansa. They label this pretty clearly by having a "Star Gold" logo at check-in and the lounges. They have a page:
Lufthansa - Lounge variations and access
to help you figure it out if you're travelling with them.

I don't quite understand.

First class lounges with LH and its partners are only accessible if you are flying LH group First or are a M&M HON (who must be flying with the LH group).

You might be right about the Star Gold being able to access the LH group First class check-in counters, however. I think I remember something like that at FRA and MUC, but can't recall now. You still can't use the check-ins at the First Class Terminals, however.

 

[SeaWolf]

Sorry, my bad. With *G you can use the First Class check in and you can use the Senator Lounges, as well as the Business Lounges. If you have a Business ticket you can't use the Senator lounges, but there are also separate First Class lounges, which you can't access with *G, but can with a First ticket. I'm not 100% sure what the differences are between the Senator and Business Lounges, I think in a lot of airports the Senator lounge is just a section in the Business lounge, but I could be wrong. I haven't really used Lufthansa's lounges yet.

 

[anat0l]

I'm not 100% sure what the differences are between the Senator and Business Lounges, I think in a lot of airports the Senator lounge is just a section in the Business lounge, but I could be wrong. I haven't really used Lufthansa's lounges yet.

Can't say there's a lot of difference, but my sample size is 1 - MUC.

I sampled both the Business and Senator lounges in the non-Schengen + EU departures section (if that makes any lick of sense) of MUC airport (the terminal where all LH departures go from, well I was flying LH MUC-LHR).

Both are the same, except the Business lounge is bigger, but still just as crowded as the Senator lounge. More computers in the Business lounge, but again just as fully occupied. The Senator lounge has a slumber room, IIRC. I think the Senator lounge had a slightly better food selection. The Senator lounge also felt a little more refreshed (decor/paint etc.) than the Business lounge.

I think with allocating showers, the Senator lounge gets priority over Business lounge patrons. I told them I was a *G but they gave me a tag for Senator.

 

[adl73x]

NZ Gold Elite pax do get to use the *A First Class lounge at LHR when flying NZ (in any class). There's not much difference between the First Class and regular *A lunge at LHR Terminal 1, but the food is nice, and it is quieter.