Airport Lounges

[AMH]

The long running dispute between airport lounge card group Priority Pass, and leading independent airport lounge operator Plaza Premium, has been settled.

Starting today, you can access 63 Plaza Premium lounges with a Priority Pass or LoungeKey card.

You can see a list of the 63 participating lounges, together with their entry date,

https://www.prioritypass.com/lounge-changes-june-2023

[DealGuru]

I'll be flying from EWR to TLV tonight in economy and was wondering if I'm likely to get away with using a relative's boarding pass (for a different flight at the same time) to gain entry to the basic club (not polaris, too risky). They've got the United club card with unlimited entry passes.
The relative would book a flight with a similar departure time, send me their boarding pass, then cancel the flight once I'm in the lounge.

Being that the EWR lounge now has electronic pass scanning for entry (I believe), can anything go immediately wrong?
Is it possible that United has algorithms in place to check if a boarding pass was ever used at security in the first place, and raise the alarm if it's been used to enter a lounge without going through security first (to which there would be no legitimate reason to back up with)? Does the airline even have this kind of data?

Apologies in advance if this kind of question may be frowned upon - but I'm more curious if anybody has had experience doing this successfully in the past.

Did it end up working as you planned?

[DealGuru]

The long running dispute between airport lounge card group Priority Pass, and leading independent airport lounge operator Plaza Premium, has been settled.

Starting today, you can access 63 Plaza Premium lounges with a Priority Pass or LoungeKey card.

39 can be accessed "starting today" the rest will be accessible starting 6/20

[AMH]

BA’s new ‘Concorde Room Lite’ First Dining Room at Heathrow Terminal 3

[Yaalili]

Not sure when it happened, but BA lounge in Newark (EWR) no longer shows up on Priority Pass. This leaves the airport with no PP lounges. There is the Virgin Coubhouse though for VentureX cards.

[Boss]

Any EWR lounges currently with PP?

[shmooz]

Not sure when it happened, but BA lounge in Newark (EWR) no longer shows up on Priority Pass. This leaves the airport with no PP lounges. There is the Virgin Coubhouse though for VentureX cards.

Isn't that ewr a plaza premium available with amex plat?

[Yaalili]

Isn't that ewr a plaza premium available with amex plat?

Yes Amex Plat and VentureX get access to it.

[shmooz]

Yes Amex Plat and VentureX get access to it.

Thanks amex allows one guest? What about family?

[Dave321]

I have to say the maple leaf lounge at YYZ is the worst I've been to.
No fruit
No bottled water
No paper cups for coffee
Very few outlets. About 2 per 20 ppl.
Brutal.

[Netster]

Anyone going to be in YYZ airport this sunday?

[AMH]

Back in March, Virgin Atlantic officially became a member of the SkyTeam alliance, joining partners such as Delta, Air France and KLM.

One of the main concerns we had when Virgin Atlantic announced its plans was whether the airline would let SkyTeam business class and elite status members use its Clubhouse lounges.

This is particularly pertinent for the Heathrow Clubhouse, which often runs at or close to capacity. Even if Virgin Atlantic wanted to, it would simply not be possible to cater to all SkyTeam elites.

Virgin Atlantic Heathrow clubhouse bar
Back in March Virgin Atlantic published a revised list of access rules for the flagship Clubhouse at Heathrow Terminal 3.

These rules do not appear to have been effective at curbing demand, because the airline has quietly revised the list to exclude more people.

The current rules are on this page of the Virgin Atlantic website.

Who can get into the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse lounge at Heathrow?
Heathrow Clubhouse access via your ticket type:
Anyone flying in the following cabins will automatically get access to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse:

Upper Class passengers on Virgin Atlantic (including one guest who must be travelling on Virgin Atlantic or Delta, on any flight in any cabin)
Delta One passengers on Delta (no guest)
Clase Premier passengers on Aeroméxico (no guest)
Other SkyTeam business class passengers do NOT get access.

Heathrow Clubhouse access via your SkyTeam status:
Only the following elite status passengers can enter the Clubhouse if they are not flying in Upper Class / Delta One / Clase Premier:

Virgin Flying Club Gold, flying on a Virgin Atlantic, Delta or Aeroméxico flight in any class (including one guest)
Delta SkyMiles Diamond or Platinum Medallion, flying on a Virgin Atlantic or Delta flight in premium economy (including one guest)
Air France / KLM Flying Blue Platinum, flying on a Virgin Atlantic or Delta flight in premium economy (including one guest)
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Heathrow mezzanine
Who has lost access to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse?
Comparing the access guidance above to what was published back in March, the following people now have to head elsewhere:

Delta SkyMiles Diamond or Platinum Medallion, flying on a Virgin Atlantic or Delta flight in economy
Air France / KLM Flying Blue Platinum, flying on a Virgin Atlantic or Delta flight in economy
All other SkyTeam Elite Plus members flying on Virgin Atlantic, Delta or Aeroméxico flights in economy or premium economy
The following non-SkyTeam elites appear to have also lost access unless flying in business class:

Virgin Australia Velocity Club Gold, Platinum and The Club members flying Virgin Atlantic
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold, Solitaire PPS Club and PPS Club members flying Virgin Atlantic
Air New Zealand Gold or Elite members flying on Virgin Atlantic to San Francisco
The following people lost access due to the shift of Air France and KLM flights back to Terminal 4:

Passengers connecting to La Première on Air France
Conclusion
To be honest, we hadn’t been hearing any horror stories of Clubhouse overcrowding. When I was last there over Easter it was definitely busy but certainly not unmanageable.

Virgin Atlantic seems to believe that the situation would be improved by restricting access further. Cutting access to Delta and Flying Blue top tier members who are flying in Economy is likely to have the biggest impact whilst also making Virgin Atlantic Gold status more attractive than that of other SkyTeam carriers.

Our guide to the Virgin Clubhouses is here and you can also read our review of the Heathrow Clubhouse here.

The official Heathrow Clubhouse rules are on the Virgin Atlantic site here.

[Ly18]

I actually canceled 4 tickets for this reason.(DL Platinum)

[SHL]

I actually canceled 4 tickets for this reason.(DL Platinum)

Let them know that

[allenm]

FYI...received today...


Greetings from Plaza Premium Group.
 
We regret to inform you that Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse operated by Plaza Premium Group at Newark Liberty International Airport will cease operations and booking will not be available from our website from July 17, 2023 onwards. 

[SHL]

FYI...received today...


Greetings from Plaza Premium Group.
 
We regret to inform you that Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse operated by Plaza Premium Group at Newark Liberty International Airport will cease operations and booking will not be available from our website from July 17, 2023 onwards.

Can't say I am surprised
They have not flown there since before covid

[Yaalili]

FYI...received today...


Greetings from Plaza Premium Group.
 
We regret to inform you that Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse operated by Plaza Premium Group at Newark Liberty International Airport will cease operations and booking will not be available from our website from July 17, 2023 onwards. 

That's a bummer. With BA not longer part of PP, this was the only cardmember option at EWR.

[zfeld]

FYI...received today...

Greetings from Plaza Premium Group.
 
We regret to inform you that Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse operated by Plaza Premium Group at Newark Liberty International Airport will cease operations and booking will not be available from our website from July 17, 2023 onwards.

So now nothing for EWR for Venture X too.
No priority pass lounges for a while already

[UKinNYS]

was just thinking its a shame that PP has nothing left in Newark, then I saw this.. 
https://viewfromthewing.com/bethenny-frankel-reviews-the-virgin-clubhouse-newark-garbouj/   

[MHP]

The new United club is now open in terminal A in ewr