Travelling upper with my mum back in premium

Hi All,

Myself and the wife have cashed all our airmiles for a trip to LA U/C in december . My mum has decided she'd love to come along too, which as shes getting on a bit means we'd love to take her, we cannot afford to pay the u/c fare so are paying for premium for her. Just a couple of questions.

Can she come as a guest of ours into the clubhouse at heathrow?
And also the Air new zealand lounge at LAX as a guest on the return?
And do the cabin crew allow family members travelling in premium into the Upper cabin to sit on the ottoman with people in that cabin for a while. Feel guilty i'll be travelling in a different class, but really cant afford the fare for her!

Many thanks in advance
Andy

[Darren Wheeler]

Welcome to V-Flyer.

The clubhouse access will not be an issue as you get a guest each.

The sitting on the ottoman is slightly more problematic. It's very much down to the FSM on the day. Generally, they don't encourage visits as if you allow one, you open the floodgates for anyone else travelling with family/friends in W or Y. By all means ask, but expect a No at worse and a single visit at best. Of course going from Upper to PE is not an issue.

[honey lamb]

Hi All,

Myself and the wife have cashed all our airmiles for a trip to LA U/C in december . My mum has decided she'd love to come along too, which as shes getting on a bit means we'd love to take her, we cannot afford to pay the u/c fare so are paying for premium for her. Just a couple of questions.

Can she come as a guest of ours into the clubhouse at heathrow?
And also the Air new zealand lounge at LAX as a guest on the return?
And do the cabin crew allow family members travelling in premium into the Upper cabin to sit on the ottoman with people in that cabin for a while. Feel guilty i'll be travelling in a different class, but really cant afford the fare for her!

Many thanks in advance
Andy

Hi and welcome to V-Flyer

Yes, you will be able to take your mum into the Clubhouse in both LHR and into the Air New Zealand lounge in LAX.

With regard to allowing your mum into the UC cabin it is really up to the FSM on the day and also how busy UC is. You can ask but don't be too disappointed if he/she says no. I'm sure your mum won't mind and you will be able to pop back to see her from time to time.

Have you any miles left? Could you not upgrade her by paying for an upgradeable fare in either PE or Economy? Just a thought

As Darren says access to the CH at both LHR and LAX is not problem and she will also (if she checks in at the same time as you) be able to use the UC desks and the private security channel at LHR too.

As to a visit to UC you will need to ask the FSM on the day and it will depend on how busy the cabin is.

Asking something like 'would it be possibe if, once the drinks and meal service is finished, your mum could come for a quick drink ...' might also help rather than a bald 'can mum come for a visit'

Hi and welcome,

My wife and I were fortunate to have friends who were travelling in economy who were allowed by the FSM to come to look and sit on our ottoman for 10 mins. When dinner arrrived they duly left but we did get a few tuts from a man across the way. So after dinner my wife and I did our own few tuts with a rendition from abbas Mama Mia-shame on us ):

They also came with us in the clubhouse as a guest

[buns]

Hi Andy

As others have said, access to the Clubhouse / Lounge is not a problem - as is all of you checking in at the UC Desks

As regards to visits into the UC Cabin, I have two stories to tell: Yes, the FSM has been gracious to allow companions to visit the bar after the meal service, but the other story is "Guess who ended up sitting in Economy, whilst two girls sat in UC having the time of their life" ):

BTW, do not even go down the route of constant swapping in flight v(

buns

To add my own experiences:

On a flight back from Tokyo the man next to me UC asked if his girlfriend in PE could join him at his seat - the FSM said yes, but later the man sat at the bar whilst the girlfriend had a snooze in his seat. The FSM spotted this and asked her to leave.

A few months later I was traveling back from NYC in UC - and my wife was in PE. I asked if she could join me at the bar, and the FSM said yes. My wife did join me at the bar for a bit and the crew werw great & chatted away to both of us.

So, as others said, ask politely and you may get a yes.

With the LHR CH, your mother will feel the whole UC experience and th PE seats are very comfy.

Hi All,

Many thanks for all the great prompt replies. Has been very helpful, and im feeling a bit better about leaving my poor old mum in premium Its great i can take her to the clubhouse and lounge at LAX and using the UC checkin and channels will be great.

thanks once again
Andy

I was travelling Y to IAD with a friend in UC and they allowed us 20mins or so at the bar. I even got a couple of glasses of champagne which was great. They were very nice about it, but they did make it clear it was only for a bit and that I couldn't go into the cabin proper.

It's great that VS offers this flexibility, when you ask nicely, and don't take the biscuit. But also put yourself in mind of frequent fliers, who spend a fortune for P&Q and space, to see others take the p***, as I did returning from Chicago last week ... which is why the normal answer should always be to expect a 'no' but be pleasantly surprised by a 'yes' on joining someone in UC.

Enjoy LAX and the clubhouse and ANZ lounge - on check-in at LAX ensure the agent writes on the lounge invite that your mother is included.

One thing i would like to add is that I only got the turn left bug when a friend showed me around. Far better to see it in the flesh than a brochure.

Hi All,

Many thanks for all the great prompt replies. Has been very helpful, and im feeling a bit better about leaving my poor old mum in premium Its great i can take her to the clubhouse and lounge at LAX and using the UC checkin and channels will be great.

thanks once again
Andy

I, and I think a few others here, love the combination of Clubhouse and PE seat!

I'd rather have the CHs & a PE seat than a quick drink in UC anyday

R-P