Lufthansa issued a lounge access policy change notice back in December regarding guesting, and Aegean made a similar announcement yesterday.
We decided to contact Star Alliance to see if there is an alliance wide lounge access policy change coming on May 3, 2021, because there is no change to the wording used on their website.
You can access the Star Alliance page for lounge access here.
Here’s the lounge access update by Aegean yesterday:
We would like to inform our Gold members that they can visit Star Alliance Lounges with a guest of theirs, only if they travel on the same flight, as of 03.05.2021. Until that date, the access is allowed even if Gold members and their partners travel with different flights of Star Alliance.
Here’s an update on Lufthansa issued in December:
Whether it’s a business partner or a family member, HON Circle Members, Senators and Star Gold passengers may continue to take travel companions with them into Lufthansa Group lounges and Star Alliance lounges worldwide in accordance with the current rules. From 3 May 2021, these travel companions must travel on the same flight.
Information at a glance
- Valid for all Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and SWISS lounges
- Valid for all Star Alliance airline lounges worldwide
- Applies to HON Circle Members, Senators and Star Gold passengers
- All travel companions must travel on the same flight
The policy that Star Alliance currently has up:
Star Alliance Gold Customers travelling in any class of travel
As a Star Alliance Gold customer travelling in any class on a Star Alliance member airline operated flight, you have access to any member airline lounge at the airport where your flight departs, if the following conditions are met:
- You present your boarding pass of a Star Alliance member airline operated flight which departs at the same day as your visit or latest by 05:00 AM the next morning.
- If your boarding pass does not carry the Star Alliance Gold indicator, you will need to also show your valid Star Alliance Gold card.
- The lounge displays the Star Alliance Gold logo at the entrance.
You are entitled to bring one guest travelling on any Star Alliance flight departing from the same airport on the same day.
If you are a United MileagePlus Star Alliance Gold customer, you may only access the United Clubs within the U.S. when departing from that airport on an international Star Alliance flight, not when departing on a domestic flight with United.
Here’s the response from the Star Alliance spokesperson:
An alliance-wide Guest Entitlement policy change is indeed taking effect on 03MAY, and the website will be updated accordingly on that date.
Up to this date, Star Alliance Gold members could invite a guest holding a boarding pass valid on any Star Alliance member airline departing the same day. From the date of policy change, the guest must be on the same flight as the Gold status member.
It is our understanding that member airlines of the Alliance were to have notified their FFP members by this date, so the communications your refer to from Aegean and Lufthansa is correct.
Conclusion
I would assume that all Star Alliance member airlines will roll out information to their frequent flier program members about this lounge access policy change that will take place on May 3, 2021.
When we previously wrote about this, some readers commented that they had mainly used it to guest colleagues on different flights traveling to/from meetings and events (when all didn’t have access based on the class of service or program status).
I doubt that this makes much of a difference in the number of guests allowed to the lounges. I am not sure if I have personally used it even once.
