Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Do you get BA lounge access flying codeshares on Vueling, Aer Lingus, Loganair or airBaltic?

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

Do you get British Airways lounge access on codeshare flights, such as with Vueling, Aer Lingus, Loganair or airBaltic?

British Airways lounge access policies are, on the face of it, straightforward.  You get access if you are flying in Business or First Class or have a Silver or Gold card or equivalent oneworld status.

The devil is in the detail ….

British Airways codeshare lounge access

Can you get lounge access in Edinburgh if flying economy to connect to a Club World flight?  Does it make a difference if the Club World flight is tomorrow and not the same day?  Do you get lounge access at Heathrow on the way to Edinburgh in economy if you just came off a Club World long haul?  How about if you came off a Finnair Business Class short haul?

(I’m not going to answer these questions, but I might do a separate article!)

Today I wanted to look at whether you are allowed access to British Airways lounges if you are flying on a BA non-oneworld partner?  This means an airline with whom BA has a codeshare relationship, such as – from the UK – Vueling, Loganair, Aer Lingus or airBaltic.

This is a situation which comes up frequently now that British Airways has moved to Gatwick South. Vueling, Aer Lingus and airBaltic also use that terminal and British Airways has its impressive lounge complex (click for our review) which is well worth a visit.

Note that if you are flying Vueling from Heathrow, you will be in Terminal 2 where British Airways does not have a lounge.  You can stop reading now ….

Getting lounge access on British Airways codeshare flights

Imagine ….

you book an economy flight on ba.com

…. with a British Airways flight number …..

…. but which in the small print says ‘operated by Vueling / airBaltic / Loganair / Aer Lingus’

…… should you get lounge access, assuming you have British Airways elite status and are departing from an airport where BA has a lounge?

Logically, you would think you should.  In practice, it is complicated.

Air Baltic

For reasons no-one really knows, these are the rules.  Even some lounge agents don’t understand them.

A British Airways Gold cardholder DOES get BA lounge access when flying Vueling, airBaltic, Loganair or Aer Lingus, when the flight has a BA flight number and was ticketed by British Airways.  I believe that you can bring a guest if they are travelling on the same flight, except ….

A British Airways Gold cardholder does NOT get lounge access when flying Vueling, airBaltic, Loganair or Aer Lingus if the lounge is not directly operated by British Airways.  Remember that British Airways has no other lounges in England outside of London.  In Scotland you have the lounges at Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

A British Airways Gold cardholder does NOT get BA lounge access when flying Vueling, airBaltic, Lognair or Aer Lingus if the flight does not have a BA flight number or was not ticketed by British Airways

A British Airways Silver cardholder does NOT get BA lounge access when flying Vueling, airBaltic, Loganair or Aer Lingus, even when the flight has a BA flight number and was ticketed by British Airways

Bottom line – forget lounge access on a British Airways codeshare flight if you are not a British Airways Gold card holder.  If you are a BA Gold, be careful where you book your ticket and whether a BA flight number (eg BA1234) is shown on your booking.

British Airways lounge access on an Aer Lingus flight

Flying Aer Lingus from Heathrow Terminal 2

There is an extra quirk to this if you are flying Aer Lingus from Heathrow.  As Aer Lingus is based in Terminal 2, there is not a British Airways lounge you can use.

Aer Lingus DOES have a very pleasant lounge of its own, however, as I reviewed here.

The rule is that British Airways Silver or Gold cardholders can use the Aer Lingus lounge at Heathrow when flying to Ireland.

Your ticket does NOT need to be issued by British Airways and it does NOT need to be a BA codeshare.  If you have BA status, even a super-cheap ticket booked on aerlingus.com will do the job.

This does NOT include the Belfast route since this is Northern Ireland and not Ireland.

Flying from Ireland to the UK?

It gets even more complex.  Inbound, this deal only applies to flights to London.

If you fly from Dublin to, say, Manchester you will not get Aer Lingus lounge access in Dublin with a British Airways Gold or Silver card.

Yes …. complicated, I know!

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

Category

Aer Lingus and AerClub, British Airways and Avios, Vueling and Vueling Club

Comments (85)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Mikeact says:
    11 Sep11 September 08:23

    I guess as long as you are flying business, all the airlines/lounges mentioned above…..no problem, all lounges available.

    • aseftel says:
      11 Sep11 September 12:19

      I don’t believe Vueling or Loganair sell tickets that include lounge access.

    • Alex says:
      12 Sep12 September 09:21

      You don’t get lounge access with AirBaltic on BA ticketed flights. However, you do get lounge access (No1) if booked direct with AirBaltic.

  • Tony says:
    11 Sep11 September 08:31

    Easy answer…BA produces a card with the lounge access rules for the staff. A version is would be on BA.com/ Exec Club. Simples?! I doubt it!

  • Mark says:
    11 Sep11 September 08:43

    So what about if you have silver status, flying on a BA flight which is chartered – and from Gatwick? Do I get lounge access?

  • Chris says:
    11 Sep11 September 08:48

    Rob – please can you do an article on this: “Can you get lounge access in Edinburgh if flying economy to connect to a Club World flight? “. Could you also please send copies to the regional lounges around the country?

    I know the answer is that you can based on the OW lounge policy.

    Unfortunately, I have been denied access on 2 occasions by the Menzies staff operating GLA lBritish Airways lounge. Each time I have been travelling with my family (so too many for me to guest as a GCH) and each time GLA-LHR-MIA (domestic in Y, long-haul in J). These mixed classes are common on Avios or UUA bookings for us Scots as Avios availability for the domestic legs is usually harder to find than the long haul sectors.

    • Save East Coast Rewards says:
      11 Sep11 September 09:36

      Consider flying from NCL, although I doubt the Aspire staff will know the rules any better at least you’re not missing out on anything if you’re turned away 😂

      On a more serious note have you tried contacting BA about this issue? Having a print out of an email from BA saying you should have access is more likely to convince the lounge staff that you’re entitled to entrance.

    • NorthernLass says:
      11 Sep11 September 11:09

      When BA introduced CE on domestic flights a few years ago the rules changed so that you had to be travelling in CE domestic to have lounge access, regardless of which class your long haul flight is. The rationale is that if you want lounge access you can book CE on your connecting leg.

      • SamG says:
        11 Sep11 September 16:02

        I think you’d get access based on oneworld rules

        First and Business Class customers connecting on the same day of travel, or before 6am the following day, can access the lounge when travelling between an international long haul (a oneworld international long haul flight is defined as an international flight marketed and operated by any oneworld carrier with a scheduled flight time longer than 5 hours) and an international short haul or domestic flight (and vice-versa)

        May need your longhaul BP to show

        • Lady London says:
          11 Sep11 September 20:29

          Was denied this in New Zealand when travelling to Oz to connect on same ticket same day to QR J in Oz. Nasty, nasty checkin supervisor of team at AKL employed by Air NZ who didn’t know OneWorld rules. Harrowing experience having travelled all night to make the flight and first in the checkin queue at 05.00am. Part of the reason that has made me reluctant to visit NZ again when I could have.

  • Richard Howard says:
    11 Sep11 September 09:04

    I flew from Birmingham to Belfast last year and while the BA site said I could use Aspire Lounge, I was refused access .

    The ground staff, did not seem to know

  • Joel Adair says:
    11 Sep11 September 09:05

    You do get access to the Aer Lingus lounge in T2 if flying to Belfast with a BA Silver card. I do this regularly, and as recently as last week. Often the staff on the desk don’t even ask to see your BA card, though they are meant to – those who do ask take note of your Exec Club number and the flight you’re taking.

    • Niall says:
      11 Sep11 September 10:01

      Indeed this is what I always read was allowed under the rules and what I’ve always got. I have used it multiple times. However, I do generally prefer the plaza premium lounge. I get that it is subjective but I never understand how HfP seems to like that Aer Lingus lounge. That it is quiet is the only real positive feature of it for me.

      • Rob says:
        11 Sep11 September 11:41

        Apart from the food, what’s bad about it? Well designed, has views, multiple ‘zones’ and types of seating to suit all needs etc.

        • Niall says:
          11 Sep11 September 12:06

          The food, the drink, the lounge dragons and actually the state/cleanliness of the furniture. The positive bit is the space itself.

  • Professor Patrick Gray OBE says:
    11 Sep11 September 09:13

    I regularly fly from glasgow to Belfast city with Aer Lingus. I am a BA silver member and get refused entry every time I try which I do every time I fly. There is no BA route from Glasgow to Belfast. I wrote to BA Chief Executive about this but to no avail

  • YH says:
    11 Sep11 September 09:15

    I just managed to guest someone into the LGW BA lounge on a Vueling ticket as BA Gold.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Latest Forum Posts

Get 40,000 bonus points (worth 40,000 Avios) and £300 dining credit with The Platinum Card

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get £10 when you spend £150 on your free Currensea card

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? SPECIAL OFFER TO 12TH MAY EARN POINTS WORTH 30,000 AVIOS WITH CAPITAL ON TAP

Get 20,000 bonus points, four airport lounge passes and your first year free with American Express Gold

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!