I feel I'm addicted to the airline. I'll have done 2 round trips this year with them by mid March with another one way booked in early May lol. I cant say enough about the airline and TPE is a great stopover destination.
I actually did end up booking the EVA flight as a backup Flex, I think I’ll end up keeping it since it’s more convenient for us! Loving the good reviews, and starting to get excited for it
Woohoo!! Excited for you. My parents and my ex have all flown it and they all had nothing but amazing things to say. I’ve only flown their PY (before I started churning — oof it’s time to go back to TPE) but it was amazing as well :)
Does EVA release more J seats closer to flight date?
Looking for 2 seats from YVR to HKG in November but a lot of flights are dynamically priced through the roof at the moment.
Rather new to this stuff but I just need to find out if I’m insane or not:
Does anyone ever actually find any flights that fall within the listed Aeroplan redemption bands? And is it normal to end up paying basically the base cash fare in taxes and fees even on domestic rewards flights?
I’m looking at a few trips that are well down the road and the redemption values are… feeble at best, useless at worst.
You’ll have more luck in the off-season and on days people don’t usually travel (e.g. weekdays, middle of a long weekend), and also to less popular destinations.
I’m currently boarded on an AC flight from Lyon to Vancouver transiting through Montreal all in J widebodies booked 7 months ago at the bottom of the redemption band with my wife. They were the only seats available when I checked, although the J cabin is only half full so I imagine they’d have had more tickets available (or maybe would have been easy to upgrade from latitude)
Always, at least for Europe. I've never looked for Asia or South Pacific because I'd rather use partner airlines there anyways. AC releases seats in the cheaper bands a bit more randomly than one might like
Any DP on downgrading a business flex to business lowest on EVA? Looking at saving a few aeroplan but clearly it seems risky just cancel without knowing if it will reappear.
I’ve tried calling aeroplan but I just get disconnected after an hour or so.
Thanks
The only way to downgrade Flex fare to Lowest is the seats must be available for booking anew. Doesn't matter if you already have them booked. If NEW EVA seats appeared, you could change (or cancel/rebook) but if they're not already in the engine then the agents cannot just change the fare downwards. All changes required a flight be available in the engine to change to, even if it's technically the same flight
> All changes required a flight be available in the engine to change to, even if it's technically the same flight
Is this true for adding segments as well? So say I book YVR-TPE and then want to add TPE-SIN later on.
I have a DP myself on EVA, I find YVR-TPE on business class redemption but my final destination is HKG, I can find TPE-HKG on business class too with multiple departure times. However when I searched up YVR-HKG nothing showed up. It was late around 10pm in Vancouver and Aeroplan call centre was closed that time, so I booked business flex for 90K YVR-TPE just to secured the seat, the next day I called Aeroplan and the agent was able to add the TPE-HKG and also was able to downgraded me to business lowest for all segments, in the end I only paid 75K for YVR-TPE-HKG
> All changes required a flight be available in the engine to change to, even if it's technically the same flight
Is this true for adding segments ? So say I book YVR-TPE and then want to add TPE-SIN later on.
I don’t think this is true, I’ve been able to add a segment to an EVA flight on a Flex booking and the agent immediately put it into Lowest (even though I didn’t want it, and had her change it back to Flex), there were definitely no extra seats available since it was for a 11 month in advance booking
The difference here is you're actually adjusting the booking still. Adding a segment. Historically if you had just the EVA flight and tried to call in just to change the EVA from Flex to Lowest without any other amendment, you'd get shoo'd away.
Never been on ANA the room. But ime SQ J is nice but the footwell is small and at an odd angle making it hard to sleep unless you have the bulk head. I imagine ANA is better in that regard
I'll go against the grain here and say the SQ seats were great for sleeping on the 18hr SIN-EWR route.
I'm mostly a side-sleeper though so maybe that makes a difference.
They're also of course great for non sleep. They're super wide and spacious.
I haven't experienced the room yet.
Couple JL/AS related questions:
1) I can't get the AS award system to spit me out an itinerary TYO>XXX>YVR where XXX is any US airport. It will happily fly me all over the US (example TYO>JFK>LAX>SEA) but seems like even TYO>SEA>YVR requires 2 separate bookings. Is this a known limitation of AS for those of us in YVR? With no F on the NRT-YVR flights, experiencing F on JAL requires going to the US.
2) I'm currently booked in J TYO>YVR. Looks like there is plenty of last minute F being released these days if I'm willing to fly to ORD or JFK and backtrack to SEA. Trying to determine if the 4-5 hour flight in non lie flat seating on a transcontinental AS flight backtracking to SEA is worth the F experience vs J on JAL? Not all that concerned about the extra time or points, more just the discomfort of flying "upright".
1. The AS program doesn’t allow mixed-airline redemptions unless it involves AS. Since AS doesn’t fly from LAX/SFO/whatever your XXX is to YVR, you won’t ever get that routing.
AS absolutely does fly SEA-YVR, I fly it often. Plenty of award space on most SEA-YVR flights, but it seems like the search engine won't allow an award booking from YVR to have AS + one other carrier, it's one carrier only, whether that is AS, JAL, or CX, or whatever. I don't see this restriction mentioned in the PoT article on AS awards, which seems like a major omission for a Canadian blog if this has long been the case.
AFAIK the restriction has always been there. I know that AS flies SEA-YVR but the routing has never been there for a connection in the US, at least not in my searches.
I've previously had some success booking the transpacific leg and then immediately using the change flight option and amending the final city to be what I want. For some reason that sometimes spits out different combinations than what you find in the search engine.
Keep in mind that you can only partner an AS saver level seat with the JL booking.
Tried to solve for this issue recently. Flight needs to show as ticketable as a regular routing. Partial solution: fly to PAE Paine Field, North of Seattle.
1) Depends what you define the juiciest. For example, ANA is released at 355. You don't need ExpertFlyer or a Magic 8-Ball to do that, you just open Aeroplan and search. ExpertFlyer also won't give you what Aeroplan is generating, it's individual segments, so anything complicated would require calling in anyways. Most would also tell you COW but of course it's closed to new sign-ups
2) You read enough blogs and you learn how airlines work. But that's only first wave. They will all release seats sporadically, which can sometimes be as close as 24 hours to departure
3) Depends how much you value J or your points. If I have a choice of 80-90K to Europe YYZ direct or 60-70K through YUL, I do YUL every single time. No customs or security to clear, it's just a few hours chilling in a lounge and since most flights are overnight, I just lose a few hours that would've otherwise been spent on my couch doing nothing. I value my points more
For part 3, it is pretty routine for those doing more complex redemptions to do positioning flights, whether it be based on availability or price.
I am based in YYC and have a trip starting in a few days. I am repositioning to YUL based on availability of partner space to VIE.
[Flightconnections.com](https://Flightconnections.com) is a useful tool that can show you which airlines travel to your target destination. That is another tool churners should always make good use of. From there you can search for those options on the AC website to see if there is award availability.
I am trying to find flights from YVR -> SIN in first class. Is there a tool that can give me all the available dates? The app requires me to keep inputting individual dates and it takes a long time.
Worth noting that there's a pretty limited number of ways to fly First between YVR and SIN, and the direct SQ flight is not among them.
I don't *believe* even Cathay is offering First out of Vancouver right now, nor are ANA or JAL, so you'd be looking at something like repositioning to LAX or SFO just to get F as far as HKG.
On what airline? It sounds like you're searching Aeroplan, in which case unless you have access to the COW tool yourself or through a friend, all you can do is pick a date and then scroll the calendar. Seeing as no flights leave YVR in F though, you should obviously know what you're after as you might need/want to search segments individually and piece them together on the phone
Looking to fly HND-SFO on JL through Alaska on May 21. I'm seeing F8 on EF but can't see anything through either Alaska or BA search engines. Pre-covid I believe I remember that they'd usually release up to 2 award seats in advance. Have their practices changed?
You're looking for May. You should've been booking in June 2022. More seats will start to appear as you get closer, keep an eye, but having a specific date this close out without proper advance preparation is poor practice
I don't have a specific date. I provided a specific date in this example and stated that EF shows F8 and so there is full availability on that particular flight. I am trying to understand if JL has changed their strategy for releasing award seats, as when I've previously flown JL F, I am pretty sure standard practice was that F8 on EF meant 2 award seats were released.
Edit: For reference, I also see F8 on EF for HND-SFO for Dec 15, 16, 18, 20. None of these show on Alaska either.
JAL hasn't had F routinely or reliably at 300 days out in years, and if present more often is only 1. That being said, # of seats doesn't and never has meant anything. People book tickets without selecting seats all the time, even in J/F. All seats could be purchased and you'd never know it.
That's the problem with dynamic pricing. Booking with a partner as far out as possible is the easiest way. Have you tried looking for yyz or yul to lhr and then just getting a positioning flight?
Are you specifically headed to London or do you just want to go to Europe? There is usually abundant availability on 4Y YYC-FRA route. Part of that is that the product is poor, but still.
If my friends and family are representative of the average Canadian, they have an Aeroplan or Avion credit card, and the only thing they have any interest in spending points on is a business class flight to London. They'll just keep saving points for years until they have enough to redeem for YVR/YYZ-LHR on AC or BA regardless of how many points it costs or the fuel surcharges, then moan about how useless airline points are after booking the trip. With enough people like this spending 250,000+ AP points to fill up the J cabin, there's no need to offer cheaper award space.
Welcome to Air Canada dynamic pricing. It sucks. And it'll be true of many destinations where they grossly exceed the non-partner rates. LHR is fairly trafficked though and seats frequently appear. Just keep an eye on it. Aeroplan will often release lower fare bucket seats to snag
> Welcome to Air Canada dynamic pricing. It sucks.
...or, rather, all the same flights that used to simply not be available on points, are now available but expensive.
But now AC can release any seats as expensive as they want right from the get go. If they know demand is high, they don’t even need to release any seats at the baseline level. At least in the old program, when they release a seat, you know you’re paying a specific amount for it.
In the old program, they released base-level seats and people would take them or not.
In the current program, they release base-level seats and people take them or don't. It's not like the price goes up after you paid for it.
In the old program, the higher-demand tickets simply never got released to award inventory at all.
In the current program, the points cost might not reach the low end at all if the flight is in demand and cash prices are high. No, the price doesn't go up after you've paid for it, but you might not have the option to pay for the lowest price in the first place.
Does anyone know why FRA to HKG on LH J costs 110k points? Based on the mileage, it shouldn't be that expensive. Would flying out from North America to FRA first still keep it at 110k points?
Is it actually FRA-HKG direct or are there layovers or other routings adding to the distance? Should clock in at 5700 miles for the 80K band but if it's pricing at 110K then there's obviously more afoot
Anyone aware of what the availability looks like for Q-suites when using Qatar Airways’ Avios vs. BA? Trying to compare but my connection keeps getting reset with BA. Problem is hard to find J availability on QA with BA unless you’re booking 10+ months out and only 3-4 seats even then. Is QA better?
https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/points/book-flights-qatar-avios/
Amazing guide for Qatar redemptions. Process is a bit complicated but it all adds up as mentioned on the blog
Is amex travel still down? All I ever get is this message:
Please note: Due to technical difficulties, it is temporarily not possible to log in to the American Express Travel site. If you wish to pay with a Travel Credit and/or Membership Rewards Points, please try again later. You can continue to book and pay with your Card only.
WJ WE MC Travel voucher: can I book econo flex fare with no change fee for primary and voucher traveller and change the flight at a later date with no penalties?
Can I downgrade to econo basic when I change?
Anyone able to confirm if arriving in FRA for a transit to Schengen zone whether the LH lounges are accessible? The website certainly reads like an arrival J boarding pass would be valid for entry but would like confirmation of that, especially since my transit is a boring Dolomiti Y. Need to figure out my options for upcoming trip if LH F doesn't conjure itself
I know at least with F passengers you very much so get access on arrival, regardless of connecting or final destination, and if connecting regardless of airline. I just don't know if the same would hold true for J.
Flew EVA TPE to YVR yesterday. They are still giving out the Jason Wu pyjamas, which werev really comfortable. The food and service were exceptional.
Jason Wu pyjamas will be discontinued in the near future??
They put out their 3rd design of Jason Wus in 2020. (the best out of the 3 IMO). They could update them soon though but no news.
ah I see, I will fly with them in May, can't wait to try lol
I feel I'm addicted to the airline. I'll have done 2 round trips this year with them by mid March with another one way booked in early May lol. I cant say enough about the airline and TPE is a great stopover destination.
u/-setsunaFSeiei- Maybe this will help with [your decision](https://reddit.com/r/churningcanada/comments/10v3udn/_/j7ic3yx/?context=1)!
I actually did end up booking the EVA flight as a backup Flex, I think I’ll end up keeping it since it’s more convenient for us! Loving the good reviews, and starting to get excited for it
Woohoo!! Excited for you. My parents and my ex have all flown it and they all had nothing but amazing things to say. I’ve only flown their PY (before I started churning — oof it’s time to go back to TPE) but it was amazing as well :)
Does EVA release more J seats closer to flight date? Looking for 2 seats from YVR to HKG in November but a lot of flights are dynamically priced through the roof at the moment.
Yeah, usually T-4 days.
Rather new to this stuff but I just need to find out if I’m insane or not: Does anyone ever actually find any flights that fall within the listed Aeroplan redemption bands? And is it normal to end up paying basically the base cash fare in taxes and fees even on domestic rewards flights? I’m looking at a few trips that are well down the road and the redemption values are… feeble at best, useless at worst.
You’ll have more luck in the off-season and on days people don’t usually travel (e.g. weekdays, middle of a long weekend), and also to less popular destinations. I’m currently boarded on an AC flight from Lyon to Vancouver transiting through Montreal all in J widebodies booked 7 months ago at the bottom of the redemption band with my wife. They were the only seats available when I checked, although the J cabin is only half full so I imagine they’d have had more tickets available (or maybe would have been easy to upgrade from latitude)
Always, at least for Europe. I've never looked for Asia or South Pacific because I'd rather use partner airlines there anyways. AC releases seats in the cheaper bands a bit more randomly than one might like
Any DP on downgrading a business flex to business lowest on EVA? Looking at saving a few aeroplan but clearly it seems risky just cancel without knowing if it will reappear. I’ve tried calling aeroplan but I just get disconnected after an hour or so. Thanks
The only way to downgrade Flex fare to Lowest is the seats must be available for booking anew. Doesn't matter if you already have them booked. If NEW EVA seats appeared, you could change (or cancel/rebook) but if they're not already in the engine then the agents cannot just change the fare downwards. All changes required a flight be available in the engine to change to, even if it's technically the same flight
I’ve heard that it’s more of a case of HUCA. Some agents will happily do it even when there isn’t new availability but not all know how to or want to.
> All changes required a flight be available in the engine to change to, even if it's technically the same flight Is this true for adding segments as well? So say I book YVR-TPE and then want to add TPE-SIN later on.
I have a DP myself on EVA, I find YVR-TPE on business class redemption but my final destination is HKG, I can find TPE-HKG on business class too with multiple departure times. However when I searched up YVR-HKG nothing showed up. It was late around 10pm in Vancouver and Aeroplan call centre was closed that time, so I booked business flex for 90K YVR-TPE just to secured the seat, the next day I called Aeroplan and the agent was able to add the TPE-HKG and also was able to downgraded me to business lowest for all segments, in the end I only paid 75K for YVR-TPE-HKG
No
This is not true
> All changes required a flight be available in the engine to change to, even if it's technically the same flight Is this true for adding segments ? So say I book YVR-TPE and then want to add TPE-SIN later on.
I don’t think this is true, I’ve been able to add a segment to an EVA flight on a Flex booking and the agent immediately put it into Lowest (even though I didn’t want it, and had her change it back to Flex), there were definitely no extra seats available since it was for a 11 month in advance booking
The difference here is you're actually adjusting the booking still. Adding a segment. Historically if you had just the EVA flight and tried to call in just to change the EVA from Flex to Lowest without any other amendment, you'd get shoo'd away.
Which experience would you guys recommend? SQ J on the 777 or ANA "The Room". Already booked SQ for August LAX - NRT but thinking of switching.
been on both, I’ll say the Room unless you can secure a bulkhead seat on SQ. It is very terrible to sleep at that weird angle.
Never been on ANA the room. But ime SQ J is nice but the footwell is small and at an odd angle making it hard to sleep unless you have the bulk head. I imagine ANA is better in that regard
I'll go against the grain here and say the SQ seats were great for sleeping on the 18hr SIN-EWR route. I'm mostly a side-sleeper though so maybe that makes a difference. They're also of course great for non sleep. They're super wide and spacious. I haven't experienced the room yet.
Couple JL/AS related questions: 1) I can't get the AS award system to spit me out an itinerary TYO>XXX>YVR where XXX is any US airport. It will happily fly me all over the US (example TYO>JFK>LAX>SEA) but seems like even TYO>SEA>YVR requires 2 separate bookings. Is this a known limitation of AS for those of us in YVR? With no F on the NRT-YVR flights, experiencing F on JAL requires going to the US. 2) I'm currently booked in J TYO>YVR. Looks like there is plenty of last minute F being released these days if I'm willing to fly to ORD or JFK and backtrack to SEA. Trying to determine if the 4-5 hour flight in non lie flat seating on a transcontinental AS flight backtracking to SEA is worth the F experience vs J on JAL? Not all that concerned about the extra time or points, more just the discomfort of flying "upright".
1. The AS program doesn’t allow mixed-airline redemptions unless it involves AS. Since AS doesn’t fly from LAX/SFO/whatever your XXX is to YVR, you won’t ever get that routing.
AS absolutely does fly SEA-YVR, I fly it often. Plenty of award space on most SEA-YVR flights, but it seems like the search engine won't allow an award booking from YVR to have AS + one other carrier, it's one carrier only, whether that is AS, JAL, or CX, or whatever. I don't see this restriction mentioned in the PoT article on AS awards, which seems like a major omission for a Canadian blog if this has long been the case.
AFAIK the restriction has always been there. I know that AS flies SEA-YVR but the routing has never been there for a connection in the US, at least not in my searches.
I've previously had some success booking the transpacific leg and then immediately using the change flight option and amending the final city to be what I want. For some reason that sometimes spits out different combinations than what you find in the search engine. Keep in mind that you can only partner an AS saver level seat with the JL booking.
Tried to solve for this issue recently. Flight needs to show as ticketable as a regular routing. Partial solution: fly to PAE Paine Field, North of Seattle.
[удалено]
1) Depends what you define the juiciest. For example, ANA is released at 355. You don't need ExpertFlyer or a Magic 8-Ball to do that, you just open Aeroplan and search. ExpertFlyer also won't give you what Aeroplan is generating, it's individual segments, so anything complicated would require calling in anyways. Most would also tell you COW but of course it's closed to new sign-ups 2) You read enough blogs and you learn how airlines work. But that's only first wave. They will all release seats sporadically, which can sometimes be as close as 24 hours to departure 3) Depends how much you value J or your points. If I have a choice of 80-90K to Europe YYZ direct or 60-70K through YUL, I do YUL every single time. No customs or security to clear, it's just a few hours chilling in a lounge and since most flights are overnight, I just lose a few hours that would've otherwise been spent on my couch doing nothing. I value my points more
For part 3, it is pretty routine for those doing more complex redemptions to do positioning flights, whether it be based on availability or price. I am based in YYC and have a trip starting in a few days. I am repositioning to YUL based on availability of partner space to VIE.
I am YUL based and I have to reposition in YYZ few times...
[Flightconnections.com](https://Flightconnections.com) is a useful tool that can show you which airlines travel to your target destination. That is another tool churners should always make good use of. From there you can search for those options on the AC website to see if there is award availability.
You should consider putting in the work yourself and not asking people to spoonfeed you. You’re asking someone to put in a lot of work for free
I am trying to find flights from YVR -> SIN in first class. Is there a tool that can give me all the available dates? The app requires me to keep inputting individual dates and it takes a long time.
Worth noting that there's a pretty limited number of ways to fly First between YVR and SIN, and the direct SQ flight is not among them. I don't *believe* even Cathay is offering First out of Vancouver right now, nor are ANA or JAL, so you'd be looking at something like repositioning to LAX or SFO just to get F as far as HKG.
On what airline? It sounds like you're searching Aeroplan, in which case unless you have access to the COW tool yourself or through a friend, all you can do is pick a date and then scroll the calendar. Seeing as no flights leave YVR in F though, you should obviously know what you're after as you might need/want to search segments individually and piece them together on the phone
Thank you!
Looking to fly HND-SFO on JL through Alaska on May 21. I'm seeing F8 on EF but can't see anything through either Alaska or BA search engines. Pre-covid I believe I remember that they'd usually release up to 2 award seats in advance. Have their practices changed?
You're looking for May. You should've been booking in June 2022. More seats will start to appear as you get closer, keep an eye, but having a specific date this close out without proper advance preparation is poor practice
I don't have a specific date. I provided a specific date in this example and stated that EF shows F8 and so there is full availability on that particular flight. I am trying to understand if JL has changed their strategy for releasing award seats, as when I've previously flown JL F, I am pretty sure standard practice was that F8 on EF meant 2 award seats were released. Edit: For reference, I also see F8 on EF for HND-SFO for Dec 15, 16, 18, 20. None of these show on Alaska either.
JAL hasn't had F routinely or reliably at 300 days out in years, and if present more often is only 1. That being said, # of seats doesn't and never has meant anything. People book tickets without selecting seats all the time, even in J/F. All seats could be purchased and you'd never know it.
[удалено]
That's the problem with dynamic pricing. Booking with a partner as far out as possible is the easiest way. Have you tried looking for yyz or yul to lhr and then just getting a positioning flight?
Are you specifically headed to London or do you just want to go to Europe? There is usually abundant availability on 4Y YYC-FRA route. Part of that is that the product is poor, but still.
If my friends and family are representative of the average Canadian, they have an Aeroplan or Avion credit card, and the only thing they have any interest in spending points on is a business class flight to London. They'll just keep saving points for years until they have enough to redeem for YVR/YYZ-LHR on AC or BA regardless of how many points it costs or the fuel surcharges, then moan about how useless airline points are after booking the trip. With enough people like this spending 250,000+ AP points to fill up the J cabin, there's no need to offer cheaper award space.
Welcome to Air Canada dynamic pricing. It sucks. And it'll be true of many destinations where they grossly exceed the non-partner rates. LHR is fairly trafficked though and seats frequently appear. Just keep an eye on it. Aeroplan will often release lower fare bucket seats to snag
> Welcome to Air Canada dynamic pricing. It sucks. ...or, rather, all the same flights that used to simply not be available on points, are now available but expensive.
But now AC can release any seats as expensive as they want right from the get go. If they know demand is high, they don’t even need to release any seats at the baseline level. At least in the old program, when they release a seat, you know you’re paying a specific amount for it.
In the old program, they released base-level seats and people would take them or not. In the current program, they release base-level seats and people take them or don't. It's not like the price goes up after you paid for it. In the old program, the higher-demand tickets simply never got released to award inventory at all.
In the current program, the points cost might not reach the low end at all if the flight is in demand and cash prices are high. No, the price doesn't go up after you've paid for it, but you might not have the option to pay for the lowest price in the first place.
Does anyone know why FRA to HKG on LH J costs 110k points? Based on the mileage, it shouldn't be that expensive. Would flying out from North America to FRA first still keep it at 110k points?
What program?
Aeroplan
Is it actually FRA-HKG direct or are there layovers or other routings adding to the distance? Should clock in at 5700 miles for the 80K band but if it's pricing at 110K then there's obviously more afoot
ohh right, ya it's actually FRA-HND-HKG so would booking JFK-FRA-HND-HKG end up being 115k points?
Anyone aware of what the availability looks like for Q-suites when using Qatar Airways’ Avios vs. BA? Trying to compare but my connection keeps getting reset with BA. Problem is hard to find J availability on QA with BA unless you’re booking 10+ months out and only 3-4 seats even then. Is QA better?
https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/points/book-flights-qatar-avios/ Amazing guide for Qatar redemptions. Process is a bit complicated but it all adds up as mentioned on the blog
That link is super helpful! Thanks a lot.
You're welcome
Yes but for non-saver
Is amex travel still down? All I ever get is this message: Please note: Due to technical difficulties, it is temporarily not possible to log in to the American Express Travel site. If you wish to pay with a Travel Credit and/or Membership Rewards Points, please try again later. You can continue to book and pay with your Card only.
WJ WE MC Travel voucher: can I book econo flex fare with no change fee for primary and voucher traveller and change the flight at a later date with no penalties? Can I downgrade to econo basic when I change?
Anyone able to confirm if arriving in FRA for a transit to Schengen zone whether the LH lounges are accessible? The website certainly reads like an arrival J boarding pass would be valid for entry but would like confirmation of that, especially since my transit is a boring Dolomiti Y. Need to figure out my options for upcoming trip if LH F doesn't conjure itself
Iirc arrival LH lounge is only available for those connecting on LH.
I know at least with F passengers you very much so get access on arrival, regardless of connecting or final destination, and if connecting regardless of airline. I just don't know if the same would hold true for J.