[austline]

As a QF platinum very happy to travel QF/EK, F lounge Mel, F Lounge Dxb and warm welcome on both carriers regardless of class I am in. I have flown QF/EK 3 times this year PE to Dxb and EK Y to Acc , Nbo and Lhr and off next week to Acc. The alliance works really well for me. After much criticism I believe QF made the right decision, and after reading the above comments and ABT Aust article I certainly will not be travelling on QR..

[IanFromHKG]

“QatarAirwaysSocial – 06/11/2013 05:05 GMT : Hello. We’d like to make a correction: oneworld Emerald & Sapphire members DO get access to Oryx lounge at Doha International Airport irrespective of whether they are in transit or are commencing their travel in DOH.
We hope this is useful to all of you. All the best.
Michael Stellwag
Qatar Airways Social Media”

No, Michael, you have completely missed the point. The Oryx lounge is in the main terminal, not the premium terminal, which is what the OP was complaining about. Furthermore, it isn’t an F lounge, it is a combined F/J lounge. It even allows paying guests irrespective of class of travel or elite status. It appears to be a contract lounge… To which, under oneworld rules, elite passengers can be denied access: “Access to some lounges operated by third-parties on behalf of oneworld member airlines may be restricted at some times”. Its shortcomings are perfectly illustrated by this description of the catering, quoted from your website: “Soups, salads, fruits and sandwiches”.

Wow.

Furthermore, I must say I am dismayed that QR are denying access to the F lounge in LHR and in the Doha premium terminal to oneworld emeralds. Although – as noted in my post above – this restriction as regards LHR appears hidden away deep in the oneworld website it is NOT apparent from the part of the oneworld site that most people look at. THAT part of the site provides specific exclusions for arrival lounges and the Concorde Rooms, it does NOT exclude the QR lounge. Furthermore, even though access to Concorde Rooms is excluded, BA DO provide F lounges in both the relevant locations so oneworld emerald members can’t really say they are missing out on F lounge access privileges. By denying access to the F lounges without having a “first class” alternative, QR are playing fast and loose with oneworld global standards.

You joined an alliance – in fact the only alliance – which provides top-tier frequent fliers with access to F lounges. If you don’t follow suit and play by the rules, you dilute the alliance brand, and you deter the most frequent fliers in the alliance – those who, by their very nature, you should be working hardest to attract – from choosing your airline.

And to illustrate this point… Only two weeks ago the memsahib and I (both oneworld emerald) were actively looking at QR flights (in business class) between HKG and LHR as we start to plan the half-dozen or so return trips we will make next year. Lounge access wouldn’t normally be a deciding factor in our decisions, but I have to say that this rather cavalier approach to oneworld membership and recognition is doing nothing to persuade us that you are an appropriate alternative to non-stop flights on CX or BA, particularly given that we would apparently be denied access to the first class facilities in Doha en routes and again in London on our return

I was really excited about QR joining oneworld, but not any more…

EDITED TO ADD: austline’s post above, which appeared while I was composing mine, reinforces perfectly the point I am making about how this approach is deterring, rather than attracting, the alliance members QR should be working hardest to bring (quite literally) on board

[freshaz]

Thank you very much Ian_from_HKG for adding flesh to this argument.
Whats to stop other OneWorld members from doing the same thing? AA restricts Flagship Access, Cathay does the same in HKG, QF does the same in Sydney and BA does the same with all its First and Galleries lounges.

[IanFromHKG]

Er… I don’t think that’s correct, freshaz. I have accessed the AA Flagship lounges, QF Sydney lounge and BA First lounges with my CX emeral status, and I happen to know that CX allow other emerald members into their own lounges

[esselle]

The Business Lounge in the Premium terminal is actually not that far behind the F lounge there in terms of space, facilities, catering etc., so using it is hardly a hardship.

The lounges in HIA, when it eventually opens, will eclipse anything that currently exists.

[superchris]

A BA gold transferring through Doha in economy will get no lounge access?? ouch. Thats poor.

In Qatar’s defence though, their capacity in Doha is tight anyway so presumably if they did let them all in there would be carnage with no seats etc.

That said, should they not have just waited until the new airport opens to join oneworld, or dish our refreshment / wifi vouchers perhaps. I would be very unhappy.

[freshaz]

No Ian,I apologize for not making my point clearer. What I meant is that what is to stop the other carriers from restricting access in the same manner, ie what will stop AA and Cathay from doing the same thing with their Lounges if no noise is made about Qatar.

[CXDiamond]

As both SQ and LH have long demonstrated lounges can be designated according to their wishes. Nothing but an LH group F ticket will get you into an F lounge at FRA or MUC and nothing but an SQ F ticket will get you into TPR at SIN.

QR are simply applying a similar policy and IMO quite rightly. The Premium Terminal at Doha is capacity constrained and the last thing needed is a lot of Y pax being accommodated too.

Bear in mind that the new terminal should have been open by now but I suspect when it is there will be QR F & C lounges and then maybe one for OW status card holders which will be the same as the system SQ operate in SIN for *G card holders. It works very well and although I’ve never been in that lounge, I understand it is better than many F & C lounges in other places.

[IanFromHKG]

superchris – no, that’s not correct, as the QR rep said above there is lounge access – it is just that it is a shared uniclass lounge.

freshaz – please don’t apologise, now I go back and reread your post I realise I misread it… So I should be apologising to you 🙂

CXDiamond – we don’t often disagree, but we do now. One of the main distinguishing features of oneworld as against other alliances is that top-tier members get access to first class lounges (SQ and LH are both Star Alliance, which don’t offer this perk). Even where exceptions are made for “special” lounges such as the Concorde Room, an F lounge is still available. As I said above, I have no argument with QR not allowing economy pax into the premium terminal (although I do think the oneworld site could make this more clear). What I *do* have an issue with is where an emerald member is entitled to the premium terminal (by virtue of flying J) and is then denied access to the F lounge. Similarly, I have a problem with QR denying emerald access to the F lounge in LHR. The oneworld promise, as currently written, is that if there is an F lounge in the relevant terminal, emerald members get access to it. QR are breaking this promise.

[LuganoPirate]

Some good points there Ian and I would feel aggrieved if I could not use the lounge to which I’m normally entitled, especially if I’d deliberately chosen QR and have to put up with it’s midnight transfers.

I’m not trying to defend them, but CXDiamond’s comment about the Premium Terminal being constrained, as witnessed by Mrs. LP who passed through last weekend, is spot on, and I’m guessing QR thought the new terminal would be open by now in time for them joining OW.

However, one big negative I see in Y Pax using the Premium Terminal is the bus transfer, and I’m wondering if this has more to do with the situation than anything else?

At the moment Business passengers are put into small buses and whisked off pretty quickly to the lounge – even if the journey itself can take 20 minutes! If you’re at the back of the bus with your Gold etc card, the premium buses will have long gone before you’re off. Imagine the complaints if they held a Business Class bus back to pick up perhaps one Y Pax, and would QR provide a bus especially for a low revenue passenger?

I don’t know if this is the reason or if it will change with the new terminal, time will tell I guess?

[LuganoPirate]

PS. At least we had some response from Qatar, unlike other airlines/airports we so often moan and bitch about, so well done them, even if it wasn’t the complete answer we were looking for.

Michael, perhaps you can shine some more light on this policy and my comments above? Thanks.

[FormerlyDoS]

I support Qatar’s decision.

When I pay for a premium travel experience, that’s what I want.

I don’t want the premium lounges crammed full of economy passengers because they hold status with another airline, I want a bit of space and calmness.

BA silver/gold is very easy to obtain, as can be seen when boarding short haul flights, where the priority boarding queue is often longer than the normal one.

QR is providing lounge access for oneworld card holders in Y the Oryx lounge, which is perfectly nice and adequate, I use it when I shuttle between DOH and DXB, on Flydubai.

Why should BA gold card holders, not in F, get access to the F lounge at Doha, when QR equivalents will not get access to the Concorde Room? Seems fair enough, to me.

I do not see anything on the QR website that suggests that access to the premium lounges is available to non premium class travellers.

I agree with an earleir poster that the oneworld site fails to exclude the premium terminal (whereas it esceludes the Concorde rooms), but when using the lounge locator, only the Oryx and Silver lounges in the main terminal are shown as available.

In conclusion, QR offers proper premium lounges for premium customers.

[stevescoots]

@ Ian “I have a problem with QR denying emerald access to the F lounge in LHR”

There is a QR F lounge in LHR? not to my knowledge, its a great joint F&J lounge in T4. Not at all big and no way could accommodate every top level OW member using it,

[freshaz]

FormerlyDos

What a few people are overlooking here for reasons best explained by themselves, is that the main contention raised here is about J pax with emerald status and not Y apparently “low revenue”.
Another issue which may have been looked over, is what about F pax travelling with other OneWorld members? They too seem to excluded.
What bothers me is the potential effect this will have.

[IanFromHKG]

FormerlyDoS – 06/11/2013 08:35 GMT : Why should BA gold card holders, not in F, get access to the F lounge at Doha, when QR equivalents will not get access to the Concorde Room? Seems fair enough, to me.

Because QR equivalents will get access to an F lounge in London, and the Concorde Room is specifically carved out of the oneworld lounge access rules whereas QR F lounges are not. As I said above, a central part of oneworld top-tier membership is access to F lounges, and QR aren’t delivering

“I do not see anything on the QR website that suggests that access to the premium lounges is available to non premium class travellers.”

But you WILL see it on the oneworld site

[Author]

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