[nevereconomy]

So in some respects flying world class QR is not as world class as they would have you believe – correct ?

[Wolfman]

Nevereconomy – absolutely correct but then it is the same as their country……….I am actually ok with QR and use them quite frequently on long haul back to UK they are very good but they are certainly NOT a 5* airline and in the past year I would suggest that standards have slipped A LOT. e.g. are the aircraft as clean when one embarks as they used to be?; the flight attendants, whilst very attentive and understanding fully that in this part of the world they are treated like sh–t, just a smile now and again might alleviate their glum faces. But then if you know the history of the QR stewardesses then you understand why they are glum all the time. Like us, if they know they are escaping the sandpit for a few days SMILE. IFE is great if you want to use it, food and beveridge service I find absolutely fine only gripe is no Gordons on board. Just think QR have let their standards slip and grown far to rapidly.

[Ahmad]

Has anyone travelled through Doha recently and used the new Al Safwa Lounge? I have a longish layover coming up next week and would greatly appreciate any tips on making the most of my ‘lounge’ time there. All my best for the festive season to all forum members.

[TravellerT]

Leaving Dubai recently, and appalled by the tiny size of the brand new BA lounge, I took my travelling companion to the new Qatar lounge, branded Oneworld above the door. Despite being a Gold BA member, i was refused access to the lounge on the grounds that “BA has its own lounge here”. I explained that this was not OneWorld policy (except for a very limited number of lounges), and noted that they had OneWorld branding above the door, but to no avail. Frankly, i think OneWorld should expel Qatar. They can’t have the benefit of membership, without offering the rewards to other members.

[TravellerT]

I would add that their LHR policy is also unfair and should be challenged. I appreciated carriers, such as BA, limiting access to a hyper-premium lounge like the Concorde Room, when they offer an alternative First Class lounge to their own frequent flyers. But to limit any access to a general business class lounge to OneWorld members is elitist and should be prohibited by OW rules. Ditto in Doha.

[HBHLondon]

Qatar gets away with murder and no one in Oneworld seems to care. Transiting in Doha I went to the First class lounge as being a Gold BA card holder travelling business with Qatar was entitled to use any First class lounge belonging to Oneword carriers (as stated clearly on the Oneworld and BA sites and everywhere) but was literally ‘sent’ to the Business class lounge. Another issue with QR and Doha is the confusion of the names and the appalling signs. Funny thing is that on one previous occasion I transited in Doha I was escorted to First lounge and I was travelling business with QR. The inconsistency of their ground services is as bad as on board stuff. One day good, next day appalling. ¿Is the shine and bling going away from QR? I had a dreadful flight from Hong Kong to Doha recently.

[FDOS_UK]

TravellerT

Neither ba.com nor the Oneworld website shows the QR Concourse D lounge as being available.

Whatever you think about QR policy, the airline is entitled to negotiate exclusions with Oneworld and it does – I have some sympathy, as the quality of its lounges and the F&B are much better (and presumably more expensive) than some other Oneworld carrier provided lounges and QR would end up standing the cost of rewarding other airline’s passengers, which doe not make sense. If you want access to QR’s premium lounges, you have to hold a ticket in J or F (including their own status members.) The ‘hyper-premium’ Concorde Room is not as good as the QR premium lounges, in my opinion and I’d put it roughly on a par with the Golden Falcon lounge (GF) at T4 – the QR and EY lounges are better.

At T4, Oneworld status passengers have had access to the Skyteam lounge in the past, which is very good IMHO, better for hot food than the Galleries Club lounges in T3/5.

Londoner 1966, there were some exceptions whilst DOH was getting up to speed, but QR are now giving broader access, check via the links below, but note”Qatar Airways Al Safwa and Al Mourjan lounges at Hamad International Airport in Doha and Qatar Airways Premium Lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 4 are excluded.” Also note British Airways Concorde lounges are excluded. What’s fair for the goose…..

Lounge Links

https://www.oneworld.com/ffp/lounge-access

https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/tiers-and-benefits/lounge-access

[farmerslodge]

Whilst broadly understanding all of the above posts, and being a regular traveler from Doha, the lounge BA gets use of is nothing short of a waste of time and money – the check in staff are still informing you at check in you can use the QR lounge, but the humiliation starts at the bottom of the escalator when you get turned around and directed to the excuse of a lounge round the corner – if you get a seat you are lucky, then its a rush for the soup on offer! its truly a waste of time with people crammed in and sprawled out everywhere, its like the underground during the blitz! I have now voted with my feet, pay the extra for QR and enjoy the experience far more – BA just don’t seem interested as usual – as has been said before the flight fills in Bahrain so why bother, the people just keep coming!!

[JohnHarper]

The Qatar lounge at LHR is not termed a ‘business’ lounge, it is termed a ‘premium’ lounge and is available to their own first and business class passengers. Anyone who has been in it knows that it is capacity constrained and there would not be room for gold and silver card holders seated in economy class. The standards of the QR premium lounge put any other lounge at LHR to shame so QR are right to safeguard it for their premium customers given the limited space.

Instead Qatar have put in place other more than adequate lounge arrangements in T4 for those people who choose to travel in economy class and who have OW status – including their own card holders.

In Doha there are in fact two first and two business class lounges, one of each, helpfully called the first class lounge and the business class lounge is open to status card holders and premium travellers not traveling with Qatar.

Qatar then have their own first and business class lounge for their own premium customers which having made other provision for OW customers, operate outside of OW rules a bit like the BA concorde room.

It’s not like they don’t make provision they just choose to provide it in slightly unconventional way.

[rferguson]

I think the QR lounges in DXB are actually contract lounges so would be excluded from the OW agreement. The oneworld.com website claims that both the QR Business and First class lounges are ‘operated by a third party’.

In DOH the oneworld.com website is ambiguous. In the lounge search facility the Qatar ‘First’ and ‘Business class’ lounges come up as the lounges for use of passengers flying on BA. No mention of Al Mourjan or Al Safwa. But in the footnotes, whilst the Mourjan/Safwa lounges are ‘excluded’ under ‘Oneworld lounge access for frequent flyers by tier status’ the only ‘exclusion’ under ‘Oneworld Lounge access for First or Business Class customers’ seems to apply to ‘guests’ of F/J travellers.

All very confusing!

[AleRomUY]

Dear JohnHarper, I agree with you.
For other gentlemen who claim that travel frequently thru or from DOH, they should already know about the distribution of lounges in DOH. So why do they still attempt to enter Al Mourjan or Al Safwa when not flying J or F respectively on QR?
I am a QR Platinum who always and only fly J class on QR. So, I know that I have to go to Al Mourjan; I don’t even attempt to go to Al Safwa because I know it is only for F class passengers. In the same way, if tomorrow I fly Y class on QR, even being Platinum, I know that I will not be able to access the lounge I normally do and I will proceed directly to the other provided lounges for status holders flying Y.
I fully agree with QR reserving dedicated lounges to its premium passengers.
I guess it is a matter of knowing each one’s rights and privileges according to what you pay, and so I don’t understand those people who knowing the rules, still attempt to get something for what they are not entitled and then feel “humiliated”.

[AnthonyDunn]

@AleRomUY – 27/04/2016 01:40 BST

Thanks for the heads-up and clarity on the lounge situation at DOH. I now know exactly where to go.

[HBHLondon]

Thank you FDOS_UK. Perhaps all this ocnfussion and inconvenience could be avoided by doing what Cathay Pacific does: along with boarding pass one gets an invitation card to a particular lounge. If that is too much, at least print something on boarding pass.

[MartynSinclair]

Why don’t Alliance airlines create and use shared lounges with the costs being split accordingly. The home airline, in this case QATAR, could create a space showing off the airline and national culture, whilst other airlines can still display branding.

This would solve the problem of which lounge to use and probably create far better lounges, without the need for alternative options.

world and the member airlines and let them pay accordingly.

Surely in Doha for example, that way, Qatar

[SimonS1]

I can appreciate why airlines are headed down this path.

BA has a lounge in Dubai, so in my view that should be the default option if travelling with BA.

I can appreciate that alliance facilities are useful where there is no other alternative (for example where service is infrequent and there is no dedicated lounge), however if BA provides something sub standard I don’t see its for other airlines to bail them out.

[Author]

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