EK Gold denied access to QF lounge in MEL

[Rourke]

Hi folks,

Time for my first post here after several months of lurking. I've been flying more this year, earning Skywards Gold through trips to Europe, and only a couple of weeks away from the same with Qantas (Silver last year). The code-share arrangement has been a big benefit to me, since I can use QP on domestic travel with EK Gold card, most recently last week in MEL & CBR.

I've also been able to do the same thing on several international flights, until now. On Wednesday morning I presented at the International Business Lounge at MEL, flying to JFK, and was denied access because I had my QFF number on my ticket. The woman at the counter said I would be welcome to enter if I took the QFF number off and replaced it with my EK number. This seems absurd: I can neither earn EK points or SC on that route nor book it through EK as the US market is not included in their deal.

She said that a new advisory had gone to staff this week that Skywards members could not access the lounge if they were earning QFF points on the flight! I pointed her to the lounge's own webpage, which does not show anything of the sort and does not appear to have changed, but she was adamant. I had to concede defeat after giving up on the telephone queue to Qantas. Maybe Emirates would have been the airline to call?

I've written to Qantas without reply so far (the only other time I had a complaint it took three weeks to respond superficially, so I'm not holding my breath). Two questions for the forum: has anyone else had this experience or seen the changed policy? And could I have changed the FF number, entered the lounge, then called Qantas and changed it back?

Advice please ...

 

[Austman]

Sounds very wrong! And the issue seems to be cropping up elsewhere too! Others have suggested a PM to Red Roo.

Did you try to access the EK lounge instead? (But I guess it could have been closed by then)

 

[Rourke]

Did you try to access the EK lounge instead?

I tried that a while ago in Sydney, because the Emirates lounge is so much better. It was a long walk, and the EK staff at the time said I couldn't enter there either with a QF booking. That was when the arrangement was just starting, so I'm not sure if it's allowed now.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

This is disgusting and utter rubbish. RED ROO - fix it

 

[Princess Fiona]

This is disgusting and utter rubbish. RED ROO - fix it

Couldn't agree more.
IIRC the Qantas/Emirates Alliance is supposed to afford reciprocal lounge access with a couple of exceptions (Americas, New Zealand and South Africa) of which Melbourne is neither.
AFAIK there has never been anything published stating that Lounge Access is dependent on which program the flight is crediting to.
Urgent clarification needed and if a mistake has been made a swift apology to the OP and some staff education.
Perhaps the staff have been outsourced from BA?
*runs*

 

[Kef]

Umm, I must not be reading this correctly and sorry in advance if I have misunderstood your problem. According to your profile your status is QFF silver and you had you QF number on your ticket, this would show on the lounge computers your status being silver and based on that you wouldnt get access into the International Bus Lounge as a silver QF?
If on the other hand if your EK number was on the ticket it would have been a different story.

So I personally don't see you problem.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Umm, I must not be reading this wrong and sorry in advance if I have misunderstood your problem. According to your profile your status is QFF silver and you had you QF number on your ticket, this would show on the lounge computers your status being silver and based on that you wouldnt get access into the International Bus Lounge as a silver QF?
If on the other hand if your EK number was on the ticket it would have been a different story.

So I personally don't see you problem.

The problem is that there shouldn't be any reason why someone cannot credit a flight to one FF program and use their status on another to obtain lounge access etc
Known as FQTV/FQTS
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....sion/ff-benefits-without-having-ff-34862.html

 

[fersea]

Umm, I must not be reading this correctly and sorry in advance if I have misunderstood your problem. According to your profile your status is QFF silver and you had you QF number on your ticket, this would show on the lounge computers your status being silver and based on that you wouldnt get access into the International Bus Lounge as a silver QF?
If on the other hand if your EK number was on the ticket it would have been a different story.

So I personally don't see you problem.

but if he has an EK gold card and also shows that.

I am sitting in the CBR Q Club with a flight booked as a QF bronze but showed my Cathay Marco Polo Gold card.

On the subject if boarding passes, it seems they now just scan you Qantas FF card.

 

[Rourke]

Kef, I had my Skywards Gold card with me, and that has always been enough in the past to gain entry to Qantas lounges if I'm flying QF. Doesn't matter whether it's code-share or not, domestic or international, any info on the boarding pass: that's the way that we have all understood it to work and how it has worked on probably 15-20 QF flights for me this year. OTOH, the lounge guardian would agree with you

 

[Kef]

The problem is that there shouldn't be any reason why someone cannot credit a flight to one FF program and use their status on another to obtain lounge access etc
Known as FQTV/FQTS
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....sion/ff-benefits-without-having-ff-34862.html

Yes, Princess Fiona, I knew I was missing some point or another, feeling stupid about now as I do enough travelling to know better.

 

[Kef]

Kef, I had my Skywards Gold card with me, and that has always been enough in the past to gain entry to Qantas lounges if I'm flying QF. Doesn't matter whether it's code-share or not, domestic or international, any info on the boarding pass: that's the way that we have all understood it to work and how it has worked on probably 15-20 QF flights for me this year. OTOH, the lounge guardian would agree with you

Yes Rourke you are right , Your Skywards card should have allowed you in.

 

[vitagen]

Ouch, this is messed up indeed.

 

[Timba-Jet]

If this is an official new policy by QF, then absolute garbage!!!

I would be prepared to cause a big scene at the lounge if this ever happened, unless the website T&C's stated this.

If this is indeed a new QF policy, what's to stop a person not entering a FF number in booking, showing their card to access priority checkin, lounge, and the submit a claim post flight.
Stupid......

 

[Speedbird001]

Yes, you could have changed then changed back once in lounge but must be done before boarding as this is the final trigger confirming flight taken and points, etc awarded.

This is a classic case of the lounge operator wanting their revenue from another airline using its lounge, and for it to do so everything needs to be in order.

Not telling members of course is typical and woeful.

 

[scwappy]

Yes, you could have changed then changed back once in lounge but must be done before boarding as this is the final trigger confirming flight taken and points, etc awarded.

I was told recently in the QF lounge in AKL I could not change frequent flyer numbers from QF to EK as I had already checked in. Seemed strange....

 

[Danger]

There was a thread on a very similar topic to this about three months ago. I was one of the ones who had been turned from a Qantas domestic J lounge because I had my AA Sapphire membership on the boarding pass. The lounge agent was adamant that I couldn't access the lounge with my AA number on the ticket. I too was told that the FF number used at check-in was the number that would determine the benefits and it wasn't possible to change after that. I also posted a month or so ago about calling QF just before I boarded a flight to change from QF to AA numbers. The agent, politely, gave me a bit of a talking to, saying she would make a note of what I'd done and that it was not allowed.

In Perth I went to the lounge to outline my dissatisfaction. The duty manager there said there had been a misunderstanding of the communication sent to staff that week and that the FF membership number issue related to the QF/EK relationship, not to other airlines. Apparently, a lot of passengers had been using their QF membership to access the EK lounges, particularly in DXB, but crediting flights to EK.

Once again I'm reminded of the 'how do you keep them on the farm when you've shown them the city?' analogy. It would seem QF has created this issue for itself and while it all seems fine and dandy on the surface (reciprocity and all that), dig a little deeper and it's not what we've long been told.

 

[eastwest101]

Once again I'm reminded of the 'how do you keep them on the farm when you've shown them the city?' analogy. It would seem QF has created this issue for itself and while it all seems fine and dandy on the surface (reciprocity and all that), dig a little deeper and it's not what we've long been told.

Correct indeed - and I remember a number of people here in AFF were saying similar things when the QF/EK tie-up was still in the early discussion stage, along the lines of what are QF thinking showing their elites the service and hard and soft product on EK and still expecting their QF elite passengers to stick with QFF after they have seen what life is like on the other side?

 

[Ansett]

I was on QF151 yesterday and the QF lounge was closed at that time so went into the EK lounge just showed QF Boarding no issue and was welcomed in. I cant see why this shouldnt be the same for EK Golds getting into QF lounges. I think that if this is how QF treats people they will lose passengers for sure. Very short sighted in my opinion.

I have now tasted the City with EK First last night AKL to MEL and the farm seems very ordinary now

 

[FxTrader]

...I have now tasted the City with EK First last night AKL to MEL and the farm seems very ordinary now

Yup.
Ek A380 J is also not what you find on the farm.
Love the J window seats with their semi private suite like space.

 

[knightman7]

I'm sure this has been addresses elsewhere, but is it possible to just let the lounge staff change your FF number to EK at the entrance to gain access to the lounge, then jump online when inside the lounge to change it back to QF. Or, even more cheeky, get the staff to do it on the way out lol