Qantas First Lounge Access Rules [Guesting]

[HBA747]

Travelling party of a family of 4.

2 passengers BA F
2 passengers CX J

According to the qantas first lounge Sydney website[TABLE="class: basic, width: 500"]
[TR="class: last"]
[TH]International First oneworld Customers
[/TH]
[TD]Next onward flight that day must be on a oneworld operated and marketed flight.#
One guest allowed and must be travelling on aoneworld operated and marketed flight.#
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Lounge Locations | Australia | Sydney International | International First

However I was very arrogantly and rudely told that the 2 CX passengers (my parents) would not have access. I argued for 10 minutes to no avail and my parents decided to head to the business lounge. Extremely embarrassing for them.

I am even more angry as I confirmed that we would all have access with one of the ladies at the F lounge desk on a recent trip 3 weeks ago. She confirmed that indeed all 4 of us would be able to access the lounge with no problems on this current trip. Then we turn up today, and are told in an extremely aggressive manner that we are wrong, and offered no apology for the incorrect information from the staff member at the desk the previous visit, or for the incorrect info on the website (which i showed him on my phone, although he was extremely reluctant to look).

I am also QF WP which doesn't matter in this case, however with all the time i spend flying Qantas, I had hoped for better.

Can someone please tell me whether i'm right or wrong in this case (maybe redroo)? If i'm wrong i'm happy to cop the criticism and move on. Am I missing something?

 

[Princess Fiona]

Travelling party of a family of 4.

2 passengers BA F
2 passengers CX J

According to the qantas first lounge Sydney website[TABLE="class: basic, width: 500"]
[TR="class: last"]
[TH]International First oneworld Customers
[/TH]
[TD]Next onward flight that day must be on a oneworld operated and marketed flight.#
One guest allowed and must be travelling on aoneworld operated and marketed flight.#
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Lounge Locations | Australia | Sydney International | International First

However I was very arrogantly and rudely told that the 2 CX passengers (my parents) would not have access. I argued for 10 minutes to no avail and my parents decided to head to the business lounge. Extremely embarrassing for them.

I am even more angry as I confirmed that we would all have access with one of the ladies at the F lounge desk on a recent trip 3 weeks ago. She confirmed that indeed all 4 of us would be able to access the lounge with no problems on this current trip. Then we turn up today, and are told in an extremely aggressive manner that we are wrong, and offered no apology for the incorrect information from the staff member at the desk the previous visit, or for the incorrect info on the website (which i showed him on my phone, although he was extremely reluctant to look).

I am also QF WP which doesn't matter in this case, however with all the time i spend flying Qantas, I had hoped for better.

Can someone please tell me whether i'm right or wrong in this case (maybe redroo)? If i'm wrong i'm happy to cop the criticism and move on. Am I missing something?

I think you have been very unlucky and the rules could and should IMHO have been interpreted differently. As a QF WP you are entitled to one guest who must be travelling on the same flight, but as an Int One World F Passenger both you and your travelling companion in BA F can have one guest each who must be travelling on a OW flight. There is no "travelling on the same/with" caveat with this type of guesting on the QF website. I would email Customer Care and PM Red Roo for explanation and clarification

 

[Mr_Orange]

I would definitely be seeking clarification from Red Roo and sending the feedback to customer care about the conflicting information you were given and the manner in which it was delivered.

Herein lies the problem with the fact that QF have different rules for their own FFs as compared to 1W. Since the 1W rules are more favourable for the pax, I would elect to be treated as a 1W pax, but do QF see you as a QF pax (i.e. a member of QFF) and apply the more restrictive rules.

In your case, I think you were treated harshly, as you were booked on BA F, and therefore a 1W pax, irrespective of your QF status.

 

[JohnK]

It would appear they have got the access rules wrong this time.

If you were accessing the First lounge as a Qantas First customer or Qantas Platinum then guest would need to be on same flight.

I would provide feedback and demand compensation for the inconvenience.

 

[cmon0005]

I suspect although the QF's website T+C's for Oneworld F and Emeralds may be vaguely written, you should be able to guest them in as they were flying a OW marketed and operated airline (CX) Lounge access - oneworld. The way you were spoken to and treated sounds terrible and I would definitely write a complaint. I wonder if this is due to new staff (accor) operating the lounge? still not good enough for QF's premium lounge.

 

[HBA747]

I very carefully explained to the gentleman at the front desk that QF WP has nothing to do with this access and he agreed with me.
But he then continued to explain to me that we didn't have access, even as 2 x BA F customers. He refused to look at the webpage above until I brought it up on my phone and asked him to come around the desk to look at it. He continued to talk over me about how we didn't have access. So i waited for his rant to finish, and then forced him to look at it. He completely ignored it until I asked him several times to report it to the Qantas online team so others aren't stuck in the same position. He reluctantly agreed. However i believe he is a 100 to 1 chance of actually following through.

 

[markis10]

I very carefully explained to the gentleman at the front desk that QF WP has nothing to do with this access and he agreed with me.
But he then continued to explain to me that we didn't have access, even as 2 x BA F customers. He refused to look at the webpage above until I brought it up on my phone and asked him to come around the desk to look at it. He continued to talk over me about how we didn't have access. So i waited for his rant to finish, and then forced him to look at it. He completely ignored it until I asked him several times to report it to the Qantas online team so others aren't stuck in the same position. He reluctantly agreed. However i believe he is a 100 to 1 chance of actually following through.

Why don't you ring the lounge and ask for the manager?

 

[HBA747]

Currently in the lounge with my sister, but I'm not sure how much point there is going back to the desk. The same man is still there!

 

[HBA747]

RedRoo? Would appreciate some feedback?

 

[cmon0005]

Currently in the lounge with my sister, but I'm not sure how much point there is going back to the desk. The same man is still there!

I've found there is nothing more effective than asking to speak to a manager in front of a staff member(that caused the poor service), it might highlight their own behaviour to themselves. Ask to speak to the Lounge Manager in private (not the shift supervisor), and relay the situation in full to them.

 

[casanovawa]

Those access rules seem pretty black and white to me so how he screwed up interpreting them got no idea...

Did you get his name so you could say you will take this up later with QF, that alone might have made him think discretion was the better part of valour, although they probably deal with quite a few grumpy, DYKWIA types daily...

Yep, if still there, go the Lounge Manager...

 

[Isochronous]

Demand a First Lounge pass as compensation.

 

[Kangol]

Demand a First Lounge pass as compensation.

..per person.

OP, did you get that person's name? Or have a description of their appearance? Or a photo of said person so they can be named and shamed?

 

[Flying mermaid]

That is terrible and very embarrassing for both you and your parents. I think sometimes airlines lose track of how a bit of courtesy can defuse a situation....I would certainly have escalated this to a manager - - the access rules are complicated and I am often unsure of my rights, but there is no excuse for rudeness to a customer. The person concerned really needs to have someone in authority explain to him how the rules work so he doesn't get it wrong again - maybe they need some sort of flow chart taped out of sight that they can refer to particularly one world vs Qantas.....

 

[under the radar]

That is terrible and very embarrassing for both you and your parents. I think sometimes airlines lose track of how a bit of courtesy can defuse a situation....I would certainly have escalated this to a manager - - the access rules are complicated and I am often unsure of my rights, but there is no excuse for rudeness to a customer. The person concerned really needs to have someone in authority explain to him how the rules work so he doesn't get it wrong again - maybe they need some sort of flow chart taped out of sight that they can refer to particularly one world vs Qantas.....

every/any airline lounge should have a printed copy of its lounge access rules specific to that lounge as quick reference...would save a lot of hassle....and eliminate any staff 'interpretations'..

 

[defurax]

Have you suggested to him to remove your FF number from your booking to gain entry according to OWrules. I know it's not necessary, but I wonder if he would have understood your point then...

 

[DC3]

How embarrassing for you and your parents.

While in hindsight you may have given in too easily at the time, I can see why your parents would have had enough of the treatment that was being delivered at the front desk and decided to leave.

This needs to be followed up with management.

 

[serfty]

every/any airline lounge should have a printed copy of its lounge access rules specific to that lounge as quick reference...would save a lot of hassle....and eliminate any staff 'interpretations'..

Does not always work - some people believe they know it all by rote, so don't consider there to be a need for themselves to refer to written content. What they don't understand is they they cannot remember what they may have forgotten/missed or has been changed.

I very carefully explained to the gentleman at the front desk that QF WP has nothing to do with this access and he agreed with me.
But he then continued to explain to me that we didn't have access, even as 2 x BA F customers. He refused to look at the webpage above until I brought it up on my phone and asked him to come around the desk to look at it. He continued to talk over me about how we didn't have access. So i waited for his rant to finish, and then forced him to look at it. He completely ignored it until ...

I would suggest it was more important for this person not to be wrong than to risk that to read such content might proved incorrect.

... He completely ignored it until I asked him several times to report it to the Qantas online team so others aren't stuck in the same position. He reluctantly agreed. However i believe he is a 100 to 1 chance of actually following through.

This is slightly contradictory; If there was anything to report to "the Qantas online team" then he must have been indicating there was an error.

 

[RooFlyer]

By all means complain to Qantas, but strictly it appears that you have actually been denied your access rights by BA - with Qantas acting as their 'agent'. Make a separate complaint to BA for appropriate compensation - hopefully BA will take delight in taking it up with QF at appropriate levels.

QF might listen to BA more than an individual pax traveling on BA (ie for the benefit of future travelers in the same situation).

 

[Austman]

every/any airline lounge should have a printed copy of its lounge access rules specific to that lounge as quick reference...would save a lot of hassle....and eliminate any staff 'interpretations'..

Some do. At least a soft copy version. But sometimes it doesn't agree with what's published publicly on-line. I've been refused entry on that very basis. I pointed out the on-line rules (Star Alliance Rules - from the Star Alliance website) and they said "sorry we have to go by the rules we have here in front of us". They even acknowleded the published Star Alliance info but still said it they couldn't change "their" rules.