[Confirmed Fixed - Maybe Not!] No LHR T5 Galleries access for QP before BA/QF flights

[LAH]

re: [QP mem] Refused access BA LHR T5 [Confirmed: no "Galleries" Access for QP]

A little lost - sorry to sound such a novice. Have just arrived back in the last couple of days from a gruelling trip. Leaving on November 4 to London. Will be flying on 11 November to Madrid from T5 with British Airways, Club Europe. I am Qantas Platinum. Does this mean no lounge access? I have a colleague travelling with me, and that is why we bought Club Europe tickets for lounge access to get some work done.

Arriving back to London on 11 November and travelling to Los Angeles with British Airways in business class (club) - will I have access to Concorde lounge?

Sorry, jetlag and exhaustion and maybe someone can give me the simple answers. Thank you so much.

 

[LAH]

Re: Qantas club BA lounge access

Looks like T5 Galleries lounge access for QP was not supposed to happen; this non access is now being enforced.

It seems to be true - Galleries are not terraces :evil:

but you are platinum .... and you were still refused?

 

[Princess Fiona]

re: [QP mem] Refused access BA LHR T5 [Confirmed: no "Galleries" Access for QP]

A little lost - sorry to sound such a novice. Have just arrived back in the last couple of days from a gruelling trip. Leaving on November 4 to London. Will be flying on 11 November to Madrid from T5 with British Airways, Club Europe. I am Qantas Platinum. Does this mean no lounge access? I have a colleague travelling with me, and that is why we bought Club Europe tickets for lounge access to get some work done.

Arriving back to London on 11 November and travelling to Los Angeles with British Airways in business class (club) - will I have access to Concorde lounge?

Sorry, jetlag and exhaustion and maybe someone can give me the simple answers. Thank you so much.

You will have access to the Galleries First Lounge at T5/T3 as WP/OWE, but not the Concorde Room. It is restricted to CCR card holders from BAEC and those travelling in 1st on BA.
Back OT I am totally disgusted with the behaviour of QF and BA over this impending public relations disaster.
If I had purchased a QP membership today I would be asking for a refund.
Shame on you Qantas, you have taken the loyalty of your QP members for granted.
This must be re-negotiated with BA forthwith.
QF can have all the creative codeshares they like with BA but if basic things like lounge access for QP members cannot be secured then it will be next to useless.
I will be writing to QF about this and I encourage any like minded AFF'ers to do the same :evil:

 

[Flying mermaid]

re: [QP mem] Refused access BA LHR T5 [Confirmed: no "Galleries" Access for QP]

A little lost - sorry to sound such a novice. Have just arrived back in the last couple of days from a gruelling trip. Leaving on November 4 to London. Will be flying on 11 November to Madrid from T5 with British Airways, Club Europe. I am Qantas Platinum. Does this mean no lounge access? I have a colleague travelling with me, and that is why we bought Club Europe tickets for lounge access to get some work done.

Arriving back to London on 11 November and travelling to Los Angeles with British Airways in business class (club) - will I have access to Concorde lounge?

Sorry, jetlag and exhaustion and maybe someone can give me the simple answers. Thank you so much.

Club Europe will get you access to the galleries lounge -as will one world status. the no lounge access is (for e.g.) someone travelling in Y with silver status or below (One world ruby). You could travel in Y with no status, but Qantas Club membership and that was enough to get you into Galleries Club.

 

[el_rooto]

re: [QP mem] Refused access BA LHR T5 [Confirmed: no "Galleries" Access for QP]

I guess it adds a substantial amount of value to SG....

 

[serfty]

but you are platinum .... and you were still refused?

No, WP and SG still get access, I made enquires on behalf of a QP "Friend".

 

[LAH]

re: [Confirmed] No QP lounge access BA LHR T5 before BA flights - No "galleries" rights

THANKS EVERYONE! Just realised that I got WP mixed up with QP.

 

[Bundy Bear]

Re: [Confirmed] No QP lounge access BA LHR T5 before BA flights - No "galleries" righ

This is certainly one change I don't like, Qantas spent the last few years telling us how good their European network with the help of British Airways and the new T5 set up and now they are telling us that Qantas Club members are no longer important enough.

Currently I am Qantas Platinum but I am a Qantas Club Life member, always thought that I would have the Qantas Club to fall back on if I stopped flying lots.

Where is Red Roo?

 

[Flashback]

Re: [Confirmed] No QP lounge access BA LHR T5 before BA flights - No "galleries" righ

I now realise having looked at the BA website that QP members will be able to access the lounges in Jersey, Manchester and Newcastle:
View attachment 4276
As the others are galleries then QP members will be out of luck.
I hope this isn't being implemented
Red Roo can you please look into this ?

Especially given that they've been going through and "refurbishing" the Terraces lounges and then when re-opening, naming them a Galleries lounge (from what I recall, anyway).

This is certainly one change I don't like, Qantas spent the last few years telling us how good their European network with the help of British Airways and the new T5 set up and now they are telling us that Qantas Club members are no longer important enough.

Currently I am Qantas Platinum but I am a Qantas Club Life member, always thought that I would have the Qantas Club to fall back on if I stopped flying lots.

Where is Red Roo?

Absolutely pathetic, the membership was bought on the pretense of access to AA/BA/QF lounges when flying on an AA/BA/QF flight. This essentially makes it "AA/QF" flights, really (3 lounges does not constitute "access to BA lounges"). They sure need a reality check:!: :evil:

 

[Bundy Bear]

Re: [Confirmed] No QP lounge access BA LHR T5 before BA flights - No "galleries" righ

Anyone want to spread the news(spamming) this page for me. Qantas | Facebook

I seem to have 44 Facebook friends who also have a link to the Qantas on Facebook.

Well that didn't last long.

 

[Coathanger]

It took two days but I received the (becoming) standard reply regarding Galleries not being part of the agreement. Also was this:
I replied back with the following:About 20 minutes later I received a telephone call with further advice. To paraphrase:

• QP membership based access to T5 Galleries has never been a benefit.
• For those QP members that has been allowed access to T5 Galleries, they should not have been permitted entry.
• This non access is now being enforced.

I finished the call with a comment that such a quibble over naming of lounges in relation make Qantas Club membership virtually useless for BA flights to Europe and represented a severe reduction in value.

This is pretty poor and certainly makes me reconsider BA for intra-Europe flights.

One of the great benefits of the Qantas Club is/was the access to all BA/AA lounges when flying on their metal. Now with a simple name change they are seeking to exclude one of the better OW J lounges?

If QF/BA thought they could do this quietly without anyone noticing I hope they are surprised by the customer response. Didn't they learn from the priority check-in for PS/QP backflip?

 

[JohnM]

Re: [Confirmed] No QP lounge access BA LHR T5 before BA flights - No "galleries" righ

This thread confirms what I have always exerienced: if there's ever going to be a problem with lounge access, it will happen with BA.

Their lounge dragons are mostly brutal in the extreme. I've just completed a DONE4 with PartnerJohnM's two young twenties kids (effectively my stepchildren). Did QF, AA, IB, CX have a problem bending the 1 guest rule ever so slightly for an obvious family? - No. But BA was the complete opposite.

It's easy for me, as a WP, to say some of this thread doesn't concern me but WTF is it with these names: 'Galleries', 'Terraces'. Who wants to try and sort out the pecking order in weird names? It just sounds like a scheme for pulling the wool over people's eyes and causing complete confusion. The BA door staff surely must hate it as much as the misled and confused customers.

My recent experience made it clear that the lounge dragons were under very strict orders. What a schemozzle. Trust the Poms...

 

[Flashback]

Re: [Confirmed] No QP lounge access BA LHR T5 before BA flights - No "galleries" righ

This thread confirms what I have always exerienced: if there's ever going to be a problem with lounge access, it will happen with BA.

Their lounge dragons are mostly brutal in the extreme. I've just completed a DONE4 with PartnerJohnM's two young twenties kids (effectively my stepchildren). Did QF, AA, IB, CX have a problem bending the 1 guest rule ever so slightly for an obvious family? - No. But BA was the complete opposite.

It's easy for me, as a WP, to say some of this thread doesn't concern me but WTF is it with these names: 'Galleries', 'Terraces'. Who wants to try and sort out the pecking order in weird names? It just sounds like a scheme for pulling the wool over people's eyes and causing complete confusion. The BA door staff surely must hate it as much as the misled and confused customers.

My recent experience made it clear that the lounge dragons were under very strict orders. What a schemozzle. Trust the Poms...

Living over in pommy land at the moment, this is what I have to put up with on a daily basis:!:

 

[samh004]

Re: [Confirmed] No QP lounge access BA LHR T5 before BA flights - No "galleries" righ

Nice to see Qantas are becoming even less relevant.

I wonder how much extra BA wanted to amend the agreement to include Galleries, despite Galleries effectively being a renaming of the former lounges.

What sad companies they both are. I’d almost like the competition to step up their attacks and make them fail now. No sense to their customers at all.

 

[frequent]

Re: [Confirmed] No QP lounge access BA LHR T5 before BA flights - No "galleries" righ

Was at the T5 Galleries Lounge 3 days ago. I'm a QP, had no problems accessing the Galleries Lounge, even got a smile and a 'Welcome' (both very rare things at BA!!).

Was on a Y ticket to CDG, but they were happy to see me once I flashed the card, and even gave me an upgrade to J as I left the lounge!

Oh and they do have Champagne

 

[Flashback]

Re: [Confirmed] No QP lounge access BA LHR T5 before BA flights - No "galleries" righ

Oh and they do have Champagne

Yeh, it is available... it's just that you have to ask for it and then they'll bring it out (took 12.5 mins for them to bring me mine last time ).

 

[serfty]

Was at the T5 Galleries Lounge 3 days ago. I'm a QP, had no problems accessing the Galleries Lounge, even got a smile and a 'Welcome' (both very rare things at BA!!).

Was on a Y ticket to CDG, ...

It's a YMMV on this one - doesn't sound like a 'dragon'.

As posted, they have cracked down recently, maybe your "dragon" missed the re-education session.

Thinking more, consider a UK resident who travels BA return to Europe one or twice a month in 'traveller'. This would not be enough travel to earn sapphire. As there is no paid lounge access with BA (COS or Status only) they join QP via their "Uncle's" address in Adelaide. Bingo, if galleries access was available they then have lounge access ex UK.

 

[simongr]

Trust the Poms...

If you're going to make glib jabs at nationalities I would point out that the CEO of IAG (BA parent company) is Irish much like a certain Australian carrier.

Thinking more, consider a UK resident who travels BA return to Europe one or twice a month in 'traveller'. This would not be enough travel to earn sapphire. As there is no paid lounge access with BA (COS or Status only) they join QP via their "Uncle's" address in Adelaide. Bingo, if galleries access was available they then have lounge access ex UK.

It is an interesting point - but it is a bit like the "WP abusing the the ATA" argument - I don't think it holds up really. BA get paid (I thought) every time that a non BA member/traveller accessed a BA lounge so in theory as long as the pricing agreement is right BA should be cost neutral for a QP accessing the lounge (not everyone who accesses a lounge fills their boots with champagne and party pies like me).

Does anyone know if this same issue impacts AAdmirals Club members? Have they been able to access BA lounges previously?

The naming thing seems to be an excuse rather than a rationale. Progressively assume all BA lounges will become galleries as they get refurbished. Isn't the Chicago BA lounge (or some other location in the north east of the US) a Galleries lounge rather than a terraces?

Lounge access is a shmozzle though with QF restricting access to the Business Lounge to OWE rather than the OW published benefit of access to Business Lounges.

I think that these increasingly complex lounge arrangements when all the carriers are trying to use more code shares is just setting themselves up for failure.

I know this doesn't impact me and won't in the foreseeable future but I am concerned about QF's ability to manage this relationship.

 

[Mal]

Lounge access is a shmozzle though with QF restricting access to the Business Lounge to OWE rather than the OW published benefit of access to Business Lounges.

I think that these increasingly complex lounge arrangements when all the carriers are trying to use more code shares is just setting themselves up for failure.

It doesn't affect me either.... But I agree. Oneworld really needs to sort out what "Oneworld" means. Petty spats between QF and BA (Who are codeshare partners, so supposedly neutral friends) are only one issue within the branding.

QF - SORT THIS OUT ASAP. The T5 lounges are nice, but (even though BA says otherwise) are nothing extraordinary. Sort it out for the sake of your QF codeshare customers into Europe who have just arrived into LHR after a 24 hour flight.

BA... Thanks, once again, for the proof that you are a numpty airline run by someone who has no clue.

 

[serfty]

...
QF - SORT THIS OUT ASAP. The T5 lounges are nice, but ... are nothing extraordinary. Sort it out for the sake of your QF codeshare customers into Europe who have just arrived into LHR after a 24 hour flight.

BA... Thanks, once again, for the proof that you are a numpty airline run by someone who has no clue.

Uncorroborated post on the related FT QF forum thread indicates it Qantas who 'jacked up', not BA:

Originally Posted by davidMEL
I tried to enter the T5 lounge using my Qantas Club card on 9th October and was told it was the last day BA would allow it. When I asked why, the guy on the desk said that "Qantas doesn't want to pay for it anymore". He then went onto explain that "Qantas now only wants to pay for lounge access for its passengers flying on its own planes out of T3." ....