platinum - thrown out of galleries first at heathrow, waiting for explanation

[Danger]

Okay. It seems my rant may have left me confused. djfuzz, firstly, now you've got me thinking. You're right, it couldn't have been a JQ flight. I haven't flown internationally out of Melbourne for a long time but do specifically remember checking in at the kerbside check-in 'hut' (I checked in behind James Hird who I saw later having breakfast in the FLounge). I must have been going on a QF flight to SYD or ADL, I can't recall. dfcatch, maybe I'm confused with what exactly 'kerbside check-in' means. In my experience I've never had a car door opened for me at the kerb or a porter's trolley rolled out for my bags, if that's what it means. But in MEL I've checked in at the little room on the kerb.

 

[adrian]

Having read the first 15 posts and then the last 10 or so posts, this thread seems to have morphed into something else

 

[Princess Fiona]

There must be variations in how this is handled.

I've upgraded to F a number of times, and received calls from the First Lounge in the morning, offering kerbside luggage handling, pre-checkin and whether I'd like to book a spa treatment.

Shrek also received this call on points upgrade J-F SYD-LHR, asked about Spa etc. Not consistent though as I also had a points upgrade in April to F SYD-JFK and did not get any calls

 

[anat0l]

Having read the first 15 posts and then the last 10 or so posts, this thread seems to have morphed into something else

Yes, I was just about to say we are once again drifting O/T.

If there's any connection, it all started because we were discussing the inconsistency (both in perceived and real) benefits offered to elites (both those who have elite status and those who fly premium classes).

 

[JohnK]

Access to pre-flight dining facilities has always been based on class of travel though and not new to Terminal 5. When travelling in 1st out of T1, I used to receive a dining invitation card which needed to be presented to gain access to the restaurant in the T1 1st lounge.

This must be a recent change as I seem to recall dining in the First Class Lounge Restaurant at LHR in 2007 travelling on a Oneworld award in economy.

 

[serfty]

This must be a recent change as I seem to recall dining in the First Class Lounge Restaurant at LHR in 2007 travelling on a Oneworld award in economy.

Hmmm ... T4 back than - First class lounge in the "Lounge Pavilion" did have menus and you could order off them.

The T3 BA situation being discussed is a Hybrid situation when compared to T5 and it's Concorde room.

 

[Dave Noble]

Hmmm ... T4 back than - First class lounge in the "Lounge Pavilion" did have menus and you could order off them.

The 1st lounge in T4 did not have a dining room. The pre-flight dining for 1st class was in the Concorde Room. The menus in the 1st lounge are quite separate to the dining room service

 

[serfty]

The 1st lounge in T4 did not have a dining room. The pre-flight dining for 1st class was in the Concorde Room. The menus in the 1st lounge are quite separate to the dining room service

Exactly! Hence the reference to the pavilion (implying the CCR). 3½ levels of varying access (although I never went upstairs more than the ½ to the PC room)

 

[Lonely Flyer]

I note the arrivals at T3 Heathrow closes at 2pm. We will be arriving on QF29 scheduled to arrive about 1:30pm. Will they still allow us time for a shower or will they rush us out at 2 pm?

 

[jpk]

I note the arrivals at T3 Heathrow closes at 2pm. We will be arriving on QF29 scheduled to arrive about 1:30pm. Will they still allow us time for a shower or will they rush us out at 2 pm?

What class are you in, and EU passport or no? 30 mins is probably not enough time to disembark, trek to immigration, clear it & pickup bags.

 

[Lonely Flyer]

What class are you in, and EU passport or no? 30 mins is probably not enough time to disembark, trek to immigration, clear it & pickup bags.

We are in F and have an EU passport. We leave on our Australian passports but land with our italian ones.

 

[futurism]

An update from me (original poster)

Qantas got back to me this morning, the same fellow who answered when I phoned originally.

He informed me that they were still trying to get to the bottom of the situation, and that the Sydney based customer care people had been in contact with the London based staff to discuss.

He was apologetic there was no resolution.

I offered that after such a long time, it would be difficult to get an exact resolution, and that I was satisfied my feedback had been heard and recognised.

He assured me that the matter was still open, and was keen to find out when I would next be travelling to London, I dont have a firm date for this yet.

He also told me that his coordination of the issue with the customer care centre suggests I am not the only person to have encountered this experience, and that Qantas are very keen to fix the problem.

I suspect that is more to do with people refused entry who have a right to enter than my exact situation, but its possible they are related I guess.

I am satisfied that Qantas are handling/have handled the matter in a professional way.

 

[Flashback]

An update from me (original poster)

Qantas got back to me this morning, the same fellow who answered when I phoned originally.

He informed me that they were still trying to get to the bottom of the situation, and that the Sydney based customer care people had been in contact with the London based staff to discuss.

He was apologetic there was no resolution.

I offered that after such a long time, it would be difficult to get an exact resolution, and that I was satisfied my feedback had been heard and recognised.

He assured me that the matter was still open, and was keen to find out when I would next be travelling to London, I dont have a firm date for this yet.

He also told me that his coordination of the issue with the customer care centre suggests I am not the only person to have encountered this experience, and that Qantas are very keen to fix the problem.

I suspect that is more to do with people refused entry who have a right to enter than my exact situation, but its possible they are related I guess.

I am satisfied that Qantas are handling/have handled the matter in a professional way.

Good to hear! Will be interesting to see if you hear anything more.

 

[drron]

Yes probably as good a result as possible.Certainly shows that letting QF know of a problem may eventually help others.

 

[JohnK]

Hmmm ... T4 back than - First class lounge in the "Lounge Pavilion" did have menus and you could order off them.

The T3 BA situation being discussed is a Hybrid situation when compared to T5 and it's Concorde room.

I don't believe it was T4. I was travelling BA LHR-ATH (or was it LHR-FRA) so it may have been T2.

 

[epsc]

Could be it's the common answer to wrong behaviour in life - sheer ignorance. I was travelling last Friday, BA Club Vienna to LHR thence CX J to Sydney. Showed WP card and boarding pass to one of the 2 people at the front desk. Man insisted that rules had changed and I was not permitted. When I politely pressed the point for some minutes, the woman next to him quietly showed him some documentation proving he was wrong, and he then let me in. Appallingly misinformed - it is NOT a hard job, and, BA, if you're listening, there is no excuse for your front counter staff not knowing the rules. I should mention the F dining room - in the last 10 months I have been allowed in twice and not allowed in twice - all 4 times travelling J. There were about 4 people there when I WAS allowed in, and noone when I wasn't. No sign indicating F only. Yes, its there place, they make the rules - but it would make sense to be consistent. Mixed messages lead to poor communication.

 

[TiredOldFlyer]

This problem is not limited to One World airlines. Below is the reply I received from Star Alliance when I questioned the access at SFO UAlounge. We were flying SIA in F and not permitted to enter the UA lounge.

Thank you for writing to us at the Star Alliance Help Desk.

Lounge access is possible either if you are travelling in international First or Business class or if you have achieved Star Alliance Gold status. Customers who present an international First Class boarding pass or international Business Class boarding pass, regardless of the Star Alliance carrier they fly, have lounge access.

Lounges - Star Alliance

Certain restrictions apply on lounge access, therefore, for specific information, you will need to contact the operating carrier directly. Booking contacts - Star Alliance

We hope this information is of help. Thanks again for contacting us.