Qantas Club disappoints

[waynemerry]

The CNS Reef Lounge access rules are confusing at best! But it is not a Qantas Club and not a Qantas operated lounge. Last time I was there it did display a Jetstar and a QantasLink sign.

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....s-international-lounge-reef-lounge-27583.html

The QantasLink sign at the Reef Lounge CNS International is for QF191/7, CNS to POM. I use this QantasLink flight a lot and I always get into the lounge as a QP member on those flights. However, it is not a QP as others have identifed. Jetstar BizMax get in there, but as I understand it, QFF status does not get in there on JQ flights. So, it is limited only to straight BizMax JQ fares and it is an associated lounge for the QantasLink POM flights. It is nothing more than these specific cases for QFF/QP. PP also gets you in, I am a PP member, but I have got in every time on the POM QantasLink flights on the basis of QP. Indeed, they have a printout of eligible passengers and my name has been printed on it.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

I thought all QF codeshares on JQ flights had been removed a long time ago (except on RTW itins). Plenty of flights leave CNS which are QF flights. Just pick one of those.

Qantas still codeshares with JQ on international itineraries and as the OP booked a JQ intl flight (albeit the domestic portion) it might have showed with a QF number i'm guessing

 

[Steelo]

The QantasLink sign at the Reef Lounge CNS International is for QF191/7, CNS to POM. I use
QantasLink flight a lot and I always get into the lounge as a QP member on those flights. However, it is not a QP as others have identifed. Jetstar BizMax get in there, but as I understand it, QFF status does not get in there on JQ flights. So, it is limited only to straight BizMax JQ fares and it is an associated lounge for the QantasLink POM flights. It is nothing more than these specific cases for QFF/QP. PP also gets you in, I am a PP member, but I have got in every time on the POM QantasLink flights on the basis of QP. Indeed, they have a printout of eligible passengers and my name has been printed on it.

You are correct. JQ can only get in with J Bus Max as I have been turned away as Platinum on a straight JQ fare in J. It has been like this for a while.

I think there are many people (including myself at times) who have un realistic expectations. Qantas Club basically gives what you have chosen to pay for.

 

[Austman]

TSo, it is limited only to straight BizMax JQ fares and it is an associated lounge for the QantasLink POM flights.

Just be a bit careful with the "complex" rules for this lounge - it's a bit all over the place. WP's seem to get access when flying JQ. Also JQ Economy Starter Max: Lounges | Jetstar

On my last visit, I had a long chat to the lounge staff. They know how complex the access rules are and knew them all backwards. It seems they have to deal with ranting passengers on a regular basis. A typical behaviour of a non-eligible passenger is to make a loud phone call to their airline while standing in front of the entrance desk. It doesn't work. The staff told me they have even had FF cards thrown at them by pax who were denied access. Charming behaviour.

Is it the airlines' fault by not making everything crystal clear(er)?

CNS international is not even mentioned on the Qantas website so I don't know why pax assume it's a Qantas lounge unless they are actually there and see the QantasLink logo.

 

[waltervp]

$300 for not getting an upgrade? You are doing well!

Yes, of course that was a nice gesture. They also apologised. I was silver in those days and it was a paid for ticket. It was also aligned with my mother's ticket and was specifically assured that whatever happened to her would happen to me - as she needed my help. I write Qantas these things as I think they missed an opportunity to exel with 6 individuals and instead caused me to be less loyal.

 

[waynemerry]

I see on the Jetstar website the access for Economy Starter Max. That's interesting. The WP access must be unpublished, which means it could go at any time, or maybe they might extend to SG at some stage:?: (QP:?::?. Interesting that JQ are making some (limited) recognition of status.

 

[waltervp]

Seeing the Qantas logo on the signs is not enough. I point that out to them and say they are a member of the same alliance but that doesn't give me access to their lounge despite flying with them (my recent example of this was the Malaysia airlines lounge in KL when flying Malaysia airlines from Beijing to Sydney). I haven't seen people upset with frequent flier cards, they are usually genuine Qantas club members... But anyways, c'est la vie. Just hope Qantas can clearly explain their complicated rules and regulations or the changes to us before selling us memberships...

 

[waltervp]

Must say never considered disabled toilets. That would work perhaps except seems unfair to use one for 40+ minutes...

 

[Austman]

To be fair, waltervp, have Qantas have ever advertised that Qantas Club members get access to the Reef Room at Cairns International?

It seems that QantasLink and Jetstar (and other airlines) have an arrangement with the lounge. But it's not a Qantas lounge or a Qantas Club or even a Oneworld lounge. It's a private lounge.

 

[waltervp]

Well I just knew I was flying cairns to Tasmania and kind of assumed I'd have access. Turns out I was put on an international sector Jetstar flight... I was lucky to have noticed I was departing from the international terminal!. Had no idea it wasn't a Qantas club. Same when I flew from Sydney once and had a Jetstar flight, there was no Qantas club in that terminal either. It is these little discoveries that have perfectly good explanations that continuously disappoint me. I don't fly that much and it is barely worth paying for club membership but when I do fly I get disappointed when I can't use my membership, despite flying within Australia and booking through the Qantas website. But yes, I am not good with attention to detail. Part of living with reduced oxygen levels

 

[mannej]

With SYD, the QP in T2 shut down. You'd need to visit the T3 prior to your JQ flight to gain access to a lounge.

 

[jetpack]

There's only 1 out of 32 weekly CNS-MEL QF/JQ direct flights in the timetable that leaves from the international terminal so you were quite lucky (or unlucky) to have unknowingly picked it.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

It seems wrong that you weren't granted lounge access before a Jetstar flight.

There's nothing stopping someone using the QP at the domestic terminal before flying on a JQ flight either from the CNS dom or international terminal the problem was he was trying to use the Reef Lounge at CNS Intl which is not a QP but an independent lounge.

I thought all QF codeshares on JQ flights had been removed a long time ago (except on RTW itins). Plenty of flights leave CNS which are QF flights. Just pick one of those..

Qantas still codeshares with JQ on international itineraries and as the OP booked a JQ intl flight (albeit the domestic portion) it might have showed with a QF number i'm guessing

The problem isn't that JQ flights are booked as QF codeshare flights - they are sold as JQ flight numbers but people apparently don't notice either the JQ prefix in front of the flight number, the orange star symbol or the wording "flight operated by Jetstar" either at the time of booking or on their itinerary.

The most common whinges you here over again both here and on airlines social media pages are "but it's a Qantas itinerary", "but I booked it on the Qantas website" or "but I used Qantas frequent flyer points to book it".

It would be nice if QF would not upgrade ANYONE in a party if they all cannot be upgraded (points or OpUp). I have seen/heard it may times where someone from a couple/group has not been upgraded and then the whining goes on for the rest of the flight to anybody that will listen. As the OP suggested, everybody in the group will (or least will pretend) to be happier.

Maybe the OP could clarify but it sounds like they were booked separately but maybe their respective pnrs were TCP'd. This may not have been picked up when the upgrade was done so when they needed to upgrade 6 people to J the fact that there was a seventh person booked separately could've been easily overlooked.

 

[BD1959]

[Removed..rubbish post!!]

Regards,

BD

 

[Steelo]

Seems QF themselves are confused by Cairns.

Just looked up on their Android App...lists lounge as QC and QP members have access when flying JQ.

The Amazing IT team strike again??

Regards,

BD

I think you are looking at Cairns Domestic Terminal. The International Terminal does not have a Qantas Lounge. The Reef Lounge at Cairns International is not a Qantas Lounge - as has been explained in previous posts.

 

[BD1959]

I as, I am, I removed!!

Regards,

BD

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Mate/Miss...
VA (the other (see themselves as full service carrier)) can be no better or worst.
Yes, QF did it to you, and yes, their subsidiary JQ did that to you, but if you go with VA and get PS, its nothing much different.
I joined QFF in 1997, and do you think that in that time, nearly 20 years in this upcoming 2017, they have done anything special for me, nope. I joined AGR (Ansetts FF system), and they went belly up.
I joined VA or DJ in 2005, and next year would be my 10th year with them, nothing much to expect.
I know others have been around with the airlines for longer, but for me, flying now gets me from A to B, maybe if you flew F (if there was such a service within Australia), maybe then everything would be perfect.
But as it is, nothing is great.
Bear with it, bad of me to say, but there is nothing else to go for/aim for, apart from the current choice or 2 or 4 airlines.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Is there an option to fly JQi all the way from CNS to MEL?
More so, was a passport or photo id needed, was OLCI available? As we all know, with JQ domestic pax on an international flight, you cant do OLCI with JQi, you have to queue in line at the airport for the orange D sticker.
EDIT: I had a look and there were no JQis of late flying the route the OP mention.

 

[Lowjhg]

Is there an option to fly JQi all the way from CNS to MEL?
More so, was a passport or photo id needed, was OLCI available? As we all know, with JQ domestic pax on an international flight, you cant do OLCI with JQi, you have to queue in line at the airport for the orange D sticker.
EDIT: I had a look and there were no JQis of late flying the route the OP mention.

Yes there is. JQ16 flies CNS-MEL every thursdays. Same for the reverse on JQ15 although it flies every other thursday it seems.

 

[medhead]

The cairns international lounge is not a qantas club.

If you think Qantas Club gives you priority to upgrades, you are mistaken. You still have a number of status levels ahead of you on the pecking order.

They said loyalty giving priority for upgrades, not Qantas Club. We also see in the OP that they were Silver at the time and bronze members were upgraded instead.