Qantas Loyalty; [QP@EK] lounge rules change [after booking] - Tough luck

[por930]

And that would be probably be fine if the fridge had the ice maker that I specifically had requested , but if it didn't , then I'd be straight off to consumer affairs to ensure I got exactly what was on offer when I handed over my hard earned money...

And that my friend is what makes me curious about this whole affair. When a service is promised and you sign a contract(pay your hard earned money) and say yes thanks, I will have one of those, and then don't get what you paid for.... is there an agency we can go to like consumer affairs to say the service I paid for I did not get?

 

[roomer]

And that my friend is what makes me curious about this whole affair. When a service is promised and you sign a contract(pay your hard earned money) and say yes thanks, I will have one of those, and then don't get what you paid for.... is there an agency we can go to like consumer affairs to say the service I paid for I did not get?

So Red Roo where do we stand please ? I've not heard back from my private PM to you of a few days ago and it's getting a bit tiresome waiting that I am beginning to think that I should be exploring other options ....

 

[roomer]

Well the good news is I am not being ignored as I had a very nice lady ring me to let me know what was happening, the bad news is that they are still waiting to hear back what is happening ...

 

[por930]

Well the good news is I am not being ignored as I had a very nice lady ring me to let me know what was happening, the bad news is that they are still waiting to hear back what is happening ...

Amazing that such a trivial matter requires so much effort and authorisation...Imagine a BIG decision for the airline's operations. oh well, good to see that your request has not been dismissed..at least straight away.

 

[skully]

I had the same experience as Qantas Club member but it so happened that I had been upgraded to a QF gold membership. For some reason, the Qantas booking showed me only as a QC member. As I had the card, I was able to argue the point. It normally involved the desk people phoning someone but I did gain access in the end.

The next time I flew with Emirates, there was no problem as the booking showed gold status.

Sadly, this last time I flew without a QF code and so missed earning any status credits or extra miles.

The Qantas arrangements with Emirates are no doubt a good deal for Qantas but does little to encourage customers to stay with its program

 

[Tralfaz2013]

It's not just an EK thing. A few years ago I had a six week stint in the UK. I've been a Qantas Club member continuously since 1986. Just before I left Australia QF announced a special deal for a weekend trip to Paris only if you used FF points. As the available date for the LHR-CDQ-LHR sectors fell within my time in England, I took advantage of having 36 hours in Paris so before I left Australia I booked the flights. Naturally they were on BA and remember I was using QF FF points.

Now here's the thing. Departing LHR my QF Club Gold membership gave me entry into the BA lounge - all good. The next day when departing CDQ, the supervisor of the Paris BA lounge refused me entry as I was not a BA member and said my QF membership wasn't valid when traveling on a BA flight. The problem was that even though my e-ticket had a QF flight number, my boarding pass showed the BA number. Despite pleading my case to two BA staffers in the lounge and one kind Aussie QF member offering to take me in as his guest, it didn't happen.

On return to Australia, a call to QF resulted in ... nothing ! Shortly thereafter I reached the dizzy heights of Platinum and have never had another problem with Qantas even though my status has fluctuated between Gold and Platinum several times.

Maybe it's just a Paris thing??

 

[Valerie Moffat]

As far as I'm concerned, if there was enough space in their Lounge you should have been admitted and rules waived..
Valerie Moffat

 

[por930]

Looking back though several of these threads, it seems clear that while AJ and his Board room colleagues seem to be brutally trying to get Qantas back in shape, they have not bothered to bring the travelling public, and their Qantas Club members along for the ride. While I fully understand Corporations need rules, they also need some empathy for their customers and encourage them to travel, rather than to nit pick every bump in the air.
As for the comment by Tralfaz2013, I will be traveling(Gold status) from Paris with EK, on a code share QF ticket in First(arrive back in Brisbane at Platinum)..So we shall see what trials and tribulations happen in Paris. According to EK, we are welcome to use their First lounge.

 

[RAM]

I guess when the decision has to go to the full board and maybe get the chairman to sign off as well, I can understand why Qantas can't make a people decision in a few weeks or so....

Unfortunately some will have read your comment as serious.

Hopefully most will have read it as sarcastic.

About the time delays - it is shocking that what actually existed in several life companies procedures manuals and subsequently outed and BANNED - now appears to be the Q way. Delay response in hope customer will either forget or become apathetic.

In the late 80s/early 90s it took over three years to get the points for a Qantas Travel booked business trip around the US for 3 weeks - all in booked accommodation + car hire. I had to fax all the material (pre-internet way of communicating material...) 9 times. Total of 28 pages in fax the first times and then two added page per time.

Why two pages longer?

One page was fax header sheet to previous unacted upon fax and the other page was the print out of the successful transmission to the number on the fax header sheet.

Final fax that worked - 44 pages long.

Conversation typically went, "There will be a delay as we need to verify your documents...", then once verified there may be a delay in the adjustment being made..."

After following up every three months following the no show on the statement I then put it away in my half yearly reporting file. Guess what got done first?

What was amusing was maybe 3 or 4 times the reason for nothing having been done was put down to "They don't work here anymore" to which I politely suggested that they apparently never did!

 

[RAM]

Amazing that such a trivial matter requires so much effort and authorisation...Imagine a BIG decision for the airline's operations. oh well, good to see that your request has not been dismissed..at least straight away.

Well funny you should say that.

Earlier in this thread the issue of grounding the entire Q fleet was mentioned. That decision was reported to the ASX as having taken under 24 hours to have been suggested, discussed and resolved to action.

Inconvenience causing actions seem to be fast-tracked whilst customer benefit related actions seem almost permanently postponed until new mgmt/directors.

 

[coco50]

With two (married) children living in the US - one in Santa Fe and the other in LAX, I have never and will never fly from Oz to DFW in one hit. I fly Star Class on JQ from Syd - HNL and chill out there for a few day. Next I fly AA from HNL to LAX. From there it is easy to see my son in west Hollywood and then fly to SAF to see my daughter. Bugger these long hauls in Y. As a QP member I also have lounge access in SYD, HNL and LAX.

 

[por930]

Well funny you should say that.

Earlier in this thread the issue of grounding the entire Q fleet was mentioned. That decision was reported to the ASX as having taken under 24 hours to have been suggested, discussed and resolved to action.

Inconvenience causing actions seem to be fast-tracked whilst customer benefit related actions seem almost permanently postponed until new mgmt/directors.

Yes Ram, you are correct. Qantas can make quick decisions, though in that instance, a pretty disgraceful chest bashing i'm the boss action.

Have you read the book, Mayday: how the warring egos forced Qantas off course? An interesting read. You can see why threads here are full of Qantas bashers. To me, this is a real shame as Qantas is an Australian Icon, and most of the issues stem from penny pinching in all the wrong areas. Instead of treating customers like paying pax, they get treated like the enemy. For some reason, the Australian Federal Government seem to ignore how this business(and the QANTAS reputation) is run(as part owners). Though saying this, maybe the Federal Government have their own issues to solve before any one elses.....

 

[sergeyvzn]

+1 about Qantas having the worst attitude to its customers. I complained about a different matter (FF for Qantas Mall shopping transactions not posting due to no fault of mine) and got the same attitude - 1) tough luck; 2) someone will ring you back soon but they never do; 3) the matter has been escalated to a supervisor who will call you within 48 hours and he/she never did.
Qantas has just reported a marvellous financial result - do you think the profit might have to do with sacking all the customer service staff that used to deal with complaints and adopting the attitude "let's just do nothing about it, the unhappy customer will eventually drop it after waiting for ever and we will get away with it"

 

[Jo145]

I faced this problem back in October 2013 so don't think it is a recent change ... I should add that I think that in my case it was an extremely rude person at the Emirates lounge who would not let me in.

 

[Tralfaz2013]

There will be another test come June when I head off to China for two weeks. Flying out of BNE into Shanghai and then out of Beijing on a J-class ticket to be issued by QF. Outboend flights won't be on a QF aircraft as it's a direct flight but return out of Beijing is via HKG and I believe I'll be flying CX for the first sector and then a QF A330 into BNE. Not sure I'm looking forward to that one.

 

[mannej]

There will be another test come June when I head off to China for two weeks. Flying out of BNE into Shanghai and then out of Beijing on a J-class ticket to be issued by QF. Outboend flights won't be on a QF aircraft as it's a direct flight but return out of Beijing is via HKG and I believe I'll be flying CX for the first sector and then a QF A330 into BNE. Not sure I'm looking forward to that one.

What test you are flying J?

 

[por930]

There will be another test come June when I head off to China for two weeks. Flying out of BNE into Shanghai and then out of Beijing on a J-class ticket to be issued by QF. Outboend flights won't be on a QF aircraft as it's a direct flight but return out of Beijing is via HKG and I believe I'll be flying CX for the first sector and then a QF A330 into BNE. Not sure I'm looking forward to that one.

Sounds like a great trip. You can give the Qantas booking desk a call, and they will quickly confirm for you the flights FF points and SC earned per leg. The A330 out of HKG to BNE will be a great flight, especially in J. Not sure if the new J 'suites' will be fitted by then?

 

[mww99]

If you're going to Europe, go via Perth. Pick up a QR flight from there via DOH. Did this on Christmas Day last year - beautiful flights - lounge access all the way. Will be doing it again. Another way you might consider getting to DFW - Go to HKG on QF and then pick up the AA flight HKG to DFW direct. Or, go to PVG on QF and then LAX-DFW on AA. Been that way a few times and enjoy it - breaks up the trip.

 

[Sheenaec7]

Being new to club lounges it all sounds very confusing. I have a flight to Italy later this year and not sure what lounges I'll will be able to use on my stops. The flight details are as follows:

The flights were booked using USDMs and are all in J Class.

Outbound: MEL>SYD on Qantas (quick change over no lounge needed)

SYD>HKG on Qantas (3 day stop might need the lounge at HKG before boarding Cathy to DXB) *

HKG>DXB on Cathay (5hrs at DXB before boarding BA flight to LHR) *

DXB>LHR on BA (short change over so no lounge needed)

LHR>MXP on BA (destination)

Inbound flight: MXP>DOH on Qatar (2hrs before catching Cathy DOH>HKG) *
DOH>HKG on CX (9hrs before catching a CX flight to SYD) *
HKG>SYD on CX (2hrs in SYD so prob don't need a lounge but ongoing flight to Melbourne will be with Qantas)

For the stops I've marked with * could someone please tell me which lounges I should head for.

Thanks in advance

 

[mww99]

The QF A330 is delightful in J. Haven't flown out of PEK, but have dome so out of PVG on numerous occasions. Love it.