QF Platinum Denied Lounge on Arrival with Qantas Sydney Airport

[Trudie22]

Lounge access on arrival has been suspended due to covid. I don't think it's realistic to have to reprint thousands of pamphlets for this purpose.

I disagree. At the very least they could add an extra little separate note stating this in the pamphlet when distributing. Would cost next to nothing, and would be providing correct updated information to Platinum members regarding denial into lounges upon arrival due to COVID.

On principle, we are allowed in upon departure, but not upon arrival? If this is due to COVID, why aren’t the lounges just temporarily closed like last year?

 

[Trudie22]

Agree. The communication has not been good. An email to affected members would have taken all of five minutes to draft and send.

But that seems to be only part of the issue. The other part being that people want to challenge the decision. Which is fine, but are front line staff really the ones that should be in the firing line?

Agreed. If frontline staff have been informed by senior management to deny Platinum members access upon arrival, why is the line of communication stopping there? How about informing platinum members in writing through notice on the Qantas website and/or generation of a generic email by the same management team who are informing front line staff to deny us entry? Qantas regularly updated their website, so not a difficult or terribly expensive job to undertake.

 

[ferntree]

Agree. The communication has not been good. An email to affected members would have taken all of five minutes to draft and send.

But that seems to be only part of the issue. The other part being that people want to challenge the decision. Which is fine, but are front line staff really the ones that should be in the firing line?

If Qantas had let the policy change be known when it was introduced instead of just sneaking it in there would have been no unpleasant incidents at lounge entrances.

 

[Trudie22]

If Qantas had let the policy change be known when it was introduced instead of just sneaking it in there would have been no unpleasant incidents at lounge entrances.

Agreed. They can send you a text to notify you when your upgrade application has been accepted, but won’t be bothered to do the same when deciding to
change a Platinum lounge access policy? Again, we are talking denying Platinum
members, who have the privilege to access upon arrival, according to Qantas advertising. This is false advertising, and the members should be notified formally, not through front line staff at the time is attempting to gain access.

 

[justinbrett]

I think it's interesting to consider how they have communicated the temporary change to guest entitlements vs arrivals access.

They've been very clear on guests, it's in black and white on their covid update page. Although, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, if I'm bringing a guest they are going to sit with me - if I go alone I'm likely to be using up a table and at least two chairs as during covid nobody wants to sit up close with strangers. Doesn't really make much difference to the capacity limits if I have someone else in my bubble.

No mention on this page for arrivals access. It would be so easy to include it here.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I agreed communication was poor.

But it is what it is. The terms and conditions would arguably cover the current restriction, and communication, while a ‘nice to have’, would not materially change that restriction.

Advertising does not trump the terms and conditions. The benefit is still there, just temporarily suspended.

 

[serfty]

Advertising does not trump the terms and conditions.

That is generally Incorrect. If T&C's contradict advertising, the aspect of the contradiction that is more beneficial to the consumer would apply.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

That is generally Incorrect. If T&C's contradict advertising, the aspect of the contradiction that is more beneficial to the consumer would apply.

In this case though? The benefit is advertised, but needs to be read in conjunction with the very specific health emergency, and the ability for Qantas to restrict lounge access for operational, comfort or safety related issues.

Once covid has passed, the advertised benefit resumes, at least in theory.

 

[serfty]

Once covid has passed, the advertised benefit resumes, at least in theory.

One would think then that companies could hope covid never passes ...

(what's that saying? "Never waste a crisis")

 

[ferntree]

I think it's interesting to consider how they have communicated the temporary change to guest entitlements vs arrivals access.

.....

No mention on this page for arrivals access. It would be so easy to include it here.

Quite so. This blatant lack of respect for their most loyal customers is, for me, the most worrying aspect of this. It leaves me seriously wondering what other "surprises" are going to be furtively rolled out piecemeal as the bean counters find more ways to reduce costs.

 

[offshore171]

If I can speak candidly, I'm pretty disgusted at the unbelievable sense of entitlement of some fellow members that has surfaced in this discussion.

Look at what you're getting worked up about:

Being required to make one small concession to an obscure benefit in the face of a pandemic.

This while the airlines are having to make adaptions almost daily in order to keep anything moving.

Even in just the last few weeks, the situation has been incredibly dynamic, with snap border closures, changes to square metre ratios, new sign in protocols and the like. Often different for each state.

The staff that you are quarrelling with would have been furloughed for months.

Move on. Let it go. 99% of the world's population are doing it a LOT harder than you right now. My 2c

 

[justinbrett]

If I can speak candidly, I'm pretty disgusted at the unbelievable sense of entitlement of some fellow members that has surfaced in this discussion.

Look at what you're getting worked up about:

Being required to make one small concession to an obscure benefit in the face of a pandemic.

This while the airlines are having to make adaptions almost daily in order to keep anything moving.

Even in just the last few weeks, the situation has been incredibly dynamic, with snap border closures, changes to square metre ratios, new sign in protocols and the like. Often different for each state.

The staff that you are quarrelling with would have been furloughed for months.

Move on. Let it go. 99% of the world's population are doing it a LOT harder than you right now. My 2c

You've missed the point entirely. The issue is with how Qantas has communicated the change (not sure it has at all).

I brought up the comparison with the guest entitlement. No threads whinging about that because they've been upfront about it.

I don't support arguing with staff but this is an example of a poorly executed plan by Qantas - as is the removal of spirits in J. Just be up front about it.

There would not be a thread about this issue if Qantas had a single notice of this change on their website. They don't (and they don't for the J spirits either).

 

[sudoer]

my QFF platinum card is also a prepaid travel money mastercard

As is mine, but they did not send me a physical card when my membership renewed in July. Qantas have not been issuing any physical cards for about 9 months.

Do you actively use Travel Money or hold a balance in the account?

 

[offshore171]

You've missed the point entirely. The issue is with how Qantas has communicated the change (not sure it has at all).

No I totally see that. But if anything, that makes the whole thing even more trivial and entitled.

People are getting worked up and going full "Karen mode" on the staff who've had a disastrous year, because of a miss on the website, and not the temporary exception itself.

In a rapidly (daily) changing pandemic context, with 6 state, 2 territory and 1 fed govt changing rules at short notice.

Again, I'm just stating a personal opinion that I find the whole exercise disgusting. Let it go.

 

[RichardMEL]

The suggestion that QF have inserted an "update" note with card renewals as a problem in my view. I appreciate the idea.. but there's a key word in all these changes to rules.. "temporary" (I do understand the qantspiracy theorists will suggest some may become permanent and I don't entirely disagree, but that's a whole other discussion) nature. Like capacity limits of indoor spaces (at least here in Vic) they keep changing every other week it seems, and then you have snap changes to some things by states - eg borders, where marks are required, etc etc etc ad nausum) sometimes with only hours notice. Not to debate the merits of these actions it simply "is" and some of these things obviously affect flyers far more than others (eg: a border close potentially affecting those in the air)....

but in direct relation to this issue about the access policy again these are policy changes that probably were *intended* to be more temporary than they were. I mean remember back April/May people were thinking things would be much better by say November. It has dragged on and on.. and on. gah!

My point being that printing anything would tend to become redundant/out of date/potentially confusing unless it was a more generic "There may be temporary changes to benefits offered due to the current situation. Please refer to [link] page for the most up to date information"

and I do think this is the core issue here - that even on the covid updates page QF has up they mention changes to guest access, but not the specific arrivals access change. Why? WHo knows. Probably an oversight more than deliberate (that is not intended as an excuse).

I absolutely agree that the lack of communication or even notification in a central location is poor. This is hardly virgin soil for QF though unfortunately. We keep wishing things would get better....

I reckon with so many things in flux it is a time to accept this.. communicate with QF that their policy change, even if temporary, needs to be communicated and then move on.

my 3 cents.

 

[justinbrett]

No I totally see that. But if anything, that makes the whole thing even more trivial and entitled.

People are getting worked up and going full "Karen mode" on the staff who've had a disastrous year, because of a miss on the website, and not the temporary exception itself.

In a rapidly (daily) changing pandemic context, with 6 state, 2 territory and 1 fed govt changing rules at short notice.

Again, I'm just stating a personal opinion that I find the whole exercise disgusting. Let it go.

Whether you like it or not, as paying customers there is a level of entitlement. Qantas is not a charity. Many of us have spent a lot of our hard earned money in what was a mutually beneficial arrangement - and continue to do so.

I'm less annoyed by the arrivals lounge access compared to the lack of spirits in J. In that case I'm spending the same as I did pre covid and you can't spend like $5 on spirits?

There's a lot of companies taking advantage of Covid. I am completely supportive of Qantas and know they are going through a financially difficult time. I have a lot of loyalty to them - my late Grandfather was a pilot flying Catalinas through to the 707s. I've personally been loyal to them my entire adult life.

But that doesn't mean Qantas can change rules and entitlements (yes I will use that word) willy-nilly without proper publication of those decisions. Otherwise you get angry Karens and angry threads on AFF. I have no problem with the decision, I have lot of problems with how they have handled it.

Enough with the "give every company a free pass because of covid". No.

 

[RMB513]

I was denied access after flying into Brisbane over 12 months ago, the reason given I did not have another flight that day. Yet when I fly into other capitals I have no problem entering

 

[Trudie22]

If I can speak candidly, I'm pretty disgusted at the unbelievable sense of entitlement of some fellow members that has surfaced in this discussion.

Look at what you're getting worked up about:

Being required to make one small concession to an obscure benefit in the face of a pandemic.

This while the airlines are having to make adaptions almost daily in order to keep anything moving.

Even in just the last few weeks, the situation has been incredibly dynamic, with snap border closures, changes to square metre ratios, new sign in protocols and the like. Often different for each state.

The staff that you are quarrelling with would have been furloughed for months.

Move on. Let it go. 99% of the world's population are doing it a LOT harder than you right now. My 2c

Not a “sense of entitlement “. It is what it is....a privilege! Platinum members earn this privilege. It’s inconsistency on the part of Qantas which leads to platinum members airing their grievances on this forum!

 

[Vic]

Qantas have some serious explaining to do!

Sorry what do you think they need to explain? The benefit still exists, and is still listed on the benefit card, but it has been suspended due to the current extraordinary circumstances... Is that hard to understand?

I could not disagree more. In lieu of an announcement to the contrary, the advertising means everything.

Capacity restriction due to Covid have been announced. Nothing has changed with the benefit itself so what exactly are they supposed to say about arrivals access

Nothing has been published by Qantas advising this, no emails received, so how can we know this?

Lounges in many cities are telling members the same story, so suspension is inferred, but that’s not the problem, is it?

In addition to saying capacity restrictions have been announced, I was explicitly told that arrival access was not being offered due to covid in brisbane. My experience is different to what you're post says.

The benefit is still there, just temporarily suspended.

Exactly. And qantas have said there will be capacity restriction in the current situation.

 

[astrosly]

If I can speak candidly, I'm pretty disgusted at the unbelievable sense of entitlement of some fellow members that has surfaced in this discussion.

Look at what you're getting worked up about:

Being required to make one small concession to an obscure benefit in the face of a pandemic.

<snip content trying to make us feel guilty>

You may personally find this benefit "obscure" but for me it is one of the most valuable offered. Unlike many other frequent flyers, I am not based in a capital city and my travel is not mostly between the capitals on 90min hops. Because of this, the other Platinum benefits don't mean much to me as I cannot avail of them.

My home port is a regional airport, and I fly mainly regional services like QantasLink which don't provide meals.
There is no lounge at my home port, so I cannot use lounge access on departure.
I rarely benefit from priority boarding as it doesn't exist at my home port.
I cannot benefit from preferred seat selection as most of my services don't offer pre-seat selection until check in.

When I do travel it is 2 or 3 flights via often short connections. When you add all this time up it means I could be travelling domestically for anything between 6 and 10 hours from when I leave home for the airport to when I get to my destination at the arrival port. Qantaslink don't offer meals, and when I am on the QF mainline flight it is often the connection that is between meal times so I am only offered the same as Qantaslink. I don't consider a packet of salted flour or a square of sugared flour a meal and I don't eat it to keep myself healthy. In the past, the connections have often been only an hour or so which just gives me time to disembark (which may include a bus trip and security screening), visit the bathroom and walk to the next gate ready to start boarding.

So in flying with Qantas I often end up going many hours without a meal.

Some examples of how welcome that benefit is:
- Left home at 5.45am for a flight via SYD and BNE that got me to Hervey Bay about 12.45pm. Didn't have breakfast before I left (can't eat that early) and only snacks offered on all flights and no time to visit the lounges in the capital cities. By the time I got in the car and into town it was well on the way to 2pm and I don't have to tell you how very hungry I was by that point. If there was a lounge at HVB I would have used it on arrival.
- One afternoon my flight was delayed for almost 3 hours after the plane landed and I had to sit in the airport for about 3 hours where the one cafe that exists which is only sporadically open was closed, or pay $50 for a return taxi trip back to town with still no certainty on when the flight would actually start boarding (and you better be at the airport when that happens). This was only one flight to SYD but considering I had eaten about 3 hours before the original flight time it was about 8 hours since I had a meal I used the lounge on arrival, otherwise it would have been at least another hour before I got into town and had something to eat.
- Had an early lunch as left home at 12.30pm for a series of flights on 3x DH8400 that with some delay on boarding in the middle flight I got into MEL around 8.30pm. This was in June last year when all the lounges were closed otherwise I would have visited the MEL lounge for dinner before leaving the airport. As it turned out, by the time I got to my hotel they were just about to close room service for the night so it was lucky I could get a meal there otherwise I would have had to sleep on an empty stomach as there were very limited options around and at that time of night.

Arrivals access was as much a guarantee I could get a meal sometime in my travels with Qantas, I don't see how this can be disgusting. I know some people used arrivals access for other reasons but I certainly should be entitled to have a meal sometime when I travel many hours with an airline, even when it is when I disembark the last flight before completing my travel. How does that make me any less welcome in the lounge at this time than a departing passenger?