Time to end lounge overcrowding!

[NM]

Come to think of it give the snobs who fly 1st class their own lounge. The rest of us will be better off without them....

And what about the non-snobs who fly first class? Where should they go?

 

[dajop]

I ceased flying with SQ altogether precisely because they have massively disenfranchised loyal travelers like me.

Interestingly I managed to stick with SQ (QF/OW didn't offer practical cost effective ways of getting to where I needed to go, and the main other option was MH). Whilst I needed an extra sector to retain PPS than compared to the old rules, in practical terms this made no difference as I was flying it anyway as part of a return trip. As for lost of access to the First Lounge - really not that concerned especially now that T3 at SIN has opened up, the J lounge is perfectly adequate for what I need.

 

[SeaWolf]

And what about the non-snobs who fly first class? Where should they go?

There are non-snobs that fly first class?

Oh, look at that, I've stirred it up and all these hornets have come out...

 

[Mal]

IF Qantas opened up a specialist F only lounge (ala the Concorde Room with BA), then they'd likely invite Chairman's Lounge members into it. So it still wouldn't be F only. And to be honest, I believe having WP's in the current F lounges justify their creation and usage by Qantas.

Qantas has ways they can fix perceived overcrowding, and they have commenced down that path (eg Domestic Business lounges, No WP Anytime access to F lounges). Of course there is a lot more they could do, but whether they do it or not is a commercial decision they need to make in accordance with the T&C's of the Qantas FF program and OneWorld reciprocity rules.

If you look at other airlines, they have similar dilemmas, so this not uniquely a Qantas issue.

BTW, if you truly want an exclusive flying experience, rent or buy yourself a LearJet, just don't expect to get it flying as one of 280+ on the Greyhound of the sky.

 

[Keith009]

Interestingly I managed to stick with SQ (QF/OW didn't offer practical cost effective ways of getting to where I needed to go, and the main other option was MH). Whilst I needed an extra sector to retain PPS than compared to the old rules, in practical terms this made no difference as I was flying it anyway as part of a return trip. As for lost of access to the First Lounge - really not that concerned especially now that T3 at SIN has opened up, the J lounge is perfectly adequate for what I need.

For me it was more a pragmatic decision based on who offers the better benes and OW always seemed to me like the alliance that recognises intra alliance status much more readily. My experiences with *A are mainly SQ and my 'home' carrier LH of course but I've always felt more valued as an AA PLT flying QF than as a LH*G and, post enhancements, QPP flying SQ. Besides the Flounge access the main selling point of QPP was clearing waitlists and these got increasingly difficult anyway thanks to the capacity crunch.

Like you I was close to retaining QPP (one flight - 2.5 sectors away) but decided not to bother when the enhancements were published, even though those were less extreme than what were first mooted. I would rather put up with less service (not that my experiences on QF are inferior to those on SQ mind you - as my TRs would've demonstrated) than feel less like a valued customer. As my letter published in Today (Singapore newspaper) was titled, "An Unrewarding Way to Fly." For S$7 million in short term savings a year, they are losing the goodwill of many - let's see what happens when the economy takes a dive and corporate travel dries up.

Interestingly their station manager in MEL rang up after the letter was published and tried to read his PR spiel to me, denying that it was cost cuts etc. I then pointed out that a recent staff conference of theirs was themed "Achieving More with Less" - that shut him up.

I then went out of my way to avoid the airline even when I needed to get to KUL regularly and the BA fare was more expensive (well I often paid the extra for W anyway) and routed me via an extra stop in SYD, except if I really need to get into or out of KUL on the same day and the JL schedules don;'t suit.

 

[Rae]

I took 52 flights last year and racked up 102K miles and 2,725 SCs. Nearly 40 of those flights were with Qantas. In addition I booked around 400+ flights for other people. I'm flying to Tokyo on Saturday on a DONE4 and yep... I'm gonna use the first class lounge.

I'll be there for about 30mins. Most of the time I don't bother with the lounges at all. Please don't tell me I'm not valuable to Qantas because I'm not flying first class.

What's the big deal anyway? Limit to first class passengers only and it's pretty damn boring IMHO. If you need to make yourself more 'special' than me, book in a massage there or something.

 

[simongr]

One thing is that I don't want my lounge experience to be better than other people's - I just want to enjoy it. I have no interest in how people got in there, how they are flying or who they are - I just want a glass of champagne, smokey bacon and organic eggs... I have no interest in other people when I fly.

 

[JohnK]

And what about the non-snobs who fly first class? Where should they go?

A choice to visit whichever lounge they feel is most comfortable for them.

 

[NM]

Perhaps members travelling for the trivial reasons such as status runs should be excluded from the lounges :idea:

Or those with a surname beginning with A through J can use the lounge only on odd numbered dates, and O through Z on even dates. Those starting with N or M can access any time?

Or those who support Collingwood, The Swans or The Eagles should be excluded from lounges.

I am sure I can find lots of other ways to reduce lounge visitors while retaining my own ability to visit, which seems to be the primary goal of the exercise.

 

[AnonymousCoward]

I am sure I can find lots of other ways to reduce lounge visitors while retaining my own ability to visit, which seems to be the primary goal of the exercise.

+1 to this comment.

That said, I believe that our corporate membership costs about $150/year (it's been a few years since I've had to pay ). Given that this is FBT-exempt and employees can salary sacrifice the expense, that works out to be about $75-90/year (depending on your marginal tax rate). At those prices, it's perhap not surprising that a lot of people take up the offer, even if they only do a half-dozen flights a year, and perhaps this does lead to some overcrowding at peak times. QANTAS can charge whatever it likes, but I do think they have some responsibility to provide service promised. If that means changing the access rules, increasing prices, or building bigger lounges - so be it.

 

[oz_mark]

I am sure I can find lots of other ways to reduce lounge visitors while retaining my own ability to visit, which seems to be the primary goal of the exercise.

Since the beginning of time, it has been this way when this issue is discussed.

 

[Keith009]

I am sure I can find lots of other ways to reduce lounge visitors while retaining my own ability to visit, which seems to be the primary goal of the exercise.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[beardoc]

1. Restrict 1st lounge access to 1st passengers and plats travelling on business. This gets rids of low-value plats travelling economy.

Be careful what you wish for - here's a quote from a friend that just emailed me - he was in one of the the First Lounges (he buys First Class tickets everywhere) last week and this was what he emailed:

"The First Lounges are cutting back on access so the massage man told me ... so access is only if you are flying First on the day with QF or if you are flying Business with QF on the day and a Platinum FF."

Seems like the end of the WPs flying economy getting the Eggs Benedict.

 

[Mal]

"The First Lounges are cutting back on access so the massage man told me ... so access is only if you are flying First on the day with QF or if you are flying Business with QF on the day and a Platinum FF."

Typical Qantas staff misunderstanding what is really happening I think. The masseuse would have heard that WP's can't access the F lounge unless travelling OneWorld (the change made just a few days ago) and misunderstood it. I doubt this change will be made in the near future. It goes against OneWorld rules and Qantas FF rules - so at least 6 months notice would need to be made.

 

[beardoc]

Typical Qantas staff misunderstanding what is really happening I think. The masseuse would have heard that WP's can't access the F lounge unless travelling OneWorld (the change made just a few days ago) and misunderstood it. I doubt this change will be made in the near future. It goes against OneWorld rules and Qantas FF rules - so at least 6 months notice would need to be made.

How does this change work? Unless travelling OneWorld - does that mean that if you're catching a BA flight as a WP, you can access the QF F lounge, but if you're flying QF, you can't?

Is there any evidence in terms of press releases about this change?

 

[simongr]

QF is part of oneworld - so if flying ANY OW carrier as a WP you can access the F lounge. As a SG you can access the J lounge.

 

[Mal]

How does this change work? Unless travelling OneWorld - does that mean that if you're catching a BA flight as a WP, you can access the QF F lounge, but if you're flying QF, you can't?

They removed 'anytime' access to the F lounges for WP"s. Which basically means you need to be flying Qantas, Jetstar or any other OneWorld airline for F lounge access as a QFWP. Before the change, WP's used to be able to access the F lounge even if they were flying eg Air NZ. Now, they can still use a Qantas lounge before the AirNZ flight, but must use the Business lounge, not the F lounge. More info about that change here: http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/com...t-flyer/no-anytime-access-platinum-11190.html

Other OneWorld Emeralds were never allowed access to the F lounge when not flying OneWorld, so weren't affected by this change.

 

[beardoc]

They removed 'anytime' access to the F lounges for WP"s. Which basically means you need to be flying Qantas, Jetstar or any other OneWorld airline for F lounge access as a QFWP. Before the change, WP's used to be able to access the F lounge even if they were flying eg Air NZ. Now, they can still use a Qantas lounge before the AirNZ flight, but must use the Business lounge, not the F lounge. More info about that change here: http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/com...t-flyer/no-anytime-access-platinum-11190.html

Other OneWorld Emeralds were never allowed access to the F lounge when not flying OneWorld, so weren't affected by this change.

Ah, thank you - I understand now.