Qatar Airways launches a new business class fare – no lounge access, fewer Avios

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• Redkitty says:

  27 Sep27 September 05:13

  With the new lite class, would that allow us to still purchase the access to first class lounge @qatar?

  • blenz101 says:

    27 Sep27 September 08:20

    Yes from between around $90 to $220 depending on which lounge you want to use. Similar situation with reward seats.

• SwissNigel says:

  27 Sep27 September 06:48

  Thank you Rob, interestingly… for me the really interesting news here is the return to the Classic R fare of access to the Al Mourjan Lounge (and to a less important extent for status holders, outstation lounges) which had previously been removed with the unbundling of Classic. Hopefully Classic fares don’t increase in price to accommodate the ‘new’ benefit, and that the change is retrospective for Classics already booked.

  • Andrew says:

    27 Sep27 September 08:30

    And this applies to tickets already purchased – so if you bought an R class recently, thinking oh well, decent deal, I’ll cope without the lounge, you’ll now get lounge access when you fly.

    • Adam says:

      27 Sep27 September 08:47

      We we outbound LHR on R ticket and ‘First’ A ticket to DXB and refused lounge access on 25th September. I thought we might get Al Safwa with our A class rebooking. Priority pass currently giving access the Oryx lounge at Doha, so not bad. Our inbound is after this rule update so should be able to use our R ticket to Al Mourjan at DOH. I believe our A ticket will only get into the standard priority pass lounges at DXB.

      • Andrew says:

        27 Sep27 September 08:55

        I’m not sure if QR have reopened their lounge in DXB yet anyway.

        • The Original Nick. says:

          27 Sep27 September 15:59

          I was at T1 DXB lastnight and saw that quite a few lounges are still closed. BA lounge is still closed so they send you to Marhaba lounge which is shit. I walked in and walked straight back out because it was packed and went to the Ahlan Business lounge which I find is always good.

• Paul says:

  27 Sep27 September 09:44

  There is a right answer. £185 for lounge access is mad. If you have one world status spending this money is mad.

  Alternatively get an Amex Platinum card with free priority pass which gives access to same lounge in AMS that QR use! If your transit is under 2 hours in Doha then access to the AM lounge is not worth it.

  I cant comment on Capetown but there is a Priority pass lounge and again status passengers have automatic access.

  Paying for seat selection in business class remains the best “grift” airlines have found in recent years and given the numbers that pay, it is clear that, as Barnum once said, ” there is one born every minute”

  • blenz101 says:

    27 Sep27 September 10:55

    The £185 is squarely aimed at those on business travel who are going to expense the full amount rather than leisure travellers making a value based decision.

    If you are doing business in Qatar / the region and your local host as lounge access then you may end up having to pay this to meet with them in the comfort and privacy of the lounge (at your companies expense). They are unlikely to ‘step down’ and see you at somewhere they perceive as inferior.

    Given 75cl of say Veuve Clicquot sells for close to £160 locally the pricing isn’t so far removed from what those who drink alcohol would expect to pay over the course of a few hours. Also don’t forget the average Qatari household nets nearly £15k a month so even if they don’t consume alcohol the cost will be pretty immaterial to most locals.

• Dev says:

  27 Sep27 September 10:51

  Mix and match! Take the classic option where lounges are good and on the return, take the Lite option (if lounge is rubbish) and minimise transit time in Doha!

• lumma says:

  27 Sep27 September 10:55

  So with the lite fare, you don’t get lounge access anywhere? I thought with the old R class you got access at the start and end point, just not in Doha?

  • blenz101 says:

    27 Sep27 September 14:17

    Currently you get lounge access by status on a lite fare but not in Qatar’s own lounges. When Qatar moves back to T3 at LHR for example you will currently be able to enter any OW lounge in the terminal with the exception of QR if on this fare type.

    QR have other lounges for status passengers in DOH currently as well.

    The plan is to stop lounge access altogether on reward or discounted business class fares regardless of status when flying QR in any OW lounge. QR have said they are working with their partners to make this happen. No other OW member is going to seriously object and I would expect others to follow suit particularly with offering lounge access on reward flights.

• Lady London says:

  27 Sep27 September 14:53

  Where in Doha can you get a meal at the airport if you can’t be a$$ed to wonder whether Qatar is giving you lounge, no lounge or the no-no lounge (aka the Oryx) this week

  • TGLoyalty says:

    27 Sep27 September 21:58

    So many good options in my experience.

• Lady London says:

  27 Sep27 September 15:06

  Where in Doha can you get a meal at the airport if you can’t be a$$ed to wonder watar giving you lounge, no lounge or the no-no lounge (aka the Oryx) this week?

  Also 40kg luggage which applies everywhere the piece system doesn’t, so most places, is not that generous.

• James Harper says:

  27 Sep27 September 16:05

  I think QR, a bit like SQ are in danger of overvaluing their product and in the doing of that p*ssing off a lot of people, not frequent fliers who know how to get lounge access but those who only fly from time to time but who for most pay out quite a lot of money to travel in business and they have expectations of lounge access and so on. I know people who simply won’t fly BA long haul because they won’t pay for business class seats so the money goes to others.

  Qatar are now at the same game and I think they will lose, maybe they won’t mind that but snipping away at business class like many did with economy is a slippery slope.

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