I am a Qantas Club member, have been for years and pay a lot of money each year to be a member. In booking a trip to the UK I booked with Qantas so that I could get access to the lounges and freshen up at the stopover in Dubai.
Today I checked on the Qantas website to see where the lounge is in Dubai and found out that the flight that I booked through Qantas does not allow me access to the lounge! My ticket from Dubai to London is a EK (Emirates) flight rather than a QF.
I contacted Qantas and found out that my QF9 flight from Melbourne does fly onto London and I could transfer to it, at an extra $809 per person! Or I could transfer in Dubai to a later Emirates flight (QF8003/EK3) at only $430 per person.
I could also cancel my whole set of flights at only $400 per person. It is actually cheaper for me to take this option and cancel everything and then re-book all the flights (If I take that option it might be with another airline and might be cheaper for me!)
During the purchase process there was no warning to say that one set of flights gave access to the lounge and another did not - it shows both the EK31 and the QF8003 as being Emirates flights - even though I am logged in as a Qantas Club member.
When I was booking my original flights I was very close to booking on British Airways but stayed with Qantas because I would have access to the lounges with them.
One option I am looking at now is booking a hotel room in the airport in Dubai at only $260 so that I can have a rest and a shower, the whole reason I pay for Qantas Club membership.
I have been reading through this site and found reference to SkyScanner.com, checked on it and it does have the flights that I would have booked if I had the chance - Newcastle to Melbourne and then on QF9 to London. I can book the seats through them cheaper than I can book on the Qantas site - not that the Qantas site gives me that option - all the options it gives are to change in Dubai to a different flight. Given my time over again I probably would fly Virgin - seems to give more options and even with the addition of Virgin club membership it is still cheaper than Qantas.
I reckon it might be cheaper just to buy a 1/2 day pass at any convenient lounge when you need it some airports have generic lounges that allow you entry for a fee.
Investigate PriorityPass for international lounge access. If you are a frequent enough traveller also investigate the Black cards. Most have PriorityPass membership included, although the “B” black cards only give you 2 visits p.a. and then $USD27.50 (??) a visit while the “A” black cards ($400 p.a.) usually provide unlimited visits.
I would also contact Emirates and see if they would give you lounge access. You if booked it via the Qantas site surely you have a QF codeshare number which would mean access to either lounge. That is how I thought it all worked. Good luck.
Not all partner flights are codeshares. If the ticket has a QF flight number it is, if it has any other flight number it isn’t. It is increasingly common for a single flight to have 2 or more flight numbers. Your benefits depend on the particular flight number you booked.
Yes. If you book a Qantas/Emirates codeshare to Auckland through Emirates you have no right as a Qantas club member to use the Q lounge. The return flight is not codshare - through q’s tax avoidance policy it is run by a different brtanch of Q.
How awful are the CEOs of Q!!
I am sorry to hear about the way Qantas has treated you. You probably have a good claim for false and misleading conduct or representations but who can afford to sue Qantas which is an aggressive litigator.
Qantas Club membership is complimentary for very frequent flyers. For less frequent flyers, it is often cheaper to just pay an access fee whenever you wish to use a lounge. Alternatively, many credit cards (e.g. American Express and “black” mastercards or VISA) have complimentary lounge access to the lounges of certain airlines if you travel with that airline or one of its code-share partners.
It was quite unreasonable of Qantas not to warn you that code-share flights are not included in your lounge access. People who get complimentary Qantas Club membership do have access to the business class or first class (depending on their frequent flyer status) lounges on any code-share flight or partner airline flight so you really are being ripped off.
I no longer fly Qantas as the Dubai stop-over is quite long and annoying even in a lounge. I fly Thai or Singapore Airlines now and use Bangkok or Singapore as my stop-over. Emirates is a great airline (no doubt about that) but I just want to get from Melbourne to London or Paris or Rome as quickly as possible with the shortest stop-over. Dubai gives you plenty of options direct to smaller cities so it is great for Dublin or Manchester etc.
QANTAS claims to codeshare with Emirates, but it is a lie.
I missed a QF codeshare Emirates flight in Dubai and spent eight hours rebooking the flight through the Emirates desk. Although Qantas claimed Emirates handle bookings, the (incredibly kind and patient) Emirates attendant had to phone Melbourne twice to get a ticket code.
On my return Qantas refused my claim for points because I didn’t book the flight through them.
I will NEVER fly Qf again.
The Emirates lounge in Dubai has sleeping lounges and showers - recommended. A long stopover and a comfortable lounge was my reason for missing the flight.
From the QF web site: “From 1 December 2015 you’ll earn Qantas Points based on where you fly, as well as your choice of airline and the fare purchased, on eligible fares and flights with Emirates.” That is as imprecise and confusing as I have seen.
Did your reissued ticket show an EK or QF flight number? I always thought that was the litmus test and your FF benefits would have accrued depending on which flight number your ticket was issued for, not who booked the ticket. If you had a QF flight numbered ticket and the reissue was an EK flight number and the new flight was not a codeshare (or even if it was from the confusing statement above?) it might not have qualified for QF points.
You may have met where marketing and reasonable expectations diverge.
