Ordinary? Surprising description!

I personally find the EK lounge at MEL far from ordinary. Same for those at SIN and AKL - they are the only three I have been to.

Maybe they are not as nice as the Qantas First lounges, but they are still very good.

All in all, those of us who are fortunate enough to have these choices from some of the top airline lounges world wide can enjoy the repartee and ponder the more important topic.

Is the salmon still Balik and, if so, will it still be when I come through DXB next year?

:D

They are very ordinary when compared to the QF F Lounges at SYD/MEL
BNE not so much :D

Balik Salmon ?? I'd be happy to take any old salmon as long as they start serving Dom in DXB ;)

You mean the shoe cupboard?

That's reserved exclusively for AKL. BNE is the broom cupboard :P

MEL it is easy to compare being adjacent and there for me the QF F facility is slightly better - but I would never say the EK facility is 'ordinary', even in comparison.

YMMV.

I rate both at over 90% when comparing to all the other airline lounges I have used.

The QF F lounge in SYD is an exceptional space for an airline lounge - even on the 1hr SYD/CHC stop I trek from the EK gate down to it - the size is great for the demand mainly, lots of natural light with direct tarmac views, a design that delineates what could be a long boring cavern with natural feeling partition and great F&B offerings. I agree I would rather be waiting in the QF F lounge than the EK F lounge at DXB, although the spa offerings at DXB are superior imho.

In fact, I think the beverage offerings specifically are superior at QF F in SYD, apart from red wine (a barista with a decent coffee machine, three types of champagne, a longer wine list). Food quality I think is generally the same when ordering from the kitchen.

However, when it comes to the partnership, one has to remember that the number of QF elites is much greater than the number of EK elites and that distorts the feeling of being "overrun" in various lounges. e.g. there are only a couple of hundred iOs, but a few thousand CL members: all you have to be is the spouse of some minor state public figure to be CL with QF, but for iO there is a smaller pool of members. Similarly to be QF Plat, there is a wider range of earning potential for that status, rather than flying exclusively on EK.

FWIW certain stations see this more than others - given EKs lounge range is greater than QFs offerings, and in general, an EK operated lounge at an outstation is above average for that station.

The thing that is infamous amongst front-line EK staff is that QF elites do complain rather vociferously about "entitlements" a lot more than EK elites (as well as champagne offerings: c.f., BKK when EK closed their lounge - QF pax complained to EK about being sent to a lounge with only sparkling wine. When it was the QF lounge) :D And they generally prefer to use EK facilities when not in Australia where they can (the data from lounge billing suggests).

In most outstations QF WPs or higher have access to OW F Lounges throughout the *O network. I would never choose the single concept EK lounge over a *O or BA F lounge.

The QF single lounge concepts in SIN and HKG are also superior because of the a la carte dining where food is cooked to order in front of you.

If the lounges are being overrun it's curious that EK was desperately trying to sign QFF elites up to Skywards on board when the partnership first began.

Quote:
Originally Posted by m0hamed
You mean the shoe cupboard?
That's reserved exclusively for AKL. BNE is the broom cupboard



Ha ha ! Doesn't sound too good.

Will be making use (briefly, based on what you say ...!) of that QF lounge at AKL next Feb.
Am departing on a LAN flight, hence QF lounge under the OW agreement, rather than EK's .....). At least I know in advance to lower any expectations .....:D

Hey m0hamed, you do seem (very) anxious to disprove the common perception that EK lounges are heavily populated by QF elites.

Maybe you could convince other QF supporters of how poor the EK lounges are, and that way the EK lounges will be ....ahem ....less busy ;)

The OMG O'Clock departure time is horrific ex AKL.

Hardly anxious. I just have lots of time on my hands tonight!

BKK too - I'd choose the new CX lounge over the EK lounge. In fact, I can think of only LHR where I'd choose the EK lounge over the Oneworld F alternatives, mainly because I like tarmac views and direct lounge boarding :D Not that you can though - you have to be on EK metal to use the EK lounge at LHR specifically...!

EK doesn't care about lounges being overrun, they charge QF money for QF pax (via class of service on QF flight or QF card) - they care about not having to pay QF for QFF points as well as the inherent value of having a bigger marketing database. I think most EK lounges are big enough to accommodate all QF pax - the ones that aren't can hardly fit all the EK pax anyway so it's a moot point.

m0hamed - fair enough (ref you having lots of time on your hands ..we all have days like that ;))

As for my early morning departure ex AKL. Well agreed, it's not ideal, but nor is it too bad. (I chose it because an early Sunday morning pick-up on arrival at SYD actually suits my private chauffeur service, ie Aussie family members. But that's probably more info than you / others need ...!)

Time for me to chime in.

Whilst it's a blessing to be able to visit an EK lounge when I'm on QF, it is definitely unlikely for me to visit such lounge when there are much more tantalizing options like the *O Flounges that dot the QF network as m0hamed has kindly highlighted above.

I haven't been to the DXB F lounges, but based on the outstation lounges, I'd say I wouldn't necessarily visit an EK lounge if I'm not on EK but on QF. If it so happens I'm on EK, I'll just visit the applicable EK lounge last for the boarding announcements.

Also about overcrowding issue, I don't believe you (EK Skywards/iO) peeps have seen the SYD/MEL Flounge during real peak travel periods. The amount of people in there during these periods will make the DXB Flounge look like an oasis of great expanse (from what I gather about the Turkish bathhouse size EK lounges are in DXB).

I've said too much... Time to find my lotion :P