so... one reading could be that it has to be an immediate connecting flight... at best case, you could show your arriving boarding pass from several days earlier to get access? I am doubtful of the latter.

so flying any other carrier to Europe, then choosing a BA flight is not going to get you access. or stopping over in London then continuing on... no access.

and from the terms and conditions on that page it looms like even if you have a complete itinerary on BA/qf - let's say syd-sin-lhr-ams... while you could get access to the galleries lounge at heathrow, on your RETURN journey you won't gat access prior to your flight in Amsterdam??

so it doesn't look like the benefit was reinstated at all. it is a completely new access agreement?

I suspected that this would happen and I agree with you that non-LHR Galleries access is still not included.
If BA/QF codeshare flights need to be same day connections then this also is not a good outcome.
I can understand BA not wanting BA only pax getting Galleries access without ever touching a QF code or metal flight.
I await further clarification from QF (Red Roo).

Partial Reinstatement of QC access to T5 Galleries lounges
 

Irishguy28, could you please indicate where this information is documented on a Website.

This policy provides a much more restricted access than I expected.

It is not like reinstating the access to BA lounges to the situation before the existence of Galleries lounges.

Then access was to all Executive or Terraces worldwide, as is still stated on the Qantas Website.

This not much help with any other OneWorld Itineraries (not in the quoted list) where arrival at Heathrow is with BA (or other carriers) and departure is with BA. Galleries lounge entry will be denied at both the airport for the incoming flight and at T5 for outgoing BA flights which can be to so many destinations.

I welcome Red Roo's comments on when precise updated information will be put on the Qantas website.

he already provided the link (hyperlink... just click on the bolded BA at the top of his quote).

the wording on the page is exactly as irishguy stated. there is no other clarification.

Thanks for pointing out the link. I just checked the Qantas Website on Partner Lounge Access and their information is still not updated to reflect this new restrictive policy.

The BA wording is very disappointing for OneWorld RTW travellers and further devalues the worth of QC membership.

Copying the bad news that RedRoo posted on AFF

That policy as found here - http://www.speedbirdclub.com/nl/all-...membersaccess/

I read that as being the policy that needed to be changed as a result of QF now only flying via SIN and codesharing with BA on HKG/BKK flights. For Red Roo to come out and say "that's what BA are saying on their site, that's what sticks" is absolute codswallop if you ask me. QF in fact have not discussed the QC issue with BA at all IMHO.

Quote today from Red Roo on Australian Frequent Flyer forum

"Hi everyone,

We were of the understanding that Qantas club access was reinstated.
Sincere apologies that BA have posted on their website that this is not the case and that there are limitations to access.
Unfortunately for now, the policy on the BA site applies and we will continue to work with them to resolve the issue.
I will update you as soon as I have any news.

Thanks to you all for your patience.

Red Roo."

Seems like a longer wait to sort out the differences between BA and Qantas.
I hope Red Roo's understanding eventually prevails.

:confused: did they not read the agreement before posting that it had been reinstated? Or did BA change the wording between the original confirmation and subsequent one?

bit odd me thinks :)

One wonders if the 'agreement' was reached over one too many champagnes in an F lounge, penned on a fancy serviette and lost someone between the bar and the gate.

It certainly seems strange that something this important, yet seemingly simple, could be misconstrued by one party.

I still think everyone is reading into it too much and those updates are in fact regarding passage for T5 PAX flying on QF codeshare services due to the fact QF no longer flies via BKK and HKG.

The OP would still have been rejected under this arrangement, I had a 48h stopover in LHR before continuing on into France.

What a shame! This is not a reinstatement! BA is fooling us!

Why, this is why I bought the QF Club (before reaching a status!). In the case I drop to LTS + my remaining QF Club I really wanted to use that feature!

I agree with you. The fact that only LHR is mentioned, timing of the announcement with the imminent changes to the Kangaroo flight schedules etc.

If BA wanted a paid for lounge access programme rather than access by status, they would have one in place.
The fact that BA does not have paid lounge access nor allows AA Admirals Club members access shows that they do not think this is a revenue/cost benefit policy for them. I have a feeling that QC access may never be reinstated to previous levels but will rely upon a QF intinerary.

Stinks. :td:

My last flights UK-Oz were LHR-DFW-BNE-MEL due to limited redemption availability into Oz. Luckily they were J but could have just have easily have been Y+ for one leg (as indeed one of the outbound legs were).

Don't BA/QF realize that not all of their UK/Australian revenue derives from the directest of Kanga routes - and that those that try to be most loyal to the brands will often opt for a slightly offbeat routing (eg via FRA previously) in order to earn/burn against said loyalty?

(again!) Stinks

Regards,

BD

Just gives me a 404.

Page appears to have been deleted... hopefully signalling a revision?

Interesting post from AFF!

http://www.australianfrequentflyer.c...tml#post557861

But they had it for ages - this was the reason why I joined!

Tyrolean,
Once again - it was a Qantas Club membership - much like the location of Qantas Clubs can change (and there have been some recent additions in Australia), so can the offshore lounges and frankly there is more likely to be changes to the associated lounges that Qantas don't control.

Anyhow only 5000 SCs to go for you till it doesn't matter!

Indeed. They did use to have one. They had Executive Club lounges and could get access by purchasing an Executive Club membership

Obviously the EC became a FF programme , but the paid membership remained available for renewals until a few years ago

Yes I know that things can change. But then I expect that they will publish it and give some kind of notice.

BTW it is 4700 SCs for me - still a lot of flying. So 470 flights with AB in cheap eco until they follow Malev and I am done :D!

Denied again!
 

Well I tried my Luck again yesterday at T5 after a 4 hour delay by BA on the way to North America..

The "Computer says no" was the answer...

I am a life memeber with Qantas club, and moved to the EU around 10 years ago and I am wondering if we can request our money back over 4500AUD at that time in today's equivalent to settle this matter as this is quite frustrating.

In my opinion it doesn't matter if BA decided to move their operations to another terminal and rename their lounges but to all flights that were once originating to the same destinations operated by BA be it T1, T3 or T4 the Qantas members had access to. Now those same routes we have not benefit what so ever.

and by the way through the lounge is called "galleries" in front of all of them it reads "executive club" (member gold and silver) so the naming conceptuality still remains.

I truly don't understand why Qantas can not simply accept that very soon Qantas Club members wont have access to almost all worldwide BA lounges.

The few times I get to travel nowadays is a nightmare for relaying on Qantas/BA relationship.

Alternatively my fellow travellers, buy a cheap ticket with some other airline and pay for you lounges with either Priority pass or just pay per visit lounge. That's why I would like to have my moneyback so that I can pay per visit in the future without worrying about statuses and tiers... the world is evolving towards a pay per service culture... it seems

cheers
xin

xintraveller,
Whilst I agree Qantas's communication of the change has been lackluster,
you purchased a life Qantas Club (not BA Exec Club, not AA Admirals Club pass)

Even in Australia lounges go out of the program (Gold Coast, Christchurch) are substantially changed or updated for the better (Canberra, Adelaide)

I suspect you have gotten pretty good value out of your original payment, and probably far cheaper than had you paid annually each year.

But I agree without it, there is no reason for you to show any loyalty to BA or AA

thanks for the update xin.

sorry for you to be the one to have to confirm this. and with a four hour delay.

I think now that e situation looks like it isn't going to change, qantas needs to think about refund options. maybe an emailto the qf club to see what their initial stance is?

here may be a legal argument, but that wouldn't be worth pursuing until we know what line qf is going to take.

I would be surprised , if after 10 years , that loss of a 3rd party lounge access would be enough to generate much ( if any ) of a refund esp. given that QF hasn't changed their terms

10 years is long enough that when done for business purposes, the cost can be written off over

10 years of membership would have cost as much , I suspect as the life membership

If they did offer a British Rail style of refund there wouldnt be much to get back.

Probably true, and we haven't even yet begun to debate the meaning of "lifetime"...

I am estimating 'lifetime' to be around 20 years or more... you'd need to look at the then annual renewal fee (not sure what it was 10 years ago... but maybe around $270?) then account for inflation, interest accrued by qf on the initial membership fee etc etc.

$4500 would cover a lot more than 10 years. then there'd be some calculation factored in for the value of lounge access to partner lounges, and even some discussion whether the current offering (without BA lounges) matches what was offered then...

I may have this wrong, but I thought qantas offered a refund for members living in some city that is now served exclusively by jetstar with a jetstar lounge that doesn't offer qp access? if i got that right, that might serve as precedent for this case (that is, lounge access being unavailable is grounds for refund).

I think that another (inexact) analogy could be those living in NZ from whom domestic QF Clubs were withdrawn - ISTR that QF offered refunds to those who were adversely affected.

Obviously, the present situation is different because it's fundamentally BA action that has caused the change, rather than QF action. However, QF might be persuaded to recognise that it has nevertheless had an important effect on a particular group of customers.

The ATO has a ruling stating that a QP Lifetime membership must be depreciated over a 10 year period, so I would read that as being the time period.

which is fine for taxation purposes, but I can't see the relevance for these purposes. firstly the membership sold is 'lifetime' not 10 years, and secondly you could have bought it much cheaper as 10x1 year than paying the lifetime charge.

lifetime is clearly sold and marketed to be in excess of the value of purchasing the individual years. the sum of the whole must be greater than the parts.

I wouldn't agree with that actually, when I look at the cost of the lifetime membership when I bought it in 2006 it actually works out to be around 10 years worth of annual membership.

Is Qantas still in discussions with BA about Qantas Club general access to Galleries lounges in T5 and worldwide?
No reports on any progress or postings by Red Roo for a some time.

I think it's been a lot more than "a few years" actually.

It remained available for renewals for a long while iirc; I cannot remember when it finally was terminated; the key thing is that it shows (to me) that BA made a deliberate decision to not have paid lounge membership since they used to have it and then terminated it

Seems this issue has now been resolved.

Access guidelines have now been updated on the QF site.

Access to partner lounges is now only when flying with AA.

So this mean no BA access, including Terraces ?

According to the explicit access rules now on the QF site, it would appear so. No reference anymore to Terraces or Exec Club.

The only lounge now mentioned for Qantas Club is as an 'associated lounge' in T3 (which is the galleries one) with the following wording regarding access:

Qantas Club

Next onward flight that day must be a Qantas, British Airways, or Jetstar+ flight number.
One guest allowed and must be travelling with the member.