Slap and a sledge for QF (the sledge is really for BA...)
 

Guys, would like some thoughts before i send off a letter to Alan Joyce about treatment i received at the BA lounge in T4 on Friday May 29. I am a Qantas Club member (previously Platnium but now lowest of the low) and I wanted to take my wife, 2 1/2 year old son and 13 month year old son into the lounge prior to boarding to change nappies get some milk and generally organise ourselves for 23 1/2 hours of hell flying LHR-HGK-MEL. Was denied entry and told that i could take in an infant and one guest only - so i would need to choose between my wife and 2 1/2 year old as to who i could bring in... Now i know the terms and conditions will probably say i wasnt even allowed to bring in ONE guest let alone a guest and two little boys but I explained to the door policewoman our situation and we too-ed and fro-ed for about ten minutes before i took my family back out and came back in for round 2... Now here is where things got very nasty. I asked to speak with the Manager and after about another ten minutes, the QF rep Mahoorq came down (after probably being read the riot act by the BA lady!) and told me under no circumstances would i be allowed in with my family, they were simply following the rules and it was too bad. I asked for a bit of common sense to be shown and that was when a fellow passenger overheard my plight and suggested that he escort my wife in and i could take in the two boys. The BA reps then said they would not allow this to happen, the fellow passenger should mind his own business and i should accept their decision and leave.

When i asked them if they thought they were being 'unfair and unreasonable' the response was "yes - but life is unfair"!!!! I left because i was getting angrier and angrier and didnt want to cause a scene, but i later learnt that my fellow passenger then went and complained to someone more senior inside who expressed dismay by what had happened and promised to come into the terminal to 'look for me'. Needless to say, that never happened.

The upshot was i took my sons in alternatively and my wife missed out - although in the end she was probably happy that i ended up with two lots of nappy changes!!

So that's the sledge. As for the slap on the back, that goes to the cabin crew on the LHR-HKG leg who were the most responsive, kind and helpful i have seen on a qantas flight for sometime. Nothing was too much trouble and they really bent over backwards to make sure my kids were looked after and we had everything at our disposal to keep them quiet and peaceful. Interestingly they all seemed to have international accents - couldnt detect one aussie accent, so perhaps this is a fully international crewed flight?

Interested in thoughts on all of this.

The BA staff have not gained their nickname as "Lounge Dragons" for nothing.

I agree it sounds very unreasonable, but ultimately they were just strictly enforcing the rules.

Certainly not the lovely young lady who was on the desk at Malpensa Milan on 3 October 2008.

I find this to be totally out of order on the part of the dragon.

ps: having said that, there is no point complaining to QF about BA lounges enforcing entry rules. Unlike QF lounges, BA lounges are always quite strict on number of guests, including children.

I'm really sorry to hear about the way you were treated, however what part of the rules didn't you understand?

Obviously under QC Rules you are allowed to bring one guest in to a BA Terraces Lounge as long as the two of you are travelling together on QF or BA.

It's likely that if this had been an actual QC (with QF staff) they would have let your children in as well (I made a comment last week regards QC meaning "Qantas Creche" these days!) and this probably led to expectations.

I can also understand BA Staff refusing you guesting rights if the Lounge was too full - as is their right - but it doesn't sound as though that was the excuse given, nor would I expect it to be so for a mid-day departure. To be honest, I would word any letter of complaint not along the lines of whether or not they were right to refuse permission, but concentrate in the manner in which the refusal was issued.

I'd also have thought that whoever someone else chooses to guest is their decision and has nothing to do with the reception staff - particularly if those individuals are WPs and so have far lenient rules wrt the relationship between the two (they don't have to be travelling together, just both be travelling OW).

This must have been a very frustrating start to a tedious journey esp (I suspect) in Y. Yes, I too, have had exceptional service from LHR-based cabin crew between LHR and HKG, though IME the crew were Aussies living temporarily in London.

Regards,

BD

never had children/infants counted as guests before in all the time i have travelled with youngsters, even in partner lounges.

Can you direct me to a reference to the definition of member's guest? ie A strict reading of the rules means my wife could have been escorted in to the lounge!

Maybe this part:

Yes, I know, only for QPs.

The BA rules are clear and the lounge dragon was right to not allow you, your wife and your kids. Still, I wouldn't want something like this to happen to me and so far I always was lucky.

However, a OW Emerald can guest in anybody into the BA lounge. AFAIK there is no clear BA definition for "guest" so the other passenger could have guested your wife into the lounge. BA was not correct in refusing entry.

Way back in 1998, BA rules did not permit children as lounge guest at all.

I have always wondered, why should children be excluded from the guest count?

Either this, or the definition of "child", has changed. From BA.com's T&Cs regarding Lounge Access:

8.2. Members must show their Card or Membership Number and either a boarding card or ticket before they can be admitted to a Lounge. Anyone under the age of 18 years must be accompanied by a responsible adult when using a Lounge. Local laws relating to the consumption of alcohol will apply.

BD

Child = Guest?

The BAEC Forum seems to have had a similar discussion previously.

BD

Yes, it has changed. Also my statement was a bit too sweeping.

As a top level QFF Gold in 1998, myself, my wife, our 6 YO daughter and my M-I-L were permiited access to the T4 gate 10 Concorde room. My daughter was not permitted access to the T1 terraces two weeks earlier.

There are many reasons why they should be excluded but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your viewpoint) they are part of the guest count when older than 3 years on QF. Didn't we have this discussion here not too long ago?