Nov 5, 2015, 11:11 am
Last edit by: CPH-Flyer
READ BEFORE COMMENTING IF YOU ARE NEW,
Hamad International Airport (HIA) offers passengers a number of different lounges.
This thread, is specifically for the Al Safwa First Class Lounge. Information on the other Lounge options at HIA, can be found here.
Does Al Safwa have a web page?
Yes: http://www.qatarairways.com/global/e...-al-safwa.page
Dining Menu
https://www.qatarairways.com/content...-dining-en.pdf
Where can I find Al Safwa Lounge?
The Lounge is located on Level 3 of the airport.
Can I use the Qatar Airways Al Safwa Lounge?
Access is based on your underlying fare bucket. This means that upgraded tickets, maybe except upgrades with QPoints (see post 2735), are not granted access.
Access is thus restricted to Qatar Airways First Class, and OneWorld First Class passengers :
- either holding a First Class boarding pass* for their next flight
- or holding a First Class boarding pass from their previous flight.
Additionally, Privilege Club platinum club travelling on any business-class fare are welcomed into the lounge. This is a facility introduced recently and one that could just as easily disappear.
- Guests are not permitted.
* Operational Upgrades to First do not give access. Upgrades with Qpoints may do give acces (see post 2735 - Sept 2022)
Arrival access on mid and long haul? (eg. coming from LHR in F)
YES
Ex. CAI-DOH-HEL
Arrival access regional F? (eg. coming from CAI in F)
Yes.
Caveat, if your underlying J fare is P, then the no lounge access for business light kicks in. And there is no access.
Privilege Club Platinum members are currently allowed in the lounge when travelling on any QR business-class fare: that could change. Other Oneworld Emerald members are directed to the Platinum lounge(s) when travelling in any class, and the Al Mourjan lounge when travelling on relevant business-class fares. Yup, it gets complicated.
What does the lounge look like?
Reports on the Lounge, can be found here and here. Photographs of the lounge, can be found here.
Is there a Spa?
Yes, there is a full Spa, but you will have to pay for treatments. A full list of treatments available can be found here
What about the sleeping rooms?
Stargold in http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28199729-post1177.html suggests that access to sleeping rooms is as follows:
'* No reservations allowed - always first-come first-served
* Only available if the remaining time until the flight departure is more than 4 hours
* Passengers are allowed maximum six hours' usage - for any further usage, a fee of QAR 450 is payable for a second block of six hours.
* No F&B of any kind except bottled water in the sleeping rooms.'
What changes can I expect during Ramadan?
Ramadan affects QR and you in many ways so please look at ramadan to see how you are affected.
Updated: 19/11/2023
Hamad International Airport (HIA) offers passengers a number of different lounges.
This thread, is specifically for the Al Safwa First Class Lounge. Information on the other Lounge options at HIA, can be found here.
Does Al Safwa have a web page?
Yes: http://www.qatarairways.com/global/e...-al-safwa.page
Dining Menu
https://www.qatarairways.com/content...-dining-en.pdf
Where can I find Al Safwa Lounge?
The Lounge is located on Level 3 of the airport.
Can I use the Qatar Airways Al Safwa Lounge?
Access is based on your underlying fare bucket. This means that upgraded tickets, maybe except upgrades with QPoints (see post 2735), are not granted access.
Access is thus restricted to Qatar Airways First Class, and OneWorld First Class passengers :
- either holding a First Class boarding pass* for their next flight
- or holding a First Class boarding pass from their previous flight.
Additionally, Privilege Club platinum club travelling on any business-class fare are welcomed into the lounge. This is a facility introduced recently and one that could just as easily disappear.
- Guests are not permitted.
* Operational Upgrades to First do not give access. Upgrades with Qpoints may do give acces (see post 2735 - Sept 2022)
Arrival access on mid and long haul? (eg. coming from LHR in F)
YES
Ex. CAI-DOH-HEL
Arrival access regional F? (eg. coming from CAI in F)
Yes.
Caveat, if your underlying J fare is P, then the no lounge access for business light kicks in. And there is no access.
Privilege Club Platinum members are currently allowed in the lounge when travelling on any QR business-class fare: that could change. Other Oneworld Emerald members are directed to the Platinum lounge(s) when travelling in any class, and the Al Mourjan lounge when travelling on relevant business-class fares. Yup, it gets complicated.
What does the lounge look like?
Reports on the Lounge, can be found here and here. Photographs of the lounge, can be found here.
Is there a Spa?
Yes, there is a full Spa, but you will have to pay for treatments. A full list of treatments available can be found here
What about the sleeping rooms?
Stargold in http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28199729-post1177.html suggests that access to sleeping rooms is as follows:
'* No reservations allowed - always first-come first-served
* Only available if the remaining time until the flight departure is more than 4 hours
* Passengers are allowed maximum six hours' usage - for any further usage, a fee of QAR 450 is payable for a second block of six hours.
* No F&B of any kind except bottled water in the sleeping rooms.'
What changes can I expect during Ramadan?
Ramadan affects QR and you in many ways so please look at ramadan to see how you are affected.
Updated: 19/11/2023
QR Al Safwa First Class Lounge
Sep 18, 2018, 4:28 am
#1487
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: London UK
Programs: BAEC Gold,Amex Plat & BA, MR Plat, HH Diamond, accor Gold
Posts: 161
Just a question as I have a flight next month from AKL-DOH-OSL with a 11hr layover in Doha. I'm flying Business Class on a revenue D fare booking. I was thinking as my flight to oslo is at 7.30am can I buy an avios First Class ticket to Muscat for let say around 8pm that evening and use the First Lounge, and will that cause me any issues. Thanks, as it would save £200 for using the transit lounge hotel, and I really don't feel like wasting time leaving the airport and coming back.
Sep 19, 2018, 1:51 am
#1488
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,008
Just a question as I have a flight next month from AKL-DOH-OSL with a 11hr layover in Doha. I'm flying Business Class on a revenue D fare booking. I was thinking as my flight to oslo is at 7.30am can I buy an avios First Class ticket to Muscat for let say around 8pm that evening and use the First Lounge, and will that cause me any issues. Thanks, as it would save £200 for using the transit lounge hotel, and I really don't feel like wasting time leaving the airport and coming back.
- It's an impressive lounge, but still only a lounge. Get's just as boring as any other lounge after an hour. Yes there are sleeping rooms. But it's not a hotel.
- No idea how you value your avios, but an F ticket will set you back 18K, plus there's a cash element involved.
- QR is heavy on regulations regarding lounge access, timings and use of the sleeping rooms - and these occasionally change.
- You can easily be out of the airport in 30 minutes as a J-cass passenger, and getting back in is a breeze through the J wing. You can get a perfectly comfortable hotel within a 10 minute/10$ drive from the airport for sub-$100. Who knows, you might qualify for QR+
Me? I'd far prefer 8 hours overnight in a proper hotel bed than 10 hours knocking around an airport lounge.
Sep 19, 2018, 2:00 am
#1489
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Cardiff
Programs: qatar airways platinum
Posts: 732
- It's an impressive lounge, but still only a lounge. Get's just as boring as any other lounge after an hour. Yes there are sleeping rooms. But it's not a hotel.
- No idea how you value your avios, but an F ticket will set you back 18K, plus there's a cash element involved.
- QR is heavy on regulations regarding lounge access, timings and use of the sleeping rooms - and these occasionally change.
- You can easily be out of the airport in 30 minutes as a J-cass passenger, and getting back in is a breeze through the J wing. You can get a perfectly comfortable hotel within a 10 minute/10$ drive from the airport for sub-$100. Who knows, you might qualify for QR+
Me? I'd far prefer 8 hours overnight in a proper hotel bed than 10 hours knocking around an airport lounge.
The Al Safwa sleep rooms are also quite hot, so sleep can sometimes be a problem.
Sep 19, 2018, 4:18 am
#1490
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: Too many
Programs: Lots
Posts: 5,761
Just a question as I have a flight next month from AKL-DOH-OSL with a 11hr layover in Doha. I'm flying Business Class on a revenue D fare booking. I was thinking as my flight to oslo is at 7.30am can I buy an avios First Class ticket to Muscat for let say around 8pm that evening and use the First Lounge, and will that cause me any issues. Thanks, as it would save £200 for using the transit lounge hotel, and I really don't feel like wasting time leaving the airport and coming back.
Sep 19, 2018, 2:38 pm
#1492
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: UK
Programs: Mucci, BA, AF
Posts: 10,129
It's just Amadeus/Altea - most airlines have matching tools that run in the background, and could link two bookings (e.g. connection on separate tickets). QR probably just activated a notification setting.
I've seen this once, though I wasn't actually booked on two flights. It was a ghost booking that BA had made while refunding a ticket, IIRC. It did take 15 minutes or so to sort out, in classic QR fashion.
I've seen this once, though I wasn't actually booked on two flights. It was a ghost booking that BA had made while refunding a ticket, IIRC. It did take 15 minutes or so to sort out, in classic QR fashion.
Sep 20, 2018, 6:10 pm
#1493
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: MEL
Programs: QFF, AA, LM, EY
Posts: 762
Hi guys,
I only just found out that you could access Al-Safwa prior to BA flight if flying F. (I believe the rules initially were quite specific in stating that access was for QR pax only.)
With that said, would you get access to Al-Safwa if arriving into DOH on BA F from LHR if your onward flight is QR long haul in J (or even Y for that matter) ?
ie. I know you can get entry to Al-safwa on the basis of your arrival into DOH if you flew QR F on routes longer than 5 hours, regardless of your class of flight of onward journey. But wondering if BA F also grants access on basis of arrival.
Cheers
I only just found out that you could access Al-Safwa prior to BA flight if flying F. (I believe the rules initially were quite specific in stating that access was for QR pax only.)
With that said, would you get access to Al-Safwa if arriving into DOH on BA F from LHR if your onward flight is QR long haul in J (or even Y for that matter) ?
ie. I know you can get entry to Al-safwa on the basis of your arrival into DOH if you flew QR F on routes longer than 5 hours, regardless of your class of flight of onward journey. But wondering if BA F also grants access on basis of arrival.
Cheers
Sep 20, 2018, 6:51 pm
#1494
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 776
Hi guys,
I only just found out that you could access Al-Safwa prior to BA flight if flying F. (I believe the rules initially were quite specific in stating that access was for QR pax only.)
With that said, would you get access to Al-Safwa if arriving into DOH on BA F from LHR if your onward flight is QR long haul in J (or even Y for that matter) ?
ie. I know you can get entry to Al-safwa on the basis of your arrival into DOH if you flew QR F on routes longer than 5 hours, regardless of your class of flight of onward journey. But wondering if BA F also grants access on basis of arrival.
Cheers
I only just found out that you could access Al-Safwa prior to BA flight if flying F. (I believe the rules initially were quite specific in stating that access was for QR pax only.)
With that said, would you get access to Al-Safwa if arriving into DOH on BA F from LHR if your onward flight is QR long haul in J (or even Y for that matter) ?
ie. I know you can get entry to Al-safwa on the basis of your arrival into DOH if you flew QR F on routes longer than 5 hours, regardless of your class of flight of onward journey. But wondering if BA F also grants access on basis of arrival.
Cheers
Sep 22, 2018, 9:14 am
#1495
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 72
They did indeed extend access to other Oneworld airlines a year ago or so. But since BA doesn't fly to DOH anymore, your question is rather hypothetical. For what it's worth, you could book BA F tickets on QR codeshares and get AS access. To be precise, calling it "codeshare" might not be 100% accurate, since it's more of a joint venture between BA and QR, but for all practical reasons, it shouldn't make a difference.
Sep 23, 2018, 2:17 am
#1498
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 72
Sep 23, 2018, 11:42 pm
#1500
Moderator: Qatar Airways
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: LHR/NCE/MIA
Programs: BAEC GfL & GGL, SQ Gold, Amex Centurion, Mucci des Chevaliers des Bons Mots et Qui Savent Moucher
Posts: 8,948
M