Old Nov 5, 2015, 11:11 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: CPH-Flyer
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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


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QR Al Safwa First Class Lounge

Old Nov 28, 2021, 4:03 pm
  #2206  
S.R
 
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I'm flying JFK-HYD in paid J with a 6hr layover, and would like to purchase access to the F lounge. Do I just do it when i'm in DOH?
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Old Nov 28, 2021, 6:24 pm
  #2207  
 
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Originally Posted by SanDiego1K
We have been denied admittance to the Al Safwa lounge saying that our fare does not qualify nor does our OneWorld Emerald status allow us to access it. We were taken to the Al Mourjan lounge.

Details:
We have an outbound ticket that is an P fare with an A class on to our final destination. I had checked and understood that A class was entitled to the lounge. However, I was told that the underlying fare is P, thus it is irrelevant that we are flying First onward.

I was also told that OneWorld Emeralds are not allowed in the lounge. Rather, there is a closed lounge for OneWorld Emeralds. As it is closed, they are sending folks to the Al Mourjan lounge. I believe we have only been allowed to use this lounge based on our OneWorld status; that our ticket did not entitle us to it.

We have a lengthy layover and were looking forward to use of a sleeping room. We were given a family room in the Al Mourjan lounge that has several chairs and a sofa but no recliners.
Were you guys the family that was trying to get in around midnight and whose father was yelling at the lounge attendant? Or was that another family?
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Old Nov 28, 2021, 6:26 pm
  #2208  
 
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Can also confirm being given access to lounge based on incoming F (A fare class) and outgoing J (I fare class). Seems this is pretty standard now.
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Old Nov 29, 2021, 2:42 am
  #2209  
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Originally Posted by mpeterson78
Were you guys the family that was trying to get in around midnight and whose father was yelling at the lounge attendant? Or was that another family?
Seriously? Of course not.
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Old Nov 29, 2021, 3:27 am
  #2210  
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Originally Posted by SanDiego1K
We have been denied admittance to the Al Safwa lounge saying that our fare does not qualify nor does our OneWorld Emerald status allow us to access it. We were taken to the Al Mourjan lounge.

Details:
We have an outbound ticket that is an P fare with an A class on to our final destination. I had checked and understood that A class was entitled to the lounge. However, I was told that the underlying fare is P, thus it is irrelevant that we are flying First onward.
Not much comfort for you, I know, but thanks for teasing out QR-thinking for resolving issues created by its crass implementation of business-lite

So, QR continues its dysfunctional marketing by upsetting premium-class passengers, this time a passenger also holding top status with a OneWorld partner. Now we're waiting for confirmation of how they'd treat a Privilege Club Plat customer travelling in P+F.

It seemed hopeful that a sector ticketed in F was going to trump the restrictions of P. After all, the F-ness of that final hop outclasses all other business-class fares on preceding sectors - and the airline recently had a re-think of its tortured logic about how to apply the rule when the F-sector precedes the rest of a trip in business-class.

Given that the only distinguishing aspects of regional first, apart from eye-watering fares, are the check-in and lounge access, the next thing to uncover is whether a break of journey in Doha will get you thrown out of the first-class check-in for an onward flight ticketed in first-class.
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Old Nov 29, 2021, 1:25 pm
  #2211  
 
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Originally Posted by SanDiego1K
Seriously? Of course not.
Ok, good. Yeah around midnight on Saturday I saw a family of three (son and two parents) trying to get access to the Al Safwa lounge and were debating the attendant as to whether they had access, and I heard them mention fare codes. The dad was getting really riled up and was straight up yelling at the desk attendant and getting in her face, to the point that the son had to tell him to back off and go sit back down. Felt really bad for the desk attendant, who maintained her professionalism the entire time.
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Old Nov 30, 2021, 11:32 am
  #2212  
 
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LOL I was wondering if this would come up on Flyertalk. First will start with some useful info:

Can confirm that "P" class is kiss of death - anything that touches it is not allowed in regardless of any A class or other class on your ticket.
P class cannot purchase into the first lounge, only business. As an aside, business lounge was sending P fare customers over to the first lounge to purchase access and the first lounge was pissed at the other lounge and radioed them about it.
Lounge manager said that the inward flight access (F connecting to J) is a temporary arrangement. My read is because of the overcrowding in the business lounge and some of the lounges remaining closed, they put this into place and the policy will revert to whatever it was.

Now - putting on flame proof suit as I've been around on FT long enough to know how this goes. But here goes... rant on...

Main issue I have with the airline is that if they have obscure policies that are not published, they should probably stick to what they say. By this I mean - when we came through DOH 2-3 days prior on the way over, we were allowed in no problem (came in on I and R class fares) and I asked about our return flight - they said that it goes by the incoming flight class only, and I asked if A class is fine and they said yes, you will have no problem. I decided against booking a transfer hotel due to this and counted on the lounge for my parents' 8 hour layover. When we arrived at the lounge, we were then told that's not the case. I would have access with an ongoing I class fare, but they would not in P class. I even offered to pay for access and the initial agent said yes, but then the lounge supervisor stepped in and said no. I explained the situation with the simple rationale that given the lack of published guidelines, all we can do as consumers is listen to what the lounge representatives tell us. The supervisor then asked me to prove that we have an "A" class on the incoming flight - which I did. Then she claimed this is not a fare class, it's a class of service. This is when the proverbial stuff hit the fan, at this point she kept retracting her statements as she said it would be ok with the A class, which is what the previous rep said. There were some other lies and retractions slipped in but it's not important. In the end, we left but my point is that if the airline declines to publish clear access rules, they should stick by their stated policies. The company culture does not seem to empower people to do much either. It would have been completely fine if they were just upfront and consistent about their policies, I probably would have either booked the hotel or went to the priority pass lounge straightaway rather than bother trying to get in. Also, if it were just me - whatever - but this was for my older parents and I felt bad that I booked the flight for them (aside: the OTA's should really tell customers what class they're being booked in, they don't even tell us at booking or thereafter - and I tried to upbook into R class and it wasn't allowed). As it happened, I completely lost any time in the lounge as I had to board my flight so I "paid" for the argument with my own time too!
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Old Nov 30, 2021, 9:35 pm
  #2213  
 
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Originally Posted by superbobx2
LOL I was wondering if this would come up on Flyertalk. First will start with some useful info:

Can confirm that "P" class is kiss of death - anything that touches it is not allowed in regardless of any A class or other class on your ticket.
P class cannot purchase into the first lounge, only business. As an aside, business lounge was sending P fare customers over to the first lounge to purchase access and the first lounge was pissed at the other lounge and radioed them about it.
Lounge manager said that the inward flight access (F connecting to J) is a temporary arrangement. My read is because of the overcrowding in the business lounge and some of the lounges remaining closed, they put this into place and the policy will revert to whatever it was.
I don't understand why AM lounge is crowded (I know it is, I just don't understand why.) Was it not built to handle the number of expected J pax in pre-Covid days? Are there more J pax now than pre-Covid? I find that hard to believe.
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Old Nov 30, 2021, 9:53 pm
  #2214  
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Originally Posted by fbrdky
I don't understand why AM lounge is crowded (I know it is, I just don't understand why.) Was it not built to handle the number of expected J pax in pre-Covid days? Are there more J pax now than pre-Covid? I find that hard to believe.
As noted earlier in the thread the regular business and first class lounges are still closed and all those that would normally be slumming it in one of those lounges (for example, OW elites flying in Y) are being directed to AM.
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Old Dec 1, 2021, 5:50 am
  #2215  
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Originally Posted by fbrdky
I don't understand why AM lounge is crowded (I know it is, I just don't understand why.) Was it not built to handle the number of expected J pax in pre-Covid days? Are there more J pax now than pre-Covid? I find that hard to believe.
Originally Posted by jerry a. laska
As noted earlier in the thread the regular business and first class lounges are still closed and all those that would normally be slumming it in one of those lounges (for example, OW elites flying in Y) are being directed to AM.
Also as the numbers of flights out of Doha have been decreased, people are mostly having longer connections compared to pre-COVID and staying longer in the lounges as well.
Plus, the STPC program is suspended and the Discover Qatar program or a self-arranged transit hotel or visit to the city might not make sense for most people because of testing, SIM card, immigration wait, etc... hassles which could be quite an additional expense.
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Old Dec 1, 2021, 6:03 am
  #2216  
 
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Originally Posted by jerry a. laska
As noted earlier in the thread the regular business and first class lounges are still closed and all those that would normally be slumming it in one of those lounges (for example, OW elites flying in Y) are being directed to AM.
Is that still the case? I thought the status lounges reopened
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Old Dec 1, 2021, 6:06 am
  #2217  
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Originally Posted by drwook
Is that still the case? I thought the status lounges reopened
The status lounges are used as duty of care centers for those who need accommodation and meals after suffering from irregular operations.
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Old Dec 3, 2021, 3:01 am
  #2218  
 
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Husband and I both have QRPC Platinum status; Travelling on D/I (first leg going to DOH on D, leaving DOH to BCN on I) - do we get access to AS? Would we need to pay?
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Old Dec 3, 2021, 3:29 am
  #2219  
 
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One question regarding Al Safwa access. My friend is traveling on the same flight in J as a Platinum and has a guest pass to give for Al Safwa access. Would I be eligible to get into the lounge with this guest pass?

Last edited by Pursh; Dec 3, 2021 at 3:37 am
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Old Dec 3, 2021, 3:45 am
  #2220  
 
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Originally Posted by Pursh
I have two questions regarding Al Safwa access:

1) I'll be flying on a P fare business class ticket (upgraded by cash from Economy to Business). Will I be eligible to pay the QAR 600 entry fee to enter the lounge?
2) My friend is traveling on the same flight in J as a Platinum and has a guest pass to give for Al Safwa access. Would I be eligible to get into the lounge with this guest pass?
2. What fare class is your friend's ticket? If his ticket is R or higher then he can guest you into Al Safwa. This is not part of the 5 lounge passes he is entitled to with Platinum membership.
QR Platinum members, when travelling business class in R fare or higher, has access to Al Safwa + 2 guests. The guest(s) also has to be travelling in business class however it does not matter which fare class or whether the ticket was upgraded. As long as they are also travelling in business class.
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