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
Feb 6, 2022, 3:52 am
#2341
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: BRS
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,995
Feb 6, 2022, 6:33 am
#2342
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,008
Let's face it, five hours plus in F is something of a rare bird in current QR schedules.
Feb 6, 2022, 6:53 am
#2343
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hong Kong, France
Programs: FB , BA Gold
Posts: 15,568
It takes a bit of an effort to keep up with anecdotal reports that soon become this forum's lore on QR's rules and procedures. But it seems the five-hour rule is currently not applied, or has been superceded by a more lax interpretation that includes passengers connecting from regional-first flights. The single exception may, or may not, be connections leading to business-lite (P-class) travel.
Let's face it, five hours plus in F is something of a rare bird in current QR schedules.
Let's face it, five hours plus in F is something of a rare bird in current QR schedules.
Feb 6, 2022, 7:26 am
#2344
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,132
There were a few posts around the same time where it was reported that F regional to J long-haul will have access (again, excluding P fares).
[EDIT]One caveat to note: just saw this post suggests that the situation is temporary, but again, nothing published, so…
…
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.
…
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.
…
Last edited by crackjack; Feb 8, 2022 at 8:23 am
Feb 6, 2022, 9:14 am
#2345
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 120
So in Feb: considering my LAX-DOH-DXB QR tix (no fancy QR or OW status). LAX - DOH Business class "I", which lounge/s can I use? (checking in at TBIT).
I figured on OW, but can I use Admiral's club? I've never been there so I don't know if it is so much better. Need some input.
Thx!
sorry, this is LAX related and not AS. hope someone knows. cheers!
I figured on OW, but can I use Admiral's club? I've never been there so I don't know if it is so much better. Need some input.
Thx!
sorry, this is LAX related and not AS. hope someone knows. cheers!
Last edited by bvmcginnis; Feb 6, 2022 at 9:23 am
Feb 7, 2022, 8:40 am
#2346
Join Date: May 2013
Location: South Texas
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Glob, AA EXP, Marriott Tit
Posts: 277
Is there a full list of regional destinations that are coded as first class? I'm aware of DXB, CAI, DMM etc but I would like to see a full list. I've searched and scrolled but with no success. Is IST on the list?
Feb 7, 2022, 1:43 pm
#2347
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,008
Istanbul is in Europe; Turkish destinations are J class.
My stab at current F city-pairs with DOH
Last edited by IAN-UK; Feb 8, 2022 at 4:03 pm
Feb 7, 2022, 4:06 pm
#2348
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: Jose Cuervo Gold, Bud Light Platinum, Schwab 401K, VW Bug 2MM
Posts: 1,103
So in Feb: considering my LAX-DOH-DXB QR tix (no fancy QR or OW status). LAX - DOH Business class "I", which lounge/s can I use? (checking in at TBIT).
I figured on OW, but can I use Admiral's club? I've never been there so I don't know if it is so much better. Need some input.
Thx!
sorry, this is LAX related and not AS. hope someone knows. cheers!
I figured on OW, but can I use Admiral's club? I've never been there so I don't know if it is so much better. Need some input.
Thx!
sorry, this is LAX related and not AS. hope someone knows. cheers!
You should also be able to access the AA flagship lounge, but I'm not sure thats worth the trek compared to the oneworld biz lounge.
Feb 8, 2022, 9:01 am
#2349
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 120
Didn't consider AA flagship. thx. Yeah, went to AA F a some months back. prob not so worth the schlep.
Feb 8, 2022, 9:45 am
#2350
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold,QR Gold,HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
Posts: 14,186
Feb 8, 2022, 3:56 pm
#2351
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,008
Feb 8, 2022, 6:27 pm
#2352
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Kuwait (KW)
Programs: Qatar Airways, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 2,716
Hi all - does anyone have experience with or know if QRPC Plats flying long-haul J on a Qcredit upgrade get access to Safwa? I remember that the old/original rules were revenue or redemption F/Plat J only, but thought to check with the post-COVID lounge situation.
khabah
khabah
Feb 8, 2022, 6:53 pm
#2353
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: bay area, ca
Programs: UA plat, , aa plat, marriott LT titanium
Posts: 4,833
When I asked about purchase of F access I was told the price and that at the time I asked there were no sleep rooms available - so I went to AM.
Feb 8, 2022, 10:58 pm
#2354
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: AUH
Posts: 8,267
Great experience, wife and I travelled together with infant daughter on upgraded Eco>Biz tickets (with QPoints) from Asia to Europe. As it was our first long-haul trip with an infant I booked the free Al Maha transfer service in Doha for Platinum members (both my wife and I are Platinums). After transit screening the agent asked if we want to go to Al Mourjan and Al Safa. I mention I am not sure if we are entitled for Al Safa. She told us to wait in front of the escalator while she went upstairs to check. Took a while and she came back and we went upstairs. Again waiting a moment at the reception, got our stamped boarding passes and headed for breakfast. Wonderful service and super helpful with our daughter. Flying back in January, will try again and see if we are admitted again. I realized while waiting at the reception that the checking for other people took quite a while. Really hope to get back again.
Feb 13, 2022, 12:35 am
#2355
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 4,029
Hello everyone, apologies if I’ve missed this somewhere, but is it still possible to pay to upgrade to Al Safwa if you’re on a business class ticket?
I know you used to be able to, and I have a 3 hour layover coming back from MEL coming up - so would be nice to go there again
I know you used to be able to, and I have a 3 hour layover coming back from MEL coming up - so would be nice to go there again