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
Dec 5, 2018, 7:40 am
#1576
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: FLYINGBLUE Gold QRPC Gold OMAN SINDBAD Gold
Posts: 408
Was in AS family area shower last night, and noticed there is a -small- ventilation. However the shower in AS is smaller than AM and has no toilet inside. On the plus side there is no waiting.
Food offering early morning was very poor, mostly choice of eggs as main course. I find there is more extensive choice in AM restaurant and deli.
Food offering early morning was very poor, mostly choice of eggs as main course. I find there is more extensive choice in AM restaurant and deli.
Dec 5, 2018, 9:41 am
#1577
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Cardiff
Programs: qatar airways platinum
Posts: 731
Was in AS family area shower last night, and noticed there is a -small- ventilation. However the shower in AS is smaller than AM and has no toilet inside. On the plus side there is no waiting.
Food offering early morning was very poor, mostly choice of eggs as main course. I find there is more extensive choice in AM restaurant and deli.
Food offering early morning was very poor, mostly choice of eggs as main course. I find there is more extensive choice in AM restaurant and deli.
Dec 12, 2018, 3:57 am
#1578
Join Date: Mar 2009
Programs: BA Gold, LH, SEN, RJ Platinum, ALL Diamond, HH Diamond, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 643
I’m arriving on British Airways FIRST Class form LHR, connecting to a Qatar Airways flight in Economy Class to KWI (booked as two separate Tickets).
Considering that we are incoming First Class passengers (on BA not QR) connecting to QR in Economy is access to the first class
AL SAFWA lounge granted?
Considering that we are incoming First Class passengers (on BA not QR) connecting to QR in Economy is access to the first class
AL SAFWA lounge granted?
Dec 12, 2018, 5:28 am
#1579
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Sapporo, Japan
Programs: Junior Jet Club, Nando's Card 1 Red Chilli, Tesco Clubcard, BAEC Gold, TK M&S Elite
Posts: 520
I’m arriving on British Airways FIRST Class form LHR, connecting to a Qatar Airways flight in Economy Class to KWI (booked as two separate Tickets).
Considering that we are incoming First Class passengers (on BA not QR) connecting to QR in Economy is access to the first class
AL SAFWA lounge granted?
Considering that we are incoming First Class passengers (on BA not QR) connecting to QR in Economy is access to the first class
AL SAFWA lounge granted?
Dec 12, 2018, 6:07 am
#1580
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
I’m arriving on British Airways FIRST Class form LHR, connecting to a Qatar Airways flight in Economy Class to KWI (booked as two separate Tickets).
Considering that we are incoming First Class passengers (on BA not QR) connecting to QR in Economy is access to the first class
AL SAFWA lounge granted?
Considering that we are incoming First Class passengers (on BA not QR) connecting to QR in Economy is access to the first class
AL SAFWA lounge granted?
M
Dec 12, 2018, 7:06 am
#1581
Join Date: Mar 2009
Programs: BA Gold, LH, SEN, RJ Platinum, ALL Diamond, HH Diamond, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 643
Well not that simple... as mentioned on WIKI access is 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, provided the flight time was over 5 hours. This would be the case, it's just not clear what happens on separate tickets.
either holding a First Class boarding pass* for their next flight or holding a First Class boarding pass* from their previous flight, provided the flight time was over 5 hours. This would be the case, it's just not clear what happens on separate tickets.
Dec 19, 2018, 10:18 am
#1583
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA GfL, Marriott PlatfL/Ambassador, TP Gold, IHG Spire
Posts: 1,656
I'm arriving at 5:20AM on an F ticket on BA. I am then leaving to LAX from DOH but only two days later. Can I use the Al Safwa lounge when arriving on BA and use a day room for a few hours?
Dec 19, 2018, 10:35 am
#1584
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: Some
Posts: 5,252
I believe the answer to this will be no as you'll almost certainly fall foul of the rule that your transit time needs to be 8 hours or less to use the lounge if you are relying on an arriving F ticket to gain access. Sometimes the rules have been relaxed historically for transits between 8 and 24 hours but they have tightened up on this and in any case I would think with a ticket departing in two days you'd have no chance. Even if it turns out you get a generous member of staff on reception that ignores that rule, you'll also potentially encounter problems with the fact that a) you are trying to gain access on the basis of a non-QR inbound F flight and b) this is presumably booked as two separate tickets given the routing. I would make alternative plans to get an early check in at a hotel if I were you instead.
Dec 19, 2018, 10:52 am
#1585
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA GfL, Marriott PlatfL/Ambassador, TP Gold, IHG Spire
Posts: 1,656
I believe the answer to this will be no as you'll almost certainly fall foul of the rule that your transit time needs to be 8 hours or less to use the lounge if you are relying on an arriving F ticket to gain access. Sometimes the rules have been relaxed historically for transits between 8 and 24 hours but they have tightened up on this and in any case I would think with a ticket departing in two days you'd have no chance. Even if it turns out you get a generous member of staff on reception that ignores that rule, you'll also potentially encounter problems with the fact that a) you are trying to gain access on the basis of a non-QR inbound F flight and b) this is presumably booked as two separate tickets given the routing. I would make alternative plans to get an early check in at a hotel if I were you instead.
Dec 19, 2018, 11:27 am
#1586
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: Some
Posts: 5,252
OK, even on the same ticket I think the answer will be no (I'm not sure there's an air side lounge in Oneworld that would let someone in two days before they are due to depart!).
Dec 19, 2018, 2:57 pm
#1587
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,235
Dec 29, 2018, 4:30 pm
#1588
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 6
Hi,
I just have a simple question to ask.
flying from MCT in F, then flying to BKK in J ( but layover time is 8hr 20m which literally exceeds 8hrs for 20mins....)
Will I be entitled to get access to the AS lounge?
I'm also PC platinum member. Will that help me to get into the lounge?
Happy New Year to all
I just have a simple question to ask.
flying from MCT in F, then flying to BKK in J ( but layover time is 8hr 20m which literally exceeds 8hrs for 20mins....)
Will I be entitled to get access to the AS lounge?
I'm also PC platinum member. Will that help me to get into the lounge?
Happy New Year to all
Dec 29, 2018, 5:35 pm
#1589
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: LHR
Programs: QR Platinum, WY Gold, Shangri-la Diamond, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,151
Hi,
I just have a simple question to ask.
flying from MCT in F, then flying to BKK in J ( but layover time is 8hr 20m which literally exceeds 8hrs for 20mins....)
Will I be entitled to get access to the AS lounge?
I'm also PC platinum member. Will that help me to get into the lounge?
Happy New Year to all
I just have a simple question to ask.
flying from MCT in F, then flying to BKK in J ( but layover time is 8hr 20m which literally exceeds 8hrs for 20mins....)
Will I be entitled to get access to the AS lounge?
I'm also PC platinum member. Will that help me to get into the lounge?
Happy New Year to all
- depart in F
- arrive in long haul F (over 5 hours) and depart in J/Y*
*transit time should normally be less than 8 hours
So coming from MCT in F will not qualify regardless of your transit time I'm afraid. You will have access to the Al Mourjan on the basis of your departing flight in J though.
Having said that, msm2000uk has mentioned there will be a change to Al Safwa access rules from 1st Jan 2019. We don't yet know what that change will be - so watch this space I guess!
Last edited by purple1addict; Dec 29, 2018 at 5:44 pm
Dec 29, 2018, 10:02 pm
#1590
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
As things currently stand, you would have access to Al Safwa during transit if you either:
- depart in F
- arrive in long haul F (over 5 hours) and depart in J/Y*
*transit time should normally be less than 8 hours
So coming from MCT in F will not qualify regardless of your transit time I'm afraid. You will have access to the Al Mourjan on the basis of your departing flight in J though.
Having said that, msm2000uk has mentioned there will be a change to Al Safwa access rules from 1st Jan 2019. We don't yet know what that change will be - so watch this space I guess!
M