ExpatSomchai

This is a little old but gives a good overview of the lounge

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...a-airport-doh/

roussell

Thanks

Shareholder

So am I to understand that the ala carte menu is now gone from the restaurant and there's only the buffet? If so, this is most certainly a downgrading of what was an excellent service feature. I really enjoyed the filet mignon and occasional lamb shank on past visits earlier this year.

Also, is there any form of luggage storage in the lounge? I've got a long connection and would like to take in one of the city tours, but don't want to have to take my carry-on with me.

remdk

Shareholder turn right when you enter the lounge and they are somewhere on the right.

Shareholder

Thank you.

bedelman

You are correct about the change. I share your surprise -- for a lounge restricted to business class pax only, no elite pax, it's particularly surprising to see removal of services found in other lounges. Combine that with reduction in onboard catering, and Qatar's food doesn't obviously continue to deserve the praise many folks previously offered.

teemuflyer

I think there has been a change to who can access the this lounge now. According the OW site other OW carriers First and Business customers are also granted access, which was not the case before, IIRC, when previously only QR F and J pax had access. Maybe this has affected the available offerings and services somewhat. That noted, a la carte dining is supposedly still available as an option.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge
Location details: Main Terminal, 3rd floor
Opening hours: Daily: 24 hours
Notes: Al Mourjan Business Lounge is only available to First and Business Class ticketed customers on Qatar Airways and other oneworld member flights. Guests are not permitted.

Multiple dining options
Al Mourjan Business Lounge offers a variety of dining areas to suit your taste, with both buffet and ŕ la carte menus. Whether you are in the mood for a light snack or a gourmet meal, we can satisfy your palate.

remdk

teemuflyer that is what https://www.oneworld.com/ffp/lounge-access said most of the time. It did not update the page when QR banned other OW J and F passengers.

teemuflyer

Well, it is not only on the OW site, but also on QRs own site, stating that other OW F and J pax have access now:

http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/lounges.page

Offering a luxurious experience rivalling any five-star boutique hotel, Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge at Hamad International Airport promises to redefine the world standard in airport lounge experiences. The lounge access is for Qatar Airways and oneworld First Class and Business Class passengers only.

Shareholder

How many other OW carriers serve DOH? Given QR now owns stakes in BA/IB and LAN that's pretty much all the OW carriers flying to/from except for CX so it makes sense their premium passengers would now have access to this lounge. Though IIRC the only OW limitation was that Sapphire and Emerald elites flying in non-premium cabins could not use this lounge. However, this could be a reason for downgrading food services...though that flies in the face that Baker has been promising of an even more "great" business class coming in 2017!

Also, with the discounting of J that QR has been doing to fill those cabins, suspect the revenue is also down and cutbacks have been taking place.

I also noticed on the QR site that the BA logo is being featured prominently on service description pages with a link to that airline's site. Most unusual.

msm2000uk

As previously said, there are a raft of changes coming in 2017 - upgraded lounge access for certain passengers is one (which seems to have been altered already).

Not all staff will be aware of the changes, so it's worth keeping a screenshot of the rules just in case you're questioned.

QR, as per all ME3 airlines, are making certain cutbacks, but fare prices have risen slowly over the past 12 months which has helped.

Gone are the weekly Sales, and yet passenger numbers have increased, so good news for the airline on that front. However, profitability is rumoured to have decreased due to increased oil prices.

New lounges at HIA will open in 2017, giving further options to passengers of Premium Classes, as well as QRPC and OneWorld status cardholders.

M

Shareholder

I don't totally disagree with your post, though as I wrote a above, economy cabins may be full and thus require no major regular seat sales, but on too many routes (non-major European and North American cities) the front J cabin continues to be steeply discounted to attempt to fill the empty seats. Or given away in 2-for-1s. J might be doing well on major city routes like LHR, JFK, CDG, FRA, PEK, PVG, SYD at standard industry fares, but beyond those cities QR pretty much discounts everyone else in the market to fill its front cabins.

The new strategy appears to be sprucing up J even further so it can justify higher fares on routes against which it competes with home airlines. However, since those airlines fly to DOH (and the other two major M3 cities) with passengers who are just going there, and not connecting onward (these are not alliance hubs like LHR, SIN, HKG or FRA), QR's goal is to take more customers away from home carriers that can fly them non-stop.

I believe this has created a conundrum for all three Gulf carriers who have expanded greatly, provided a very hyped up F and J inflight and home base experience, but still must make that transit and the extra hours it takes, more attractive to business fliers who can otherwise afford to take their home airlines nonstop. That's a very key and profitable sector none of the three have managed to conquer. And thus their margins are squeezed even in premium cabins...and fares deeply discounted (if not by public sales, then through TAs who can offer lower than published fares on QR, EY and EK with attractive commissions).

As for fuel prices, they are rising but still less than half what they were before the Saudis set out to destroy the North American industry by increasing supply which in turn dropped prices precipitously. But even this increase is now cutting into margins given the high staffing levels that must be either maintained or reduced...at a time also when the demand for skilled crews is increasing their salaries for these three carriers. A further strategy seems to have been buying into European legacies to blunt their concerns about competition, QR's taking a chunk of shares in BA/IB and now LATAM. EY's mess has been with keeping Air Berlin and Alitalia afloat. EK pretty much did the same without equity in its concordate with QF.

No doubt, as well, the three have been impacted by TK's rapid expansion, though that is slowing due to an very inadequate terminal at IST....and the new one many, many years off in the future. One can only imagine what may be down the road in 5-years when Iran starts flying all those Airbuses and Boeings in a vain (in both meanings of the word) attempt to copy this Gulf region hub/transit model. Desperate to attract customers to fill its planes (assuming enough skilled pilots and other crew/maintenance staff can be trained and hired, and airport in Tehran upgraded) IranAir will surely undercut economy fares between Europe and Asia (North America is unlikely for quite a while so will give the M3 a reprieve on that front) and thus erode the frugal traveler market.

Indeed, it will be a most interesting few years ahead for this latest batch of airlines that have adopted the transit model first introduced by KLM, and later by SQ and CX.

Dr. HFH

Reduction in onboard catering? I haven't experienced that. Just did CMB-DOH-BOS and return over the holidays. Obviously, the BOS segments are legitimate long haul flights. The food on both of those flights was excellent; I would say that the soups were of a high restaurant quality, and the rest of the food just slightly less so. Much better than my past few CX F long hauls.

BuildingMyBento

What an underwhelming lounge...the food options were a joke/not good overall, and there seemed to be way too many lounge staff being idle/getting in the way.

I noticed that there were rest areas to the far right (when entering the lounge), but the purpose is defeated when people are able to use their mobile phones. Guess my expectations were too high after having visited the premium terminal a few times.

The best part of the lounge was this foosball table:

dodgeflyer

I agree. I do not understand why AM is rated so highly. It is okay design wise - a bit impersonal - hate getting a drink is a mission if you're sitting in the blue areas. The food is not very good, bland and uninspired. The never changing desserts! I like QR but dread anything more than 2 hour layovers.