kimChee

I was assisting in doing a business class booking from Australia to Miami via DOH one way. Fare basis IJAUR1SI, booked online at Qatar website
The website presents the lowest fare without any mention of what is or isn't included until and only if click on a drop-down which explicity says lounge access is included. (and the person actually doing the booking didn't look at that)
Then, more screens to enter passenger info, and then a screen to UPSELL LOUNGE ACCESS for $96.
Which the person booking selected and paid for.
I'm sure Qatar is making a lot of money doing this which I think is highly unethical, deceptive and should be illegal.

If they made the reverse mistake - website offering free lounge access to those who weren't supposed to get it - I'm sure it would be quickly corrected.

Lounge access included- but later they will try and sell you what you already got for another $96.

ft101

Have they upsold from the Al Mourjan Lounge used by Business Class passengers to the Al Safwa Lounge?

realgaga

What lounge did the passenger pay for?

brunos

As far as I know, the website always posts the benefits of the fare without having to click on a drop-down menu. In your case, QR would post both the cheapest fare available "comfort" and the more expensive "elite". You would have to actively click on "SELECT" just on top of the description of the benefits. Lounge access is explicitly stated. Hence,I think that the first part of your post is incorrect.

If they later offered and upsell lounge access. two things are possible. There was an IT bug and you should have no problem in requesting a refund. They offered an upsell to the the luxurious First class Al Safwa lounge and that is a bargain if the layover is significant.

Davvidd

I have booked and flown on Comfort on business and the lounge was included. It could depend on the sector? Even now from BNE to MIA it is showing Comfort as inclusive of the lounge.

ThunderStorm00

@RealGaga and Bruno both seem right –
— My guess is they were offered an upsell to the the luxurious First class Al Safwa lounge and that is indeed a bargain
— Sucks though that one has to be on a certain kind of J Fare Bucket to even be able to Qualify as such
— If this turns out to be the case, then I suppose the "Comfort" Fare Bucket qualifies for Paid Access to Al-Safwa First Lounge.

Please do Report back to elaborate as this could potentially be a DP

ThunderStorm00

.... Please !!

I'm dying waiting breathlessly here for the answer

hithesh123

I came across this last week and posted in a different thread-
DOH QR Lounge: how long can you stay

I did not go for the up sell and had to double check the lounge access was included in the class of ticket (business elite). I didn't have any issues entering the lounge.
While booking, it showed up on kayak first, I thought kayak was upselling. But then it also showed up and qatar's website. Ended up buying from qatar.
The type of lounge (first class or still business class) mentioned on the webpage was Al Mourjan Business lounge. So yes, it did confuse me a lot and I had to waste my time rechecking and making sure I would get lounge access without extra fee. With all the covid confusion, this is just irritation to say the least.
My flight was from SFO to HKT,

ThunderStorm00

@Hithesh. How Absolutely truly Bizarre !!
I see now your Screenshot to the Al-Mourjan Lounge in your previous post while booking the same "Comfort" Fare Bucket !!!

PS: Not to digress but I was saying to someone the other day, how never have I ever had to learn an Airport so well, with all it's various Nooks and Crannies; Hidden, if not quasi-published or quasi-disclosed in an obscure corner of the Interwebs.

I wonder what the future will hold for this Airline. Some of our Colleagues have too many OneWorld dependencies now at this point and with AA starting to fly their own Metal into DOH starting May 2022, we might as well start preparing to get stuck in a perennial loop of confusion and mistrust LOL.


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IAN-UK

They're not being deliberately deceptive: it's just the usual level of incompetence the airline shows in matter related to communication and marketing.

ISTFlyer

My suggestion to the OP would be to avoid those pop-ups.
A passenger purchasing an "I" fare would be entitled for the Al Mourjan Lounge according to the fare bucket they are traveling.

Neilgcal

On the positive side I have Al Mourjan lounge access and it gives me the opportunity to buy up to Al Safwa for 20% off the door price so I will add this for my trip in 2 weeks time.

hithesh123

How much would you have to pay for Al safwa?

surryson

I’ve had this too. Eligible for Al Mourjan but offering ‘up sell’ to Al Mourjan for £70pp. Al Safwa was also offered up until the day before travel for around £100pp from memory. Al Safwa disappeared as an option on the day of travel.

ThunderStorm00

For sure good advice for the OP, but My Parents nor my Siblings would know which Fare "Bucket" they might happen to be in — they would most definitely, and have done so in the past, choose any such Option to buy any Lounge offered during the Check-in Process as the safest bet; without even knowing whether or not they were already entitled to it.

May I ask how you have this access ?
Perhaps I am not understanding something...?
Do you simply HAVE this access to AM as part of this particular upcoming/present Segment/Itinerary being flown which you mentioned in your post and thus getting the opportunity to upsell to AS –
OR ...Do you instead rather always GET this opportunity to buy up to AS as part of having some level of Status in an FFP or another lesser known Program/Procedure ?

Asking because QR keep changing Rules every other month and much remains confusing and ever-evolving or rather devolving even for us OneWorld Emeralds passing through DOH on a Regular basis even in J on 16+ hour flights..

I have paid anywhere from $68 to $95 (about same as AM) to up to $195
— For a brief moment in history, even Y pax could pay up for AS access..
To be quite frank, the only appealing thing to me about this AS as opposed to AM, is that I can get real/actual sleep on a 6–12 hour Connection/LayOver without having to deal with the Airside Airport (which is commonly booked up days in advance); or then leaving or having to leave the Airport for this purpose especially during these COVID times..

This same thing happened to me as well....

So would you say/hypothesize that Al-Safwa perhaps disappeared 4 Hours before your Check-In? or more like between 4 – 24 ??
Simply trying to figure things out. Thank you.
It's possible they release a limited number of Al-Safwa "seats" for Sale for us riff-raff in J coming off our 18+ Hours Flights.
-Not related but also know that the Incoming & Outgoing flight duration also has some factor in the final determination of the QR Lounge Dragon's formula which is sometimes computed LIVE 'at the scene'.

More recently on a flight from the US, I simply walked over to the "OneWorld Bank of Lounges" which they have created to skirt the OW Rules; only because I did not want to deal with the Dragons at any of these other 2 better known Lounges –
— In fact, for shorter Layovers I now immediately go straight to the Armani Restaurant, where right from the start after a long flight, I at least get a smile instead when I first walk in.

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