We covered another case of denied Qatar Airways lounge access last week (read more here) when traveling on American Airlines issued award ticket.
The passenger was incorrectly denied lounge access due to the lowest-paid fares, not including it, but awards do. Unfortunately, it appears that it is challenging for various Qatar outstations to get this right, and even the customer service had provided an incorrect reply to the reader.
You can access Qatar Airways here.
I encouraged the reader to escalate the issue further because the first response below was simply incorrect:
Here’s the updated response from Qatar Airways:
In the text format:
Qatar Airways Customer Care
Dear Mr. REMOVED Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention.
This is in reference to your feedback received which was related to your transit experience prior to your flight QR720 from Seattle to Doha on 26th of May 2021. We endeavor to provide and maintain at all times a consistent and reliable service, we regret to learn of your report about the miscommunication by our staff. Your feedback specifically referred to deviations in the service standards we strive to achieve.
On behalf of Qatar Airways, we would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to you. Our record confirms you are entitled for Business class lounge access for American Airlines redemption ticket booked in U class and flight operated by Qatar Airways.
We have raised your feedback to our Ground service management for their immediate attention and perusal, assuring you that any necessary steps will be taken to maintain and continue further improving our service levels.
We know you as valued customer have every right to expect the best service from Qatar Airways and we thank you for taking the time to write to us about your comments and observations as your feedback is vital to us to continue improving our services. Your satisfaction is important to us and we do appreciate your loyalty and support on Qatar Airways.
We apologize once again for any inconvenience caused and we certainly look forward that your next travel will be under more pleasant circumstances.
Yours sincerely,
Avesh Macwan
Customer Care Officer
Qatar Airways – Going Places Together
QATAR
Perhaps Mr. Avesh Macwan consulted the lounge access rules between these two emails he sent to the reader.
Here’s the original piece:
Reader Email: Qatar Airways Denies Lounge Access In Seattle On American Issued Award Ticket?
Similar Previous Incident:
Reader Email: Qatar Airways Denies Lounge Access In San Francisco On Business Award Ticket?
Conclusion
Perhaps it would be time for Doha to sent a memo to all outstations to clarify that all award tickets DO include lounge access so that passengers wouldn’t be inconvenienced.
The previous reader who had the same problem was issued a $300 voucher usable on Qatar Airways, but nothing but an empty apology this time.
Qatar Airways is a five-star airline in the air, but an utter disaster if something goes wrong on the ground. The Arabian hostility towards customer service and recovery hasn’t gone unnoticed.
