During Covid, Qatar Airways used the opportunity to extend its lounge at Terminal 4 to include a separate section for frequent flyers. Previously Qatar would not allow oneworld frequent flyers to enter the lounge if they were not flying business class. This is the same in Doha, but there, Qatar has always provided an alternative lounge. These were also recently refurbished and extended. I’ll be reviewing these next month assuming my flights go to plan.
The change at Heathrow is particularly relevant since Qatar started to sell ‘lite’ fares which do not include things such as lounge access and seat choice. However, if you have oneworld status you are still entitled to access a lounge, just not the main Qatar lounge.
My friend David visited the lounges yesterday (you can follow him on IG @daimarrr) and kindly shared some photos with me.
In this post:
The Qatar Airways Frequent Flyer Lounge Heathrow
Situated in Terminal 4, located just a floor below the Premium Lounge, the Frequent Flyer lounge is open to Qatar Airways Privilege Club members, with access extending to Joint Business Partners like British Airways Executive Club members, and other oneworld Alliance loyalty members. You can guest in as per what your oneworld status allows. The entrance is next to the main lounge entranceway.
The lounge has modern interiors overlooking the tarmac. The menu is pretty impressive, with a hot and cold buffet selection and a range of drinks.
It’s a cut above BA’s Club lounges in terms of food and probably more akin to their First lounge which is for Gold cardholders. DO & CO that do BA’s onboard catering from Heathrow, do the catering for the lounge.
However, the selection of spirits is very minimal, and the wines are more of the BA Galleries Club variety, being on the cheap side.
Qatar Airways’ Premium Lounge
Qatar Airways’ Premium Lounge in Terminal 4, the first in the airline’s global network, has also recently reopened its doors to Qatar Airways First and Business Class passengers. This is a fantastic lounge and personally, I much prefer it to the Doha lounge as it is more intimate.
Again it has great tarmac views, a martini bar, a dedicated family area, prayer room and several dining options including a full buffet and an à la carte menu served to your table at the brasserie and casual dining at the Global Deli.
The champagne on offer was Gosset, which if you are not familiar with, is a well-respected champagne house which I am a fan of.
The lounge also has lovely spacious bathrooms with showers.
There is also a new dedicated a new enclosed Premium Check-in Area exclusively for its First and Business Class customers. Within the check-in lobby area, customers are invited to lounge with a drink while check-in formalities are completed.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are proud to be opening our first Frequent Flyer lounge outside of Doha, offering passengers across the oneworld Alliance network an oasis of calm and comfort in one of the world’s busiest airports. Qatar Airways is committed to serving passengers travelling from Heathrow with world-class facilities, and we hope that they will enjoy the warm Qatari hospitality offered at the Premium Lounge, FFP Lounge and the dedicated Premium Check-in area.”
Qatar Airways currently operates from four UK airports, which includes five daily flights from London Heathrow increasing to six daily flights from London Gatwick, up to three daily flights from Manchester, and a daily service from Edinburgh. In addition to the UK frequencies, the airline operates to Dublin with 11 weekly flights.
1 comment
Great insight into those two lounges – the question is, whilst QR appear to have separated out those pax who are on revenue tickets vs Avios tickets, what impact does that have on the check-in area?
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