Latest news with #PrivilegeClub
The Age
12-05-2025
- The Age
This long-haul economy class actually feels luxurious (well, almost)
The airline: Qatar Airways Route Melbourne (MEL) to Doha (DOH), flight QR989. (Final destination Athens) Frequency Twice daily from Melbourne (14 flights a week) Aircraft Boeing 777-300ER Class Economy; seat 29C Flight time 14 hours, 16 minutes Checking in 'Never fly in school holidays,' says the woman at Qatar's check-in counter, as Melbourne Airport heaves and roars on a Sunday afternoon. She's preaching to the converted, but sometimes, it's unavoidable. I've already checked in online and need simply to drop my luggage, but it's a 45-minute wait in a very short queue thanks to several groups ahead of me with incomprehensibly vast amounts of luggage. In contrast, the check-in queue is longer, but motors through at three times the speed. Baggage The checked allowance on my two economy classic flights to Athens is 25kg, though on my way home, on a different routing from Sofia (Bulgaria) through Doha to Melbourne, I'm on an 'economy convenience' fare, and gain an extra 5kg to 30kg. My cabin allowance on all flights is a single piece of luggage weighing 7kg. Loyalty scheme Joining Qatar's Privilege Club lets you collect Avios points, and at its lowest level, gives you an hour's free Wi-Fi onboard and discounts the cost of seat selection. I blow some of my expiring Avios points – instead of using cash – to pay for a gift at the duty-free shops on my layover in Doha. Members of Virgin Australia's Velocity program can also earn points on Qatar Airways flights.
Sydney Morning Herald
12-05-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
This long-haul economy class actually feels luxurious (well, almost)
The airline: Qatar Airways Route Melbourne (MEL) to Doha (DOH), flight QR989. (Final destination Athens) Frequency Twice daily from Melbourne (14 flights a week) Aircraft Boeing 777-300ER Class Economy; seat 29C Flight time 14 hours, 16 minutes Checking in 'Never fly in school holidays,' says the woman at Qatar's check-in counter, as Melbourne Airport heaves and roars on a Sunday afternoon. She's preaching to the converted, but sometimes, it's unavoidable. I've already checked in online and need simply to drop my luggage, but it's a 45-minute wait in a very short queue thanks to several groups ahead of me with incomprehensibly vast amounts of luggage. In contrast, the check-in queue is longer, but motors through at three times the speed. Baggage The checked allowance on my two economy classic flights to Athens is 25kg, though on my way home, on a different routing from Sofia (Bulgaria) through Doha to Melbourne, I'm on an 'economy convenience' fare, and gain an extra 5kg to 30kg. My cabin allowance on all flights is a single piece of luggage weighing 7kg. Loyalty scheme Joining Qatar's Privilege Club lets you collect Avios points, and at its lowest level, gives you an hour's free Wi-Fi onboard and discounts the cost of seat selection. I blow some of my expiring Avios points – instead of using cash – to pay for a gift at the duty-free shops on my layover in Doha. Members of Virgin Australia's Velocity program can also earn points on Qatar Airways flights.
Zawya
14-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia offer complimentary vouchers for dining at Hamad International Airport
Privilege Club and Virgin Australia's Velocity Frequent Flyer members will receive dining vouchers worth USD 20 to use at more than 50 airport restaurants and cafes Cairo, Egypt – Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia have launched 'Dine on Us' – a complimentary dining programme for passengers travelling through Doha to and from Australia. Starting 12 June 2025, Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Virgin Australia's Velocity Frequent Flyer members, will receive dining vouchers worth USD 20 that can be used at more than 50 restaurants and cafes at Hamad International Airport (DOH), voted the Best Airport in the Middle East by Skytrax in 2025. Travellers, including Privilege Club Family and Student Club members, automatically become eligible for the vouchers once they add their Privilege Club or Velocity Frequent Flyer number to their flight booking at the time of booking or check-in. 'Dine on Us' vouchers can be used at a wide range of dining options at DOH: from unique cafes including Ralph's Coffee and Oreo Café; to the elegant Harrods Tea Room; and to the comfort offerings of Gordon Ramsay Burger and Street Pizza Gordon Ramsay. Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Thierry Antinori, said: 'Affirming once again that our focus is to give passengers the best possible travel experience, Qatar Airways has partnered with Velocity Frequent Flyer to reward our loyalty members with complimentary vouchers to enjoy the offerings at over 50 leading dining options at the award-winning Hamad International Airport (DOH) – voted the Best Airport in the Middle East and World's Best Airport Shopping by Skytrax in 2025. We look forward to welcoming global travellers to 'Dine on Us'.' Privilege Club Platinum, Gold and Silver members and Velocity Frequent Flyer Platinum and Gold members flying to or from Australia with Qatar Airways or Virgin Australia will be eligible for enhanced priority experience. All membership tiers offer exclusive benefits such as seat selection, baggage allowance, lounge access, and priority check-in, boarding and baggage collection. Additionally, Privilege Club members can earn and spend their Avios at Qatar Duty Free. Members can also earn Qpoints while shopping and dining with Qatar Duty Free. Qatar Airways, a prominent leader in fostering connectivity in Australia, is set to re-launch daily flights to Canberra via Melbourne this year, making it the sixth Australian gateway served by the airline. The upcoming flights are complemented by Virgin Australia's new services from Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth to Doha from June 2025, with Melbourne to follow in December 2025, connecting passengers to over 100 destinations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The Virgin Australia flights will be operated on Qatar Airways' spacious Boeing 777s and their unmatched Qsuite Business Class experience. Qatar Airways' entire fleet of Boeing 777 is soon to be equipped with Starlink's high-speed internet on-board. With more than 80 per cent of its Boeing 777 fleet equipped with Starlink, the airline has operated more than 6,000 global flights with unparalleled and fastest gate-to-gate internet WiFi connectivity, unmatched by any other airline in the MENA region. Learn about Dine on Us and its participating restaurants and cafes: About Velocity Frequent Flyer Virgin Australia's loyalty program, Velocity Frequent Flyer, boast more than 13 million members who can use their Points to redeem flights to over 600 destinations around the world through Virgin Australia and the airline's extensive list of international partner carriers, including Virgin Atlantic, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, United Airlines and more. The program is also partnered with Flybuys (Coles, Coles Express, Bunnings and more), Myer, DiDi and more, giving members more choice than ever before when earning and redeeming Points. About Virgin Australia Founded in the Year 2000 by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Australia is now one of the largest Australian airlines operating an extensive domestic network as well as short-haul international services, charter and cargo operations. The Group employs more than 8,000 people and has been a competitor in the Australian aviation landscape for 25 years. Virgin Australia is incredibly focused on providing wonderful travel experiences through award-winning service, optionality to fly the way you want to, and value with competitive airfare pricing. Three seating choices are offered when flying with Virgin Australia: Business Class, Economy X (extra leg room Economy) and Economy. About Qatar Airways Privilege Club In the year 2000, Qatar Airways established its loyalty programme, Privilege Club, which features four tiers of membership – Burgundy, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, giving members a range of exclusive privileges and benefits that have been designed and tailored to make travelling even more rewarding. Members can collect Avios when flying with Qatar Airways, oneworld and other airline partners, as well as with other financial, hotel, car rental and lifestyle partners. Avios can be spent for award flights, upgrades, extra baggage, packages with Qatar Airways Holidays, shopping and dining at Qatar Duty Free, accessing Privilege Club Collection and much more. Members can also collect and spend Avios on their purchases at a wide range of shopping, dining and entertainment outlets by linking their payment cards with their Privilege Club account. Not a Privilege Club member? Join now. About Qatar Airways A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways won the 'World's Best Airline' for the unprecedented eighth time at the 2024 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax. Qatar Airways has been the World's Best Airline in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2024. The airline continues to be synonymous with excellence, also taking home, 'World's Best Business Class', 'World's Best Business Class Airline Lounge', and 'Best Airline in the Middle East'. As leaders in industry innovation and digital adoption, Qatar Airways was also recently voted the 'World's Best Airline Website' by World Travel Tech Awards in 2024. Qatar Airways currently flies to over 170 destinations worldwide, connecting through its Doha hub, Hamad International Airport, the 'Best Airport in the Middle East' for 11 consecutive years, as well as 'World's Best Airport Shopping' for the third year in a row, as voted by Skytrax. Hamad International Airport has previously been named the 'World's Best Airport' by Skytrax in 2021, 2022, and 2024. Qatar Airways was the first Airline in the Middle East to be certified to the highest level of IATA's Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) programme, based on recognised environmental management system principles (such as ISO 14001). As an inaugural signatory to the Buckingham Palace Declaration in March 2016, Qatar Airways became the first airline globally to be certified to the industry standard for the prevention of illegal wildlife trafficking in aviation.
