The MEL QP was actually a nice place to be on Friday, whats gone wrong?

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harvyk

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Last year I posted a rant here about the fact that DOM QP's are basically no longer a special place to be. Why aren't I in the qantas club right now? - Blogs - The Australian Frequent Flyer Online Community

Well I don't know if VA scaring the pants off QF and thus sitting on laurels (and 90 years of reputation) is no longer an acceptable practice within team QF, however I went up to the QP in MEL last Friday, and shock horror, there was ample seating, and a decent selection of hot food, been replaced frequently, and a genuinely nice feeling in the place.

Whilst MEL QP T1 will never have that magic exclusive feeling that other lounges can have, simply because of it's size, it's certainly a big improvement on what it was, and I for one hope to see much more of this.

All the time that QF remember that those in the QP are there because they chose to pay to be loyal, or are in fact loyal and have started ascending the ranks of the FF program, it can only be a positive thing.
 
Last year I posted a rant here about the fact that DOM QP's are basically no longer a special place to be. Why aren't I in the qantas club right now? - Blogs - The Australian Frequent Flyer Online Community

Well I don't know if VA scaring the pants off QF and thus sitting on laurels (and 90 years of reputation) is no longer an acceptable practice within team QF, however I went up to the QP in MEL last Friday, and shock horror, there was ample seating, and a decent selection of hot food, been replaced frequently, and a genuinely nice feeling in the place.

Whilst MEL QP T1 will never have that magic exclusive feeling that other lounges can have, simply because of it's size, it's certainly a big improvement on what it was, and I for one hope to see much more of this.

All the time that QF remember that those in the QP are there because they chose to pay to be loyal, or are in fact loyal and have started ascending the ranks of the FF program, it can only be a positive thing.

Of course when I am there I am just taking Aadvantage of the place.;):shock::D
 
I think a lot of it can come down to how busy it is. Just 50 or 100 fewer people can make a noticeable difference. Especially during the school holidays walking through it is much more peaceful. But on a busy friday it can resemble a beer hall. The number of people travelling does seem to fluctuate. Hard to know if what you noticed was just a one off or a new trend.
 
I am loving the CBR QP and J lounge at the moment! But I am flying on Sundays...

Usually in the QP there is less than 10 people at most and in the J lounge less than 3 people

Usually more staff than customers in both :)
 
I think a lot of it can come down to how busy it is. Just 50 or 100 fewer people can make a noticeable difference. Especially during the school holidays walking through it is much more peaceful. But on a busy friday it can resemble a beer hall. The number of people travelling does seem to fluctuate. Hard to know if what you noticed was just a one off or a new trend.

The thing I most noticed was the varierty of food choices which was now there, there was three different hot dishes available (as well as the party pies). I'm potentially back there next week, so it'll be interesting to see if I was simply noticing a one off anomaly, or if QF are in fact trying to pick up their game as VA are well and truly on QF's case (only reason I can think of that QF would improve the QP's).
 
As per the other posts, amount of people can have a major impact on perception. I love the BNE first lounge, as for some reason whenever I am there it has only a couple of pax and all is good, but others have commented that it is always packed??
 
I am loving the CBR QP and J lounge at the moment! But I am flying on Sundays...

Usually in the QP there is less than 10 people at most and in the J lounge less than 3 people

Usually more staff than customers in both :)

Try a Thursday evening when the house is sitting. Complete mayhem with all the pollies hanger oners.
 
The thing I most noticed was the varierty of food choices which was now there, there was three different hot dishes available (as well as the party pies). I'm potentially back there next week, so it'll be interesting to see if I was simply noticing a one off anomaly, or if QF are in fact trying to pick up their game as VA are well and truly on QF's case (only reason I can think of that QF would improve the QP's).

I've never seen NPPPs in the MEL QP, only in the J Lounge.
I was also there Friday night and it was reasonably quiet - not like a fortnight prior which was a lot busier. So yeah, it's probably just different flying patterns of eligible members for whatever reason.
Not sure what you are referring to as "three hot dishes" - in the QP there is always the one type (mirrored on both sides of the servery) but in the J Lounge there are the 2 types in the middle (ie one is pasta and the other beef stew) with the third selection being NPPPs that are right next to the salads. If you count the soup as another option that could be considered a fourth.
 
I've never seen NPPPs in the MEL QP, only in the J Lounge.
I was also there Friday night and it was reasonably quiet - not like a fortnight prior which was a lot busier. So yeah, it's probably just different flying patterns of eligible members for whatever reason.
Not sure what you are referring to as "three hot dishes" - in the QP there is always the one type (mirrored on both sides of the servery) but in the J Lounge there are the 2 types in the middle (ie one is pasta and the other beef stew) with the third selection being NPPPs that are right next to the salads. If you count the soup as another option that could be considered a fourth.

The very original NPPP's were the little coughpy ones you buy in the catering pack by the hundreds (just the tiny little ones that are filled with something that may or may not once have been meat).

The J NPPP's are actually quite nice (although i'm not necessarily sold on the Duck with Five Spice yet!).
 
The very original NPPP's were the little coughpy ones you buy in the catering pack by the hundreds (just the tiny little ones that are filled with something that may or may not once have been meat).

The J NPPP's are actually quite nice (although i'm not necessarily sold on the Duck with Five Spice yet!).

The duck and five spice one is great! Really well balanced, just like the chicken and leek J NPPP. Only ever had a beef one - I'm sure there are some more varieties that seasoned NPPP connoisseurs would be able to enlighten us about..
 
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The duck and five spice one is great! Really well balanced, just like the chicken and leek J NPPP. Only ever had a beef one - I'm sure there are some more varieties that seasoned NPPP connoisseurs would be able to enlighten us about..

I concur on the Chicken & Leek. They're really tasty.

ISTR that they had a pepper steak one early on in the piece as well?
 
I concur on the Chicken & Leek. They're really tasty.

ISTR that they had a pepper steak one early on in the piece as well?

I remember that one and enjoyed it.

I'm not really sold on the duck pie and wonder if they incur a big bill? I feel like a bit of a goose trying to pick them up with the tongs.

The chicken and leek sounds nice, I wonder how loud the wails will be when they are removed after a paltry run.
 
Not a huge fan of the duck ones. A bit salty I reckon.
the beef and mushroom In the Syd J lounge were very nice last week.
 
I often wonder if staff are allowing more guests than permitted. I sometimes stand at the window and look down at what was the lounge when I joined back in the late 90s. It was so much smaller and on most occasions I would walk around looking for a spare seat. Perhaps the time has come for further expansion?
 
Lounges may be empty soon if Qantas continues its downward spiral.

I have also noticed the lounges are a little quieter. What is strange though is if the passengers are not there why are last minute airfares so expensive?
 
Lounges may be empty soon if Qantas continues its downward spiral.

I have also noticed the lounges are a little quieter. What is strange though is if the passengers are not there why are last minute airfares so expensive?

Not everyone who flies has lounge access...
 
Last year I posted a rant here about the fact that DOM QP's are basically no longer a special place to be. Why aren't I in the qantas club right now? - Blogs - The Australian Frequent Flyer Online Community

Well I don't know if VA scaring the pants off QF and thus sitting on laurels (and 90 years of reputation) is no longer an acceptable practice within team QF, however I went up to the QP in MEL last Friday, and shock horror, there was ample seating, and a decent selection of hot food, been replaced frequently, and a genuinely nice feeling in the place.

Whilst MEL QP T1 will never have that magic exclusive feeling that other lounges can have, simply because of it's size, it's certainly a big improvement on what it was, and I for one hope to see much more of this.

All the time that QF remember that those in the QP are there because they chose to pay to be loyal, or are in fact loyal and have started ascending the ranks of the FF program, it can only be a positive thing.

I agree though I'm mostly in the QF J lounge these days. Mornings are still busy.

Thankfully also the smaller DJ lounges in Melbourne and Sydney seem much much quieter these days as well!

Where has everyone gone?! Tiger? ;p
 
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