No thongs allowed in Qantas Club: A step too far?

The issue of minimum dress standards in the Qantas Club is proving a hot topic that has our members divided. Qantas recently began actively enforcing its long-standing Qantas Club dress code. Lounge entrants are now required to adhere to basic minimum dress standards. Items like thongs and singlets are off the list of allowed items of clothing, though work uniforms including high-vis vests are deemed acceptable.

Dress standards in the lounge has long been a sizzling topic of discussion on AFF and many of our members have long wished that Qantas would do more to tackle the perceived problem. So it’s little surprise that many of our members welcomed the new stance.

I’m very happy with the new policy. Good work Qantas, it’s not asking too much for people to dress well in the lounges.

But it seems not everyone is taking the new rules in their stride. A number of unhappy travellers have turned to social media to vent their disappointment towards the airline after being refused access to the Qantas Club based on what they were wearing.

Despite a lot of support, a large number of our members agree that it’s not a good policy. They believe that a person’s footwear is trivial and don’t believe it’s Qantas’ job to dictate what flyers are or aren’t allowed to wear. Some believe that the focus should instead be on policing poor behaviour in the lounge.

A number of our members also point out that the policy is inconsistent. The dress standards currently apply in a handful of lounges, but not all. Some of the complainants claim that they had been allowed into the lounge at another airport on the same day as being refused entry to another lounge, only adding to the confusion and frustration. The interpretation of what is acceptable clothing and what is not is also subjective.

It is a bad policy. The terms used are subjective and mean different things to different people. QF has not clearly defined what they mean by “smart casual”. What one person thinks is “well dressed” doesn’t always match what another person thinks.

One member opines that the policy is nothing more than Qantas trying to suck-up to suited business travellers.

Qantas has gone overboard to cater to some toffee nosed suited up business people.

Where do you stand on this issue? Share your thoughts HERE.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.