Buying Access To Qatar Airways’ Al Safwa First Lounge

One of the world's best airport lounges is the Al Safwa First Lounge. There were a lot of questions about the lounge access policies of the airline.

I wanted to give a guide on how to get to the Al Safwa First Lounge as this can cause some confusion. It's possible to buy access to the Al Safwa Lounge, so I wanted to talk about that as well.

Why Qatar Airways’ Al Safwa First Lounge is great

The Al Safwa Lounge is the most premium lounge, and it is a pretty special place. The space almost feels like a museum because of its design and architecture.

There are different seating options at the airport lounge.

The lounge has a good food and wine selection.

Private bedrooms are available on a first come, first served basis and are arguably the most useful feature of the lounge. You need at least four hours to be able to use one, but guests can use them for six hours at no extra cost.

The lounge has a whirlpool. The spa is only available on a paid basis.

Who can access the Al Safwa First Lounge?

Those traveling in first class with the airline can use the Al Safwa First Lounge. That isn't as straightforward as it sounds, since Qatar Airways takes an unconventional approach to how it markets the forward cabins on its flights.

First class is available on the A380, which is flown to destinations like London and Paris.

On top of that, Qatar Airways is increasing its first class footprint by temporarily leasing some Cathay Pacific 757s. The planes are being flown to other places.

This is where it gets more complicated. The forward cabin on some flights within the Gulf region is marketed as first class, even if there isn't a first class cabin. Why is that happening? I assume the airline wants to offer an elevated experience for local passengers because the flights are mostly filled with Qataris.

The business class cabin on flights within the Gulf is often marketed as first class rather than business class. This isn't always the case. The forward cabin on flights to Salalah is still marketed as business class.

It gets a bit more complicated as if that is not complicated enough.

• Qatar Airways first class passengers can consistently use the Al Safwa First Lounge prior to their first class segment
• Qatar Airways first class passengers can only use the Al Safwa First Lounge on arrival when connecting to a business class segment if the first class segment was at least five hours long

In other words.

• If you fly Qatar Airways first class from London to Doha and then Qatar Airways business class from Doha to Bangkok, you could use the Al Safwa First Lounge during your layover
• If you fly Qatar Airways first class from Dubai to Doha and then Qatar Airways business class from Doha to New York, you couldn’t use the Al Safwa First Lounge during your layover

Platinum members of the airline get access to the Al Safwa First Lounge when traveling in business class. Other oneworld Emerald members don't have access to the first lounge. When it comes to admitting oneworld elites to its most premium lounges, Qatar Airways isn't great.

How much does it cost to buy access to the Al Safwa First Lounge?

There is a chance that this is a great opportunity and that the Al Safwa First Lounge is available for 600 QAR. There are some restrictions associated with this.

• Buying access to the Al Safwa First Lounge is only available to Qatar Airways business class passengers who would otherwise be eligible for Al Mourjan Business Lounge access, including those who paid cash or redeemed miles for their tickets (but not those who upgraded)
• Technically you can spend at most six hours in the lounge when you purchase access, though anecdotally that restriction doesn’t seem to be enforced all that much, beyond limiting people to six hours in a bedroom
• There are capacity controls and this option isn’t guaranteed, so in some cases you may not be allowed to purchase access depending on crowding, the agent on duty, etc.

You can purchase access to the lounge directly. Inform the agent of your intentions at the bottom of the escalator. If they are selling access at that time, you should go to the front desk at the lounge, where your payment will be processed.

Is it worth buying access to the Al Safwa First Lounge?

If you are flying in the business class, is it worth paying $165 for access to the Al Safwa First Lounge? The first thing to keep in mind is that you should look at the value on anIncremental basis, since you can access the Al Mourjan Business Lounge. If you pay $165, you can access the Al Safwa Lounge over the Al Mourjan Lounge.

My take is here.

• This probably isn’t worth it if you just have a quick layover of one to two hours, which is how much time most Qatar Airways passengers have, given that the Doha hub is heavily banked
• That being said, if you have a significantly longer layover, and particularly if you want to sleep, then I think paying to access the Al Safwa Lounge makes sense; being able to sleep in a real bed for a few hours between flights is awesome, the alcohol selection is potentially pretty great, and the food is also much better than in the business class lounge

If you show up after a rush of other passengers, the bedrooms might not be available for a while.

An airside airport hotel is a great place to get some rest if you have a long layover and want to stay airside.

Bottom line

There are some complicated entry requirements for the Qatar Airways Al Safwa Lounge. The lounge is open to first class passengers. It is possible for select business class passengers to buy access to the lounge for $ 165, which is a decent value.

The lounge has good dining and drinks, private bedrooms, and a spa.

What was your experience at the Al Safwa Lounge?