Introducing ‘The NinetyThird by Qatar Airways’ at the O2 – accessible with Avios

On Monday night I was at the O2 in London for the official launch of ‘The NinetyThird by Qatar Airways’, the new VIP venue at the arena.

This includes the ‘Walkway’, the ultimate Instagram spot at the O2.

The reason I am covering this is that anyone who redeems Avios for events at The O2 via Privilege Club Collection will get access to this space.

(You can also hand over £18,000 per person for annual membership, but redeeming Avios is a cheaper way of taking a look.)

Let me explain what The O2 has done. 12 hospitality suites on Level 3 – the middle 12 suites, with the most direct view of the stage – have been ripped out.

In their place, you will find ‘The NinetyThird’, a new private club covering 1,150 square metres. It contains a fine dining restaurant – image below, multiple bars and the ‘Walkway’, a platform that hangs out over the arena floor. It’s very cool.

I apologise for using only PR photographs here, but they were actually taken on Monday night and they are a substantial improvement on what I could manage given the low lighting.

The name has an obscure origin. There are 92 artists who have played five nights or more at The O2 since it opened, given them pseudo-residency status. By purchasing membership of this new space, you become part of ‘The NinetyThird’ group to get pseuo-resident access. Personally I would have called it ‘The Walkway Club’ and been done with it, but no-one asked me …..

Qatar Airways is the headline sponsor of ‘The NinetyThird’ as you can see from the images above.

As well as naming rights to the club:

“Qatar Airways will also be the Official Airline Partner and Official Frequent Flyer Programme of the O2, with exclusive ticket access for Qatar Airways customers.”

It’s not yet clear what benefits this will bring for Avios members on top of being able to redeem via Qatar Airways Privilege Club.

The Walkway

Here is how the Walkway looks:

What you can’t tell from the images is that it is fully retractable. Because it blocks the view from certain parts of the arena, it folds in on itself and then retracts before the start of the show. It’s a rather clever thing to watch.

Amusingly, to protect the heads of people below you, you have to put your phone into a clear pouch which is hung around your neck. It doesn’t really impact the quality of your photos!

Want to visit The NinetyThird?

Unless you know someone who handed over £18,000 per person for annual membership – which gets you your own reserved seat in The NinetyThird for every show – you will need to use Avios for a ticket via Privilege Club Collection.

Amusingly, the next show available is Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live on 18th February.

Two tickets for this, which include a three course meal with drinks in the fine dining restaurant at The NinetyThird, are currently at a bid of 22,000 Avios.

I suspect you may not be very interested in Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live – but on the upside, it means you can spend the entire evening sampling the food and drink offerings in The NinetyThird …..

My article on Privilege Club Collection and how to bid your Avios for tickets is here.

PS. ‘Hi’ to reader Krys who successfully bid for Depeche Mode tickets for Monday night. I tried to track you down but couldn’t find you!