This was published 1 year ago
Qantas frequent flyers welcome 'overdue' $100 million lounge investment
Alan Joyce (R), Qantas chief executive, announced upgrades for its lounge network, including changes to its food and beverage offering, led by chef Neil Perry (L).Credit: Nick Moir
For Qantas frequent flyers fed up with slipping standards across the airline's global lounge network, the carrier has offered some hope in the form of a major three-year upgrade program.
The airline's critics have welcomed the a pledge of $100 million in investment, but say the move is long overdue.
Joe Royle, a Shoalhaven-based retiree, said the airline's lounges were no longer worth the $1700 he paid for two-year access.
Frequent flyers like Joe Royle say the airline's standards have been slipping, making him reconsider renewing his membership.Credit: Brent Winstone
The long-time Qantas Club member was appalled at the state of Sydney's International Business Lounge T1 following a visit in December.
He described the transit hub as looking "more like a bus terminal".
"(It was) choc-a-block. The furniture is a disgrace, chipped tabletops and threadbare chairs with no upholstery. The carpet was filthy with food scraps … breakfast was a bain-marie with a couple of cold, greasy bacon rashers and scrambled eggs," said Royle.
The long-delayed redevelopment promises to address some of these issues; the Sydney international business lounge upgrade in particular will include a full redesign and rebuild from scratch that will increase capacity by 40 per cent, as well as a new food and beverage offering.
"Plans to rebuild from scratch? It's needed. Maybe I'll renew my membership after that happens," said Royle.
The multi-million dollar overhaul marks the single biggest investment in the lounge network in more than a decade, aimed at bringing a new level of luxury to its lounges in key destinations across the world.
As part of the investment, Qantas will add a new first class lounge at London's Heathrow Airport by late 2025.
The new lounge will align with the launch of Qantas' long-awaited Project Sunrise non-stop services between the United Kingdom and the east coast of Australia. It will add to the current international lounge at Heathrow, which will become a dedicated business class lounge.
Additionally, the airline will reopen its Hong Kong international lounge, carry out significant improvements to its Sydney and Melbourne international business lounges, and add new Hobart and Broome lounges.
Frequent flyer site Points Hacks' Daniel Sciberras said that for some lounges "the upgrade was overdue", with planned upgrades to the Sydney international business lounge delayed due to the pandemic.
Overcrowding in the domestic and London lounges, and an urgent need for upgrades were among the most pressing issues cited by regular lounge users, according to Sciberras.
"A major gripe from many frequent flyers is that some lounges are in need of an urgent upgrade, with the Sydney and Melbourne international business lounges frequently mentioned in this regard," said Scibberas.
The expansion of many existing lounges is good news for travellers, with lounge seating increasingly hard to come by in peak transit windows.
"Many of the lounges being upgraded are also being expanded, including Melbourne and London International lounges and the Hobart Qantas Club. This will obviously help alleviate any crowding issues during peak times," said Sciberras. "It is great to see that [these issues] are now back on the drawing board."
The lounge announcement comes as Qantas prepares to release a new round of international reward seats, which allows members to purchase flights using loyalty points for routes including Sydney-London (55,200 points), Melbourne-Auckland (18,000), and Brisbane-Los Angeles (41,900).
Frequent flyers will be able to book 'Classic Flight Reward' seats spanning more than 30 destinations from 11am on Friday, February 24.
The promotion is part of Qantas' commitment to offering 50 per cent more reward seats on international routes until December 31, 2023, according to the airline.
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