This was published 8 years ago
Qantas to open new lounge at world's second-busiest international airport, London's Heathrow
By Annie Dang
The new split-level lounge will feature dining and bar service.
Qantas will open a new flagship lounge at world's second-busiest international airport, London's Heathrow, early next year.
The Qantas London premium lounge will be located in Terminal 3 and will be the airline's next lounge to open overseas.
The new split-level lounge will feature dining and bar service, shower facilities, business facilities and a children's zone and will accommodate up to 230 people.
The Qantas London premium lounge will be located in Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport.
The airline has opened three new lounges over the last three years outside Australia: Los Angeles, Singapore and Hong Kong. It opened a revamped Perth lounge last year and is set to open another in Brisbane later this year.
Like other Qantas lounges around the world, the London lounge will feature signature elements combined with local flare to give lounge a distinctive London feel. This includes the design, layout and menu.
Chef Neil Perry's Rockpool Group, which created the airline's inflight menus, has also designed the London lounge's menu.
Roger Barstow, who heads up the Rockpool team responsible for the menu at Qantas lounges worldwide, says the menu in London will deliver on the taste flyers have come to expect - something unique to the destination.
The menus on offer at Qantas lounges around the world differ from country to country. In LA , Barstow's team chose to add a Thai dish to the menu. Barstow explained this is because Australians miss the flavours of Asia after being in the US, even after a short visit.
In Australia, salt and pepper calamari is by far the most popular dish. Barstow said 25 per cent of people who pass through the lounge order it – more than the number who order the famous pavlova, the iconic dessert only available at the Sydney and Melbourne lounges.
Both dishes have remained on the airline's refreshed Autumn menu, which features new dishes including the interestingly-named Chairman Mao's pork and shiitake mushrooms with jasmine rice, and the black pepper chicken with sweet potato, broccolini and hazelnut burnt butter..
So what will be on the London menu?
Barstow's team is already planning and testing what meals will make the cut. However, he remains tight-lipped on specifics, hinting only that there will be British influencesand that customers can expect the food to be sourced both locally and from around Europe.
Beef Wellington? Sunday roast? Pie and mash? And for dessert, surely Yorkshire pudding has to make the list? Barstow just brushes off the guesses.
The new Qantas lounge at Heathrow will be available for Qantas Club members, Qantas First and Business Class customers, Platinum One, Platinum and Gold members of the airline's frequent flyer program.
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