LONDON – Qantas will significantly enhance its network of lounges in Australia and overseas, elevating the pre-flight and transit travel experience for customers at key destinations, notably including London Heathrow Airport.
The $100-million investment features four brand new lounges, including a new flagship First Lounge at London’s Heathrow Airport, and an extensive upgrade program of existing international and domestic lounges, including:
- New First Lounge at London’s Heathrow Airport
- Re-opening of a refreshed Hong Kong International Lounge
- Complete refurbishment and expansion of International Business Lounge in Sydney
- Updated and expanded International Business Lounge in Melbourne
- New Hobart Qantas Club
- New Broome Regional Lounge with double the seats
Largest investment in over a decade
The proposed Lounge uplifts represents the single biggest investment in the Qantas lounge network in more than a decade and comes as the airline expands its Domestic and International routes and starts to take delivery of next-generation aircraft.
The $100-million investment in lounges will be phased over three years and is included in the Group’s existing capital expenditure forecast.
The national carrier has an extensive lounge network, including 42 in Australia (12 of which are in regional destinations) and 9 overseas.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce has noted that the faster-than-expected recovery in travel demand is behind the airline’s accelerated investment in its award-winning lounge network.
“Being back in profit means we’re back to making long term investments for our customers. That started with the major aircraft order we announced last year and now we’re building on that with a major investment in our lounges,” said Mr Joyce.
“Millions of people a year visit our lounges and they are typically our frequent flyers who travel with us the most, so anything we do to improve them is a way of saying thank you to our most loyal customers.
“We have three new and upgraded lounge spaces due to open this year and the pipeline we’re announcing today will take us through to 2025.
London services
The importance of the London market and the Australian flag carrier’s upcoming Project Sunrise flights has meant that Heathrow factors strongly in the lounge upgrade programme.
“London is one of the most important destinations on our network and it’s the perfect location for a First Lounge, especially with our direct Project Sunrise flights on the way.”
“Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest airports so we’re very pleased to be working with them to secure a great space in the terminal for an additional lounge,” Mr Joyce added.
Subject to agreement with Heathrow Airport and UK regulators, the luxury London First Lounge is expected to feature direct access to boarding gates, sweeping views of the airfield, a focus on wellbeing features and an unrivalled dining experience.
The targeted opening date will align with the first Project Sunrise flights direct to Sydney.
