Article: Qantas Auckland Lounge Upgrade: The End of an Era

smckay said:
For me, it would have to be a substantial improvement and at least match the Emirates lounge. I used Emirates in November after sitting jammed into the F cupboard waiting till 2.15pm.
What a revelation - massive size, huge food offerings (I tried nearly all of them in the interest of research) power points close to seats, and decent champagne.
This is where QF fails in comparison to other carriers in my experience.
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Agree it is a much better lounge but disagree on the decent champagne part!
 
esquire said:
Agree it is a much better lounge but disagree on the decent champagne part!
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compared to what QF has in the F cupboard in AKL (or had a few years back to be fair), Moet and/or Veuve yellow label(I recall those in EK AKL) are far more "decent" :D
 
Totally agree, the Emirates lounge in AKL trumps the other 3 by miles but the opening hours are really restricted these days. At least the lounge dragons seem to not have an issue with Qantas guests anymore, unlike in the past. I was a bit disappointed last time that the Veuve has been replaced my Möet but that is truly a First World problem. The food options were still excellent, both the hot and the cold.

I suspect that even after the QF renovation, it will remain the superior lounge. In Sydney however, it is the Qantas First lounge that blows the EK combined lounge out of the water. Needless to say :p
 
Was in AKL First Lounge 08/02/223 yesterday and took a walk through Business Lounge. First was not too busy and a bit cosy but food kept on getting replenished frequently. Same meals in both lounges with hot being butter chicken curry and asparagus soup. Wines were ok. Piper for champagne in First and Brancott Estate Brut Cuvee in Business Lounge. Emirates was closed unfortunately. A few photos of the Wine selection and the First Lounge. None of the food as we all know what butter chicken looks like. Lounge photo may look a bit strange as I tried to erase the faces of those people sitting close who may be recognisable.
 

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maia200 said:
Was in AKL First Lounge 08/02/223 yesterday and took a walk through Business Lounge. First was not too busy and a bit cosy but food kept on getting replenished frequently. Same meals in both lounges with hot being butter chicken curry and asparagus soup. Wines were ok. Piper for champagne in First and Brancott Estate Brut Cuvee in Business Lounge. Emirates was closed unfortunately. A few photos of the Wine selection and the First Lounge. None of the food as we all know what butter chicken looks like. Lounge photo may look a bit strange as I tried to erase the faces of those people sitting close who may be recognisable.
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Thanks for the pics. Gosh that brings back memories of that lounge space - soon to be no more!
 
maia200 said:
Was in AKL First Lounge 08/02/223 yesterday and took a walk through Business Lounge. First was not too busy and a bit cosy but food kept on getting replenished frequently. Same meals in both lounges with hot being butter chicken curry and asparagus soup. Wines were ok. Piper for champagne in First and Brancott Estate Brut Cuvee in Business Lounge. Emirates was closed unfortunately. A few photos of the Wine selection and the First Lounge. None of the food as we all know what butter chicken looks like. Lounge photo may look a bit strange as I tried to erase the faces of those people sitting close who may be recognisable.
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You forgot the freezer containing ice cream, although I'll let that one slide... this one time! 😂

IMG_8133.jpeg
 
Oh no why did I not mention that? It was filled with Kapiti salted caramel ice-cream. Very nice - much better than the Maggie Beer ice-cream. In fact I had to have two....no wonder there was no space for food on the plane.
 
Was also in the QF AKL lounge before QF156 yesterday. The F cupboard was surprisingly quiet so that was nice. The ice cream was half luke warm, half frozen like a rock. Needed to sift a bit to find a decent one.

Front desk mentioned possibly “soon” for renovations. Still no clear date it seems. Will check again when I’m flying end of Feb again
 
NZJuniorDoc said:
Was also in the QF AKL lounge before QF156 yesterday. The F cupboard was surprisingly quiet so that was nice. The ice cream was half luke warm, half frozen like a rock. Needed to sift a bit to find a decent one.

Front desk mentioned possibly “soon” for renovations. Still no clear date it seems. Will check again when I’m flying end of Feb again
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Isn't the plan to get the renovations finished by June when AKL-JFK starts? If so, they probably should get onto this soon...

I'm flying from AKL next month and have booked NZ in anticipation of the QF lounge area being a construction zone. (I know the lounge will still be open, but the experience may be even more sub-par than it already is.)
 
Rugby said:
Mrs Rugby and I gave The Cupboard a bigger farewell than we expected when we slept there overnight during the flood on 27 Jan. This photo was taken about 3am and we were drinking with other newly made flood friends until the sun came up. I’ve always liked The Cupboard and will miss it.
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and fortunately it was up escalators and not down!
 
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Mattg said:
Isn't the plan to get the renovations finished by June when AKL-JFK starts? If so, they probably should get onto this soon...
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That's what one would hope. The real question though is whether it'll be a material improvement over this lounge or an "enhancement"? Only time will tell!
Rugby said:
Mrs Rugby and I gave The Cupboard a bigger farewell than we expected when we slept there overnight during the flood on 27 Jan. This photo was taken about 3am and we were drinking with other newly made flood friends until the sun came up. I’ve always liked The Cupboard and will miss it.

View attachment 316096
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Good to see QF left the lights on! 😂
RichardMEL said:
Oh yes that Kapiti ice cream is really quite delicious. fully agree. :)
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Sure beats the joke of a snack at the QF Pubs domestically (jujubes? Seriously? Even Lufthansa does better than that!) 😂
 
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The cupboard is actually quite nice when you aren’t flying out in the late afternoon bank of flights. It’s nice in the quiet sense, even though all other facilities leave a lot to be desired. The cupboard will be missed I think haha!
 
kangarooflyer88 said:
Sure beats the joke of a snack at the QF Pubs domestically (jujubes? Seriously? Even Lufthansa does better than that!) 😂
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Again, apples and oranges. Domestic v International grade lounge

(and I know, LH Senator/Business Lounges can cater to both, specially within Germany, but the reality is those lounges are far more for intra-europe/intercontinental pax than pure domestic which is far better served by high speed train - but I digress).
 

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