No More International Lounge Access on Jetstar Flights (except QF codeshare/JQ business max)

[Spacetravel]

For all the comments that say QF and JQ are completely different product and business, with different standards, normally I would agree. I never complained about VA and TT not sharing VFF benefits.
The difference here is when it suits QF they publicly talk about how they are the one group and can share routes. The big announcement QF did in 2024 about 220,000 more seats and new routes they added combined JQ and QF numbers. QF hand off whole routes to JQ (like ICN) and act like to the customer it isn't much of a change. QF want their cake and eat it too. Either they are completely different businesses which don't cross over in the eyes of the customer, or they do. They rightly deserve the ire from us over the removal of JQ lounge access.

While I don't want to give them ideas, id rather they drop lounge access on Dom JQ services and retain on Int JQ services. Most Dom locations do have JQ and QF options, where there aren't JQ and QF options on the same international route in many destinations.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but as someone that pays for First travel when going on international holidays, I stopped using Qantas partly because of the zoo like nature of the lounges. The other reason was the slapdash nature of the service in the First cabin. If I am paying for First fares, I want a more premium experience on the ground. Qantas has to be the easiest First lounge to get into in the world.

To be fair to QF if you pay to fly QF F then you aren’t exposed to the great unwashed at SYD at least. There is a separate roped off area. Likewise LAX, LHR and SIN have designated areas for actual F pax

Many Flounges worldwide allow access to OW elites on economy on super basic fares.
If you want an actual F lounge for F pax then you are looking at Flagship Dining, CCR and Al Safwa and even these have allowances for their own elites not in F.

 

[justinbrett]

For all the comments that say QF and JQ are completely different product and business, with different standards, normally I would agree. I never complained about VA and TT not sharing VFF benefits.
The difference here is when it suits QF they publicly talk about how they are the one group and can share routes. The big announcement QF did in 2024 about 220,000 more seats and new routes they added combined JQ and QF numbers. QF hand off whole routes to JQ (like ICN) and act like to the customer it isn't much of a change. QF want their cake and eat it too. Either they are completely different businesses which don't cross over in the eyes of the customer, or they do. They rightly deserve the ire from us over the removal of JQ lounge access.

While I don't want to give them ideas, id rather they drop lounge access on Dom JQ services and retain on Int JQ services. Most Dom locations do have JQ and QF options, where there aren't JQ and QF options on the same international route in many destinations.

In their defence you can book these flights (like ICN) through QF with the QF code and you will get lounge access.

That’s why it was important that this change did not apply to true domestic flights as for some routes you can’t fly QF nor book it with a QF code.

 

[Muppet501st]

Cant imagine too many P1s fly JQ int or dom
In my limited experience, ex BNE, J lounges havent been that busy, wouldnt think the number of JQ Int travellers having lounge access. Be more of an impact if they JQ Dom access was removed.
Ive only used the BNE int lounge once when flying JQi, as the only direct flight to DPS.
Oh well,

 

[Spacetravel]

In their defence you can book these flights (like ICN) through QF with the QF code and you will get lounge access.

That’s why it was important that this change did not apply to true domestic flights as for some routes you can’t fly QF nor book it with a QF code.

Yes "but" not reward seats as they already quietly made a change overtime that almost all QF award seats book into the other airlines code and not QF.

 

[33kft]

I dunno if it's just me, but after 6 years straight of WP and F lounge access I have never seen a QF F lounge anywhere near rammed with people. Yes, the QPs always are, J lounges are a mixed bag, and lounges with mixed class and roped off areas are largely aligned with the former categories.

F lounges have never approached anything I've considered full, nor have I ever observed any poor behaviour in an F lounge, so I have a fairly hard time seeing the point of view of some posters on this. If I did see JQ passengers playing up in F lounges I would be the first to agree but let's be honest, JQ flyers aren't getting WP often are they? It's QF flyers taking a leisure flight once or twice a year and using the benefits they earned because why else be loyal if there's no payoff because the revenue passengers object?

Will absolutely attest to the problems that I have seen eg Syd intl J lounge, but I don't apply that to all lounges of the same class.

 

[Spacetravel]

I dunno if it's just me, but after 6 years straight of WP and F lounge access I have never seen a QF F lounge anywhere near rammed with people. Yes, the QPs always are, J lounges are a mixed bag, and lounges with mixed class and roped off areas are largely aligned with the former categories.

F lounges have never approached anything I've considered full, nor have I ever observed any poor behaviour in an F lounge, so I have a fairly hard time seeing the point of view of some posters on this. If I did see JQ passengers playing up in F lounges I would be the first to agree but let's be honest, JQ flyers aren't getting WP often are they? It's QF flyers taking a leisure flight once or twice a year and using the benefits they earned because why else be loyal if there's no payoff because the revenue passengers object?

Will absolutely attest to the problems that I have seen eg Syd intl J lounge, but I don't apply that to all lounges of the same class.

While not the common experience, I went through the Syd F lounge 3 times across November and December 2025. Yes the J lounge is closed and yes it was peak holiday time. But the F lounge was so crowded there was a 30 minute wait (only for 1) just to be seated at a table, and they were only serving food (and I think bar drinks too but I didn't think to push the matter) in the dinning area. This was definitely the worst I have ever seen it. The other 2 times were "almost" as bad, there wasn't a table immediately available but the wait was only 1-2 minutes. I haven't had any international travel this year yet to comment on how it is going.

So I would say it certainly has days where it is getting rammed. Now with the MEL A380 moved to Syd this would get worse.

On the flip side, MEL no longer has any QF F services, so I would suspect the lounge will have plenty of capacity.

 

[dajop]

I've been in the MEL dungeon a few times a couple of hours before JQ7 to SIN. Quite packed. Then QF 93 and QF 35 car called, which depart around midday and the lounge practically empty outs. They call JQ7 about an hour later (or two or three....) and maybe half a dozen people walk out, max.

Maybe it's different before the plethora of DPS flights?

 

[chk123]

Less people in Qantas lounges going forward I guess

 

[drron]

Having looked at a few JQi routes the J max bundle is often $700?above the JQ J fare If a QF codeshare is available it is dearer than the max bundlle. Pretty expensive lounge access.

 

[nlagalle]

Yes "but" not reward seats as they already quietly made a change overtime that almost all QF award seats book into the other airlines code and not QF.

they have always booked into the operating airlines code. they never booked under a QF code ever.

 

[SnowPatrol]

Well, I guess that might reduce some crowding in some lounges….

Yes hopefully, F lounges in Melb and Syd are always too busy in particular - they need to think about how to slim usage down a bit further IMO.

 

[AuSammy]

I dunno if it's just me, but after 6 years straight of WP and F lounge access I have never seen a QF F lounge anywhere near rammed with people. Yes, the QPs always are, J lounges are a mixed bag, and lounges with mixed class and roped off areas are largely aligned with the former categories.

F lounges have never approached anything I've considered full, nor have I ever observed any poor behaviour in an F lounge, so I have a fairly hard time seeing the point of view of some posters on this. If I did see JQ passengers playing up in F lounges I would be the first to agree but let's be honest, JQ flyers aren't getting WP often are they? It's QF flyers taking a leisure flight once or twice a year and using the benefits they earned because why else be loyal if there's no payoff because the revenue passengers object?

Will absolutely attest to the problems that I have seen eg Syd intl J lounge, but I don't apply that to all lounges of the same class.

Don't some FIFOs attain QF high status and enjoy lounge access but have more economical attitudes to paying for their own flights?

 

[dajop]

Yes hopefully, F lounges in Melb and Syd are always too busy in particular - they need to think about how to slim usage down a bit further IMO.

At the end of the day F lounges need to be busy. A wasted asset otherwise. They exist in small part for F passengers, but in large part to incentivise people to spend (overspend?) on QF. The more people they have in them, the more successful the airline. If they wanted to slim down numbers, they could probably do so by reducing the double status credit promos.

If some people don't particularly like overcrowding n the F lounge there are plenty of international alternatives.

I also suspect that QF definition of overcrowding is different to that of many passengers - they would say it's not overcrowded unless every seat is occupied - most traveller say it's overcrowded when we have to share a bank of 4 seats with a stranger.

 

[SnowPatrol]

While not the common experience, I went through the Syd F lounge 3 times across November and December 2025. Yes the J lounge is closed and yes it was peak holiday time. But the F lounge was so crowded there was a 30 minute wait (only for 1) just to be seated at a table, and they were only serving food (and I think bar drinks too but I didn't think to push the matter) in the dinning area. This was definitely the worst I have ever seen it. The other 2 times were "almost" as bad, there wasn't a table immediately available but the wait was only 1-2 minutes. I haven't had any international travel this year yet to comment on how it is going.

So I would say it certainly has days where it is getting rammed. Now with the MEL A380 moved to Syd this would get worse.

On the flip side, MEL no longer has any QF F services, so I would suspect the lounge will have plenty of capacity.

Sydney F lounge is even worse when QF1 gets delayed (which is not infrequently).

 

[moa999]

So if none of the Platinums here actually fly JQ, extrapolating then this seemingly won't have any impact on the First lounge.

I would have thought a bigger impact at SYD will be the likely move of the medium haul narrow bodies (NZ, Pacific and possibly Indonesia on XLRs) to the proposed T2/T3 connector at SYD.

 

[SnowPatrol]

At the end of the day F lounges need to be busy. A wasted asset otherwise. They exist in small part for F passengers, but in large part to incentivise people to spend (overspend?) on QF. The more people they have in them, the more successful the airline. If they wanted to slim down numbers, they could probably do so by reducing the double status credit promos.

If some people don't particularly like overcrowding n the F lounge there are plenty of international alternatives.

I also suspect that QF definition of overcrowding is different to that of many passengers - they would say it's not overcrowded unless every seat is occupied - most traveller say it's overcrowded when we have to share a bank of 4 seats with a stranger.

We probably have different versions of what busy is - they make their money from flights and point sales and the availability of points does not really help with F. When it is 90% full as it was in Feb (so post school hols), and staff cannot keep up with clearing tables, and there are 3yo kids running around having crunched all their crackers into the carpet it is not the experience it is touted to be. - it's messy, it's busy, it's noisy and there are too many Platinums - pushing Platinum qualification up is the way to go.

 

[dairyfloss]

Was just thinking this may also limit the need for QF to add a lounge out at WSI - especially if DOM JQ services follow suit at some stage.

 

[nlagalle]

Yes hopefully, F lounges in Melb and Syd are always too busy in particular - they need to think about how to slim usage down a bit further IMO.

My last two visits to MEL were very quiet. no queues for dining at all. they all have busy times. not sure how you think they would slim down usage?

 

[Steve994]

Pretty disappointing as someone who doesn't live in Sydney or Melbourne. I'm based in QLD and often fly JQ internationally either due to a lack of equivalent Qantas services locally, or due to the fact that JQ has quite a few unique routes that QF doesn't have at all. As a Platinum FF I find it insulting I'm having my (already mediocre) local lounge access taken away from me when flying JQi

Agree with your comments about JQ flying unique routes that Qantas doesn't. Later this year JQ is starting direct flights between Perth and Christchurch (yay), and its a daytime flight, not red eye like connecting flights on Qantas or Air NZ through east coast or Auckland (yay), but.... its Jetstar not Qantas. (Boo)