Qantas is now selling access to its London business class lounge

[ms1]

As per ExecutiveTraveller

Qantas is now selling access to its London business class lounge

Would you pay £55 to visit Qantas' London Heathrow lounge?

www.executivetraveller.com

 

[Cheatah]

As per ExecutiveTraveller

Qantas is now selling access to its London business class lounge

Would you pay £55 to visit Qantas' London Heathrow lounge?

www.executivetraveller.com

Not too bad for a shower and decent meal.

 

[levelnine]

Not too bad for a shower and decent meal.

Note that they only have a la carte dining prior to Qantas' flight times. I'm not sure the all-day buffet would quite rate as a 'decent meal' -- average, maybe.

 

[sxc]

£55 gets you a pretty decent meal in the other restaurants of T3.

 

[CaptJCool]

Well, that was the mere trial

Expansion plus
Exclusive less

Qantas is starting to open its airport lounges to all passengers

Several Qantas airport lounges are now available to everyone regardless of airline, cabin class, or frequent flyer member status.

www.news.com.au

 

[DavidFlynn]

Qantas now offers paid access at first class, business class lounges

Qantas is rolling out paid access at selected lounges including LAX and Hong Kong, at prices ranging from $50 to $215.

www.executivetraveller.com

• Los Angeles first class lounge: US$150 (A$215)
• Los Angeles business class lounge: US$75 (A$108)
• London Heathrow lounge: £55 (A$103).
• Hong Kong lounge: HK$450 (A$83)
• Auckland business class lounge: NZ$60 (A$56)
• Wellington business class lounge: NZ$55 (A$51)
• Perth T4 business lounge: A$70

That's a lot of salt & pepper calamari, or BBQ pork, or pizza...

 

[moa999]

Agreed not cheap.
As long as it's only off-peak then i see no issue with it.

Would also be useful in SIN if it enabled them to open in the mornings and lunchtime when many of the 3K flights depart.

 

[harvyk]

<snip>
That's a lot of salt & pepper calamari, or BBQ pork, or pizza...

In one sense that's true, in the other sense whilst walking through those glass doors are part and parcel of flying for the likes of you and me, there are many people out there who have never even seen inside a lounge.

I'd imagine this is marketed towards those people with no status who are doing a special flight (think honeymoon / wedding anniversary etc...) in a class which doesn't normally allow for lounge access.

Whilst I do smile a little when I see non-flying friends rant and rave on Facebook about how they are in the QP or a JLounge, it's also very easy to become jaded about how special lounges truly are, even the below average ones, when you visit them frequently enough.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

As long as it's only off-peak then i see no issue with it.

This is key.
The lounges in London, Singapore and Perth can all be very busy.
Although I haven't been through SIN since the F lounge opened.
I don't know about HKG because I always shun it in favour of the CX lounges which serve champagne.

 

[DavidFlynn]

This is key.
The lounges in London, Singapore and Perth can all be very busy.
Although I haven't been through SIN since the F lounge opened.
I don't know about HKG because I always shun it in favour of the CX lounges which serve champagne

LHR is pretty empty outside of QF10 and QF2. Singapore opens in the early arvo and has a few quiet periods, be interesting to see if they could consider opening in the morning to bring in a bunch of paying passengers. SIN F lounge hasn’t opened yet, thats end of Nov.

HKG lounge, I’ll generally swing by in the evening if I’m up that end of the terminal for some BBQ pork and a coughtail or Champers, but if my flight is departing from further down the terminal then you just can’t beat The Pier F !

 

[esseeeayeenn]

if my flight is departing from further down the terminal then you just can’t beat The Pier F !

Is that just for convenience?
I love the CX Wing F lounge myself, for the champagne bar and the cabana suites.
There is something so decadent about sipping champagne while having a bath in an airport.

 

[TomJones]

Holy ****! $215 for the LAX first lounge?!

I mean it's a very nice lounge, but I'm not sure if it is worth that much.

I agree with harvyk. I guess the logic here is if someone is really willing to offer QF $215 for some champers and S&P squid, or $70 for a few slices of pizza at PER, then QF will not stand in their way.

Edit: Now I think about it, if a QP pass sets you back ~$50 on gumtree, then maybe $70 for the J lounge in PER is actually quite reasonable

 

[DavidFlynn]

Is that just for convenience?

Pretty much. I usually don’t spend a lot of time at HKG ahead of flights, and sometimes if the timing works out I’ll swing past the QF lounge for the BBQ pork and a coughtail or Champers, say ‘hi’ to the team and if my flight is leaving from up that end, I’ll either stay there or perhaps pop into The Deck for the noodle bar. Of a morning though, The Wing F does a nice breakfast.

If my flight is leaving from the far end of the terminal, the QF lounge is a potential pit-stop, but I truly love the design of The Pier F, it’s also so much quieter, and after a meal in the dining room I can sit down near the bar and enjoy a few drinks there. The vibe of the dining area and bar, in the evening and with the curated playlist, really does it for me.

 

[sxc]

"Check-in staff will extend the offer only when capacity will allow."

But this is open to any airline so what do check in staff have to do with this?

 

[amaroo]

Looks like a sensible business decision - go for it.

 

[Kangol]

I don't know about HKG because I always shun it in favour of the CX lounges which serve champagne.

The QF lounge in HKG serves Veuve Clicquot, if you're P1.

 

[DavidFlynn]

"Check-in staff will extend the offer only when capacity will allow." But this is open to any airline so what do check in staff have to do with this?

That’s when discretion of the lounge manger also comes into play - but to be honest, it’s going to be bloody near impossible for QF to spread the word to pax on other airlines apart from Oneworld partners for their own checkin desks.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

The QF lounge in HKG serves Veuve Clicquot, if you're P1.

Yes I am aware of that but it's irrelevant.
Also, it's veuve.

 

[Kangol]

Yes I am aware of that but it's irrelevant.
Also, it's veuve.

Maybe not to this particular thread, but given the changes in CX lounge management, the quality of their champagnes isn't what it used to be.
To many people, QF are offering the better champagne, for those who can access it.
Not sure what your second sentence is about, besides showing a complete lack of knowledge about proper nouns.

 

[DavidFlynn]

I agree with harvyk. I guess the logic here is if someone is really willing to offer QF $215 for some champers and S&P squid, or $70 for a few slices of pizza at PER, then QF will not stand in their way.
Edit: Now I think about it, if a QP pass sets you back ~$50 on gumtree, then maybe $70 for the J lounge in PER is actually quite reasonable

I suspect there's also some baiting of the status hook here – one expects Qantas will be promoting this primarily to non-status pax, so if they snare some Golds who are close to Platinum (in the case of the PER business class lounge, for example) or Silvers who are close to Gold, then the previously-unavailable opportunity to 'sample' a business class lounge could be what it takes to push them across the line in booking an extra few flights to ascend the frequent flyer food chain.