Qantas Lounge Pet Peeves

[Supersonic Swinger]

+1 for banning speaker phones in lounges. Even when it's Christmas time and family time, you have plenty of spare time to kill, are in a jovial mood and whatnot, it'd be courteous to keep the family goss to yourself. Or your business conversations between the said business(es) only.

Lounges should have quiet zones for eating, relaxing and work. I have also made calls from lounges and while I try to be quiet as a mouse, I'd prefer clear demarcation of "free to talk and make noise" vs "hush here" zones. It would also help us to choose where to sit according to what we need on each visit.

Related to this, my pet peeve particularly from the Brisbane lounge - the music constantly played through the speakers in every part of the lounge, so loudly that you can still hear it through earphones when you are on a call or playing something else.

Nowhere is the entire Qantas Club or Business Lounge is there a quiet space where the music isn't playing. The quiet zones should also extend to somewhere where we are not subjected to random music.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

yes, but did you also go through the SYD dom J lounge on the same day to compare what they were offering?

I flew out of the SYD on Monday December 18 and in the J lounge it was the usual toastie station and brown rice slop. Maybe I am off base here, but I reckon they should be serving turkey on the week leading up to Christmas. Certainly MEL did on the 23rd.

No question that the "brown slop" in SYD is usually terrible, but you've made a blanket statement there that I am not entirely sure is fair. SYD dom J has always had soup option at the very end of that counter there, and during afternoons either have items like party pies and the like (scoff if you like, but they're popular with the masses). If not those, a selection of cake pieces or other sweet treats are there. As mentioned elsewhere, the breakfast spread is often a bit better too. I guess everyone's mileage varies.

To be fair, I do tend to depart in the late afternoon or evening on QF flights out of SYD. However, from my experience the catering options are limited there and not much to write home about. Quite frankly, I don't see the point in having so much space dedicated to a toastie section, especially if people don't want to have a toastie. Contrast this with Virgin lounges where they have pre-made wraps available along with a number of fresh salad and other options.

Of course, SYD dom J suffers from the way the lounges were originally split years back - back in the day when ALL that space was the QP, that area was a secondary food and bar area iirc. Serious revamp long overdue as we all know.

I think everyone is in agreement on the need for refurbishment. I suppose now the real question is to what extent will these lounges be refurbished. Are they simply moving deck chairs on the titanic or are we going to see a food station that is more than a toastie bar?

Additionally, the extra specialist food concepts eg Pizzas in PER, Spice bar in MEL, the ex-Cantaina in BNE* (was serving salads and some sort of loaded potatoes when I went through last week) have far better options than SYD dom J but by the same token that lounge has slightly more options than "toastie or bust" imo.

That's another point to consider. Sydney is not world renowned for its food the way Perth, Adelaide and other cities in Australia are. The fact that Qantas puts arguably its worst catering there (aside from maybe HBA) is a real kick in the teeth for SYD travellers.

Are the party pies popular because they're what people want or just a better alternative to that constant brown slop?

It would be really nice if lounges stopped with the slop and had an alternative hot meal.

Party pies should be seen as a snack and not as a main meal and that's a hill I'm willing to die on!

 

[elanshin]

To be fair, I do tend to depart in the late afternoon or evening on QF flights out of SYD. However, from my experience the catering options are limited there and not much to write home about. Quite frankly, I don't see the point in having so much space dedicated to a toastie section, especially if people don't want to have a toastie. Contrast this with Virgin lounges where they have pre-made wraps available along with a number of fresh salad and other options.

Funnily the VA folks don't want premade sandwiches and would rather a toastie making station. Having tried a few, they're not that great and I'd rather make my own toastie.
It does take longer though.

I think everyone is in agreement on the need for refurbishment. I suppose now the real question is to what extent will these lounges be refurbished. Are they simply moving deck chairs on the titanic or are we going to see a food station that is more than a toastie bar?

I'd expect a menu update, but not necessarily massive overhaul.

That's another point to consider. Sydney is not world renowned for its food the way Perth, Adelaide and other cities in Australia are. The fact that Qantas puts arguably its worst catering there (aside from maybe HBA) is a real kick in the teeth for SYD travellers.

Sydney is known for it's food scene, just not necessarily for like western cuisines, but you'd be hard pressed to find many other cities in the world with the amount of different regional asian food and being relatively authentic all in one city.

All my friends that moved to Melbourne genuinely miss cheap Thai lunches deals.

 

[Lynda2475]

Sydney is not world renowned for its food the way Perth, Adelaide and other cities in Australia are.

Uninformed comment. There are world class dining options in all Australian states and Sydney has many quality eats at both the expensive and cheap ends.

As we don't have Michelin ratings here, the AGFG chef hats are used to rate the top end of town and Sydney has more highly rated chef hatted restaurants than Perth or Adelaide 2023 Restaurant Chef Hat Awards | AGFG

Then again you love LAX so our definitions of quality differ greatly.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Uninformed comment. There are world class dining options in all Australian states and Sydney has many quality eats at both the expensive and cheap ends.

As we don't have Michelin ratings here, the AGFG chef hats are used to rate the top end of town and Sydney has more highly rated chef hatted restaurants than Perth or Adelaide 2023 Restaurant Chef Hat Awards | AGFG

Somewhat hesitant to go off the AGFG awards on account that to my knowledge it is not reviewed by unbiased international cuisine experts the way Michelin Guide is. Additionally, some restaurants I have been to in Australia that should have made the cut aren't listed. There is also a heavy bias towards Australian cuisine restaurants. I don't mean to disparage but I mean c'mon. You don't go out and spend good money at a restaurant to eat party pies. I know some on this forum will chime in and say that I am over-generalizing Australian cuisine, and perhaps I am. But I would say the exact same thing about my home country Canada. Yeah KD, Hawaiian pizza and Nanaimo bars are nice to have every now and then but they aren't something you would go out of your way looking for when going to a restaurant. Italian, French, Chilean, etc., okay that I understand.
https://www.agfg.com.au/awards

Then again you love LAX so our definitions of quality differ greatly.

My love of LAX comes from my experience which by definition is subjective and will vary depending on people's circumstance. What I will point out is that LAX is a real dream to pass through if you have Global Entry. There are none of those silly kiosks to deal with as we have in Australia, it's all biometric clearance. Additionally, the lack of segregation between terminals and domestic/international is great, like me, you want to enjoy the Qantas First lounge before flying American or Alaskan to San Francisco for instance. If you value things like movie theatres, butterfly conservatories and that sort of stuff, then certainly SIN may be a better experience for you.

 

[Lynda2475]

There is also a heavy bias towards Australian cuisine restaurants. I don't mean to disparage but I mean c'mon. You don't go out and spend good money at a restaurant to eat party pies.

You clearly dont understand what Modern Australian cuisine is, it aint party pies. Those highly rated Modern Australian restaurants take influence from many international regions and highlight the best of local produce.

And there are plenty of European (French, Italian, Mediterranean ) and Asian (Japanese, Chinese, Korean Thai, Fusion) and Indian that have chef hats.

FYI I have also had spectacular meals in Canada which is no way incorporated Nanaimo bars, Hawaiian Pizza nor Poutine. Snack foods should not be confused with fine dining.

The only person incorrectly conflating party pies and QPub/JLounge food selection with a cities ability to offer world class dining is you.

Anyway its off topic, but I sincerely doubt you have dined at very many of the top chef hated restaurants to speak from authority.

 

[tdimdad]

Did someone mention Singapore and food in the same post? Heavenly! When do we go???

 

[KSC]

Confirming from a Melbourne based perspective, Sydney has many great eateries. When I’m in Sydney I really enjoy the Japanese and Korean places. They are usually to a higher standard than in Melbourne. This is most likely due the the larger Korean and Japanese migration in Sydney.

The standard of food in lounges is a complete different issue.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Getting back to the topic at hand, another (minor) pet peeve of mine can be found at the MEL Flounge and those flipper style departure boards. They don't update as regularly as I'd like. In particular, when I was there a week ago it was showing departures from 2 hours ago. Now granted, at the time I was flying there weren't many JQ/OW departures, but still. Another pet peeve from my partner was that the spa appointments only last 20 minutes. I understand they want to treat as many passengers as possible but I'd argue 20 minutes ain't gonna cut it.

-RooFlyer88

 

[RichardMEL]

Today in BNE J they had Lasagne in the ex Cantina and came around with absolutely delicious Thai fish cakes.

No slop in sight. No peeves

 

[Daver6]

Today in BNE J they had Lasagne in the Cantina and came around with absolutely delicious Thai fish cakes.

No slop in sight. No peeves

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The cantina is meant to be Mexican themed, right?

 

[RichardMEL]

The cantina is meant to be Mexican themed, right?

Cantina as it was is long gone. Guess some Victorians* complained or something..


* I can write this

 

[kangarooflyer88]

The cantina is meant to be Mexican themed, right?

It is a known fact that you cannot get Mexican food in Australia. You need to be approximately 500 miles away from the border or less. And I say that as someone who has tried "tacos" and "burritos" in many places in the world. New York? It ain't happening! Toronto? Nice try! What about Sydney? Dream on, mate! San Francisco? You bet!

Indeed, in the United States they tried solving this very issue with the so called Alameda-Weehawken burrito tunnel (further details here): The Alameda-Weehawken Burrito Tunnel (Idle Words)

 

[Lynda2475]

Mexican food in USA is typically Tex Mex and nothing like the actual food you get in Mexico which varies markedly depending on region. Best Mexican food I've had outside Mexico was actually in London in SoHo.

Never did get to try the Cantina in BNE when it was operating as Mexican. It's always been Italian when I've been there either lasagne, cannelloni or other baked pasta.

 

[Seat0B]

Never did get to try Cantinain BNE when it was operating as Mexican.

IME you did not miss anything much at all

 

[sudoer]

When I’m in Sydney I really enjoy the Japanese and Korean places.

My wife (who is Japanese) is convinced Melbourne has better value authentic Japanese food, i.e. <$80pp. Sydney might be better if you're looking at the $150+ pp omakases and fine dining.

Sydney definitely has better options for other Asian cuisines - Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, etc.

 

[Lynda2475]

Japanese take out is better in Melbourne they have okonomyaki everywhere, where as rare in Sydney.

Thai is much much better in Sydney, always find it odd that staples like pad see eiw and pad kana moo grob are often not on menu in Melbourne Thai take away.