QF Club vs QF J Lounge @ SYD - What's the difference?

[kangarooflyer88]

Today I was flying QF 483 down to MEL from SYD in J and arrived at the airport 2 hours ahead of scheduled departure so thought I'd pop into the QF Business lounge (ordinarily I would only have access to the Pub as a QF Gold member). There was a short queue to get your boarding pass scanned in and then into the lounge. After getting scanned in I was frankly a bit disappointed with the lounge. It was packed, food and beverage wise it was roughly the same as the Club and IMHO the Club has the better views of the airport. As someone who will attempt to hit Platinum next program year it got me wondering, is it really worth going out of my way if the domestic lounge is only marginally better? That being said, I haven't been to the QF First lounge at the International terminal so maybe that's where the value comes in.

Am I missing something? Would love to hear your thoughts on what the key differences are between the Pub and Business lounge experience.

-RooFlyer88

 

[oz_mark]

Sydney is a poor example of a domestic J lounge. You will have better experiences in MEL, BNE, and PER and then you'll see the difference between the Qantas Club and the Business lounge.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Sydney is a poor example of a domestic J lounge. You will have better experiences in MEL, BNE, and PER and then you'll see the difference between the Qantas Club and the Business lounge.

This with bells on.
SYD J is well past need of a makeover.

 

[defurax]

SYD J showers are simply scary looking...

 

[justinbrett]

Even then the other J lounges aren’t what they used to be, especially BNE.

Slightly better drinks, but the food is hit and miss. Many times I’ve gone out to venture and found better food options in the QP. For example, the BNE J lounge often has butter chicken but it’s more of a soup with no visible pieces of chicken.

You’re really just getting views and better chances of a seat.

Also I found often service is slower at the J lounge because they frequently leave one person to work the bar and coffee machine at the same time. At QP, there’s almost always two people.

I’d almost prefer the Admirals Club model where you at can at least buy substantial food (although last time I went through DFW, terminal C and no time to go to the Flagship lounge, I just brought in Chick-fil-A).

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Sydney is a poor example of a domestic J lounge. You will have better experiences in MEL, BNE, and PER and then you'll see the difference between the Qantas Club and the Business lounge.

Having been to both the Pub and the Business lounge at MEL and BNE I tend to agree. I do recall the MEL Club being like a dungeon with no windows whereas the Business lounge had way better views and seating. I'm inclined to say the same thing about BNE but IIRC the differences aren't as stark (although differences could be observed). As for PER, I've been to the Club but not the Business lounge - I reckon the key difference there is the proportion of patrons wearing high-vis?

This with bells on.
SYD J is well past need of a makeover.

Will be hilarious if AKL's renovated lounge ends up being miles ahead of the domestic lounges at SYD. Perhaps we should have a countdown of days remaining that QF SYD Domestic lounges are better than the QF AKL lounge?!

Even then the other J lounges aren’t what they used to be, especially BNE. Slightly better drinks, but the food is hit and miss. Many times I’ve gone out to venture and found better food options in the QP. For example, the BNE J lounge often has butter chicken but it’s more of a soup with no visible pieces of chicken.

I do recall the lounges providing more substantial food last year and even earlier this year and have the photos to back that up! Today's menu was a snacking station (whatever that is?):

You’re really just getting views and better chances of a seat.

Although I would argue the QF Club at SYD has better views. There is a corner of the lounge you can sit where you get real nice views of landings. Meanwhile in the business lounge I have to crane my neck past the hangars to see the action!

Also I found often service is slower at the J lounge because they frequently leave one person to work the bar and coffee machine at the same time. At QP, there’s almost always two people.

Bar service wasn't slow but the self-serve coffee machine had a message saying open drawer. You'd think they would pay more attention to that machine since it must save the bartender a lot of time. Then again, what do I know? I'm used to lounges in North America where everything is self serve (including the beer and plonk!)

I’d almost prefer the Admirals Club model where you at can at least buy substantial food (although last time I went through DFW, terminal C and no time to go to the Flagship lounge, I just brought in Chick-fil-A).

When I travel to North America I really try and eat out at restaurants even at airports. Stuff like Starbucks, In n' Out, Harvey's and Wendy's they don't have here and I'm over on that side of the world once in a blue moon! That being said, I will say the food is a step ahead of most US lounges where you are lucky if you get more than cheese and crackers. In United's defence, they do serve Illy Coffee though.

-RooFlyer88

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

One thing to remember, is the QP in BNE and MEL have had renos done to them, and touched up, as has the PER ones too.
ADL is a bit of the newer combo lounges.
But if you take an indepth look at it, SYD airport has not ever since T3 was taken by QF, done any major works to either of these lounges.
QF handed back the lounges area back to SYD airport a few years ago, probably cheaper now for QF to just lease the area, and are/wouldn't be too keen to spend good money to tear down either of these, as they don't own the zone anymore.
Neither is SYD airport going to spend good money to gut and rebuild either of the lounges, ie, having to close either or both.
So, there we have it, its been like that for years.
Both the lounges as of now are the same, I have been into them many times over the years, joined QFF in 1997!
Even during the AN days, the QP and SYD QFd lounges were just like that, no wow factor, no plantery unlike BNE near the non opening cantina!
Edit: SYD airport took back the leaseholding of the QP and QFd SYD J lounge in 2015.
Since T3 opened, nothing has been done to it.
Ideally, of course, we want the QF J lounge to be the best, but as regards to SYD, they are both (QP and the J lounge), more or leas the same.
On the weekends, both are full, both have families and kids, now, if you want to consider plush, the CL would be the "top notch" one.
The MEL QFd QP wasn't always like that, ie, dungeon looking, a few years ago, both of the lounges had plane parking bay views, both allowed natural sunlight to come in, both were bright, then some bright spark decided, to change things around, ie, the QP got downgraded, and the MEL QFd J lounge took over the whole of the frontage, and the QP took up the "backside".

 

[Brissy1]

J used to have much more interesting, and often very good, wines. For me it was the J lounges' best feature. Now they're the same as the QP (which I suspect has also dropped)... generally undrinkable. Sad.

 

[Lynda2475]

As others have said SYD J very much needs a revamp. It does offer a better breakfast choice than the QPub but at other times of day only advantage is it has Rośe.

Even then the other J lounges aren’t what they used to be, especially BNE

Agree was there last Sunday, it was crowded and the Mexican station was closed. Except for rice and some beef in blackbean (couldnt see any beef) the offerings were same as QPub, actually QPub was less crowded and had meat pies that actually had beef inside.

Agree the pizzas at PER are yum.

 

[Daver6]

In PER the QP also has better views than the J lounge. However, J lounge is much nicer. I really like the pizza offering too. I just wish it was available all day.

SYD J showers are simply scary looking...

Are the QP showers in SYD any better? I do agree that the J lounge ones are really poor.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Has anyone seen the Mexican Cantina at BNE QFd J lounge open, of late, post pandamic.

 

[encryptededdy]

Has anyone seen the Mexican Cantina at BNE QFd J lounge open, of late, post pandamic.

Personally I've never seen it open since 2020.

 

[jase05]

SYD J lounge is a deadset embarrassment as others have mentioned. Well, well overdue for a complete makeover

 

[kangarooflyer88]

But if you take an indepth look at it, SYD airport has not ever since T3 was taken by QF, done any major works to either of these lounges.
QF handed back the lounges area back to SYD airport a few years ago, probably cheaper now for QF to just lease the area, and are/wouldn't be too keen to spend good money to tear down either of these, as they don't own the zone anymore.
Neither is SYD airport going to spend good money to gut and rebuild either of the lounges, ie, having to close either or both.
So, there we have it, its been like that for years.
Both the lounges as of now are the same, I have been into them many times over the years, joined QFF in 1997!

So does that mean the lounges haven't been renovated in over 25 years? If so, it would seem to me that it is long overdue for renovation (albeit maybe not as much as the AKL lounge). Still, that's surprising considering SYD is supposed to be a major hub for QF. It's also surprising considering even small regional lounges like Rockhampton have received renovations. Does Rockhampton experience more travel than Sydney? Are their customers anymore more valuable?

I would also be curious how renovations work when the airline holds a lease over the lounge space. Are such renovations permissible and is there extra paperwork versus if they owned the lounges outright as before?

J used to have much more interesting, and often very good, wines. For me it was the J lounges' best feature. Now they're the same as the QP (which I suspect has also dropped)... generally undrinkable. Sad.

I still maintain the Pub is the better lounge purely on views alone. QF Business your view is a hangar, which I suppose sums up the business lounge experience at SYD

Are the QP showers in SYD any better? I do agree that the J lounge ones are really poor.

Haven't tried the showers at the QF J lounge but found the Pub ones at SYD to be of acceptable quality. From what I recall across the QF lounge network the showers are all pretty good in the sense that they exist, there's no broken champagne flutes on the floor with decent water pressure and hot water. Certainly a cut above North American business lounges which rarely have showers these days (albeit not as good as the showers in the NH lounge at NRT which have excellent ventilation)

SYD J lounge is a deadset embarrassment as others have mentioned. Well, well overdue for a complete makeover

In hindsight, the best time for QF to have renovated those lounges was last year when travel was largely cancelled due to you know what. Indeed, in the middle and towards the end of last year only the J lounge in SYD was open. That being said, they could certainly have done the renovations in phases shuttering parts of the lounge to refurbish them. I know some of us might have complained on the forum about this but if it resulted in a better lounge, I suspect many of us would've accepted the inconvenience.

-RooFlyer88

 

[kangarooflyer88]

I just noticed Executive Traveller published an article just yesterday on the upgrades QF has planned for their lounges:

Sydney’s domestic Qantas Business lounge is another sadly sub-par facility.

It’s the airline’s busiest domestic lounge, and having been opened in July 2008 it’s now noticeably long in the tooth – especially when compared with its modern counterparts at Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

In December 2019, Joyce assured Executive Traveller “the Sydney domestic business lounge is now top of the list for the domestic lounge (upgrade program).”

Meanwhile for QFi out of SYD:

In 2018 the airline committed to all-new Sydney International Business lounge, with staged construction work will begin in the third quarter of that year and stretch through to the end of 2019.

It will be interesting to see which of the two SYD lounges QF prioritizes here. Yes having a slightly nicer QF business lounge at the international terminal would be nice, but I should think that the domestic lounge should taken higher priority given the sheer amount of travel it experiences and the fact that it has been neglected for so long. After all, there's a lot more people travelling QF domestically than internationally!

-RooFlyer88

 

[serfty]

So does that mean the lounges haven't been renovated in over 25 years?

In relation to Sydney Domestic, the current space taken mainly by the business lounge was constructed in the latter 90's - it was all Qantas Club.

Until then the QP was located in most of the space of the gate 16 waiting area.

A few years later, in the early 00's, the lounge was extended to the West (where the QP ends now) - the entire upper area was Qantas Club.

Maybe late 2007 the lounge was partitioned with the area from the Eastern end to the Business entrance designated as the "Business Lounge" - remaining was QP. About two years later the divide between the lounges was shifted about 20 metres West to make for more business lounge space (and less QP).

So, the last real renovation was about 15 years ago.

 

[oz_mark]

So does that mean the lounges haven't been renovated in over 25 years? If so, it would seem to me that it is long overdue for renovation (albeit maybe not as much as the AKL lounge). Still, that's surprising considering SYD is supposed to be a major hub for QF. It's also surprising considering even small regional lounges like Rockhampton have received renovations. Does Rockhampton experience more travel than Sydney? Are their customers anymore more valuable?

The Sydney J lounge hasn't been open 25 years. Also, lounge access was different then, you had to be a Qantas Club member to get in. None of this flying in Business gets you access stuff

 

[SYD]

In relation to Sydney Domestic, the current space taken mainly by the business lounge was constructed in the latter 90's - it was all Qantas Club.

A few years later, in the early 00's, the lounge was extended to the West (where the QP ends now) - the entire upper area was Qantas Club.

Maybe late 2007 the lounge was partitioned with the area from the Eastern end to the Business entrance designated as the "Business Lounge" - remaining was QP. About two years later the divide between the lounges was shifted about 20 metres West to make for more business lounge space (and less QP).

So, the last real renovation was about 15 years ago.

The Sydney J lounge hasn't been open 25 years. Also, lounge access was different then, you had to be a Qantas Club member to get in. None of this flying in Business gets you access stuff

Yes. Some of the earlier comments were not correct. The entire terminal was progressively knocked down and rebuilt prior to the SYD 2000 Olympics (AN also did a knock down rebuild on T2 but retained the existing dingy low ceiling pier - now VA).

As above, the now QF J Lounge was in part pinched from the existing QP as well as an extension of the floor space. The look, feel and service in SYD J/QP was comparable with MEL J/QP (that had a similar makeover).

SYD J lounge is a deadset embarrassment as others have mentioned. Well, well overdue for a complete makeover

Totally agree it needs a major makeover as the “flagship” Dom lounge but it’s still a pleasant enough space outside the peak periods.

 

[RichardMEL]

Has anyone seen the Mexican Cantina at BNE QFd J lounge open, of late, post pandamic.

The "Cantina" concept was dropped. I had seen it operational in the afternoon but with some more general plates. the only Mexican in the joint was me (and any others South of the Border)

 

[RichardMEL]

I was also in SYD dom J at the same time as the OP (iirc the 483 left just prior to my delayed 475).

As others have said it is a poor excuse for a J lounge for all the reasons previously given. The usual curry slop was there. I always chuckle with some dismay when I see it, A bit "oh no, not again" sigh.

I was in there for quite some time due to a flight change and the delay of my flight. I was bemused to note that the "selection of cakes" which was either carrot cake or a kind of red velvety/strawberry type flavour (I honestly couldn't tell which, despite a number of pieces) was where the infamous party pies used to go. Seems like that "feature" (lol) has gone perhaps? Don't get me wrong - the cakes were quite nice and all, but the party pies were on a whole other level of popular - which in a way says so much about both the lounge, and many of the clientele that this was seen as one of the "better" options by punters in the arvo.

I do find the bar setup to be quite strangely small. Now it's been quite some time since I've been in the SYD QP, but I seem to recall it was quite a large bar area (and let's face it, that was what many were there for).. the small area for the bar/coffees is quite odd. At least MEL has the "wrap around" design with the bar being at least a little more separate from the coffee station, and when there's enough staff service is usually pretty good.

yes, it is past needing a reno.. but not just physically (though more power points is a desperate need!) but it could easily be improved with even a modest improvement in the catering offering... Doesn't have to be the PER pizza Oven, or the spice bar area like MEL (space seems limited since the area was spit from the original QP space to create the J lounge) but.. something. I've been in there.

Friday arvo/evening of course is the worst kind of time for this lounge - specially with some delays going on. It's always crowded and that doesn't help. I had to hiunt around to find a single seat out of the way a bit so I wasn't taking up a two (or more) seat area.

I do like the views of the hangars and the ramp area by gates 1-7ish - I don't think that's a drawback of the lounge per se.

Hopefully the actual revamp of the lounge isn't too far off (but wait for the grumbles for the time it takes to do... !)