If we are comparing QF domestic lounges to AC and UA domestic lounges, then I would say that QF domestic lounges are slightly ahead of AC and significantly ahead of UA overall. In particular, QF lounges have functioning showers at most domestic lounges whereas AC continues to keep their showers shuttered due to COVID (whatever that is). Food sometimes can be better at AC domestic lounges versus Qantas (i.e. quesadillas) but sometimes Qantas has the upper hand. In terms of United domestic though, Qantas is leagues ahead. No United domestic lounge offers showers, and in most cases you're lucky if you can find more than cheese and crackers at a domestic Untied club.
Yes. Agree.
I will however point out that there are some dynamics that are unique to North American aviation. For instance, travelling domestically in the US, you have access to many priority pass lounges, AmEx Centurion lounges and lounges of major international airlines like Lufthansa, SAS, British Airways, etc., since the United States does not segregate International and domestic flights the way Australia does. This is also true (to some extent) in Canada where some airports don't segregate international and domestic travel either (i.e. terminal 3 at Pearson where you can access the KLM/Air France lounge while flying WestJet to a Canadian destination).
-RooFlyer88
Ah, but other lounge options at airports are irrelevant when discussing any comparision of the QF J domestic lounge vs other domestic lounges. One usually needs diferent eligibility criteria to access those - ie a specific Amex card, airline status or what have you. The major difference imo with the US is that, unlike QF, status in the home carrier's FF program does NOT give access on domestic sectors only (so for example, as a United 1K, if I am flying SFO-DEN, I can't access the club based on my status OR class of travel if in domestic F (a.k.a. J). However if I am, say, SQ*G, I can. The only exception I am aware of are 1> transcon F pax on AA get Flagship F lounge access.. and I think they expanded this to HNL flights from DFW iirc and Alaska allow lounge access to pax in domestic F. Point being that while there are no other lounge options in QF domestic terminals in general, it obviously precludes access to anything else, but by the same token it's not relevant to the comparison if I need a priority pass or specific high grade CC to access those lounges-and those are irrelevant of carrier flown - so they are very handy in places like LAS for sure, but I don't think very pertinent to this discussion.
It would be a bit like me as a QF P1 saying well I'm flying EK in J so I can use the EK lounge.. but I ALSO have access to the F lounge (QF in MEL/SYD or EK in DXB) due to status. Would I prefer Flounge to the J lounge - yes I would... but if I was evaluating the EK lounge experience that's not really relevant is it?)
(interesting sidenote, apparently one CAN access the LAX Star Alliance Lounge (in TBIT, run by NZ) on purely domestic itins - which if one is willing to, or be able to, walk the 20-25 mins from T7/8 airside to TBIT and back can make for a fantastic lounge experience before a domestic flight. That may also hold for LH and SK as you note, but I'm uncertain about those).
However access policies are a difference for sure. While QF and the US majors all have club memberships (but QF's do not get on into the domestic J lounges of course, unless QP is closed) some of the US domestic lounges allow access to preferred CC cardholders and heck some I think are also PP lounges etc. Something QF doesn't partake in iirc.. but OTOH they do allow Gold+ access (and WP/P1 to the J lounge) so that is a benefit not accorded to the same level of "local" elites on AA/DL/UA based on status or CoS alone. So that is a benefit for QF pax and possibly a factor when considering comparisons.
Certainly the lounges based on the CoS alone offer that experience which one doesn't have in the US without some other method of entry to the airline operated lounge (except, as noted above, AS). in this instance Air Canada is probably the closest analogy.