Worst Domestic Qantas Lounges & What Can be Done About It?

[SYD]

Perhaps open other threads on best QF lounge as well as best and worst VA lounge.

Guaranteed that HBA will take out worst for both QF and VA!

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Perhaps open other threads on best QF lounge as well as best and worst VA lounge.

Guaranteed that HBA will take out worst for both QF and VA!

The polling thus far suggests otherwise:


What I would be curious for those who voted Sydney as having the worst Qantas lounge is what made you choose it over the other options, particularly Hobart (and don't say you haven't been to Hobart, many proud Tasmanians would take exception to such remarks)?

-RooFlyer88

 

[SYD]

The polling thus far suggests otherwise:
View attachment 311586

What I would be curious for those who voted Sydney as having the worst Qantas lounge is what made you choose it over the other options, particularly Hobart (and don't say you haven't been to Hobart, many proud Tasmanians would take exception to such remarks)?

-RooFlyer88

Have you been to the VA HBA lounge?

But back to topic, given a fare chunk of QF pax fly in/out of SYD, they want to see the refresh that was done to MEL and BNE before Covid f’d things up.

I actually don’t mind the SYD Dom J lounge but if others prefer the QP - fine, sashay away! But yes, it will be better when refurbed. Don’t be surprised if they shakeup the footprint between J and QP like happened in MEL!

 

[kangarooflyer88]

But back to topic, given a fare chunk of QF pax fly in/out of SYD, they want to see the refresh that was done to MEL and BNE before Covid f’d things up.

Agreed that a refresh is in order, but the big thing about SYD, MEL, BNE and other major domestic airports is passengers have some recourse if they don't like the lounge, they can visit the sister lounge. Don't like the views in the SYD J lounge? Pop over to the QF Pub! Is the MEL J lounge getting overcrowded? Pop over to the QF Pub! HBA not only doesn't have that recourse, but is only open an hour before scheduled QF departures - how is that fare?

I actually don’t mind the SYD Dom J lounge but if others prefer the QP - fine, sashay away! But yes, it will be better when refurbed. Don’t be surprised if they shakeup the footprint between J and QP like happened in MEL!

Well look, there are things QF can do right now to those SYD lounges which don't require tearing down walls, moving furniture and rewiring electrics, such as the food on offer at their lounges. Do you think people would be complaining about QF domestic lounges so much if you would go into the lounge one day and there's pizza? Come in another day and there's chicken wings? Seating is a little more complicated, maybe they could tighten the rules up as was the case with Delta (i.e. eliminate guest access privileges for Gold, and maybe give World Platinums/Platinum Ones just one guest). Then again, my perception of what is busy may be different from others. Certainly I've never encountered a long queue to enter the lounge. At the same time, I remember the good ol' days just after lockdown ended where the lounges and airports were deserted and you could enjoy the lounge in peace!

-RooFlyer88

 

[jase05]

but is only open an hour before scheduled QF departures - how is that fare?

Yes the HBA lounge is a dump but your statement here was certainly not true on my visits there. The lounge opens 1hr prior to the first service of the day and shuts when boarding for the last QF flight of the day. It just means that the last couple of JQ flights of the night have no lounge and it’s quite funny seeing some of the carry on from some of the QF status pax when they are told they have to vacate the lounge when the last QF flight boards

 

[SYD]

Apart from PER QF J lounge pizza bar (which ain’t bad when operating), the only other pizza and chicken wings I’ve encountered flying is in the US and the super sized PAX and their supersized carry on pizza boxes!

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Yes the HBA lounge is a dump but your statement here was certainly not true on my visits there. The lounge opens 1hr prior to the first service of the day and shuts when boarding for the last QF flight of the day. It just means that the last couple of JQ flights of the night have no lounge and it’s quite funny seeing some of the carry on from some of the QF status pax when they are told they have to vacate the lounge when the last QF flight boards

Has the lounge hours changed since I last visited HBA in April? When I was there back then everyone on that last QF flight of the day was queueing around the lounge entrance for a good hour before the lounge opened an hour prior to departure.

The QF site certainly seems to agree withy your statement here:

Lounge operating hours are one hour before the first Qantas operated service until last Qantas departure.

-RooFlyer88

Post automatically merged: Dec 18, 2022

Apart from PER QF J lounge pizza bar (which ain’t bad when operating), the only other pizza and chicken wings I’ve encountered flying is in the US and the super sized PAX and their supersized carry on pizza boxes!

All I'm saying is I think QF can do a little better than offering a build your own toastie bar. Surely there has got to be something of higher culinary calibre than something you would give your 8 year old child at a picnic?

-RooFlyer88

 

[Vic]

Anyone saying Sydney is WORSE than Hobart or Alice Springs needs to visit more lounges. Suggests a serious lack of experience.

Guested in an overseas colleague to the Hobart lounge a few years ago, they said no thanks I'd rather sit out at the gate. I had to agree. I've NEVER sat in the Sydney lounge and thought I'd rather sit at the gate. Never!

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Anyone saying Sydney is WORSE than Hobart or Alice Springs needs to visit more lounges. Suggests a serious lack of experience.

Haven't been to Alice Springs...yet but have been to Hobart and would tend to agree with your suggestion. That being said, I suspect there are some reasons why people would vote for SYD over HBA as the worst lounge. Yes, you're right, HBA has a number of flaws, the likes of which cannot be enumerated on this forum in any degree of detail without causing this thread to exceed 100 pages. On the other hand, I think some might argue, but yeah how often are you going to use the HBA lounge? Even those who fly regularly out of HBA, how often do you show up to the airport more than an hour prior to departure? SYD on the other hand, is a different beast. A lot of folks departing from or through SYD which means high passenger loads and demands of customers. Of the top 10 domestic routes cited by Bitre none of them involve Tasmania. And for those curious the top domestic routes are:

1. SYD > MEL
2. BNE > SYD
3. BNE > MEL
4. OOL > MEL
5. OOL > SYD
6. ADL > MEL
7. MEL > PER
8. ADL > SYD
9. PER > SYD
10. BNE > CNS

However, HBA does makes an appearance at #11, HBA > MEL with 88,000 passengers transported in the month of September. In addition HBA gets traffic comparable to DRW at 185,900 passengers for HBA versus 157,600 passengers for DRW. And DRW has a number of onward international flights connecting through the airport and to my knowledge there are 0 international flights departing HBA. Having been to both the Darwin Qantas lounge and the Hobart Qantas lounge, I will say that the Hobart lounge is an absolute disgrace by comparison. Tiny, virtually no food or anything, dirty rest rooms, truly third rate stuff that you'd expect to see at an EgyptAir lounge in Luxor not the eleventh busiest domestic airport in Australia service by an airline that is known to have competitive lounges (dare I say it, "the best in the world," to quote Uncle Alan). Meanwhile the Darwin lounge is luxurious, tons of seating, a mini business centre, showers, you name it. I could certainly put up a lounge like the DRW QF Pub up to the SYD Pub with a straight face.

Guested in an overseas colleague to the Hobart lounge a few years ago, they said no thanks I'd rather sit out at the gate. I had to agree. I've NEVER sat in the Sydney lounge and thought I'd rather sit at the gate. Never!

I think a lot of it comes down to how cramped the lounge is. When I was at the lounge it was busy, yes, but it wasn't completely chock-a-block. I don't know what it's like now that domestic travel has picked up considerably, but yeah once you get to the point where being outside the lounge is a relief, that should be a telling indictment. That being said, I wouldn't compare the HBA QF lounge to a broom closet since that would be unfair to broom closets which tend to be a bit roomier!

 

[RooFlyer]

The polling thus far suggests otherwise:
View attachment 311586



-RooFlyer88

Obviously the responses need to be considered pro-rata!!

 

[jase05]

Obviously the responses need to be considered pro-rata!!

SYD J lounge issues could largely be rectified with a few changes whereas HBA Iis in more desperate need of a complete makeover

 

[RooFlyer]

SYD J lounge issues could largely be rectified with a few changes whereas HBA Iis in more desperate need of a complete makeover wrecking ball

Fixed that for you.

 

[RichardMEL]

Apart from PER QF J lounge pizza bar (which ain’t bad when operating), the only other pizza and chicken wings I’ve encountered flying is in the US and the super sized PAX and their supersized carry on pizza boxes!

The other week QF OOL lounge (yes!) had some pizza squares that were actually pretty good. I may have had more than my share. Gourmet? No. Probably cut from a frozen pizza deal and nuked? probably but you know what... a beer, a few of those squares and the cricket on the tv there and I was more than happy (and the lounge was only about 80% full rather than the usual 130% ). There was another hot savoury option but I've forgotten what it was.

(they also had some moist chocolate cupcake type things)

 

[RichardMEL]

of course SYD will get more votes because far more people use it (ie the pro rata comment). I mean I have not been through HBA personally for 20ish years and no offence to our tassie mates, but it's a relatively small place when compared to MEL or SYD. That doesn't mean that it doesn't warrant a new / updated lounge setup (I suspect HBA airport is probably half the problem here tbh - I'm reminded of ADL pre the rebuild in some respects). However more votes for SYD is a no brainer from a forum like this. It's all very unscientific but good fun none the less.

 

[RooFlyer]

but it's a relatively small place when compared to MEL or SYD. That doesn't mean that it doesn't warrant a new / updated lounge setup (I suspect HBA airport is probably half the problem here tbh

Yes, yes and yes

 

[dylarr]

Anyone saying Sydney is WORSE than Hobart or Alice Springs needs to visit more lounges. Suggests a serious lack of experience.

Guested in an overseas colleague to the Hobart lounge a few years ago, they said no thanks I'd rather sit out at the gate. I had to agree. I've NEVER sat in the Sydney lounge and thought I'd rather sit at the gate. Never!

I actually don't mind the Qantas Club in Alice Springs. It was refurbished in 2020 and feels quite modern and fresh. There's always been plenty of seating when I've been there and the food isn't too bad either.

 

[RooFlyer]

I actually don't mind the Qantas Club in Alice Springs. It was refurbished in 2020 and feels quite modern and fresh. There's always been plenty of seating when I've been there and the food isn't too bad either.

I was going to say that all we mere HBA folk would like, absent a new lounge, is a refresh, just like those similar metropolises, Alice Springs or Rockhampton . Last thing we got, with a bit of a fanfare, was a sandwich maker.

 

[JohnK]

I struggle to understand why SYD would get the worst QF lounge vote. And OOL is more than adequate.

Quite a few of the regional lounges are very ordinary. ROK, LST, ASP.

 

[Pbruncky]

I've noticed over the past few days that some of us have been griping about the state of Qantas lounges, particularly across the domestic network with some arguing that the QF J lounge is actually worse than the Qantas Pub in SYD, or @RooFlyer arguing that the QF Pub at their home airport of HBA being an absolute disgrace.

Hence, I thought I'd start a thread to discuss the shortcomings of the Qantas lounges, and also to poll the community to identify what they think the worst domestic Qantas lounge is. If you were Uncle Alan and could wave a magic wand to fix a lounge which one would you choose and how would you make it tolerable?

Notes: For polling purposes I make no distinction between Qantas Pub versus Qantas Business Lounge. I simply list the airports, and let you choose which one you think is the worst. Also, apparently the polling feature doesn't let me specify more than 10 choices despite Qantas having domestic lounges at 24 airports.

-RooFlyer88

I traveled through BNE 6 weeks ago and the lounge was disgusting. The chairs are that old the armrests are black and worn out. I would’ve thought while everything was shut down through COVID the lounge should’ve had a makeover. The menu hasn’t changed in 10yrs either. Same old food choices every time.

 

[aikman]

HBA is the only Qantas Club where I walked in and walked straight out. Far too small given the patronage.