Live Music in the Qantas Club

The Qantas Club at Sydney Airport is adding some weekend cheer, with live music in the lounge from 4-8pm on Friday and Sunday evenings.

I spotted this when flying out of Sydney last Friday evening, and quite enjoyed the music. There was a singer and a keyboard player set up near the exit to the lounge in Terminal 3 at Sydney Airport, playing some classic tunes. I thought the singer was particularly excellent.

The live music was exclusive to the Qantas Club, which is accessible to Qantas Club members, Qantas Gold and Oneworld Sapphire frequent flyers. You can also redeem complimentary lounge invitations and sometimes even buy a day pass for Qantas Club access.

There was no live music in the neighbouring Qantas domestic Business Lounge, which is accessible to Business Class passengers as well as Qantas Platinum, Platinum One and Oneworld Emerald frequent flyers. The Business Lounge was just playing the usual quiet lounge music over the loudspeakers.

Of course, if you’re entitled to access the Business Lounge but would enjoy some live music, you can choose to visit the Qantas Club instead – but not the other way around.

I can’t recall seeing live music in other airport lounges

Some lounges have a grand piano that guests can play, like the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge at Istanbul Airport.

You can also sometimes find musicians playing live music in the Brisbane Airport domestic terminal on a Friday evening.

But this is the first time I can recall seeing professional musicians performing in an airline lounge, anywhere in the world, as a regular feature. If you’ve come across this, let us know in the comments!

Welcome weekend celebration or noisy distraction?

Personally, I thought the live music in the Qantas Club was a nice touch for a Friday evening. The music was pleasant and certainly wasn’t offensive. However, some people have complained that it’s too loud and that they couldn’t concentrate on work or make phone calls because of the noise.

I will admit that the music was quite loud, and I can see how some people might not like that.

The Qantas website advertises the Qantas Club as “a quiet environment away from the bustle of the airport”. Ironically, on a Friday or Sunday evening, the airport terminal would be a lot quieter than the Qantas Club – for better, or worse.

That said, Friday and Sunday evenings are hardly times when lots of people are trying to get work done. It’s common to see a live band or a singer in a pub on a Friday afternoon, and while the Qantas Club isn’t quite that, it does have similarities at times. 😉

If the noise was an issue, you could always choose to sit at the other side of the lounge, by the windows or at the back section.

As something different, Virgin Australia used to serve Betty’s Burgers in its Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane lounges on Thursday and Friday evenings. That was quite a hit.

Are you a fan of the live music in the Qantas lounge? Or would you prefer to sit in peace and quiet while you wait for your flight? Join the discussion on the AFF forum!

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to more than 100 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.