Rex Opens New Temporary Canberra Lounge

Rex has opened a temporary lounge at Canberra Airport, which will be available to all Rex passengers from Monday, 19 April 2021 when Rex launches Canberra-Sydney flights.

Rex says it has concluded an agreement with Canberra Airport to temporarily use the former “International Lounge” while it finalises arrangements for a permanent lounge in Canberra. As a promotional offer, all Rex passengers flying from Canberra to Sydney will be entitled to use the temporary lounge for free for the next 3 months.

But before you get too excited, Rex lounge guests will only be offered one complimentary non-alcoholic beverage. Other snacks and drinks will need to be paid for. That’s a significant step-down from the Qantas and Virgin Australia lounges in Canberra, where unlimited complimentary drinks, snacks and meals are available.

The airline says that paid-up Rex Lounge members “will enjoy other benefits in line with existing lounge offerings”, which presumably means they won’t have to pay extra for a beer, wine or snack.

The temporary lounge is located upstairs, near the Virgin Australia Lounge. According to Rex, “The International Lounge includes a state-of-the-art business lounge, offering a variety of different seating and meeting areas. The use of seating modules provides visitors with a sense of privacy and intimacy.”

This part of the airport was never previously a private lounge, but rather, was the public area where international passengers waited to board their flights after clearing immigration control. It’s a nice, quiet part of the airport and there will be plenty of seating available, given Rex’s Saab 340s have a maximum capacity of 34 passengers. But don’t expect things like business facilities or other features normally reserved for a proper airline lounge.

The international departures area is currently unused as Qatar Airways has paused international flights from Canberra and Singapore Airlines, the only other airline to operate international services from the national capital before COVID-19, has withdrawn from the market permanently.

Rex plans to open a more permanent lounge at Canberra Airport at a later date.

Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Rex opens temporary CBR lounge

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & 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.