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If there is one thing that I like most about Qantas it’s that it can do airport lounges very well when it puts its mind to it. The First Class lounge in Sydney is fantastic, the Qantas First Class lounge at LAX is my favorite lounge in the US and I can’t wait for the new Qantas lounge to open at London Heathrow Terminal 3 next year. All this is why I was particularly interested to see what Qantas would be offering at its new Brisbane International Lounge which opened its doors yesterday.
The new International lounge is set over two levels and, according to Qantas, offers almost 30% more space than the previous Brisbane lounges. The airline has based the design of the lounge on its Hong Kong and Singapore lounge concept, with the food and interior design taking inspiration from the local region.
According to Qantas:
The furniture is inspired by a relaxed approach to living in the tropical north with timber café seating and low slung lounges, and inset rugs bring colour and texture reminiscent of the reef, sandbars and waterways of Queensland’s coast and inlets.
Qantas International Lounge Brisbane
Qantas International Lounge Brisbane
Food-wise the lounge will offer seasonal menus designed with a focus on working with local food producers. A new signature breakfast hatch on the upper level of the lounge will serve “Rockpool-designed breakfast dishes to order such as healthy breakfast bowls, bircher muesli and French toast“.
Qantas International Lounge Brisbane
As well as the breakfast hatch guests will have a choice of hot and cold buffets throughout the day.
Qantas International Lounge Brisbane
Qantas is using the Brisbane International lounge to introduce a new lounge concept – Quench – which , the airline says, “will focus on hydrating customers before they fly“.
Quench will offer a range of non-alcoholic beverages including syrups from Bickfords and Buderim Ginger and a signature tisane blend designed by Rockpool. This concept is expected to be rolled out across future Qantas lounge developments.
If non-alcoholic beverages aren’t exactly what you’re looking for the lounge still has you covered – there’s a bar serving “craft beer & premium wine“.
Qantas International Lounge Brisbane
The lounge also features a business centre, Wi-Fi, TVs with Foxtel, shower suites with ASPAR by Aurora skincare products and a Sofitel service experience.
In addition:
A key feature of the lounge is a bespoke glass and light art installation called The Pulse of Our Ancient Land created by artist Jenna Lee from Indigenous design agency Gilimbaa, based in Brisbane. Inlaid into the glass is an abstract interpretation of the land of the Queensland region as viewed from above, brought to life through glass, watercolour and lights.
Qantas International Lounge Brisbane
The Qantas Brisbane International Lounge is open to Qantas customers travelling in Business Class as well as eligible Qantas frequent flyers and oneworld Emerald & Sapphire members.
This won’t be the end of Qantas’ work at Brisbane as Qantas’ CEO, Gareth Evans, confirmed that the international lounge was just the first of several new facilities the national carrier would open in the coming months at Brisbane Airport as part of a multi-million dollar upgrade.
Bottom Line
I like how much natural light Qantas has, once again, managed to integrate into its new lounge but I’m not entirely sold on the seating. The armchairs you can see in the background of some images look perfectly ok but the “low slung lounges” don’t look like somewhere I’d like to rest up for any length of time.
I have no doubt that the food and drink selection will be way ahead of anything we’re used to seeing in the US and Europe but it will be interesting to hear some first-hand reports on how broad the food selection is and how efficient the “breakfast hatch” is…especially at busier times.
If anyone is passing through the lounge in the next few weeks please let us know your thoughts on the new lounge in the comment section below.
All images courtesy of Qantas
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