Qantas to splash out on new and upgraded lounges

There is some good news for business class travellers and Qantas frequent flyers.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce this week announced a program of new and refurbished Qantas lounges across the globe, proclaiming it as the biggest investment in the airline's lounge network in over a decade.

Joyce said the work had been enabled by the faster-than-expected recovery in travel demand, with the project including a new First Lounge at London Heathrow Airport.

Also on the agenda is a refreshed Hong Kong International Lounge, upgrades for the International Business lounges in Sydney and Melbourne, a new Hobart Qantas Club and an expanded Broome Regional Lounge.

The new London First Lounge is anticipated to open in late 2025, aligned with the debut of direct London-Australia flights.

The new $100 million lounge program is in addition to previously announced upgrades in Auckland, Adelaide, Rockhampton and Port Hedland.

The national carrier has an extensive lounge network, including 42 in Australia (12 of which are in regional destinations) and nine overseas.

“Being back in profit means we’re back to making long term investments for our customers," said Joyce. That started with the major aircraft order we announced last year and now we’re building on that with a major investment in our lounges.

"Millions of people a year visit our lounges and they are typically our frequent flyers who travel with us the most, so anything we do to improve them is a way of saying thank you to our most loyal customers."

Good news for Tasmanians with the proposed relocation into a brand new Hobart Qantas Club with larger premises in line with the overall terminal redevelopment. Qantas is targeting a 50% increase in capacity from 96 to approximately 150 seats.

That further strengthens Qantas' postion in Hobart with Virgin Australia still not having a lounge despite promising one over a decade ago.

Eligible Qantas lounge customers include: Qantas tiered Frequent Flyers (gold and above), customers travelling in business class and first on Qantas operated flights and eligible oneworld and partner airline customers.