QANTAS: Refreshing 7 regional lounges after closure

If you rely on Qantas’ regional lounges for a quiet coffee, a power point and a bit of pre-flight calm, there’s good and bad news. Your lounge is likely being refreshed and may be closed for a few weeks.

Qantas has been active on the lounge front, with the most recent lounge dramatic refurbishments being in Adelaide and Auckland, New Zealand in the last few months.

Qantas has announced additional details of its regional lounge upgrade program, with refurbishments underway at seven regional airports over the coming weeks. The airline says the works are aimed at bringing these smaller lounges closer to the standard now seen in major-city terminals.

What’s changing inside the lounges?

Each refurbished lounge will feature a refreshed interior themed by the surrounding region. Your lounge will be geting more modern furniture, improved seating options and upgraded finishes, including new flooring and surfaces.

Technology is also being improved. Qantas is installing more device charging points and improving entertainment and information displays. Those changes will address one of the most common complaints in older regional lounges according to Qantas.

So, you should expect fewer tired armchairs, more places to plug in, and a more contemporary, comfortable space to wait for your flight.

When and where: temporary closures

To carry out the upgrades, each lounge will close temporarily. Passengers won’t have access during the renovation period.

• Coffs Harbour — renovations run from 14 to 24 February.
• Gladstone — closures run from 8 to 26 February.
• Kalgoorlie — works take place from 8 to 14 February.
• Karratha — the lounge will be unavailable from 8 to 19 March.
• Mackay — the closure period is from 15 February to 9 March.
• Rockhampton — the lounge will close from 5 to 18 February.
• Tamworth — the lounge shuts from 12 to 21 February.

Given these are regional airports, Qantas doesn’t seem to have made any interim arrangements for its customers while these lounges are closed. During these periods, travellers should expect busier terminals with fewer quiet spaces, particularly at peak times.

“We know how much our frequent flyers value our regional lounges, whether it’s to grab a drink and a snack, or as a quiet place to get some work done. We apologise for the inconvenience while we renovate, but we’re confident the finished product will make it worthwhile.”

QantasLink CEO Mark Dal Pra

2PAXfly Takeout

Qantas’ regional lounges have traditionally been functional rather than flashy. Given that these lounges will be closed for only a couple of weeks and it is a traditionally low travel period, changes to the lounges will not be extensive. I’m thinking of it as a surface, electronic and furniture upgrade.

If they follow the lines of Hobart and Adelaide, or even Broome, then the regions are in for a great improvement. I just wish Qantas would get a move on in upgrading the Sydney Domestic Business Lounge in T3. Its bathrooms are verging on the disgusting.