Qantas First Class Lounge "Runs" - why do people do them?

Qantas First Class Lounge "Runs" - why do people do them? I mean obviously they do them to get into the Qantas First lounges in Sydney and Melbourne, but it seems a bit strange to go to all the trouble of paying airfares, doing flights and taking all that time for 1-2 days just to have a free meal, no matter how 'good' the lounge's dining is! I'm trying to understand why anybody would pay that money and take that time just to use an airport lounge. And I'm trying not to say "Don't some people have a life?". But if anybody here does 'lounge runs' I would welcome their response to explain exactly WHY they do them!

What runs?

People fly for many reasons, some love the smell of jetfuel, others the business of an international terminals.

Others pick flights on schedule, on price, on a widebody over a narrowbody.

Thanks but I'm talking about these 'lounge runs' I've heard about where people seem to take a flight just to use the airport first class lounge, forget about schedule or 'widebody vs narrowbody', it's basically "Fly from Sydney to Melbourne to use the Qantas Fiest Class Lounge"!

JamesM my 2c is that they don't have much of a life! Really, even if they get a cheap $80 JQ fare from Sydney to Melbourne, that's $80 plus other costs like getting to the airport (say $20 train fare) so $100, plus most of a whole day gone just to have lunch at the Sydney First Class Lounge? I know the lounge is great but it's not worth $100 unless you gorge yourself on the food and drink a bottle of champagne!

Four Words - 'Tiger Airways Price Match'

SYD-MEL r/t under $40 (and that's including JetStar's "booking" fees) is an excellent way to spend a day, for some people, especially when doing it with other people that share the same hobby. Throw in 3 or so hours in the SYD F Lounge and the flight is essentially free. 

Then again, you either "get" these people (of which I am proudly one) or you don't.

Thankfully, most people don't. 

Can someone explain how this works, when SYD-MEL flights leave from the domestic terminal, and the Qantas F lounge is in the International terminal on the other side of the airport? I didn't think security let you through passport at international without a boradin pass for that terminal

Hey RR, we actually wrote an article which covers this - I think it'll answer all your questions! :)

http://www.ausbt.com.au/how-to-get-into-the-qantas-first-class-lounge-on-domestic-flights

Hey, I think bird watching is as boring as all buggery but some like it.  I play golf as much as I can (not real good at it though!) and some hate the sport.

If I lived in Sydney or Melb (bit tough from Perth) I'd do it a few times a year with a friend or 3, essentially the same cost as a nice lunch.

Essentially each to their own I guess is the point of all that!

11sjw that's a sensible observation, I suppose that if you got a supercheap airfare and did this with friends then it would be a bit of a 'social activity' although still a very time-consuming one.

The problem with this activity is not that people do it, which I understand and am not critical of, although I don't bother, but that the level of group activity is such that premium international passengers and CL and P1 members are now starting to complain about the lounge traffic.  If these complaints reach a critical mass from these types of passengers, QF will be forced to act and "enhance" the program.  Like any situation, sometimes too much of a good thing leads to overreaction that might lead to more "enhancement" than necessary  (e.g reducing quality of alcohol or limiting access based on length of flight) especially when forums like AFF plan these trips for groups.  It is frustrating for people who are about to do almost 24 hours in the air to find it difficult to get a table because of how crowded the lounge is.  Also, groups of friends who are using the lounge in this fashion, combined with plenty of alcohol, will invariably be more boisterous than the lone traveller trying to bunker down for the long business flight ahead.  This is a problem that will increase if the Emirates Trans-Tasman alliance receives regulatory approval as there will be more international passengers using the lounge. 

Well you learn something every day!  I've heard of taking flights to maintain or reach status, but not to just enter a Qantas First Lounge! 

It would be better I would think to just go out for the day to a nice City restaurant.