How to book a private suite at the Qantas first class lounge

Visiting the Qantas first class lounge in Sydney or Melbourne isn’t all about the famous salt and pepper calamari – many travellers have to to plough through some work ahead of their overseas flight, especially as Qantas has yet to add WiFi to its international fleet.

And sometimes that work needs to be done in private: not just so you can focus without noise and distractions, but also for the sake of important business phone calls.

That’s when you’ll be glad that the Qantas First Lounges in Sydney and Melbourne each have two private rooms which guests can book for free.

And when we say ‘room’ – well, they’re more like well-appointed office suites, with the added benefit of five-star dining just around the corner (and, if the staff offer, a glass of wine or champagne delivered while you work).

There’s a spacious desk with a phone, an iMac and wireless printer, plus a seperate settee and coffee table.

You don’t have to use the iMac of course – it’s easily nudged out of the way to make room for your own laptop.

I find these suites very handy for knocking over a few hours of solid work between breakfast and lunch, if I need to shut myself off from the rest of the lounge and focus on the job.

How to book a private room at the Qantas First Lounge

These spacious private suites are often set aside for visiting VIPs including Government ministers and celebrities, as they offer a modicum of privacy behind the frosted glass doors.

But when those high flyers aren’t around, the rooms are freely and readily available for anybody who qualifies for entry into the first class lounge – including Platinum-grade Qantas Frequent Flyer members and their Oneworld Emerald equivalents.

They can also double as as a “family room” if you’re travelling with a young babe and don't want to risk disturbing the other lounge guests: there’s plenty of space, you can order meals to be delivered to the suite, the close the door to keep the noise out and everyone is happy.

If you’re travelling in Qantas first class, you can reserve a room when the First Lounge Concierge calls the day before your flight to offer a spa booking.

For anybody else, just ask at the reception desk on your arrival at the lounge.

Just note that these rooms – at least the ones in Sydney – can get exceptionally warm and stuffy, and even the Dyson fan in each suite isn’t of much use, so you may need to leave the door propped open for circulation.