Review: Qantas London lounge, Heathrow Airport Terminal 3
By Mal Murray, December 1 2017
Country
United Kingdom
City
London
Airport
London Heathrow
Alliance
Oneworld
Airline
Qantas
Cabin-class
Business & First
Notes
The Good
- Dining with à la carte menu
- Spacious shower suites
- Classy design has clear UK influence
The Bad
- No dedicated first class area
- Slow WiFi
- Not enough AC/USB outlets
X-Factor
- Gin bar showcasing Aussie and UK gins
Introduction
London's Heathrow Airport finally has a dedicated Qantas lounge. Following in the footsteps of the Singapore, Hong Kong and even Brisbane international lounges, the Qantas London lounge has local design influences in a single space for first class and business class flyers, along with travellers in any class holding applicable frequent flyer status or even Qantas Club membership.
With dine-on-demand from set menus, spacious shower suites plus gin and cocktail bars, the Qantas London lounge is a step above a regular business class lounge and an impressive addition to the current selection of Oneworld lounges at Heathrow Terminal 3 lounge.
However, Qantas first class passengers and Platinum frequent flyers along with Oneworld Emerald members may find the lounge a little underwhelming by the usual standards of a first class lounge.
Location & Impressions
The Qantas London lounge is easy to find, although its identified on directional signage simply as ‘Lounge B’ – just follow the signs for Lounges or Gates 1-11, taking a left turn shortly after exiting Terminal 3’s central core of duty free shops, cafes and seating.
The two-level lounge has a prime position and the entrance is easy to spot with the familiar 'flying kangaroo' adorning the wall.
The ground floor is the smaller space of the two levels. There’s a dining area with table service and some self-serve dishes, and the gin bar.
A striking staircase (or a lift, for those with large bags or mobility issues) leads you to the upper floor which is the real showcase here.
It features the cocktail bar with views over the departure gates and airfield, another self-service food area, six showers, a business zone and a relaxation zone.
The lounge has a total capacity of over 230 passengers so there's plenty of seating scattered around, mainly on the upper floor, from tables for two to six people, long couches and seats in pairs with a small table.
There are also two small private rooms, reserved primarily for VIPs but also available for other guests on request if you want to get some work done without distraction before your flight.
Both floors have a view of the tarmac, however the positioning of lounge means the view is limited unless you’re right in front of a window.
In any event a large proportion of the ground floor windows overlook the aircraft gates next door to the lounge.
There’s a pair of male and female toilets on the ground floor, with additional toilets on the upper floor.
While there are only two Qantas flights a day, departing around 12 noon and 9pm, the lounge is open from 8am to 8.30pm daily, so it’s also available for the vast majority of British Airways, Finnair, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and JAL flights out of T3.
The busiest times for the lounge would from two hours before each Qantas flight, but the more that passengers on those other airlines decide to visit this lounge, the busier it will become throughout the day.
Access
The Qantas London Lounge welcomes the following travellers:
- first class and business class passengers on Qantas flights and those of Oneworld airlines departing from London Heathrow Terminal 3 (American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, JAL, LATAM, Royal Jordanian and SriLankan Airlines)
- Qantas Platinum One, Platinum and Gold frequent flyers (and one guest) and their Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire equivalents, on Qantas or Oneworld flights
- Qantas Club members (and one guest) on Qantas flights
- Holders of a Qantas Club lounge invitation who are on a Qantas flight
- Emirates Skywards Platinum and Gold cardholders on Qantas flights
Note that if you're flying in Qantas first class or hold Qantas Platinum or Platinum One frequent flyer status, you can also visit the adjacent Cathay Pacific first class lounge (our pick) or the nearby British Airways first class lounge, under the lounge access rules for these fellow Oneworld airlines. Qantas first class passengers are also admitted into the Emirates lounge.
Likewise, Qantas business class passengers of those holding Qantas Gold frequent flyer status can visit the Terminal 3 business class lounges of Cathay Pacific, British Airways and American Airlines.
Dining
Qantas has its mandatory ‘Rockpool dining experience’ at the London lounge, which centres on the ground floor dining room’s à la carte menu with table service, which is offered during select hours.
A brunch menu is served until around 1pm – during my visit this listed eggs benedict; a quinoa kedgeree bowl with smoked salmon and poached egg; and roasted field mushrooms and herbed bruschetta with semi-dried tomato and rocket salad.
That's not a stain on the plate next to my eggs benedict, it's a 'design element' of the new dinnerware.
After 1pm this changes to a lunch menu at the upstairs buffet with light snacks of cakes and fruit downstairs.
The full dining service restarts in the late afternoon, ahead of the evening departure of flight QF2 to Sydney.
There’s also the option of hot and cold meals at self-service areas both downstairs and upstairs.
The Gin Bar has a very impressive selection of gins, including several Australian varieties, and these can be mixed with a quality Fever Tree tonic water.
The upstairs bar focuses on cocktails, beers, wines and other spirits.
What about Champagne? While not listed on the menu, Petaluma Croser – officially categorised as a ‘sparkling wine’ as it hails from South Australia instead of the Champagne region of France – is available on request.
Espresso machines at both bars ensure that quality coffee is always available, while tea fans will find a large selection of Dilmah teas to choose from.
Work
The lounge’s upper floor has a workstation bench with four seats and easy access to AC and USB sockets, plus one Apple iMac and a printer.
There are plenty of tables scattered around the upper floor where you could also park your laptop and get down to work, but most don't have power points in close proximity – you’ll have to be seated by the wall to plug into an AC or USB powerpoint.
There are also powerpoints at the downstairs dining area, fitted into the bench under the banquette seating.
Note that all powerpoints in the lounge use a standard UK socket, so remember not to put your socket adaptor into checked luggage.
I found the WiFi performance a sluggish 5Mbps both for downloads and uploads. While sufficient for basic needs, this will be a disappointment to those trying to transfer large files, while the 22ms ping rate will impact apps such as Skype.
Relax
Six large and well-configured showers, with both rain and wand shower heads and Aspar toiletries, can be found on the upper floor.
There’s no dedicated quiet zone in the lounge. Due to the open layout – which puts dining on the main level, and on the upper floor a bar at one end and the self service food area the other – most parts of the lounge will have high footfall and associated noise during the busy hours.
If noise is going to be an issue, ask at the lounge’s reception about booking some time in one of the two private rooms.
Summary
How good a lounge this is will depend on your benchmark. As business lounges go, Qantas has certainly delivered: in some respects it's better than the Cathay Pacific business lounge next door, and it's certainly the best Qantas international business lounge so far.
On the other hand, first class travellers will feel short-changed because they get almost nothing more than even a Qantas economy class passenger holding a lounge pass. Likewise, Platinum and Platinum One frequent flyers who have become used to 'first class' treatment might decide to sample T3's other Oneworld first class lounges from British Airways and Cathay Pacific.
Mal holds a long-term passion for all things related to travel and loyalty programs. Originally from Brisbane and now based in London, when not planning his next trip or working out how to maximise loyalty points Mal toils away at his day job as an information security consultant.
07 Nov 2017
Total posts 28
To me this looks like a 5-star business lounge.
13 Sep 2016
Total posts 174
I would rate this as a five star business lounge but a four star lounge for travellers entitled to a first class lounge.
30 Aug 2013
Total posts 437
QF also only have 2 flights per day with an F cabin from MEL but still maintain a dedicated F lounge there...
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jul 2014
Total posts 143
Melbourne and Sydney probably are more ‘Platinum Lounges’ than First and there are enough international flights to warrant separate lounges
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2561
Flagship lounges are a very different beast to 'out-station' lounges, especially for Platinums darting out in all directions on Qantas and partner airlines (London is one-way traffic on just two routes, soon to be one route), as well as Sydney for example being the only lounge for Oneworld airlines.
13 Aug 2015
Total posts 40
Qantas has 28 (2x14) First Class seats a day out of LHR. Cathay have 18 (3x6).
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2561
Note that Qantas will be back to 14 first class suites a day once the Boeing 787 takes over as QF9/QF10, as this tops out at business class. Still agree that some first class area would be great though!
25 Jul 2011
Total posts 18
If Qantas hold true to the additional service that they have for First and P1 passengers in the Singapore and HK lounges, then you may not notice. Priority showers, reserved seating, and an 'under the bar' drinks list are pretty good.
21 Apr 2016
Total posts 24
A "ping rate" of 22ms is perfectly acceptable for public WiFi - in fact it's better than average. Skype would work fine with these latency/bandwidth results, and if you're using it to call friends or family back in Australia you're facing an extra ~300ms round trip delay anyway.
07 Nov 2017
Total posts 28
Yeah, I nearly choked on my coffee when I read that a 22ms ping rate would impact Skype. I take it AusBT resident tech-head David didn't review the copy before it was posted.
21 Apr 2016
Total posts 24
The writer is an infosec consultant according to their bio.. probably should know better.
28 Nov 2017
Total posts 4
During both times I was there, I did various speed tests along with actual internet usage, for example uploading photos to Dropbox and using a data based calling app, and both had issues. The IP assigned belonged to Heathrow Airport, so there's definitely some kind of latency issue with the Wifi in the lounge.
18 Sep 2015
Total posts 139
Whaddaya mean 'even Qantas Club membership'? The whole point of joining is to access the Club lounges. Cheers
07 Nov 2017
Total posts 28
I'm with you, I found it more than a little condescending. I know the AusBT readership is quite a high-end and high-flying demographic, but stay grounded!
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2561
No offence was intended by the 'even Qantas Club members' reference – that reference was deliberately called out as a counterpoint to the fact that the same lounge hosts first class flyers, so as to illustrate that as a 'premium lounge' it's open to the widest possible range of flyers and they all get pretty much the same experience.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 Oct 2014
Total posts 5
Why is it that in all of the overseas lounges Qantas insists in instlling only the local power point configuration? For a few $ more per GPO they could install universal configurations. Does my head in.
13 Sep 2016
Total posts 174
That's right, blame Qantas because you don't know any better. It's very common in airports that only the local AC socket is allowed to be installed due to safety reasons or other regulations. Of course it would make sense for airport lounges to have the same 'universal socket' as you find on aircraft but if it's that obvious there would naturally be a reason why it isn't done, and this is your reason.
American Airlines - AAdvantage
26 Nov 2015
Total posts 3
I wouldn't rush to tell someone that they "don't know any better"....especially as your own point is somewhat weakened by the fact that British Airways offers european-style 2-pin power outlets at various locations in Heathrow (including its First Class lounge in T3....which happens to be right next to the new Qantas lounge).
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 Jul 2015
Total posts 27
local power point config. is a general issue for travelers. Bathrooms USED to have multiple sockets, not any more. USofA is probably the worst, ?Singapore the best?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Oct 2011
Total posts 467
Given that people will have been using UK plugs while they've been in the UK, that shouldn't be a problem. And you can always just use the USB plug anyway. It seems rather precious to expect airlines to cater for multiple plugs in their overseas lounges and on their aircraft.
07 Dec 2016
Total posts 37
Query. The article understandably focuses on the gin and cocktail bars, mentioning also that a sparkling wine is available on request.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Mar 2014
Total posts 131
no sorry Merry... its all Jacobs Creek.
07 Nov 2017
Total posts 28
I don't know who Jacob is, but let the vinous red creek flow!
28 Nov 2017
Total posts 4
There is no self service alcohol anywhere in the lounge, but wine wise, expect to see Australian and New Zealand ones such as Penfolds Max's Cab Sav 2015, Wolf Blass Private Release Chardonnay, Between Thorns Sauv Blanc, another white from Chalk Hill (possibly the 2014 Sauv Blanc), St Hellett Gamekeeper (I think the Shiraz, but unsure) and Matua Pinot Noir,
For the beer lovers, there is Heineken, Birra Moretti and Theakston Best Bitter on tap. I did spy Bundaberg Ginger beer in one bar fridge, but no bottled beers.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
22 Jul 2015
Total posts 219
Looks great. Tried the CX lounge recently and that was superb also.
Jetstar Airways - Qantas Frequent Flyer
13 Oct 2017
Total posts 3
I am fairly sure I saw bottles of St Hallets and Penfolds on the shelf below the Gin in one of the photo's. There is hope for those of us who like a premium Australian red!!
QFF
13 Feb 2016
Total posts 12
No champagne????
23 Feb 2015
Total posts 260
I anticipate everyone who goes into the lounge is going to be super pleased ... because F flyers will be next door.
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
10 Nov 2015
Total posts 9
I don't think the article mentioned it -- though I may have just missed/misread it -- but the access rules for the lounge also permit Emirates first and business passengers: https://www.qantas.com/travel/airlines/lounge-locations/london-heathrow/terminal-3/international-lounge-the-qantas-london-lounge/global/en
I'll be looking forward to stopping by in January!
19 Jan 2018
Total posts 2
Interested to hear your thoughts. My wife and I just did and were totally underwhelmed. The lounge is noisy and was showing signs of wear after s little over a month of use. We had tradesmen literally standing out our table discuing the long list of defects needing rectification. If you sit anywhere mere the stairwell take your Paracetamol. The dishes clearing area is immediately below and the staff have no interest in taking care to keep noise to a minimum. Lounges visited this trip included: Q First in MEL, Em First in DXB, BA First in LHR, BA shared in PRG. The Q LHR lounge whilst being the newest is perhaps the least comfortable. Noise levels are too high and it feels overcrowded even when almost empty. As for dining, the food is average. Mal's comment regarding the London influence is perhaps the most accurate. For anyone who has lived and worked in the U.K. You accept that how things look is far more important than how they function. Two stars at best - and that is being generous.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 May 2014
Total posts 112
Is there a kids area in the lounge?
28 Nov 2017
Total posts 4
There is no dedicated area for children/families.
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2561
Here's the current wine list for the Qantas London lounge...
07 Nov 2017
Total posts 28
My oh my has the quality of wine available in lounges gone down over the past decade...
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
06 Oct 2016
Total posts 175
230 Capacity, with the physiology of people sharing with strangers it is probably more like 180, this will be packed
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
06 Oct 2016
Total posts 175
The capacity was directed at A380 load for QF2
03 May 2013
Total posts 680
Alan Joyce et all take note: "Whats not..No dedicated area for F Class"
Delta Air Lines - SkyMiles
14 Apr 2013
Total posts 325
As a QF P/P1 Why cant we access the EK lounge as well?
22 Mar 2023
Total posts 3
It’s June 2024 and I’m sitting in this lounge waiting for QF2. To say I’m underwhelmed is an understatement. The lounge is pokey with 1/3 of its entire volume over 2 floors occupied by a large unnecessary staircase. The lounge is full. The staff are allowing people to sleep on multiple chairs! There are people in this lounge who are dressed like they should not be in any lounge. There are far too many people, which would indicate that Qantas needs to urgently revise its lounge access policy and its premium boarding policy. The much vaunted dine on demand are tiny serves and not worth the trouble. I would recommend First Class & Business class passengers use the CX lounge. In the meantime Qantas needs to look at moving out of T3 because it’s a tired pokey shambles.
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