Review: Emirates Brisbane first, business class lounge

Introduction

Emirates’ new-look lounge at Brisbane remains a relaxing pit-stop ahead of flights to Dubai and beyond, and not only for Emirates business class flyers and Skywards Gold and Platinum members but also Qantas Golds and Platinums, thanks to the Qantas-Emirates alliance.

The revamped Emirates Brisbane lounge.

After a long-awaited refurbishment, the Emirates lounge still retains the familiar hallmark design elements of furniture and a sand and tan colour scheme, but overall it’s more contemporary – and that’s a very good thing, given this lounge first opened more than two decades ago.

Location & Impressions

After security screening and passport control, follow the signs towards gates 69-79.

Continuing along the concourse, keep your eyes peeled for the Emirates lounge. You’ll see the entrance opposite gates 73-75. Just take the escalator up, or use the nearby lift.

Once through the double doors, there’s no mistaking where you are – or, more importantly, where you will soon be, with the lounge taking liberal design cues from the Middle East.

Present your boarding pass to reception and let the relaxation begin.

Featuring new furnishings throughout, the 183-seater lounge is bright and airy with some of the best views of the tarmac. 

That’s by design, with the space sitting in a purpose-built facility above the main terminal and surrounded by windows on all sides. 

However, the biggest advantage of the lounge has to be its boarding gate. It’s a feature also found in Perth, and a very handy one indeed.

Travel from lounge to gate in record time.

It means, when it’s time to fly, there’s no need to venture out of the lounge and join the regular queue – the Emirates lounge aerobridge takes you straight to the plane.

Access

Emirates Brisbane lounge is open daily from 5:30pm-1:30am (yes, really) and welcomes the following travellers – and where applicable, their guests – prior to Emirates-operated flights:

• Emirates first class and business class passengers, excluding those on Business Class Special fares (unless they hold appropriate Skywards or Qantas status)
• Emirates Skywards Gold, Platinum and the invite-only iO
• Qantas Gold, Platinum, Platinum One and Chairman’s Lounge members, plus Qantas business class on a QF or EK codeshare flight number
• Paid lounge access is USD$155 (~AUD$237) for non-Skywards members and USD$125 (~AUD$191) for Skywards members, plus GST. 

Dining

Given the lounge pulls double duty for both first and business class travellers, the food and beverage offering is more elevated than you’d typically find in a straight business lounge.

That extends to the Champagne offering, which includes both self-serve Moët and Veuve Clicquot.

Spirits, wine, beer, soft drink and juice are all available at the self-serve counter.

Multiple drink stations throughout feature automated coffee machines plus a wide range of spirits, as well as other wines and beer – and having several places to refill your bubbles certainly makes that task easier. 

Some of those counters provide machine-made coffee as well, but given Emirates’ evening flight schedules from Brisbane, we suspect the bubbles would be more popular than the brews.

A limited selection of reading material is also at hand.

On the culinary front, there’s little chance of going hungry with a variety of pre-plated bites, in addition to an extensive buffet.

The buffet-side dining area.

As an appetiser, pre-made savoury dishes include salmon blinis, smoked chicken lettuce cups and watermelon with olive and walnuts, alongside sweeter options such as lemon meringue pie tart and dulce de leche.

Pre-plated sweet and savoury bites.

Smoked chicken lettuce cups with cous cous, and watermelon with olives and walnuts.

Over at the buffet you’ll find a broad spread of dishes such as chicken stroganoff, braised beef cheeks and harissa-marinated fish pastilla (cigar-shaped like a spring roll).

The buffet spans Middle Eastern, Asian and European cuisine.

A tasty assortment of buffet bites.

When you’ve got your meal in hand, there’s a sizeable dining room that stretches from the buffet right through to the windows, with a select few offering excellent airport views.  

The wider dining area.

Work

Hopefully, your visit provides time to relax – but if there is work to do, your only options are finding a table in the dining area or balancing your laptop on your lap, as the previous business zone has been removed.

Thankfully, there are ample power outlets available, including two USB-A sockets and an AC outlet (with both the standard Australian socket and the type-G outlet used in the UAE and UK, among other countries).

Seating at the rear of the lounge has the most convenient power.

Rather than having its own dedicated WiFi connection, the lounge utilises the wider Brisbane Airport network. Speeds on my visit hit an impressive 262Mbps download. 

Relax

A total of six shower suites are available within the lounge, each one stocked with toiletries and fluffy towels, and housing a walk-in shower. 

Showers can be booked at reception.

Verdict

It feels good to be back in Emirates’ Brisbane lounge after it was closed for so long, Alough its layout is much the same, refreshed furnishings have given the space a completely different feel to the lounge which came before. 

And the in-lounge gate means your journey really begins at the Emirates Lounge itself: because once you’re inside, you’ve already taken your last steps in the terminal.