Qantas cuts back on guesting, lounge passes at Adelaide

The good news: Adelaide is getting three swish new Qantas lounges, as the airline’s long-promised upgrade plan for the City of Churches swings into action.

The better news: Qantas Platinum frequent flyers are now being ushered into Adelaide’s Qantas Chairman’s Lounge ahead of their flight (although expectations should be tempered, as this invitation-only haven is not a patch on its fancier siblings in Sydney, Perth or especially Brisbane).

The not-so-great news: the necessary construction work to create what the airline calls its ‘Qantas Adelaide lounge precinct’ will create a short-term capacity crunch, which in turn will see Qantas lounge passes not accepted until the middle of next year.

As the airline puts it: “The Qantas Club Adelaide lounge will be operating at reduced capacity as we work to reopen an exciting new Qantas Lounge precinct in mid-2025. The use of Complimentary Lounge Invitations and Qantas Lounge Passes will be unavailable during this time. Our normal lounge access policy will apply subject to capacity.”

As for that “normal lounge access policy” which “will apply subject to capacity,” this includes bringing guests into the Qantas lounges – those guests could also be turned away during the morning and afternoon peak travel periods.

When the hoardings come down, here’s what travellers can expect to see.

The entry to the new Qantas Adelaide Lounge precinct.

The revamped Qantas Club will join an all-new Qantas Business Lounge and a made-over Qantas Chairman’s Lounge in an integrated precinct with room for 570 travellers and guests across all three lounges.

Adelaide Qantas Club

The first stage of the project includes a revamp of the Qantas Club, which is due to fully re-open in mid-November 2024.

Throughout the construction phase, the existing Qantas Club will remain open from one hour prior to the first Qantas-operated domestic flight out of Adelaide until the last departure.

However, travellers are certain to be impacted as lounge capacity is temporary reduced – so as one interim measure, Qantas will open a ‘Grab and Go’ station serving barista coffee and ‘premium breakfast options’ during busy morning peak travel times if the lounges reach capacity.

Lighter and brighter: a total transformation for Adelaide's Qantas Club.

And while it will be physically smaller, due to space being shaved off to accommodate the new Qantas Business Lounge, the airline says “through the redesign of currently under-utilised spaces, the total seating capacity will increase by more than 10%.”

“We’re installing extra seating throughout the precinct to provide more space to work,” says Qantas Executive Manager for Product and Service, Phil Capps.

In addition, “around 80% of seats will have access to power stations and device ports so customers can easily charge up before their flight.”

Adelaide Qantas Business Lounge

Of course, what business class passengers and Qantas Platinum and Qantas Platinum One frequent flyers have been waiting for is the debut of the Qantas Business Lounge at Adelaide.

The lack of a business class lounge has made The City of Churches a noticeable exception in the Qantas domestic lounge network, as the mainland’s only state capital without a dedicated Qantas Business Lounge.

That’s set to change, as the Adelaide loungescape gains a brand new Qantas Business Lounge with a capacity of almost 200 travellers, with an opening date of mid-2025.

The all-new Qantas Adelaide Business Lounge.

Qantas says travellers can look forward to a design “which takes inspiration from Kangaroo Island’s Flinders Chase National Park.”

Concept images shared with Executive Traveller reveal a spacious open-plan footprint featuring an oversized near-circular bar flanked by high work benches on one side and a series of lounges on the other.

The all-new Qantas Adelaide Business Lounge.

Qantas says the interiors of Adelaide’s new Qantas Club and Qantas Business Lounge “will be inspired by the beauty of South Australia, drawing from the state’s landscapes, culture and iconic food and flavours.”

Adding to the local touch which gives each set of Qantas lounges their distinct flavour and character, the furniture, lighting and natural materials will all be“South Australian-sourced.”

“Our local design philosophy means the new Adelaide Lounge Precinct will celebrate the best of South Australia,” Qantas exec Capps says.

“From the furnishing and artworks through to the premium food and beverages, we want to give our customers a taste of South Australia every time they fly with us.”

Adelaide Qantas Chairman’s Lounge

Then there’s the lounge which Qantas doesn’t like to talk about: the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge.

These lounges are discrete havens for member of this invitation-only program – including politicians and power-brokers, execs from the top end of town and big spenders on Qantas flights, along with assorted celebs.

Like the Qantas Club, the Adelaide Chairman’s Lounge has seen better days – it’s not scrappy by any stretch, of course, it’s just tired and dated, and certainly falls short of the standard set by the other capital city Chairman’s Lounges, especially the flagship at Brisbane designed by David Caon.

It’s not known if Caon will be lending his talents to the Adelaide Chairman’s Lounge, which was previously slated for a full upgrade for 2025.