Why the Qantas first class lounge needs to be much more 'exclusive'

Have to agree on the Rockpool menus and the restaurant staff are more like fast food operatives half the time.

Which “large Australian company” is paying for their staff to fly first class or on the most expensive business flex ticket? What an outrageous use of shareholders funds.

Well thanks, I guess you don't want my type (gold for years but never quite get to platinum) to ever experience this lounge!

I came into this article expecting it to be a rant but it's actually well reasoned and makes sense at least from the perspective of somebody who flies first or is QFF Platinum. The lounge has become a lot more crowded and I agree that a lot of non-QF passengers should be sent to the business lounge and certainly not be given free spa treatments, Qantas should make this a lounge for Qantas passengers and frequent flyer first and foremost, after all they are the ones paying money to Qantas.

All interesting ideas and something for Qantas to think about but I can't see it happening (there'd be way to much backlash).

I kind of half agree and half don’t. Interesting good article nonetheless. As a Qantas Plat / OWE I love using CX Pier F & The Wing F when flying Y/W or J class. So it doesn’t sit well with me to make the Syd F lounge (which has well and truly been surpassed as the best lounge these days) more exclusive when It benefits me in HKG.

QF can't allow entry to its own Platinums but refuse entry to other oneworld emeralds. It can refuse entry to all oneworld emeralds including its own, which is what QR does at its lounges, but it cannot pick and choose which emeralds to let in.

My impression is that the lounge is busiest around the QF NZ flight departure times and other QF flights. I would expect that the bulk of passengers for these flights are QF members so I’m not sure if excluding non-QF elite members is really going to reduce the crowding that much?

Also, qantas contracts their lounges out to other airlines (CX, MH) and I doubt they’re going to give away this revenue.

I agree with almost all of this. Qatar and BA have set a precedent for keeping other OW memebers out of their top tier lounges, and QF should reward their own first.

But the QF platinums getting in on JQ are not 'having a lend on Qantas'. QF has purposefully decided to allow access, which makes sense given that JQ flights are often used to add frequency on routes like the Trans-tasman ones.

Anyone traveling on a JQ domestic leg from the International terminal should not have access to the First Lounge. On that I’m in agreement with the writer. I also see the benefit of partitioning off a section of the lounge exclusively for First Class Passengers. I do not want to see the entire Lounge become a Concorde Room type place reserved for QF Elites and F passengers, can’t think of anything worse quite frankly.

The issue is where would the rejected pax go.

Qantas has 3 first class lounges. If Qantas starts restricting access to other OW members, then there will inevitably be further restrictions by other oneworld members.

Totally disagree with option 1. The main reward for my loyalty between OW Sapphire and OW Emerald is access to the First Class lounges. If i'm relegated to the Business Class lounges then i'd likely only be loyal to the point of Sapphire and then for the rest of my travels 'spread my wings' a little. What would be the extra benefit in attaining Emerald if the main perk is withdrawn? QR has been guilty of taking this approach and the backlash has been pretty scathing. They don't even allow you to use the J class lounge if you use points to upgrade from economy to business which just seems plain mean. BA take a similar approach at LHR but even they don't direct OWE passengers to the Business Class lounge and provide something better than Business but though not quite on the level of The Concorde Room.

I would have thought having a First Class Section of the First Class Lounge would make more sense - AKA SQ and the Private Room. This is for pax flying First Class only, everyone else stays in the First Class Lounge

Agree with the other comments, QF is in an alliance! That means play by the rules. Incredibly selfish to entertain the thought of restricting other OWEs to ‘your’ lounge when you are free to use other equal (and often better F lounges) at other ports.

And the statement pertaining to OWEs that “There'll still be a great lounge for you, and as long as there is a lounge at your disposal Oneworld won't complain.” is factually wrong. There needs to be an F lounge. That means a green oval and no blue oval.

I've never been in to the QF F lounge but if I ever were to, I'd want that exclusive feel. As a VA gold/plat usually flying Y, I totally get it when I'm relegated to the Krisflyer Gold lounge in SIN rather than the proper lounge. So I guess the suggestions in this article make sense to me.

In other words you want to retain access for yourself (based on your personal travel patterns) but kick everyone else out.

It would be nice if QF had F seats on flights to SFO, HNL, QF9 (MEL-PER-LHR) etc. but they don't. If the FLounge was restricted to F passengers then QF would be locking out a lot of passengers that they're not even giving the choice to fly F by not putting F seats on the aircraft.

As with the lounge losing its lustre so has the in flight experience. The business class style lavs with razors in a paper mouth rinse cups sporadically placed(classy eh) Hand cloths fraying at the seams and so thin no better than a premium paper hand towel, a pencil case poorly stocked amenity kit and food that is really at business class levels. Generally service is too laid back...no real differentiation from Business Class.

Restricting access to only QF members? Oh no. It is an absolute no from me. If QF WP can enjoy the 1st class lounge in HK, it is only fair dinkum that Marco Polo diamond gets reciprocal when they are in Sydney.

This article is so ridiculous I actually had to scroll upwards to see which AusBT staffer authored it. That floor plate is enormous, and there is more than enough square footage to accommodate OW Emeralds. I say this as a QF Plat myself. (Where exactly are the OW Emeralds supposed to go? Crush them into the Business lounge, where there isn't enough space?)

SO WHAT if the other carriers have a dedicated F cabin service out of SYD?? What on earth tangible difference should that make to QF?

(Qantas doesn't offer lounge access out of the kindness of their heart, they invoice partner carriers for it. First carries a premium as well. What is in it for QF by shrinking their customer base?)

You've talked about value proposition, but you're already a loyal QF flyer. So making the lounge "more exclusive" is hardly going to increase your patronage.

The absence of logic here is astounding.

If you're so desperate to have an "I'm MORE special than everyone else!" experience to preen your peacock feathers, then I might understand lobbying for a separate BA Concorde Room -style subspace within the lounge. Fortunately -- judging by the comments -- most AusBT readers aren't as shallow (and don't seem to need ever greater lounge exclusivity for validation).

If JQ passengers on domestic itineraries are the issue, then that’s easily solved. JQ is not covered by the OW agreement so QF is free to cancel their access on a lounge by lounge basis at anytime.

Yes, 'faded glamour' - lounge and flight. As for that library... ditch it, it reminds me of a Fawlty Towers style Guest House, kind of expect to see The Major perusing a copy of The Times.

What about a dress code? Doesn't even have to be particularly strict. I once saw a bloke in the Sydney F lounge who looked like he just stepped off Khao San Road. Singlet, shorts, scruffy hair, scruffier backpack, needed a wash...

I think QFF has already been devalued enough. Surely the lounge would be basically empty if it was only OW F passengers.

At peak hours for QF flights and especially during holidays crowding is an issue. But QF peaks are around morning, then lunchtime to early afternoon, the rest of the time the lounge is very quiet, in fact if you visit of an evening because you're on a QR flight or the CX overnight or QF to Tokyo, it's almost empty.

I agree 100% with no domestic JQ flyers having F lounge access. I agree with the idea of charging non-QF flyers for using the spa, even if it's on a nominal cost-recovery basis. I think that having a first-only 'dining room' area is an excellent idea because no first class passenger should have to wait for a table in the main dining room and they should be afforded a more 'exclusive' experience. But I think the biggest issues of crowding can be overcome by limiting extra guest access by families as another person has already suggested.

Here's a suggestion. How about limiting access to those passengers who've actually purchased a f/c ticket, not just a business ticket (paid for by their employers) and then used points to upgrade? That'd keep it exclusive AND fair to those poor suckers who've actually payed to be there - cue gasps of outrage

... and the award for the most pretentious article of the year goes to...

@ too right you are!

If qantas wants to make its product more exclusive the first thing they should do is stop redemptions and upgrades into first on points. Keep it for those who can truly afford it. Air France and to a degree LH both do this and their product is well regarded. In the meantime I’ll continue to enjoy the F lounge with my family in tow...

Yeah the F lounge gets busy, sometimes, but quite frankly where is not busy these days when flying? Yeah the F lounge probably needs a re-fresh agree, and the library could probably do with a re-think, but over all the staff are wonderful (Greg at front desk), food is great, lounge feels great, I recently held an early AM WebEx session in one of the offices and was very grateful for the privacy (staff couldn’t have been more accommodating) and I like that everyone is OW WP or above, irrespective of travel class. I’ve never felt that someone has queue jumped me.

I agree that the lounge is not quite as good as it used to be, but I've felt in recent years that Qantas has been making cuts across the board to make its Business and First class offerings below par, rather than above the average. I now fly Emirates or Singapore Airlines before Qantas (even though the SYD SQ lounge is pretty terrible, but the SIN one is great).

That being said, I have four problems with this article.
1. There is no published data to support the ideas that the changes would make a difference. Where is the breakdown of visitors of QF status, passengers from OW operated flights and when during the day these people visit to justify its whole premise? How many people are from OW or 'just' platinum status are causing the crowding? The author travels on Qantas, so it could be that the crowding is coming from Qantas flights at the times he visits and the changes would make little difference. It's all speculative.
2. The author states that only 3 out of the 5 spa rooms are in use. This means Qantas has cut back Spa availability by 40%. This crowding is a result of Qantas cuts. Making the lounge more exclusive won't magically open the other 2 spa rooms.
3. Qantas has cut First class on many routes, so a Platinum member who wants to fly First Class to the many destinations where Qantas doesn't fly first class will fly either in Business with QF or First Class with another airline. So they get excluded under this exclusiveness idea?
4. Airlines charge each other for lounge access from another OW member. So Qantas is earning money from a OW visitor to its lounge. So why would Qantas change the policy?

All that being said, the BA Concorde room at Heathrow is fantastic and way better than the first class lounge.

Just out of interest, what where lounge facilities where available to first class passengers before the current Sydney and Melbourne First Lounges?

Maybe a lounge at an international airport that has experienced 41% growth in passenger numbers since it was opened simply needs to be expanded?

Yes it is fairly obvious that spa appointments should be separated out from other facilities, which simply means QF can decide to offer it only to their Platinum, P1 and first class passengers and if the other airlines want the facility for their passengers, then pay for it separately.

this is great friday night reading... let me grab my scotch!

Wow, I really have to digest so much of the content before making any 'valid' points.

From one of the best, if not the best, lounge 10 years ago on offer for first pax this lounge started its decline a few years in. Those bathroom drawers in the shower rooms were so well stocked to the point the bottom draw is now empty and whats it the top draw is bare bones quality. The lounge being overcrowded is a no-no for first class category and as for the spa it has gone downhill since sofitel ceased ops there. In-flight don't even get me started. If it wasn't for the bedding and bed there is NOTHING (when compared with the ME3 and top Asian and Euro carriers) truly first class about the Qantas A380 F cabin, service, lavs or 'lounge'. Los Angeles F lounge is a zoo for all, London lounge is now a zoo for all, Singapore lounge is a zoo for all, Hong Kong is a zoo for all and don't even get me started about the Dallas F lounge...joke of the century.

Maybe don’t fly first class then if it’s not worth the money. Obviously most people have already done this, and QF has scaled back accordingly. Fly J or PE and stop whining.

100% agree with Gary

Qantas need a dedicated lounge for p1 and chairman's and no others

As a personal gripe, as someone normally using the lounge when transferring to/from a WLG flight to/from somewhere in Asia, I find there aren't enough desks if you want to do some work. They reduced the number of desks a couple of years ago, and now seem to have only the three with the PCs on. Everything else is just low (comfortable) chairs.

Interesting topic.

If this was implemented would QF Platinum customers be fine with reciprocal treatment ie. denied access to the F lounges of other OW carriers unless flying first?

What's the justification for excluding Jetstar domestic passengers?

It’s pure commercial reality. The incentive worked, more people have earned the right to acces the lounge.

Interesting logic. I can only assume the OP would be happy with domestic business lounges being restricted to actual J passengers also.

A dedicated F Lounge is an imperative for QF. Loyalty is rewarded with many benefits included Lounge access but revenue pax need to be similarly cosseted and feel appreciated. It is a fine line to keep all premium passengers feeling appreciated but ultimately, the full fare revenue passenger ought be prioritised in terms of lounge provision.

I have the privilege of using the First Lounges because I’m OWE flying Y and PY a lot. And it’s a perk that I value enormously. Perhaps the key one that keeps my loyalty.

For the record I fully support the stringent enforcement of a strict dress code so long as it doesn't apply to my young children as they hold pretend meetings with each other in the meeting rooms and stream Peppa Pig on those high def Apple monitors as we await our discount JQ / MH flights to our family holiday destinations. Yep 100% OK with that .