Qantas (QF)
- Location: Sydney (SYD)
- Class: Business
- Access:
- OneWorld Emerald and Sapphire cardholders
- OneWorld First and Business class ticket holders
- Date: April 2014
We got to the Cathay Pacific check-in at SYD a couple of hours before our flight. As we approached the counter, the CX agent handed us a small card telling us that she had lost her voice and to please bear with her!
Despite her diminished vocal capacity she was able to seat us together in the mini-cabin (it seemed that our selected seats had been re-assigned for some reason).
We also enquired as to whether we’d be allowed to use the Qantas First Class lounge, given that we had an onward connection on CX F the following day. Despite trying to convince her supervisor for a short while she was unable to get us in… next time.
We were through fast track security in less than 5 minutes…
…and quickly made our way to the Qantas Business Class lounge.
The lounge is based around a series of really long tables, facing the tarmac, with wine cooling compartments built into them. This both looks good and drastically reduces foot traffic, adding to the air of calm. You never need to get up to get a glass of wine, which means you have more time to just sit and relax.
There is a very decent selection of hot and cold food options, I’m always impressed with the quality of QF’s lounge offerings; where BA offers a lot of unhealthy, carb-heavy foods in its lounges, QF has fresh salads and delicious, slow cooked beef and lamb dishes.
Of course, being a QF lounge, there was a barista whipping up excellent espresso based drinks. More of a surprise was the fresh gelato counter, the pistachio gelato was intensely dense and creamy.
Whilst I’m sure that the Qantas First Class lounge is absolutely fantastic (and certainly gets a lot of positive reviews), I was pleasantly surprised by the Business Class lounge. This space doesn’t feel like second-best, an afterthought, it is a great lounge and a place where you could easily relax for a couple of hours before a flight: eating, drinking and enjoying the views.
- Part 1:
- Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse – London Heathrow Airport
- Part 2:
- Virgin Atlantic: Upper Class – London to Tokyo
- Part 3:
- Park Hyatt Tokyo
- Part 4:
- ANA Crowne Plaza Kyoto
- Part 5:
- JAL Business Lounge – Narita Airport
- Part 6:
- Qantas Business Lounge – Narita Airport
- Part 7:
- Qantas: Business Class – Tokyo to Sydney
- Part 8:
- Qantas: Business Class – Sydney to Melbourne
- Part 9:
- Park Hyatt Melbourne
- Part 10:
- Hilton Cairns
- Part 11:
- Windjana Villa, Mission beach
- Part 12:
- Park Hyatt Sydney
- Part 13:
- Qantas Business Lounge – Sydney Airport
- Part 14:
- Cathay Pacific: Business Class – Sydney to Hong Kong
- Part 15:
- Cathay Pacific The Arrival Lounge – Hong Kong Airport
- Part 16:
- Novotel Century Hong Kong
- Part 17:
- Cathay Pacific The Wing: First Class – Hong Kong Airport
- Part 18:
- Cathay Pacific The Wing: Business Class – Hong Kong Airport
- Part 19:
- Qantas Combined F and J Lounge – Hong Kong Airport
- Part 20:
- Cathay Pacific: First Class – Hong Kong to Tokyo
- Part 21:
- Conrad Tokyo
- Part 22:
- Tokyo sights
- Part 23:
- Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse – Tokyo Narita Airport
- Part 24:
- Virgin Atlantic: Upper Class – Tokyo to London
