by Almost all of Qantas’ international business and first class lounges have reopened, but there are three notable exceptions: a trio of lounges in which the airline has closed the shutters for good.
And as travel resumes, many travelers are only realizing for the first time that these three lounges are no longer a pre-flight option.
Perth Terminal 1: With all Qantas flights departing from Perth Airport’s T3/T4 compound – including the ‘international wing’ of T3 – the airline has closed its lounge at Perth International Terminal T1.
It has long been the benchmark for eligible passengers on Qantas’ low-cost Jetstar as well as partner airlines such as Cathay Pacific.
Many international airlines have since moved to the independent Aspire lounge in Perth T1, which also welcomes travelers from any airline with a simple swipe of their Priority Pass card or an initial payment of $66 online or $77 without an appointment.
Tokyo: Qantas has long maintained its own lounge at Tokyo’s Narita Airport, but with the airline now shifting all flights from Tokyo to the more convenient ‘downtown’ Haneda Airport, the writing was on the wall for the Qantas Tokyo Lounge.
The good news for lounge-worthy travelers on these red-tailed services to Haneda is that they can enjoy a visit to the excellent Haneda lounges of Oneworld partners Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific.
Hong Kong: it was the closure of the Qantas lounge that hurt the most. In August 2021, at the height of the pandemic, Qantas announced the permanent closure of its Hong Kong lounge.
With a design that embraces and reflects the Asian metropolis, the 300-passenger lounge opened in April 2014 and mainly hosted Qantas evening flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – although it has also been used as a choice by a number of other airlines. including Finnair and Air France.
Its main feature was a barbecue bar serving local delicacies such as char siu grilled pork, while a yum cha cart rattled around the main dining area serving a selection of dim sum ranging from dumplings to sweet cream pies .
Of course, many savvy travelers relied on their Qantas Platinum and Gold status to visit Cathay Pacific’s first and business class lounges when the weather permitted, but even they often returned to the Qantas lounge (located near the gates of boards used by Qantas) for a last cocktail before their flight.
With the resumption of Qantas flights to Hong Kong, the airline’s business class passengers as well as Platinum and Gold tier frequent flyers will be directed to the affected Cathay Pacific lounges; Qantas advised Executive Traveler that Qantas Club members will be sent to the Plaza Premium Lounge.
