Perth Qantas lounge

[RWJ777]

I need to get this off my chest. I occasionally fly in and out of Perth (four times this year) and I have been shocked by the state of the Perth Qantas lounge.Not only is it crowded and often difficult to get a seat, its food offering is like a school canteen. I realise that it's essentially the transit point for steel capped boots FIFOing to/fro the fields, but Perth is a major Australian city and warrants a decent lounge, especially if you've paid a ginormous J fare and want somewhere quiet to work before being rendered offline for 4 hours before flying back east.Qantas must be making a bomb out of Perth flights. So, it's really about time they started investing in reasonable infrastructure to support the people who are paying lots of money for fares. This has got to include a reasonable J lounge where businesspeople can work.

 

[markis10]

QF stated they were unable to reach agreement with Perth Airport on space for a J lounge, with all the changes taking place in Perth, its probably more of an issue with the way the whole airport is run than anything QF is doing. I do believe a separate FIFO lounge has been mooted for the GA area, this may take some pressure of the PER lounge in general, however in my experience its always been below par as a lounge regardless.

 

[The Rok]

Wouldn't the specific FIFO lounge relate directly to Charters that QF do though… Surely Karratha, Port Hedland and Kalgoorlie would still be part of the primary lounge terminal as these are non charter flights. So in theory a dedicated FIFO lounge might not actually help at all…

 

[markis10]

Wouldn't the specific FIFO lounge relate directly to Charters that QF do though… Surely Karratha, Port Hedland and Kalgoorlie would still be part of the primary lounge terminal as these are non charter flights. So in theory a dedicated FIFO lounge might not actually help at all…

Already there is 737 charters that use the lounge, such as the one to Christmas Creek, so yes it will make a difference.

 

[macrop]

Unfortunately it is getting worse and I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel in the short term as the airport is going through a massive expansion where both Qantas and Virgin are moving over to the international side of the runway eventually. Perth airport will become a combined domestic and international airport then. I'm sure they're all (both the airlines and the airport management) waiting for this to happen instead of investing in the current domestic piers. Recently Qantas began flying FMG to massive mine called Cloudbreak, so this increased the morning chaos even further. Even so, there is still chaos on the weekends in the Qantas lounge with minimal FIFO flights compared to the weekdays.

There is a regional terminal being built currently, basically for the smaller players like Skywest and Alliance, on the international side and this should ease the congestion at the current Virgin terminal but not for Qantas in the short term as they already use a separate domestic terminal. Once this regional terminal is finished at the end in the year, then construction on the new main Virgin terminal begins at the international side which is due for completion in 2014.

It is not yet clear, but I wonder once Virgin leave their domestic building in a couple years, then Qantas could take it over for the short term until their new building is built on the east side. There is not much info on Qantas' plans to go over to other side of the runway but it is many years away from what I can tell. I do hope that Qantas take over the redundant Virgin terminal and place their congested Pilbara flights from the old Virgin terminal and leave their other flights to their current terminal. This is would be a nightmare logistically though and I doubt if it would happen. The extra runway on the east side of the international terminal, which has always been on the cards, would be nice too. Airspace in the morning and evening is becoming a real problem.

I'm one the FIFO workers in question and if they quickly built a small J lounge in their current terminal, then this would still be busy as there are so many FIFO workers who are Platinum status now, even some approaching P1 status on Y flying. You'll be surprised how many of the high-vis, steel capped footed, FIFO workers you see are actually the technial staff and management of these big resource companies and their contractors. They merely fly to site site for the day or an overnight stay. Some fly in for the week and go home for the weekend. Many of the onsite regular staff fly weekly too. The FF status quickly builds.

Personally, I would like an OK lounge for when I'm working, and a separate great lounge, including an awesome J lounge, for when I'm flying for personal reasons - to keep the peace.

 

[anat0l]

This has got to include a reasonable J lounge where businesspeople can work.

To be fair, many people working in the mines, irrespective of where they work in the pecking order, are WPs. So you would still see them in a J lounge. That said, it is unfair to broad-brush them as the types that make the lounge loud or raucous.

The only resolution would be for QF to make a business centre which is "soundproofed" from the rest of the lounge. While they are at it, even conversation cubicles (viz. a phone and a power socket, so you can plug in your laptop or other device whilst your talk).

QF stated they were unable to reach agreement with Perth Airport on space for a J lounge, with all the changes taking place in Perth, its probably more of an issue with the way the whole airport is run than anything QF is doing. I do believe a separate FIFO lounge has been mooted for the GA area, this may take some pressure of the PER lounge in general, however in my experience its always been below par as a lounge regardless.

But FIFOers flying on services which go from the GA terminal don't use the QP anyway (except possibly for their connecting feeder flights)? EDIT: Just read a reply above; surprised that they contract the QP.

I'm surprised that QF would not be able to reach an agreement with Perth Airport w.r.t. space for a lounge, when VA were successful (albeit it could've been secured years ago) in lobbying for extra space to revamp their lounge.

 

[markis10]

But FIFOers flying on services which go from the GA terminal don't use the QP anyway (except possibly for their connecting feeder flights)? EDIT: Just read a reply above; surprised that they contract the QP.

The new lounge will be in the GA area, thats not saying the flights currently leave the GA area now, they are mostly 737 and 717s which use the same domestic terminal and lounge facilities as other flights.

 

[jdp]

I fly in/out of Perth roughly fortnightly. The lounge is a joke, yes, but it's roughly divided into the bar end where you must be at least 20% tattooed to enter, and the business end past the service counter (where there's no food/drinks other than the coffee machine). The food is fairly standard Qantas Club fare: never enough and not very appetising (hence why you need the meal on the flight out). The only reason you use it is because the terminal itself is so depressing.

On Friday afternoon/evening especially it gets very loud with the occasional push and shove or fistfight.

But at the end of the day the whole airport is embarrassing, and you get the feeling they're just doing barely enough to keep the lights on until they can replace the whole thing. The FIFO traffic out of Perth and Brisbane is most likely what is keeping Qantas Domestic alive - recently I asked for a points upgrade for the flight home after a long couple of days in Perth and was told there were 13 Platinums and 25 Gold's in the queue for upgrades on an already full 737.

 

[anat0l]

On Friday afternoon/evening especially it gets very loud with the occasional push and shove or fistfight.

That's depressing and (more importantly) very concerning. Those kinds of incidents should be given a lot more attention and not swept under the carpet.

But at the end of the day the whole airport is embarrassing, and you get the feeling they're just doing barely enough to keep the lights on until they can replace the whole thing. The FIFO traffic out of Perth and Brisbane is most likely what is keeping Qantas Domestic alive - recently I asked for a points upgrade for the flight home after a long couple of days in Perth and was told there were 13 Platinums and 25 Gold's in the queue for upgrades on an already full 737.

I always thought PER this. The last set of renovations seems to be cosmetic only (so it feels more pleasant); haven't been there often enough in a while to see whether it may or may not be still buckling under the load.

FIFO traffic (and mining industry traffic in general) is probably close to the only reason why the Coast-to-Coast market is as lively as it is, period.

And QF still running 737s on Coast-to-Coast (except for ADL)? *gah* Someone needs to get caned....

 

[jdp]

And QF still running 737s on Coast-to-Coast (except for ADL)? *gah* Someone needs to get caned....

I'm based in ADL so always 737's to PER, but occasionally I fly coast to coast and usually get 767's. Exit row is usually available if you're reserving a fortnight in advance so a 737 isn't a bad pick.

The downside is that the 737's usually don't get aerobridges, and the stairs don't line up so they must get a few injuries stepping out of a dark plane assuming there's stairs right next to the door (rather than 30cm below).

 

[Danger]

I was in the Perth Qantas lounge at the same time the original post was made.

I fully agree there's not nearly enough seating. The food I find okay but there isn't much of it. From memory it wasn't all that long ago (maybe five years) that the lounge was expanded, about the time a J lounge was mooted but canned after the onset of the GFC.

Maybe one option is a dedicated FIFO lounge where the entry requirement is high-viz ("I'm sorry, sir. You need to be in possession of a high-viz shirt to enter. Perhaps you'd like to try the Qantas Club instead"). Facilities could include a bootmaker with complimentary re-steeling and portaloos.

(Please note I'm not being serious, nor am I making any comment about high-viz wearers and I'm certainly not engaging in the high-viz debate; I'm just trying to be light-hearted.)

 

[Canny man]

Every now and again you get a positive surprisein Perth. A few months back I spotted Devil's Lair Cabernet Sauvignon (which is top flight stuff) at the wine station. They may have misdirected from the CL, but I wasn't complaining.

 

[casanovawa]

I think a different dress code in two lounges would make it simple to direct different groups to where they might be more comfortable...

And simple, any trouble in QPs or failure to obey instructions to quiet down or stop drinking and you get banned from the airline for a few weeks or months or permanently, that should sort out your high paid mining job if you want to act like a prat, although in fairness the same rules should apply to anyone in hi-vis, in a suit or any other clothing...

 

[Shane B]

A colleague of mine noted there were two large Maori security guards patrolling the QP on a recent trip to Perth.

Is this true???

 

[jdp]

A colleague of mine noted there were two large Maori security guards patrolling the QP on a recent trip to Perth.

Is this true???

Can't comment on what your colleague observed but there is usually one or two staff at the bar, one at the front counter (rarely two), one at the service counter (rarely two), one hiding in the room behind the food counter and one trolley.

 

[2impulsiv]

A colleague of mine noted there were two large Maori security guards patrolling the QP on a recent trip to Perth.

Is this true???

I have not seen them if they do patrol the area, however I usually see police officers walk through and stop for a drink of water.

 

[ashleyn]

A colleague of mine noted there were two large Maori security guards patrolling the QP on a recent trip to Perth.

Is this true???

Highly unlikely, just a couple of FIFO's waiting outside for a mate.

 

[ashleyn]

I'm a Perthite and this really isn't a huge problem. There are plenty of seats but usually singles. If it's that bad, wait until the next flight leaves and grab a seat. How long do you typically spend in the PER QP ? 30 minutes, hour max ? As others have noted, there are big changes happening at Perth so grin and bear it.

 

[RWJ777]

To be fair, many people working in the mines, irrespective of where they work in the pecking order, are WPs. So you would still see them in a J lounge. That said, it is unfair to broad-brush them as the types that make the lounge loud or raucous.

That's depressing and (more importantly) very concerning. Those kinds of incidents should be given a lot more attention and not swept under the carpet.

As I said, difficult for those on business to work before being cut off from communication for four hours. But, to be honest, I had not even seen the fisty cuffs when making this observation.

 

[Stephen65]

It's a dump and a major embarrassment for QF. Last time I was in Perth the amenity was so poor I took a newspaper down to one of the public area cafes and sat at a table drinking (paid for) coffee and reading till my flight was ready.