Qantas A380 Business (+PICS) & Sydney First Lounge

[boylero]

Nice write-up, wish l had the patience to do something similar, l often snap pics whilst travelling, however l never do much with them except reminisce.

Sent from my HTC One XL using AustFreqFly

 

[dk4]

Great pics, and glad you found some value for money on your journey.

One thing though,

...the rather lackluster Qantas business lounge in Sydney...

I think that this is a rather harsh assessment, about what, in its own right these days, is a great quality lounge.

Sure it's not First Class, but then, it is not meant to be. As a business class lounge I think that, in particular, the catering & service levels (once inside the lounge and away from the front desk still occupied by Qantas employees) make it a stand out example of an airline business lounge. IMO it surpasses what some airlines, in other parts of the world, put up as their global-flagship First Class lounge experiences.

 

[fbrimfield]

One thing though,
I think that this is a rather harsh assessment, about what, in its own right these days, is a great quality lounge.

Sure it's not First Class, but then, it is not meant to be. As a business class lounge I think that, in particular, the catering & service levels (once inside the lounge and away from the front desk still occupied by Qantas employees) make it a stand out example of an airline business lounge. IMO it surpasses what some airlines, in other parts of the world, put up as their global-flagship First Class lounge experiences.

Sydney & Melbourne should both have excellent Qantas J lounges being Qantas 'home turf' but when you compare it to what Cathay offers at HKIA, Malaysian offers at KUL, Asiana offers at ICN and what EK offers in pretty much every one of their own branded lounges throughout the world, it's not all that hot. The J lounge doesn't offer champagne (even a cheap one) and gets a Seppelt sparkling, the same used in domestic business lounges (which is by all means a decent drop), but I can't think of any other major carrier who doesn't offer champange in their business lounge even as a token gesture and to be honest it gets a bit crowded when there are a few departures going.

I didn't say it was god awful and i'd be ungrateful to go there, but it's really not that hot

 

[Mgjdubs]

I didn't say it was god awful and i'd be ungrateful to go there

No you didn't, but I'd say that. Here's hoping EK keep their lounge open, I don't know how they'd cope with EK pax on top of all the eligible QF pax that have access. Although it's not as bad as the AKL lounge, but I'll shut up so they don't 'enhance' that, removing the F section.

 

[amaroo]

Very nice TR.

I'm in the category of thinking I'll do one.......then start enjoying the hospitality of the lounges/flights & forget all about it.

Luckily, we have members like yourself that make the time & effort to get the job done.

 

[dk4]

Sydney & Melbourne should both have excellent Qantas J lounges being Qantas 'home turf' but when you compare it to what Cathay offers at HKIA, Malaysian offers at KUL, Asiana offers at ICN and what EK offers in pretty much every one of their own branded lounges throughout the world, it's not all that hot.

I have not been in the MH or EK lounges, but that may change by the end of next year! However I have been in both the - CX HKG J and OZ ICN J lounges, and find QF on par with CX when averaged out, and ahead of OZ.

I don’t drink wine very often, but accept your single item critique, especially since Qantas has decided that wine should be a primary point of difference with regards to its competitive marketing position.

However, the OZ J lounge at ICN is too small to cope during peaks, including wait times up to 2 hours for a shower, so check in early if you need one at the end of the day (before the QF code share back to Australia). The food options are absolutely minimal, and IMO only barely beat out airline lounges in the USA, and the layout and seating plan is very poor, unless you want to sit in rows of single seats, with poor accessibility, facing a TV (because obviously none of their customers do, which is why these seats are the last to fill up).

As for CX J lounges in HKG, they are nice, and given recent renovations they do offer improved ambience. However, The Cabin is just as likely to be standing room only, as a packed QF J lounge in SYD, and I find the food offerings are rather poor for my palete, when compared to the MEL/SYD Qantas International Business Lounges.

As for "home turf", I think that after the renovations in MEL T2 (when the J lounge expanded and acquired the old F lounge real estate) Qantas ended up with an enormously spacious lounge, and by creating sectional social areas, they have actually been able to give Melbourne the Network’s best J lounge layout. (In saying that, I agree that SYD T1 needs an expansion to deal with peak demand.)

So let’s take a stroll around the spacious MEL T2 Qantas International Business Lounge.

For a dungeon style lounge, IMO Qantas (in MEL T2) has created a vast and yet still intimate, welcoming experience (enhanced further by interaction with quality in-lounge staff) and is certainly one which I would rather enjoy over the OZ ICN J lounge, and on par with any of CX’s HKG J access lounges.

And as for QF T1 SYD J Lounge, I love this highlight

 

[dk4]

Ok, so now a brief look around QF’s SYD T1 J lounge, specifically the F&B offer

I do not find that either Qantas lounge fits the description of lacklustre. In fact I think that both are approaching excellent.

 

[fbrimfield]

I do not find that either Qantas lounge fits the description of lacklustre. In fact I think that both are approaching excellent.

I totally respect your position, but I still disagree.

CX with their new lounges are miles ahead, they have the noodle bar and fresh dim sum for food offerings, and all other food is catered for by the peninsula catering team, the coffee loft which a constantly manned coffee machine (unlike Qantas J lounges which is only sometimes manned), and there are 3 lounges: the cabin, the wing and the pier. I believe all have better F&B offerings, nicer atmosphere, better facilities for business travellers (more computer work stations, more quiet areas) and the showers are nice.

Anyway i'm sure we could both go on endlessly about which lounge is better.

 

[jetlagger]

Thank you so much for sharing.. Gorgeous photos.. & wonderful narration..
Keep up the brilliant work..

 

[k3nnis]

Thanks for the very detailed trip report and pictures

 

[jazza1971]

What an excellent TR! Thanks for taking the time to put that together!

 

[lovestotravel]

Very nice TR.

I'm in the category of thinking I'll do one.......then start enjoying the hospitality of the lounges/flights & forget all about it.

Luckily, we have members like yourself that make the time & effort to get the job done.

Exactly! After a few drinks, taking quality photos is at the bottom of the list!

 

[ljk23]

Great trip report & pics, but the seat photo...lie flat? looks angled ?



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[drron]

Very nice TR.I am impressed with your technological skills.

 

[fbrimfield]

Great trip report & pics, but the seat photo...lie flat? looks angled ?
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Yep, there's a fair bit of droop going on with the end those poor mark newson seats. Probably had too many fat people sit in them.

 

[eosphoros]

Saw your TR on A.net. Excellent stuff mate. Love all the photos. Inspires me to kind of want to do a TR myself. Might do just that when I fly SYD-LAX-SEA in three weeks. Unfortunately only in Y but hey, I haven't been in QF Y for a while (and have not yet been on a refurb 744ER) so might as well!