Even better if the bar is decent....or even open before noon!
Not entirely true. You can fly 5 hours to PER and access the International F lounge. In some cases it can be better value than booking a competing QF flight departing from the domestic terminal in terms of both onboard service, hard product and lounge access.
A big issue with BA is there is no distinction between OneWorld Emerald and OneWorld Sapphire flyers in terms of lounge access at many airports. Say what you will about QF and Uncle Alan, but at least there is a distinction between the two and in some hubs like MEL and BNE the distinction can be quite noticeable indeed. I should also point out that QF tends to have more amenities than comparable BA lounges. For instance, I was totally floored that the CNS lounge had showers. As someone who has flown a lot and been to a number of lounges, such an amenity is typically reserved for only the largest of lounges at central hubs like LHR or YYZ.
The Qantas domestic lounges at Sydney are arguably an international lounge in the sense that many people visiting those lounges aren't originating in Sydney, they are connecting through an international itinerary from abroad. Hence, the quality of the lounge at SYD needs to be better than those at CNS or ADL which don't receive much if any connecting international traffic.
I wouldn't say international passengers are necessarily a given, particularly for SYD as a connection point given the pain involved in making an international to domestic transfer at SYD. Indeed, some might prefer connecting at MEL or even BNE where the process is smoother. Also keep in mind that outside of OneWorld member airlines like BA or AA, Virgin is the domestic partner for international airlines delivering passengers from abroad to Australia. For instance, flying a United itinerary from Los Angeles to Perth you would first fly, Los Angeles to Sydney or Brisbane, then connect on Virgin to Perth. Yes the QF lounge at SYD is slightly better than Virgin but not ground changing IMHO.I mean... it's in the name
I see your point but would say it needs to be good as it is a major hub. The fact pax are connecting from international or domestic is neither here nor there. Where are those pax going to? Probably airports like ADL and CNS. And guess what, they'll need a lounge for the return journey.
In actual fact I'd say the lounge competes for domestic pax, the international pax are a given. Otherwise why would VA bother with lounges? I doubt many people choose an international carrier based on what lounge they'll get to use in the domestic connection.
Sorry does United, Air New Zealand or Emirates offer domestic service within Australia? My understanding is they only offer international service to Australia from abroad. So they would need to partner with one of the few domestic carriers in Australia like Qantas or Virgin.
Yeah, no. I love wine, J wine is free, I don't/can't drink it, the wine selection makes me sad. Keep your bulletproof vest on.
You’ll find that SYD QF domestic lounges (and VA for that matter) cater primarily for local Biz people doing their routine slog and then their occasional holiday trips, either originating in SYD or returning elsewhere. No real diff to major US lounges. Yeah, there’s some connecting PAX but most Oz international ports are point to point not hubs (like SQ, EK etc).
It's called Penny Rose ...the Lane Vinyard ,Adelaide Hills. About 19.99 a bottle. A touch of ice makes it taste better
While I think the comparison between an international J lounge and the QF domestic J lounge is silly. The issue is there isn’t a direct comparison; most European airlines (like BA) are primarily international airlines (albeit with many short haul routes akin to Aust domestic routes). In the US there isn’t differentiation in the lounge for the airline’s own elites when travelling domestically but the US carriers reward their domestic WP travellers with upgrades.
