The Lounge - what refreshments/changes do you expect or would like to see?

[markis10]

As a follow on from this thread:

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....lue-velocity/the-lounge-adl-yuck-26356-3.html

What would you like to see in the lounge as far as refreshments goes and what wrong with the current offering that could be improved?

 

[notzac]

Nice thread

A subject near and dear to many hearts - booze. The beer selection appears to be pretty awesome (though I'm not a beer drinker, so I wouldn't know). The wine selection is pretty pedestrian, and the spirits are non existant

Now we've defined the problem, what I'd like to see as a solution is a range of wines, preferably showcasing some of the stunning wines we'll be seeing on board in the domestic J cabin. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when the nicest wine currently on offer is from NZ ... what about all the brilliant wineries in the Yarra Valley, Adelaide Hills and Margaret River regions (just to name 3)?

As for spirits, solid mid-shelf basics would be great. Avoid Gordon's and Smirnoff (both paint strippers IMHO) and get something like Tanqueray and Absolut.

For food -- hot food options would be nice, and a wider selection of cold cuts and grazing food would be great. Maybe have staff bringing plates of food around the lounge during peak times every now and again?

 

[markis10]

Let me get a chip off my shoulder, under no circumstances should pobblebonk make an appearance (with all due respects to the wine maker its a shocker)!

I would also like to see the continuance of a Barista beyond the morning session, its a big + in my books.

 

[koro25]

better food options would be nice. Party pies and low end cold cuts should be reconsidered.

 

[notzac]

I would also like to see the continuance of a Barista beyond the morning session, its a big + in my books.

Oh my yes, and from a real coffee machine too (not one of those awful push button thingies that QF have their "baristas" using..)

 

[NM]

How about party pies! Just not the NPPPs of course

 

[Justinf]

I'm not a fan of the current CUB beer range, but I do realise this is being very picky.
Hot food options like mini sausage rolls, quiches, party pies etc would be nice.
More TV screens for those who don't want to watch Sky News (it seems Sky News is on the screens at MEL and SYD ALL the time).
Some sweet food options such as cake or slices. Currently there are only biscuits.

 

[Hvr]

And once again I'll highlight the lack of diet drinks such as lemonade and lemon flavours.

I'm teetotal and understand that airlines think I am a freak because I want to drink something tasty and without too much sugar but no alcohol, but hey I can live with that.

To really highlight my peculiarities nor do I drink coffee so a hot chocolate from the hot beverage area would be appreciated as well.

 

[markis10]

And once again I'll highlight the lack of diet drinks such as lemonade and lemon flavours.

I'm teetotal and understand that airlines think I am a freak because I want to drink something tasty and without too much sugar but no alcohol, but hey I can live with that.

To really highlight my peculiarities nor do I drink coffee so a hot chocolate from the hot beverage area would be appreciated as well.

Some good suggestions, the lack of low carb options in lounges and in flight is annoying to a lot of people I suspect, I certainly would not use the freak word just because you watch what you consume .

 

[koonyaflyer]

I would be happy just to see some variation of the food, both by the addition of hot finger food, but more importantly by rotating what is on offer. To be honest I have reached the stage that the same cold cuts every day leave me cold

I don't think that the food selection has changed in any way since the inception of the Lounge, which I recall was 4 years ago. In many ways it reminds my of my former mother in law's cooking...we knew what day of the week it was by what was being served, except the Lounge is more like groundhog day...every day is the same!

We had more choice in the "old" lounge, which admittedly we needed to pay for, but I did feel that I had options.

 

[Bundy Bear]

I guess it all comes down to cost.

For a low cost carrier or new world airline then they should be able to do things differently.

Compared to the American Airlines Admirals Clubs(US domestic) then Qantas is pretty good. Maybe there is a few things Qantas could do better and maybe Virgin Australia should do.

Each AC lounge has a bar attendent, now there is now free stuff, like your light beer and standard house wine, soft drink, water, juice should be free, your top shelf stuff rum, bourbon and Vodka should be pay, but then they serve the good stuff.

Maybe the morning they should offer, coffee or chocolate then switch the bar to afternoon alcohol. I don't know why Qantas have the barista area separate to the bar area.

Maybe it is cheap to pour your own but I am wondering whether it would be cheaper and more friendly to have someone serve you, when you reach the bar.

 

[NM]

You don't need a huge number of options (thinking beer here in particular, but may apply to other things as well). But having some variety in styles is important for me. Having a choice of 5 lagers is not as good as having a choice between a typical Aussie larger (say Hahn Premium and HP Light), a hoppy unfiltered brew such as Coopers Sparkling Ale, a darker option such as Tooheys Old or Coopers Dark Ale or maybe even Guiness, and maybe local boutique option that varies for each lounge which could even be a little main-streamish such as Little Creatures, Blue Tongue, Fat Yak, James Squire options etc.

We often see style options for wines, so why not for beers and even for whiskeys. How about a choice of 3 whiskeys, say a common blend (e.g. JW Black or Chivas Regal), a basic single malt (Glenlivet, Glen Morangie etc) and an Islay or Speyside (say Laphroaig or Tallisker). I expect that per drink those are probably cheaper to provide than many wines, and they keep forever when opened so even low throughput should not be a problem.

 

[yohy?!]

Oh my yes, and from a real coffee machine too (not one of those awful push button thingies that QF have their "baristas" using..)

DJ Lounge has all-day barista already (from a real espresso machine), just need to ask bar attendant.

 

[yohy?!]

I like the ideas that they have in place - make your own sandwich options and salads are great, just need to switch them up regularly and ensure the ingredients are of better quality.

I thought the scones with jam and cream was a good touch for afternoon tea in the QF Dom J lounge - shouldn't be too expensive to have some kind of small cakes on a daily basis.

In the evening perhaps make a hot dish like a pasta bake or casserole available so there is something hot wthat people can enjoy with salad. Not sure if they have cereals available for breakfast but if not they should also.

The goal should be to cater for each day-part sufficiently in a snack/quick-bite sense.

 

[medhead]

The Lounge - what refreshments do you expect or would like to see?

Some good suggestions. I haven't actually been in The Lounge yet, so I don't really have any suggestions of my own. But if a more diverse range of beers is going to be considered I would rather see Coopers Pale Ale over Sparkling Ale. Sparkling Ale is the lesser Coopers that they export interstate to those who know no better.

 

[samh004]

Some good suggestions. I haven't actually been in The Lounge yet, so I don't really have any suggestions of my own. But if a more diverse range of beers is going to be considered I would rather see Coopers Pale Ale over Sparkling Ale. Sparkling Ale is the lesser Coopers that they export interstate to those who know no better.

I like both equally. I’d say Sparkling Ale isn’t such a good idea for people that shall be flying later considering it’s 5.8% and a few of them is a big step up from any other full strength beer

 

[dk4]

IMO - All of the following are examples for DJ to emulate (or better still surpass), from competitors' (entry level) lounges (over the last week), at ports where Virgin Blue Group of Airlines operate.


Nice selection of pre-made sandwiches & a tray of hot pies and quiches. (One that is kept constantly topped-up by staff!)


A good selection of self serve spirits.


Impressive offer of fancy pre-tossed salads.


More hot finger food & some fancy sweet-tooth items.


Something a bit quirky (dare I say it, with a bit of flair) that's unique at each lounge location.

 

[Taliesin]

I know carlton united brewies stuff is available in all lounges..

But those of us from SA really do like to drink out Coopers, which we can only get in the SA Lounge...

It would be nice to see this available in the lounges across australia.
Coopers Pale Ale, Coopers Clear would prolly be the two strong requests..

Also, outside of Alcohol..

Also a strong avid SA Icon, Farmers Union Iced Coffee (Even if this was only in Adelaide) and other Iced Coffee variants, I dont always want a hot coffee, I like mine Iced

Ones I know I'll drink around australia are..

Farmers Union Iced Coffee (SA/Vic/Qld) (Which by the way outsells Coke 5:1 in South Australia)
Ice Break (I know this is in Vic)
Masters (WA)

As for food, as above, I too would like to see small snackable foods outside of the so called "sandwhich" items.
A bit of chocolate would be nice? Panforte can only eat so much before you feel sick
Small party pies/sausage rolls would be nice.

Some other things I would like to see, is some more blending in with national times of interest, such as breast cancer awareness week as an example!, get some pink ribbons and streamers put about (Dont go overboard on this, just a lite touch would be nice!)

I know this is off the menu, however, the wireless in melbourne and sydney can get really slow during peak periods, almost feels like it's running on dialup at times!

I would like to see some form of security added to the wireless too (WPA2 would be excellent) with the 'key' displayed around the computing area's etc.

Either that or please atleast have a sign or two informing people that 'lounge' wireless is insecure and to be careful of what information they transmit, and recommend using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection.

Infect, having a virgin supplied VPN for those who want to use it while on the wireless (Linked in with the Velocity number for username and their password been the same) to encrypt their data from the wireless would be BRILLIANT!

Obviously not needed for physical data connectins (of the few ports you do have available!)

 

[Justinf]

Some small sweet items would be nice. apart from the very basic biscuits on offer, it would be nice to be able have some chocolate or a muffin during the afternoon.
I have never seen Coopers at the ADL lounge. That stuff is the best beer in the country. Only the red though...the green is muck. I swear I drank 16 pots of red at a buck's night not long ago and woke up at 7am the next day and went for an 8km run. No preservatives.

 

[Sprucegoose]

I drink coopers in j lounge syd