Qantas will reopen its international Business Lounges in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on 27 March 2022, as more international flights resume.

This will relieve some of the pressure on the Qantas First Lounges in Sydney and Melbourne, which had been getting quite full lately during peak times as more people return to the skies.

Meanwhile, the reopening of the Qantas international Business Lounge in Brisbane on 27 March 2022 is just in time for the resumption of Qantas international flights from Brisbane to Singapore and Los Angeles. Most other airline lounges at Brisbane’s international terminal have not yet reopened due to a lack of international flights out of Brisbane.

All good things must come to an end (for some)

Unfortunately, this means Qantas Club members, Qantas Gold frequent flyers, Oneworld Sapphire members and Business Class passengers flying with Qantas will no longer have access to the international First Lounges in Sydney and Melbourne, which had been used as hybrid Business & First lounges since Australia’s international border reopened on 1 November 2021. But it’s also good news for other flyers.

While the Qantas international Business lounges in Australia have been closed, Oneworld Sapphire frequent flyers and Business Class passengers flying on other Oneworld airlines have been unable to access the Qantas First Lounge. Qantas has also not been accepting complimentary lounge invitations at its First Lounges while the Business Lounges were shuttered.

Meanwhile, from 27 March, the full First Lounge offering will return including an improved seasonal menu and the reopening of the spa. That’s good news for those who ordinarily have First Lounge access, such as Qantas Platinum, Platinum One and Oneworld Emerald frequent flyers.

Qantas will also reopen the First Class check-in suite at Sydney’s international terminal on 27 March, which is available to First Class passengers as well as Qantas Platinum, Platinum One and Oneworld Emerald frequent flyers travelling with Qantas in any cabin class.

Qantas First Class is back

It comes as Qantas resumes offering First Class service on its Airbus A380 flights from Sydney to Los Angeles from 27 March.

The A380, along with First Class service, will also be back on the Sydney-Singapore-London “kangaroo” route from 19 June 2022. Until this date, the Sydney-London flight will continue operating via Darwin using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Other Qantas international lounges

The Qantas Singapore First Lounge will reopen from 19 June, coinciding with the return of Qantas A380 flights to London via Singapore. Currently, only the Qantas Business Lounge in Singapore is operational.

Qantas’ international lounges in London and Los Angeles already reopened late last year. But Qantas’ international Business lounges at Perth (terminal 1), Hong Kong and Narita have permanently closed during the pandemic.

In 2018, Qantas had announced a much-needed refurbishment of its Sydney international Business Lounge which was to be completed “by the end of 2019”. This didn’t happen even before the COVID-19 disruptions and unfortunately, and Qantas hasn’t used the downtime to upgrade this lounge either. That seems like a missed opportunity, although in fairness to Qantas, airlines have hardly had cash to splash during the past two years.

Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Qantas Lounges will begin reopening from 1 November 2021

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.