The FINANCIAL — Qantas welcomes customers into the new spacious Qantas London Lounge at Heathrow Airport today, as the airline counts down to its non-stop 787 Dreamliner flights between London and Australia.
Qantas has spent the past 12 months building a dedicated lounge at Heathrow as part of a multi-million dollar investment for customers on its existing London services as well as the landmark London – Perth route starting on 25 March 2018, according to Heathrow.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said investing in the first dedicated Qantas Lounge at Heathrow was key as the airline prepares to directly air link Europe and Australia for the first time.
“The Kangaroo Route is at the heart of Qantas’ identity and London is one of our most important destinations,” said Mr Joyce.
“We have worked with leaders in design, food and service to create a lounge that is modern and comfortable and incorporates the aesthetics of the Qantas lounges that make our customers feel at home.
“We are reshaping what customers come to expect from international travel with direct flights between Australia and London. It’s a long flight, so we’re taking a holistic approach to passenger wellbeing on and off the aircraft, and the new Heathrow lounge is an important part of that,” added Mr Joyce.
Key features of the lounge:
Seating for more than 230 customers to relax, work and dine before their flight
Split over two levels with sweeping views of the airfield
Follows the same concept as Qantas’ international lounges in Hong Kong, Singapore and Los Angeles, with the food and interior design taking inspiration from the local region
Designed by Woods Bagot, the interiors reflect London at twilight with deep greens and rich blues throughout the furniture, while warm-coloured timbers, stone and brass represent the historic architecture of the city
A marble cocktail bar beneath a brass chandelier on the upper level serving cocktails designed by the Qantas Rockpool Mixologists, as well as Australian and European wine and beer
A gin bar on the lower level offers the finest Australian and British gins, alongside an all-day barista service
Menus designed by Rockpool with a Sofitel service experience; customers will enjoy á la carte service in the dining room with a selection of plates of the day including:
Quintessential British dishes such as ploughman’s platters, pot pies and scones with jam and cream
Australian favourites such as healthy brunch bowls with eggs, avocado and kale, and zucchini and haloumi fritters
The signature salt and pepper squid with green chilli sauce from the Qantas First Lounges in Australia
Premium hot and cold buffets
‘Quench’ hydration station with herbal teas, fruit infused water and sparkling water
Business facilities including Wi-Fi, flexible work spaces and workstations
Six shower suites with Aurora Spa amenities
The new range of Noritake crockery by David Caon and a collection of tea cups and saucers by Miranda Kerr for Royal Albert.
Qantas Creative Director of Food, Beverage & Service Neil Perry said: “We want to help our customers feel great throughout every part of their journey so we have been working with the University of Sydney to create dining options for the lounge that are light and fresh with a focus on hydration and nutrition, while continuing to offer a variety of locally inspired dishes and comfort favourites.”
In the last three years Qantas has built or refreshed nearly 30 lounges across its international and domestic network, with several other projects underway.
From 25 March 2018, Qantas will operate double-daily services from London to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane via Singapore or Perth, a daily direct service from London to Perth and new one-stop connections via Perth to a number of destinations in Australia including Adelaide. Emirates offers daily services to Australia via Dubai. Qantas also recently announced a major cabin upgrade on its fleet of 12 Airbus A380s.
Located at Heathrow Terminal 3, the Qantas London Lounge is open daily from 8am – 8:30pm to Qantas customers travelling in First and Business and Qantas Platinum One, Platinum and Gold Qantas Frequent Flyers and their guests. It is also open to eligible oneworld Emerald and Sapphire customers, Emirates Skywards Platinum and Gold customers and Qantas Club members and their guests.
