Qantas announced on Tuesday that they will begin the process of reopening their domestic lounges from July 1st, 2020. The carrier had closed their lounges on March 23, 2020 due to government restrictions that shut down most domestic and international flights.
Today, Qantas announced that they will begin reopening their domestic lounges from July 1st, 2020. In t he first phase of reopening, the carrier will open 11 of 35 domestic lounges with measures in place as part of their comprehensive ‘Fly Well’ health and safety program. Some of the measures in place for lounges include capacity limitations, a hosted all-day snack station (replacing self-service stations), disposable coffee cups, additional cleaning protocols and sanitizing stations. In Tuesday’s announcement, Qantas’ Chief Customer Officer, Stephanie Tully said,
“We’re really pleased to welcome our Frequent Flyers back to our lounges across the country and get more of our people back to work. We’ve already rolled out some service changes onboard for everyone’s wellbeing and now we’re announcing some changes to our lounge experience as well. This is a new world for everyone as we introduce and evolve our services to the new travel climate, but we’re very confident that we can make this work well for our people and our customers. Some initiatives will become the norm while others such as capacity restrictions will ease as time goes on. We haven’t ruled out the return of the buffet, toastie and pancake maker in the future or the reintroduction of self-service beverage stations when restrictions ease, in the meantime, we are hopeful Qantas customers will enjoy the extra personalized offering”
Qantas lounge guests will be offered a bespoke selection of dishes from staff offering a personalized tray around service or individual treats from snacking stations. Customers can also order coffee, fresh squeezed juice, beer or wine from a barista or barperson. The lounges will offer individually plated menu items which will change daily including selections such as roast field mushrooms, kale and cheese tarts with tomato relish; bacon and egg rolls and chili and Parmesan frittatas. Dessert selections will include blackberry cheesecakes as well as carrot and pecan cakes with cream cheese frosting. Additionally, Melbourne’s Spice Bar and the Pizza Bar in Perth will also be open.
One of the lounges included in the first phase of reopening is the newly refurbished Alice Springs lounge which features new furniture and wallpaper designed by celebrated indigenous artist Jimmy Pike. The Alice lounge also has 25 percent more seating capacity, work benches and an increased number of power and data outlets. Qantas invites guests to visit their Business Lounges or regional lounges (subject to capacity) and plans on reopening Qantas Clubs and Chairman’s Lounges in the coming weeks and months.
Source: Qantas