QANTAS has opened a stunning new lounge in London’s Heathrow Airport as it gets ready to launch its England-to-Australia direct flights.
CEO Alan Joyce has just opened the new venue in Heathrow’s terminal three, the first lounge Qantas has ever had in London despite flying the “kangaroo route’’ between the UK and Australia for 70 years.
“We’ve never had the space before and this came available and we decided to grab it because it’s very hard to get space at Heathrow,’’ Mr Joyce said.
“We celebrate our 70th birthday flying to London next week and this is the first time we have had a lounge.’’
The 12-month project to build the lounge is part of the multimillion-dollar upgrade of facilities and aircraft Qantas is rolling out ahead of the launch of its London to Perth flights on March 24 next year.
At 17 hours, they will be the third-longest passenger flights in the world, and will be serviced by the new 787 Dreamliners.
“The Kangaroo Route is at the heart of Qantas’ identity and London is one of our most important destinations,” Mr Joyce said.
“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,”
The lounge seats 230 people and looks out over the airfield.
It features 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.
In a very British addition, it also has a gin bar, and a barista on duty all day for customers to get their caffeine fix.
Menus have designed by Rockpool, continuing Qantas’ association with chef Neil Perry, and customers can choose dishes from a menu.
Traditional British dishes including ploughman’s platters, pot pies and scones with jam and cream will join Aussie favourites such as brunch bowls with eggs, avocado and kale, and zucchini and haloumi fritters.
Showers and full business facilities are also an important part of the lounge.
Mr Perry, the creative director for Qantas food, beverage and service, 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.”
Mr Joyce said the forward bookings on the new Perth route were “very strong’’ and while he wouldn’t give numbers, he said the airline was very optimistic about the route.
The London lounge operates from 8am to 8.30pm and is available to first and business class passengers, as well as 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.
In a lighthearted twist, Mr Joyce revealed the three weirdest requests ever made to staff in Sydney Qantas lounge.
These were: a large platter to hold raw vegetables dived into tiny pieces, a hamburger cooked “extra burnt’’ and an order of burger and chips — blended into a smoothie.
Staff filled all three requests.
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