Qantas has welcomed the first customers into the new spacious Qantas London Lounge at Heathrow Airport, 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 March 25th.
Qantas Group chief executive, 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 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,” Joyce.
The new lounge features seating for more than 230 customers to relax, work and dine before their flight, as a marble cocktail bar beneath a brass chandelier on the upper level serving cocktails designed by the Qantas Rockpool Mixologists.
It is split over two levels with sweeping views of the airfield.
Qantas creative director of food, beverage and 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.
The Perth International Transit Lounge will open in March and Qantas has started building the new Melbourne Domestic Business Lounge and Qantas Club.
From March 2018, Qantas and Emirates will offer double daily flights between the UK/Europe and Australia with the choice of three hub options.
Qantas will offer a daily London to Sydney A380 service via Singapore, a daily Qantas 787 Dreamliner service from London via Perth to Melbourne, as well as daily services from London via Dubai with partner Emirates to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane.
The airline recently announced a major cabin upgrade on its fleet of 12 Airbus A380s.
