Review : Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

Rohit

22/05/2023

Qantas operates an old and rather lacklustre lounge at Auckland International Airport. Returning home from my recent trip to New Zealand, I stopped by at the lounge for a few minutes before boarding my flight.

Location

Qantas Lounge is located in the International Departures section of the airport. To get there, you need to walk through the maze of duty-free shops, past Air New Zealand lounge on the left until you get to the bottom of the escalators on the right.

Lounge Signage, Auckland Airport

Once here you will notice the signage directing you to Level 2, where besides Qantas, lounges operated by Emirates as well as the only Contract lounge at Auckland Airport, Strata lounge are also located. Jump on the escalator and as you get to the top, you will see the Qantas lounge directly in front.

Qantas Lounge, Auckland Airport

Qantas Lounge Auckland

I got to the lounge just after 5 am, in time for the 6 o’clock departure from Auckland. After a quick check-in at the reception, I made my way inside the facility. Auckland sees a bank of early morning departures bound for various cities in Australia, so the lounge was well patronised even at this early hour.

As you come in, there is a good size sitting area on the right with several pairs of black & brown leather chairs separated by slim white tables.

Seating, Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

Turning left, the facility opens up into one vast expanse with the main buffet station positioned on the left. Past this, there’s more seating which continues all the way to the other end of the hall.

Seating, Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

It was still quite dark outside, so I am not quite sure what kind of view the windows offer, but the entire space around it is jam packed with chairs and tables.

Seating, Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

As you can tell from these pictures, the lounge doesn’t really offer any privacy or dedicated working space although with the amount of seating it offers, you are free to set-up your laptop anywhere you wish.

I was also a bit surprised to see the barren literature stand, if you plan to be at the lounge for an extended period, bring something to read.

Book Stand, Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

Coming to food and drinks, Breakfast was being served at the time of my visit and there was a reasonable spread on offer. There was a warmer containing hot dishes such as scrambled eggs, sausages and hashbrowns.

Buffet Station, Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

Breakfast, Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

Then you had whole and sliced fruit, cold cuts, cereals, and other pastry items laid out on the self-serve buffet stand.

Breakfast, Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

Just behind the buffet station, there was a long table hosting a small coffee machine as well as provisions for making tea.

DIY Tea & Coffee Station, Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

I also noticed a well stocked fridge filled with all kinds of drinks and an ice-cream freezer nearby, although there were few takers for them given the time of the day.

Drinks Fridge, Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

Ice Cream Freezer, Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

If machine made coffee is not your thing, head to the coffee station near the sitting area close to the main entrance, where the in-house barista will whip-up your favourite cup of brew.

Coffee Station, Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

Although the coffee station is open all day, the barista is only available until noon. If you want a coffee after this time, the barista is on-call or you could just make your own coffee.

Coffee Station, Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

The lounge offers toilets and showers for the convenience of its guests. I went and had a peek at the facilities and they looked fine.

Way to Toilets & Showers, Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

Bathroom, Qantas Lounge Auckland Airport

And that’s pretty much it.

In Conclusion

There isn’t a lot to say about Qantas’ Auckland lounge, its somewhere patrons can come and wait-out time before getting on their flights. The facility must be getting pretty close to its Use By Date if not past it already.

The good news is that work for a renovated, expanded lounge with a dedicated First Class section welcoming passengers at the pointy end of the plane, as well as top tier Qantas and oneworld members is about to get underway.

The new facility will open progressively, with the first stage of the work expected to be completed before the end of 2023, although it wouldn’t be until late 2024 that the lounge is fully transformed.

Have you visited Qantas Lounge at Auckland Airport? Leave a comment below.

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