Kylie Lang reviews Brisbane’s most exclusive airport lounges
While economy passengers can buy their way into a few of the lounges, the most exclusive are by invitation. As Kylie Lang has discovered, not all lounges are created equal.
CM Insight
Don't miss out on the headlines from CM Insight. Followed categories will be added to My News.
YOU CAN spot the passengers destined for the pointy end of the plane. First and business class flyers are the ones looking refreshed and relaxed, the select few who experience the fine food and wine, leather sofas, marble bathrooms (with showers), friendly service and chilled atmosphere of the coveted airport lounges.
In the 2019 financial year, almost 24 million passengers streamed through the domestic (17.6 million) and international (6.2 million) terminals on their way to somewhere else, but only a fraction – four to nine per cent – qualified for lounge access, according to Brisbane Airport Corporation.
While economy passengers can buy their way into a few of the lounges, the most exclusive are by invitation. As The Courier-Mail has discovered, not all lounges are created equal.
INTERNATIONAL
SINGAPORE AIRLINES SILVERKRIS
Margot Robbie likes to sit up at the white marble bar overlooking the throng in the terminal. Chris Hemsworth prefers the grey leather sofas, and does stretching exercises on the geometric carpet. If this place feels like home, it’s partly because of the design, with separate lounge and dining rooms and a kitchen behind glass petitions. Oversized wingback chairs in yellow leather and a suspended golden steel ceiling add a retro vibe. The caterer for the Sydney Opera House is on deck, offering everything from more-ish cakes to a cracking green curry. Up to 80 people can use the lounge, including business class flyers with 26 affiliates such as United Airlines.
AIR NEW ZEALAND
The Kiwis win on location, with sweeping views from Mt Coot-tha to the right, across to the CBD, Gateway Bridge and left to the end of the runway. Natural light floods the 200-seat space that pops with pink and black décor, gleaming white marble, and a lighting canopy inspired by South Brisbane’s Merivale Bridge. There’s a help-yourself buffet, with lentil savoury pancakes and poached eggs for brekky, and chermoula chicken and braised beef cheeks for lunch or dinner, washed down with New Zealand wines. Beer lovers will find the largest range of all the international lounges (9 beers, 1 cider), and there’s a dedicated playroom for tiny tots.
QANTAS
Spanning three floors at the other corner of the terminal to Air New Zealand, Qantas has nailed the Queensland brief - tropical plants, pale timbers, abundant light, and rugs in colours reminiscent of the reef. A bespoke glass and light installation by artist Jenna Lee reflects the lands of local indigenous peoples. It’s a great aesthetic, and fitting given Qantas was founded here in 1920.
The Quench bar, also in other Qantas lounges, helps flyers hydrate, with a tisane blend by Rockpool, a make-your-own juice station, and syrups including a Buderim Ginger. There’s barista-made coffee, large bar, healthy breakfast hatch, seasonal Neil Perry menu, and all-day salads and toasties.
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA
Not flying business? My Lounge – a joint initiative with UK-based operator No 1 Lounges – also welcomes economy passengers, from any airline. Family-friendly relaxation is the focus of this pay-as-you-go affair. Think a foosball table and PlayStation and, for grown-ups, a DIY cocktail bar. A buffet featuring American, Italian or Asian cuisine is complemented by barista-made coffee. The super-chilled, 130-seat My Lounge, which opened last week, sits neatly alongside public seating on the ground floor of the terminal, away from the more exclusive offerings on the mezzanine. While Virgin business class and platinum and gold Velocity flyers have priority, others can buy three hours’ access from $60 (children from $30).
PLAZA PREMIUM LOUNGE
Another example of where flying cattle class doesn’t need to mean fast food at inflated prices, this light-filled 100-seat lounge does a mean Vietnamese pho and Malaysian laksa. Dishes such as sweet and sour pork and chicken parmigiana can be cooked to order and enjoyed at the grey marble bar or in a more private area partitioned by Victorian Ash dividers. You might even spot a celebrity like English actor Tom Hiddleston or Taiwanese singer Jay Chou. There is an adjacent wellness spa with relaxation treatments from $49, and 12 airlines have priority lounge access, including Etihad and Hawaiian. For everyone else, $60 buys two hours of hospitality.
EMIRATES
The only lounge to offer French champagne – both Veuve Clicquot and Moet et Chandon – the Dubai-based airline is also generous with the food, with six hot dishes and four sides as part of a sumptuous buffet that includes Cape Grim beef, Huon salmon, boutique cheeses, homemade soups, and authentic Arabic hummus. The Australian Cricket Team regularly enjoys the hospitality of this 166-seat lounge with its Italian leather seats and direct access to departing aircraft. It might not have been renovated since opening in 2008, but the proportions are grand. Economy class passengers on Emirates or Qantas can purchase up to four fours’ access from $100USD.
DOMESTIC
QANTAS CLUB
Serving 3000 people a day, this 150-seat lounge is one of the busiest, particularly with FIFO workers later in the week. For all the traffic though, it runs smoothly and the quality of the food and beverages is good. A “grab and go” menu changes bi-monthly, and you can make your own salads and toasties. Wines rotates every season, and key lounge staff receive sommelier training from the Rockpool group so choosing a tipple is easy. You can turn up and become a member or sign up online, with a $399 joining fee and membership $540 for one year, $980 for two, $1850 for four.
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA
No need to stand in long queues in the terminal. There’s a seamless kerb to lounge entry via a dedicated security screening point for business class flyers (and eligible Velocity members). Inside the vast 440-seat space, beneath a massive skylight, is a central espresso and wine bar, while a serpentine-shaped onyx bar is laden with hot and cold dishes, a sandwich press and snack station. There’s a generous range of beverages, including 12 beers and seven wines. The atmosphere can be frenetic but it’s also casual – shorts and thongs won’t be out of place here - with helpful staff and seven TVs with Foxtel.
QANTAS BUSINESS
With a similar aesthetic to its international sister, this 350-seat lounge channels the colours and feel of Queensland. The Woods Bagot designed space uses local materials and a palette inspired by Moreton Bay at twilight. Immediately to your left is a wine bar, and around to the right, a buffet with salads and hot dishes like Portuguese chicken. At The Cantina, a chef rustles up Mexican fare, the cuisine deemed a good fit for our climate (Melbourne has a spice bar, Perth a pizzeria). Qantas’s signature Quench bar keeps flyers hydrated and another plus is premium entry (also for top-tier Frequent Flyers) with an exclusive check-in area and direct lounge access.
QANTAS CHAIRMAN’S
If you didn’t know it was there, you’d walk past it, and that’s the idea. Beyond the unmarked gold doors is a haven for the highly influential. Membership is by invitation (and can be cancelled, as with disgraced former senator Fraser Anning). Discretion is the directive here, with guests speaking quietly and privacy respected. The multimillion-dollar interior is inspired by a luxury yacht, with curved lines and American walnut panelling, and the floors are Italian marble. Neil Perry’s Rockpool has trained staff for a restaurant-quality experience (salt and pepper squid with chilli sauce is terrific) and a wine wall is stocked with reds to sample there or take away. As you do.
VIRGIN THE CLUB
In direct competition to the Qantas Chairman’s, this highly secretive club is also invitation only, with membership lasting for two years at a time. Access is via a footbridge and simple glass door. Once inside, guests – including celebrities, CEOs and politicians - can hide away in private pods. Staff, dressed like butlers in white jackets, offer hot towels, beverages and an elegant menu that includes Wagyu beef. Members receive eight free upgrades from economy to business class, and free limo transfers when flying from Brisbane to Perth. Virgin keeps tight-lipped about The Club – many employees don’t even know it exists – so if I were to divulge any more, I’d have to kill you.
‘Spiritual duty’: Minister silent on heavenly housing solution
A priest whose flock sold its church to the government has backed a planned housing solution, but there’s no response from church or state.
Why psychs struggle to work in tropical paradise
As waiting lists for mental health care grow and grow, psychologists are leaving a beautiful beach filled region in droves. But what’s stopping them from staying?