Complete guide to Emirates lounge access for Qantas frequent flyers
That Qantas boarding pass can open the doors to dozens of Emirates lounges around the world.
By Staff Writers, March 30 2023
One of the best yet least understood aspects of the Qantas-Emirates partnership is the reciprocal lounge access between both airlines.
In many cases, travellers in Qantas business class or holding Qantas Platinum One, Platinum or Gold frequent flyers status can visit an Emirates lounge ahead of their flight.
That’s especially appealing if there are no Qantas or Oneworld airline lounges where you’re flying from, or if the Emirates lounge is a cut above the rest.
There are even instances where Qantas Club membership provides Emirates lounge access.
(It also works the other way, of course – for example, an Emirates first class passenger of Skywards Platinum member can visit the swish Qantas First Lounge ahead of Emirates flights from Sydney or Melbourne.)
All Emirates lounges draw from the same relaxing design.
However, the rules surrounding Qantas access to Emirates lounges come with a few caveats, so here’s what you need to know.
You must be flying with Qantas or Emirates, on a QF or EK flight number: other partner airlines (such as Oneworld members) or flight numbers (such as codeshares) are excluded from this lounge access arrangement.
The Qantas-Emirates lounge access agreement is not worldwide: it applies only to lounges in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. In addition, you can’t visit an Emirates lounge in Australia if you’re on a Qantas flight to a destination outside of that group, such to North America or South Africa.
The opening hours of Emirates lounges might not align with your Qantas flight: after all, Emirates opens its lounges to suit its own timetable for departures.
Many Qantas passengers don't realise they can also visit Emirates lounges at many airports.
In this article:
- What to expect at an Emirates lounge
- Can Qantas Club members access Emirates lounges?
- What Emirates lounges can Qantas Gold members access?
- What Emirates lounges can Qantas Platinum and Platinum One members access?
- Emirates lounges access for Qantas business and first class passengers
- Can Qantas flyers pay for Emirates lounge access?
- Which Emirates lounges around the world can Qantas passengers access?
What to expect at an Emirates lounge
Most Emirates lounges around the world follow the same design template, with the same reliably familiar offerings including:
- an ample buffet which often surpasses other lounges in both variety and quality
- a selection of hot dishes at breakfast, lunch and dinner
- a self-pour bar stocked with wine, spirits and Moet Champagne
- plenty of comfortable seating
- free WiFi
You won't go hungry (or thirsty) at an Emirates lounge.
Can Qantas Club members access Emirates lounges?
Qantas Club members draw the short straw in the Qantas-Emirates lounge partnership: the only lounge they can use are Emirates’ business class lounges in Dubai, and only if they are booked onto an Emirates flight under a Qantas QF8xxx flight number. An Emirates flight with an EK flight number isn’t valid for Qantas Club entry to an Emirates lounge. Of course, if a Qantas Club member holds Qantas Gold or Platinum status, that changes things…
What Emirates lounges can Qantas Gold members access?
Qantas Gold frequent flyers enjoy access to most Emirates lounges on this list as long as they’re flying with Qantas or Emirates under a QF or EK flight number; they typically can also bring one guest into the lounge with them.
What Emirates lounges can Qantas Platinum and Platinum One members access?
Platinum-grade Qantas frequent flyers have access to all Emirates lounges on this list – including Emirates’ flagship first class lounge at Dubai – provided they’re flying with Qantas or Emirates under a QF or EK flight number; they typically can also bring one guest and two children into the lounge with them.
To-tier Qantas frequent flyers enjoy access to Emirates' flagship first class lounge at Dubai.
Emirates lounges access for Qantas business and first class passengers
Qantas business class and first class passengers largely have access to the same Emirates lounges as their Gold and Platinum frequent flyer counterparts, although they can’t bring guests into an Emirates lounge – that’s one of the useful perks of Qantas status.
Can Qantas flyers pay for Emirates lounge access?
Stuck in premium economy or economy and lacking any Qantas frequent flyers status? You can still gain entry to Emirates lounges by paying at the door.
The cost is US$130 for most Emirates lounges around the world (discounted to US$100 if you’re a member of the Emirates Skywards loyalty program, even at the basic Blue tier), with US$150 for Emirates’ business class lounge at Dubai (US$125 for Skywards members) and US$300 for the Emirates first class lounge at Dubai (US$250 for Skywards members).
Which Emirates lounges around the world can Qantas passengers access?
To make things easy ahead of your next Qantas flight, here’s a complete list of the Emirates lounges which Qantas travellers can access, along with how many guests they can bring in.
You can find more information on each lounge at the Emirates website.
Emirates' Dubai business class lounge features a unique Champagne Lounge.
Emirates Lounge, Auckland
By class of travel: Qantas first and business class passengers
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates’ Auckland lounge is definitely preferable to Qantas’ own lounges, at least until those are upgraded into a single premium lounge in late 2024.
However, the Emirates Auckland lounge doesn’t open until 5.15pm, which rules out a visit ahead of Qantas’ morning departures back to Australia
Emirates Lounge, Bangkok
By class of travel: Qantas first and business class passengers
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Qantas doesn’t have its own lounge at Bangkok, which has made Emirates’ Bangkok lounge a popular go-to – although there are also two very good Oneworld lounges operated by Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways (the later is open only to business and first class passengers).
Emirates Lounge, Birmingham
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates Lounge, Brisbane
By class of travel: Qantas first and business class passengers
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Note that at the time of writing, Emirates’ Brisbane lounge is temporarily closed.
Emirates Lounge, Cairo
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates First Class Lounge, Dubai
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
This is Emirates’ flagship first class lounge and features an la carte dining room.
Emirates Business Class Lounge, Dubai
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
By Qantas Club membership: Access allowed when flying with Emirates under a QF flight number.
This is Emirates’ flagship business class lounge and features its own Champagne Lounge; it’s also the only Emirates lounges open to Qantas Club members, and then on the strict condition that the Emirates light is booked as a Qantas codeshare carrying a QF8xxx flight number.
Emirates Lounge, Dusseldorf
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates Lounge, Frankfurt
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates Lounge, Glasgow
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates Lounge, Hamburg
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates Lounge, London Gatwick
By class of travel: Qantas first and business class passengers
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates Lounge, London Heathrow
By class of travel: Qantas first class passengers
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling on an Emirates flight
London is an odd one out when it comes to lounge access: the only Qantas passengers offered entry to the Emirates lounge at Heathrow T3 are those booked into Qantas first class. Everyone else is of course directed to Qantas’ own London Heathrow lounge.
That said, we believe Qantas’ first class passengers and Platinum-grade frequent flyers may find Cathay Pacific’s LHR T3 first class lounge is a superior place to spend those pre-flight hours.
Emirates Lounge, Manchester
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates Lounge, Melbourne
By class of travel: Qantas first and business class passengers
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates’ Melbourne lounge is located on level 3, accessed via an escalator near Gates 9 and 10.
Emirates Lounge, Milan Malpensa
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates Lounge, Munich
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates Lounge, Paris Charles de Gaulle
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates Lounge, Perth
By class of travel: Qantas first and business class passengers
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates Lounge, Rome
By class of travel: Qantas first and business class passengers
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Emirates Lounge, Singapore Changi Airport
By class of travel: Qantas first and business class passengers
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Qantas travellers have several lounges at Singapore’s Changi Terminal 1 to choose between – we suggest Qatar Airways’ Singapore Premium Lounge is the prime pick if you’re in first class and business class (although the Qantas Singapore First Lounge is still excellent), with the Qantas Singapore Business Lounge or the Emirates Singapore Lounge well suited to business class passengers and Qantas Gold-grade frequent flyers.
Emirates Lounge, Sydney
By class of travel: Qantas first and business class passengers
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Many Qantas business class passengers and Gold frequent flyers happily make their way over to ‘the other end’ of Terminal 1 (the same departures wing as used by Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines, among others) to visit Emirates’ Sydney lounge rather than Qantas’ own lacklustre Sydney international business lounge.
Emirates Lounge, Zurich
By Qantas Frequent Flyer status: Qantas Gold (plus one guest), Platinum and Platinum One (plus one adult guest and two children) when travelling with either Emirates or Qantas
Note that at the time of writing, Emirates’ Zurich lounge is temporarily closed.
20 Sep 2012
Total posts 72
I suspect QF flights to Japan and Korea are excluded from this arrangement as they aren’t part of the partnership agreement?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
25 Feb 2017
Total posts 2
Can you confirm that for a QF Platinum the guest allowance is 1 adult and two children in the Dubai lounges? Have had issues previously getting two children through!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
16 Mar 2020
Total posts 17
I moved from Silver to Gold during a trip - had trouble getting into EK business lounge at Dubai - even though I could show the gold card on my app - as the booking system listed me as silver. They did relent in the end...
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Mar 2014
Total posts 12
would be a bonus out of Auckland as Qantas lounge is pretty bad,
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
12 Apr 2017
Total posts 213
Myself (Gold) and a guest used the Emirates lounge at Auckland when flying Qantas. No problem and so much better and quieter.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
14 Oct 2012
Total posts 35
Ensure your QFF status is recorded on the Emirates system as I was recently refused entry to Dubai First Lounge (as a Platinum) when flying as a Qantas codeshare passenger. They wouldnt take my Qantas Digital pass or print out of the Qantas QF booking as evidence. I've subsequently been advised I should of escalated it, but easier said than done when you have 10-15 people behind you in a hurry and in a foreign country. I settled for the business lounge which is good, though it still was disappointing, especially after I'd missed a connection because they were late.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Dec 2014
Total posts 44
On numerous occasions now I have been allowed into the EK lounges as a Qantas Club member, despite flying on the EK flight numbers. Just add my QFF number to the EK booking and lounge access gets printed onto my boarding pass every time.
This would seem to be against the rules, but I have never had any issues getting access
25 Jun 2021
Total posts 26
Can a guest who is booked on a QF code ( Economy ) for a EK flight be a guest in the 1st class lounge of the 1st class ticket holder?
28 Jul 2018
Total posts 25
If you're a guest of a First Class passenger, it doesn't matter what class you fly.
28 Jul 2018
Total posts 25
I'm a Qantas Gold FF. Will I get access to the EK Lounge in CMB when flying EK in Economy? Does the system automatically print the lounge access on the boarding pass? TIA.
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