Why Qantas has permanently closed these international lounges

Almost all of Qantas’ international business class and first class lounges have reopened their doors, but there are three notable exceptions: a trio of lounges at which the airline permanently pulled down the shutters.

And as travel resumes, many travellers are only for the first time realising these three lounges are no longer a pre-flight option.

Perth Terminal 1: With all Qantas flights now departing from Perth Airport’s T3/T4 precinct – including the ‘international wing’ of T3 – the airline has closed up its lounge at Perth’s dedicated T1 international terminal.

This had long been the go-to for eligible passengers on Qantas’ low-cost sibling Jetstar as well as partner airlines such as Cathay Pacific.

Many international airlines have since shifted to the independent Aspire Lounge at Perth T1, which also welcomes travellers on any airline with a swipe of their Priority Pass card or an up-front payment of $66 online or $77 on a walk-up basis.

Tokyo: Qantas has long maintained its own lounge at Tokyo’s Narita Airport, but with the airline now switching all Tokyo flights to the more convenient ‘downtown’ Haneda Airport, the writing was on the wall for the Qantas Tokyo Lounge.

The good news for loungeworthy flyers on those red-tail services to Haneda is they can enjoy a visit to the excellent Haneda lounges of Oneworld partners Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

Hong Kong: this is the Qantas lounge closure which hurt the most. In August 2021, in the depths of the pandemic, Qantas announced the permanent closure of its Hong Kong lounge.

At the time, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce told Executive Traveller the airline had “looked at everything that we needed in individual markets” in planning its post-pandemic recovery, “and Cathay have some amazing lounges in Hong Kong, so we’ve worked with them to get access to their lounges, and of course they have access to our lounges here, and we think that’s the best arrangement.”

With a design which embraced and reflected the Asian metropolis, the 300-passenger lounge opened in April 2014 and primarily catered for Qantas' evening flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – although it was also used as the lounge of choice a number of other airlines including Finnair and Air France.

Its hallmark feature was a BBQ bar serving local delights such as char siu barbecued pork, while a yum cha trolley rattled around the main dining area serving a dim sum selection from dumplings to sweet custard tarts.

Sure, many savvy travellers relied on their Qantas Platinum and Gold status to visit the first class and business class lounges of Cathay Pacific as time permitted, but even they would often bounce back to the Qantas lounge (handily located close to the departure gates used by Qantas) for a final cocktail before their flight.

With Qantas now resuming flights to Hong Kong, the airline’s business class passengers along with Platinum- and Gold-grade frequent flyers will be directed to the relevant Cathay Pacific lounges; Qantas has advised Executive Traveller that Qantas Club members will be sent to the Plaza Premium Lounge.