First look at Qantas’ new Sydney business class lounge

Finally. Yes, finally! The long-promised, long-awaited upgrade of Qantas’ Sydney International Business Lounge is underway – and we've got the first images of what travellers can look forward to.

The lounge is being designed by David Caon and Akin Atelier – the same team that shaped the superb Qantas Singapore First Lounge and the all-new Qantas Auckland International Lounge, which opens December 17.

Influences are said to include Sydney's natural landscape such as the Blue Mountains and Bondi.

A concept image of the new Qantas Sydney International Business Lounge.

The drawcard will be a 150m² terrace, making the most of Sydney’s generally agreeable weather.

Overlooking the boarding gates and runway, and beyond to the city skyline, it will give passengers the opportunity to enjoy fresh air and natural light before they jet off.

A concept image of the new Qantas Sydney International Business Lounge.

As previously flagged, the dining proposition is being upgraded to include “a new signature Neil Perry dining experience” featuring a show kitchen with plated menu options.

A concept image of the new Qantas Sydney International Business Lounge.

Flexible zones will be tailored to different traveller needs, from shared spaces to quiet working zones, with seating capacity increasing by over 30%.

Executive Traveller understands this will be through a combination of expansion and better use of the current footprint.

To keep up with the trends in travel tech, USB-C outlets and wireless charging will be available at more than 80% of seats, Qantas says.

The result should be a stunningly impressive flagship lounge for the Flying Kangaroo’s business travellers and Gold-grade frequent flyers, along with their equivalents from Oneworld partner airlines.

Pain before gain: December 8 is D-Day

This multi-million dollar makeover has been a long time coming.

Qantas first promised all this back in February 2018, “targeting completion at the end of 2019,” and the project has been re-announced and pushed back since then.

Now that it’s underway, the project will take all of 2026 and stretch into early 2027.

This means the Qantas Sydney International Business Lounge will be closed for more than 12 months, starting from Monday December 8, 2025.

Qantas has big plans for its Sydney international business class lounge.

During the construction of the new lounge, Qantas will be actively redirecting travellers to one of two spaces.

A temporary Qantas International Business Lounge will open downstairs of Gate 31, where the old first class lounge used to be, and which has more recently been used as a sign-on and briefing room for Qantas crew.

Some passengers will also be sent to the Plaza Premium Lounge, opposite Gates 25-26.

Sydney's Plaza Premium Lounge.

Qantas says travellers will be advised ahead of their flight which lounge to visit.

However, neither of these are overly large, and there’s no word as yet on how the obvious capacity limits of these two spaces will impact the use of complimentary lounge invitations or the practice of guesting others into the lounge.

Both of those are typically restricted during peak travel periods such as school holidays, so we’d be surprised if lounge passes and guesting privileges are not suspended for the coming year.

We’re also crossing our fingers that, again depending on capacity, some travellers will be offered a surprise-and-delight upgrade to the Sydney International First Lounge (it’d certainly be a welcome perk for the likes of Qantas Lifetime Gold members).

Many Qantas business class passengers and Qantas Gold frequent flyers also have the option of heading to the Emirates Lounge, located at the other end of Terminal 1, near Gate 58 and downstairs.

However, Qantas access to the Emirates Lounge is not available for travellers on Qantas flights to the North or South America (Canada, the USA or Chile).

And the opening hours of the Emirates Lounge – generally 4am-8.30am, and then 5pm-9pm – don’t align to the bulk of Qantas international flights during the day.

Also read: How to get the ‘secret’ Qantas tier accelerator status match