Visiting Qantas’ temporary Melbourne first class lounge

Melbourne’s high flyers are counting the days until the Qantas First Lounge at Melbourne’s T2 international terminal reopens after a month-long maintenance program.

(At the time of writing, that’s 23 days to go.)

In the interim, Qantas has set up what it describes as a “premium dedicated space” within its international business class lounge – yes, the one nicknamed ‘The Dungeon’.

“You’ll still be able to enjoy exceptional service, while you relax, dine or work before your flight,” Qantas says.

So what can Qantas’ Platinum and Platinum One members (and their Oneworld Emerald equivalents), first class passengers and Chairman’s Lounge members expect ahead of their overseas flight? 

On entering the lounge and having their boarding pass scanned at the reception podium, first-worthy passengers turn left into this temporary First Lounge area.

Much of the furniture, such as the dining tables and chairs, has been relocated from the real First Lounge, giving visitors an immediate sense of familiarity.

Qantas' temporary Melbourne first class lounge.
Gerard Goh

The same applies to the Breakfast and All Day Dining à la carte menus – while understandably pared back, they still contain some “signature dishes”.

The full First Lounge drinks service remains available, too.

Here’s what visitors will see on the Breakfast menu, available through to 11am:

• Seasonal fruit salad
• Mango, blueberries, yoghurt and Qantas raw honey
• House toasted muesli
• Neil's healthy Bircher muesli with apple, cranberry and nuts
• Ttoasted Brasserie bread with raspberry, apricot or strawberry jam, orange marmalade, honey or Vegemite
• Sunny's black rice porridge with brown sugar, banana and coconut milk
• Breakfast salad of asparagus, zucchini and kale with red chimichurri, smoked salmon and a poached egg
• Poached eggs on toast with Coppertree Farms butter 
• Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon or leg ham
• Eggs Florentine
• Signature Breakfast (two eggs poached, with Schulz Bacon, pork chipolata and roast tomatoes)

And from 11am onwards, the All Day Dining menu:

• Fennel and orange marinated olives, grissini and spiced almonds
• Cherry tomato, fennel and white bean soup with spanner crab, crème fraiche and tarragon roll
• Buffalo mozzarella with asparagus, balsamic roast beetroot and pistachios
• Crudo of ocean trout with celery, capers, parsley and lemon
• Salad of zucchini and kale with red chimichurri, smoked salmon and a poached egg
• Navarin of lamb with spring vegetables and sugarloaf cabbage
• Wild rocket and parmesan salad
• Fries
• Seasonal fruit plate
• Signature pavlova with mango, passionfruit and blueberries

Gerard Goh, a radiology professor and Qantas Platinum One member for 11 years who flies overseas on average every six weeks, visited the lounge this week ahead of a business trip to Japan.

“I went in with an open mind, because I knew it wasn't going to be as good as the normal First lounge,” Goh tells Executive Traveller, adding that he found the temporary First zone to be “very private and quiet.”

“It’s almost like a separate room,” he says, estimating there’s seating for at least 80 passengers.

Two dishes from the temporary First Lounge's cut-down All Day Dining menu.
Gerard Goh.

The meal certainly met his expectations, starting with the marinated olives, grissini and almonds, and followed by the lamb, which was “very good and felt very First Lounge-ish.“

From the front desk staff, Goh also received what Qantas has described as a gift for the “inconvenience” of the temporary lounge: a small bag of skincare products from LaGaia Unlimited, which operates the day spa at the Melbourne and Sydney international first class lounges.

Don't forget to collect your gift bag...
Gerard Goh

The Emirates lounge option

Depending on what time your international Qantas flight from Melbourne departs, the Emirates Lounge is another option.

Emirates' Melbourne lounge will be a good Plan B, as long as the opening hours suit your Qantas flight.

Located one level above the main concourse – keep an eye out for the escalators near gate 10 – it can always be depended on for a decent spread of hot and cold dishes and a self-pour bar featuring Champagne, wine and popular spirits.

Under the Qantas-Emirates alliance, Emirates lounges within Australia can be visited by Qantas frequent flyers holding Gold status and above – as well as business and first class passengers – provided they’re on a Qantas flight heading to anywhere but the Americas.

Emirates' Melbourne lounge will be a good Plan B, as long as the opening hours suit your Qantas flight.

The only catch is that the opening hours of the Emirates Lounge are naturally geared to Emirates’ timetable, which rarely aligns to that of Qantas.

Those Emirates departures are 6:15am, 10:15pm and 11:55pm, which means the Emirates lounge will be closed for the better part of the day and most Qantas departures.

Also read: How to earn over 100 Qantas Status Credits without flying