QANTAS: Restricts guest access to domestic lounges

Now that flying in Australia has returned to near normal, Qantas airport lounges no longer have tumbleweed blowing through them as they did at the height of the pandemic. They don’t have acceptable food, table service, or prompt attention by staff either. But they do have fresh coffee.

Now you won’t be able to bring some of your guests in.

Bringing guests into the lounge

I have often used the ability to bring in a guest or two to a Qantas Club, or Business lounge. It’s great if you are traveling with a companion that doesn’t have those privileges. You could catch up with friends who might be transiting from an international flight onto a domestic flight. You could catch up with them for an hour or two even though I might not be traveling. I used to have a client who regularly traveled to Melbourne from Sydney, and he would guest me into the Business Lounge before his flight to brief me on the work he wanted us to complete. In short, the guesting ability was very useful.

All that is going to change as of 15 June 2023. Qantas is dramatically tightening guest access to domestic lounges, and I think those changes might shock you.

What’s changed?

The changes are mainly about how many guests you can bring in, and under what circumstances. None of the changes give you more options. All the changes are more restrictive than the current rules. Here is a summary of the changes:

Platinum and Platinum One Frequent Flyer

Now: Bring two guests into any domestic Qantas Lounge – don’t need to be flying
After 15 June: The guests also need to be flying ‘on Qantas-operated and eligible partner flights that depart on the same day’

Gold Frequent Flyer

Now: Bring one guest into any domestic Qantas Lounge – don’t need to be flying
After 15 June: The guests also need to be flying ‘on Qantas-operated and eligible partner flights that depart on the same day’

Business Class Passengers

Now: Bring one guest into any domestic Qantas Lounge – don’t need to be flying
After 15 June: The guests also need to be flying ‘on Qantas-operated and eligible partner flights that depart on the same day’

Why these changes?

The hope is that these changes will reduce the crowding of the lounges, especially at peak times. The effect will be that Frequent Flyers who use this perk will be very cranky.

2PAXfly Takeout

With domestic travel returning to pre-pandemic levels, and expected to even surpass them by mid-year, lounge crowding will only increase as an issue. So, I understand what Qantas is trying to do here. Everyone likes a not-quite-so-crowded lounge. No one wants Qantas lounges to be as crowded as Virgin Australia Lounges. However, I think Qantas might be doing a bit of nose-cutting, despite its face here.

I understand the crowding issue that will be caused by the return of larger planes like the Airbus A330 on the Perth to East Coast routes, as well as the sheer increase in domestic flights overall, but restricting this perk, will not endear Qantas management to its loyalist members. You can read the full changes here on the Qantas website.

And, one final thing – Qantas, please don’t treat us like dummies and call this a ‘simplification’ of your Lounge access policy, when it is actually a reduction in Frequent Flyer benefits