Review: Qantas Sydney Domestic Business Lounge

The Flight Detective
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Qantas operate two lounge in the major capital cities in Australia. First is the Qantas Club which is for oneworld Sapphire frequent flyers and paid members of the club.

In a bid to create exclusivity, Qantas also operate Domestic Business lounges. These are restricted to passengers travelling in domestic business class and oneworld Emerald level frequent flyers.

Welcome To The Lounge

A couple of years ago, Qantas added a dress code to their lounges. Out is head to toe gym wear, sleepwear, beach wear and rubber thongs which other countries call flip flops.

It makes you wonder what attire people were turning up to the lounge in, considering the restrictions. I find many of the people are in business attire as they are travelling for work.

Furnishing and Decor

The Sydney Domestic Business lounge has standard Qantas lounge decor and in parts it is beginning to look a little dated. Some of the furnishing seems to be a bit of an afterthought.

There are various options for seating as well as one long table with charging ports for working. The lounge is fairly big which is good as it is usually quite busy. Qantas terminals are generally quiet as everyone is in the lounge!

Bring A Guest Who Does Not Need To Be Travelling

I have mentioned several times that in some Australian airport terminals, anyone is welcome to go through security. This means you can bring someone with you who is not travelling. In this case, I brought my Dad for a meal.

My Dad had never visited an airline lounge before and as he had been working all morning I doubled as both son and server. I shuttled back and forth bringing him food and asking what he wanted. He tells me he enjoyed the visit!

All Day Dining

Ample food options abound and surprising to me is the fact you can make your own toasted sandwiches. Everyone seemed to be quite happy with that and it looked very popular.

Everything is very tasty. Small yoghurt pots are available in a variety of flavours and there is also an array of salad on offer for the salad people. Being Australia there is a large variety of fresh fruit available as well. Considering people would be flying and fed again after it really is just total western decadence.

Barista Coffee

Loving a Latte ever since my first one, it pleases me that the Domestic Business Lounge features barista service. According to the sign, you can also order it on your app so it’s ready without you having to wait.

While I am not sure how many people order from the app, it’s a nice idea. The barista’s do good coffee and it doesn’t take them a minute to make it for you.

Eight More Pictures Of Food

All of the food is self-service and you collect your plate, get in line and work your way down. It is quite busy all the time so the food is always fresh solely due to the fact that it is hoovered up within minutes of being put out.

Plenty of options for every kind of passenger. Happily as it is self service you can take a little of everything and not always have a full plate. Who can eat that much?

Signs of Wear

Just like the worn out Qantas lounge in Auckland, this one is showing signs of wear and tear. When I visited the toilet, the bottom of the toilet door was missing which looked pretty terrible.

When washing my hands, I noticed the surround around the plug hole is worn away from being cleaned. Things like this really detract from the premium experience and it’s these little details that should always be attended to as quickly as possible.

Domestic Breakfast Another Day

A few days later I found myself in the lounge again, this time at breakfast. The menu is somewhat different and typical breakfast items are served instead.

Hot items are the bacon, scrambled eggs and baked beans which people were leaping all over. In addition there are pastries as well as breakfast cereal, fruit, many yoghurts in a procession and of course that barista coffee. Certainly no-one could complain about the offering and it is all very good quality food as Australian food tends to be. I just picked a couple of bits as I planned to have breakfast on board my flight.

Overall Thoughts

Hungry? The Qantas Domestic Business Lounge in Sydney has you covered. From snacks to full hot meals to healthy options there is something for everyone. The design of the lounge is far inferior to the much newer Qantas Domestic Business Lounge in Brisbane so it is high time for a refresh.

It is a shame there isn’t a second level to the lounge as it is very busy and everyone is generally on top of each other and the queues for the food are not for the faint hearted. Even so the lounge is a nice place to spend an hour or so before a flight and of course my Dad really enjoyed it.

Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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