British Airways have switched lounges for passengers departing from Sydney, Australia. The oneworld alliance carrier is no longer sending first class or business class flyers to the Qantas facilities.

Instead, eligible passengers are being directed to The House. This is the former Etihad Airways lounge, operated now by No1 Traveller, who also operate other facilities around the world.

The Switch To The House

Business class passengers should benefit most, as The House offers a la carte dining. Featuring dishes such as soup, burgers, pasta and more, it should promises an elevated experience over the Qantas International Business Class lounge.

Those travelling in First Class or holding a oneworld Emerald card may want to consider the alternative. The highly regarded Qantas International First lounge in Sydney is consistently rated among the best in the world.


Frequent flyers will know that even though you may be specifically invited to one lounge, those with status can use their card to access other alliance lounges if they are available.

For example, people flying from Heathrow Terminal 3 on BA often choose to access the Cathay Pacific business class lounge instead. Those with the highest status choose to access the very well regarded Cathay Pacific First Class lounge.

Overall Thoughts

British Airways are investing in the customer experience, which leads me to believe they think The House is a better proposition than that offered by Qantas. Indeed, the Qantas lounges in Sydney have been the same for quite a number of years.

That being said, Qantas expect to open a newly refurbished International Business lounge at the end of 2019. Perhaps this is a temporary measure until the facility is complete. Time will tell.

Have you visited The House in Sydney? What do you think of this switch by BA? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Masakatsu Ukon via Wikimedia Commons.