Qantas Club, Canberra

For a city with a population of less than half a million, Canberra’s Qantas Club lounge is rather impressive. This lounge could be right at home in larger cities like Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. But it sits here in the National Capital – quite often, serving travellers who’ve flown in from those other ports.

In parliamentary sitting weeks, the lounge can be abuzz, and you quickly understand the need for space. During quieter periods, the vast room available provides a peaceful place to get some work done or kick back until boarding. My visit coincides with one of the more serene weeks on the city’s schedule – a feeling that carries through into the lounge.

Location, layout and seating

Canberra’s Qantas Club resides after security and sits upstairs within the main Qantas lounge precinct. Curiously, the Qantas Club enjoys better views than the neighbouring Domestic Business Lounge. That’s because the Qantas Club occupies a larger footprint and faces towards the airfield. By comparison, the Business Lounge is on the opposite side, facing only an office block and the public roads. For plane spotters, the Qantas Club is definitely the lounge of choice.

The space is effectively divided into two sections – ‘light’ and ‘dark’. The seats nearer to reception sit in a slightly darker environment. Those towards the back of the lounge live in a much brighter environment, given the nearby windows, so take your pick.

There’s the usual spread of seating types to suit different needs and moods. You’ll find personal armchairs, larger sofas, power-equipped working benches and a more formal office-like ‘hot desk’ space.

That’s quite a nice working space.

The red is quite apt for a brand like Qantas.

These chairs are great for larger groups and families traveling together.

There are so many seats here – exactly what you hope to find when visiting during a sitting week.

I do appreciate the variety of seating choices throughout this space.

The red certainly does pop against the other, more muted tones.

Natural light fills the space – and yes, frequent flyers, that’s the ‘broccoli jet’ in the background.

Settle in and relax, or use the fast Wi-Fi to get things done.

I do wish more of the seats had power points nearby, but with so much choice, it’s not difficult to plug in.

As far as Qantas Clubs go, this is one of my favourites. Even though Qantas operates two higher-tier lounges at Canberra Airport, this doesn’t bring a sense of ‘bottom tier’. The space feels more than adequate for most needs – and the floor-to-ceiling windows are the envy of the Business Lounge next door. In fact, if I’ve arrived early for a flight, I’ll often spend some time in the Qantas Club even when eligible for the Business Lounge.

Food and beverage in Canberra’s Qantas Club

On the dining front, the Qantas Club in Canberra fairly reflects Qantas’ three-tier approach to lounges here. Unlike other locations, such as the Darwin Qantas Club – which is known for being more generous on the food front as the airport’s only Qantas lounge – Canberra’s Qantas Club is a little more simplistic.

I stop by towards the end of breakfast to find baked beans as the only hot option. In fact, the buffet is set up with two hot serving stations, but the beans occupy both dishes. The separate chilled buffet offers ingredients for lighter bites and toasted sandwiches. The options here expand slightly when the lounge transitions to the all-day menu.

Tasty salads make an appearance at lunch and carry through until dinner. I’m here during the day, although a hot option or two typically appear later in the afternoon. There are also delicious brownies ready and waiting. Still, as far as domestic lounges go, the fare here is rather light.

It’s latte hour.

Barista-made coffee is available throughout the day.

It would be good to see more variety for breakfast. Two dishes like this could serve two different options, at least.

Assemble a sandwich or a salad.

Alternatively, enjoy one of the salads already mixed for you.

Enjoy a brownie bite before your next flight. (Hey, that rhymes…)

I get the sense from the multiple ‘midday’ signs that people repeatedly ask for a drink before noon.

The beverage options are broader, beginning with all-day barista-made coffee. The other usual suspects of non-alcoholic persuasion are served throughout the day, with alcohol available from noon. Beer, wine, and generally entry-level spirits are all available.

Lounge amenities

In a world that’s increasingly going digital, it’s great to see some actual print titles available for reading in the Canberra Qantas Club. There are no newspapers available today, but there are a number of magazines stocked on the shelves.

There’s also a feature of this Qantas Club that isn’t replicated inside Canberra’s other Qantas lounges. That’s the Joey Club corner. This colourful space is perfect when travelling with kids. There’s a TV, chairs, games and furniture sized for the little ones. There’s even a child-sized desk with views over the airfield for the next generation of business travellers to get stuck into the day’s projects. Today, the project at hand might be colouring in. In 20 years, watch this space.

Actual print magazines and not just digital downloads – it’s great to see.

Joey Club is like a lounge within a lounge – but for kids.

I’d like to think that if it had existed at the time, I’d have enjoyed sitting here as a child.

Shower suites are shared between the Qantas Club and Business Lounge.

Before you ask, no, the layout of the lounges stops you from sneaking into the Business Lounge. Keep chasing those Status Credits…

Shower suites are available here in Canberra and are shared with the neighbouring Business Lounge. Ask at the Qantas Club reception desk for a towel pack and you’ll be pointed in the right direction. High-speed Wi-Fi is also available throughout Canberra’s Qantas lounge precinct. Today’s tests inside the Qantas Club show solid download speeds of 191Mbps and uploads of 269Mbps.

Accessing the Canberra Qantas Club

Of the three Qantas lounges in Canberra, the Qantas Club has the broadest guest list, given its entry-level positioning. Taking out travellers that qualify for one of Canberra’s higher-tier lounges, here’s a list of who would call the Canberra Qantas Club ‘home’.

• Courtesy of lounge membership or Qantas status when departing on Qantas, QantasLink or Jetstar or on a QF codeshare flight operated by Fiji Airways:
  • Qantas Gold (+1 guest).
  • Qantas Club (+1 guest).
  • Qantas Club Flexible (no adult guests).
• Single entry pass holders: Provided each year to Qantas Silver frequent flyers and with selected credit cards.
• Frequent flyers of partner airlines when departing on Qantas or QantasLink (not Jetstar):
  • oneworld Sapphire (+1 guest).
  • Emirates Skywards Gold (+1 guest).
  • Air New Zealand Gold and Elite (+1 guest, and must be on an NZ flight number).
  • China Eastern Miles Gold (+1 guest).
• Airline partner lounge membership when flying Qantas or QantasLink (not Jetstar):
  • Alaska Airlines Lounge (+2 guests).
  • American Airlines Admirals Club (+2 guests).

Again, higher-tiered travellers can technically access this lounge but would use the Qantas Domestic Business Lounge instead. Interestingly, Fiji Airways does not list Canberra as an eligible lounge for its Tabua Club members travelling on the airline’s flights to Nadi. Compared to the other ports, Canberra-Nadi is a new route, so this may change.

Summing up

Canberra’s Qantas Club is very well designed. I do think it’s one of the nicer Qantas Clubs in the airline’s domestic network. In fact, with those airside views, it’s sometimes a little more appealing than the Business Lounge next door when setting up to tackle some pre-flight work.

Wi-Fi is solid, showers are available, the other amenities are good – and all-day barista coffee is always appreciated in my book. But the food options are quite lacking, and more variety wouldn’t go astray. I understand that Qantas has to take a ‘good’, ‘better’, ‘best’ approach with the Qantas Club, Business Lounge and Chairman’s Lounge here to differentiate the offerings and service. But the range of options in the Qantas Club is closer to ‘okay’.

Mix in a few extra choices and a little more variety on the hot food front and we’ll be flying.

Also reviewed: QantasLink Airbus A220 Economy (Canberra – Melbourne)

All photography by Chris Chamberlin, who accessed the lounge courtesy of (earned) frequent flyer status while travelling at Point Hacks’ expense.