| THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT To be fair to Qantas, this is an impressive temporary setup, with showers and good barista coffee. However, it's still not a great space for an international hub business class lounge. I also imagine that it gets really busy in the mornings | 3.5 |
In March 2026, I flew from Sydney to Auckland in Qantas’ trans-Tasman business class. Qantas’ trans-Tasman flights are international flights that share a departures area with all other international flights, so passengers have access to the airline’s flagship lounges. Here’s the catch – the Qantas business class lounge in Sydney is under renovation, and is slated to open in 2027. (I reviewed their old business class lounge in 2018, and it was unremarkable.)
When Qantas closed their business class lounge for renovation in late 2025, they converted a staff training room into a temporary business class lounge. I’ve gotta say – this is an impressive transformation of a non-purpose made space, and the lounge was better than I was expecting. However, this is still quite disappointing for a hub lounge, and furthermore I imagine the lounge could get super crowded over peak hours.
While Qantas business class passengers also have access to the Emirates lounge (if it’s open – I’ll be reviewing this down the line), the airline’s lounge game at their biggest hub isn’t particularly strong, at least until their new flagship business class lounge opens in 2027. That’s surprising as it contrasts their excellent outstation lounges, such as in Hong Kong and London.
Qantas Temporary International Business Class Lounge Access and Opening Hours
The Qantas temporary international business class lounge is open from 5 AM until 10 PM, covering all Oneworld departures (the last departure out of Sydney is often Cathay Pacific’s redeye to Hong Kong). Access is open to the following international passengers:
- Oneworld first and business class passengers (first class passengers can also use the spectacular, non-makeshift Qantas First Class lounge)
- Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members travelling on a Oneworld flight number (Emerald members can access the first class lounge)
- Emirates business class passengers
- Jetstar Business Max passengers
- Emirates Platinum or Gold members on a Qantas or Emirates flight
- Qantas Platinum One, Platinum, or Gold members on a Qantas, Oneworld, Emirates, Jetstar, or China Eastern flight (i.e. standard entry requirements + partners – but you can’t be on an Emirates flight in economy with non-Qantas frequent flyer status, for example)
- Qantas Club members on a Qantas, Emirates, or Jetstar flight
- Qantas Club Annual Guest Card and Flexible members on a Qantas or Jetstar flight
You can find the full list of entry requirements here.
If you’re travelling domestically you won’t be able to access this lounge, as you won’t be departing from this terminal.
Qantas Temporary Business Class Lounge Location
The Qantas temporary business class lounge is located by gate 24. As you’d expect for a makeshift lounge, there’s virtually zero signage to this lounge. So just follow the signs to gate 24, and you’ll see signage to the lounge once you’re outside it (alternatively follow signs to the Plaza Premium lounge, which is across the hallway).
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Entrance
Head in the sliding door, and after your boarding pass is scanned, head down the escalator into the lounge.
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Entrance
Qantas Temporary Business Class Lounge Seating and Atmosphere
For a repurposed former crew room, I thought that this was a well-appointed, well-lit space. That’s not to say that this is a great hub lounge by any means, though it wasn’t terrible.
The lounge is a large, partitioned room, with natural light coming from one of the ends of the lounge. Once you’ll walk in, you’ll find some restaurant-style table seating with wooden chairs, as well as some high-top seating. This is where the food spread is located.
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Seating
Then further in you’ll find some armchairs. Qantas definitely tried to spruce up the area with some succulents, though it’s still a bit of a drab space, with not much seating variety.
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Seating
The armchair theme continues to a long and thin rear extension of the lounge. For an airline with impeccable design, you’d think that they had some non-drab upholstery handy, as the beige and black tones were a bit boring to me.
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Seating
Then there was some miscellaneous high-top seating, as well as some other armchairs.
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Seating
The lounge didn’t feature a ton of natural light, due to where it was placed. Despite this, there were still some good tarmac views, including of this Qantas 737 pulling in.
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Tarmac Views
WiFi was very fast, measuring 96.3 Mbps down and 135 Mbps up.
So yeah, the lounge is surprisingly decent for a repurposed space, though still read more like a contract lounge than a hub business class lounge for a major airline. It’s also my understanding that 5 PM is not a peak time for Qantas departures – the lounge can get a lot busier in the early mornings, as the airport banks flights to Asia and trans-Tasman at this hour.
Fortunately we know that this arrangement is temporary, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the airline can come up with in 2027. We know that the lounge will be “inspired by Australia’s landscape”, feature 30% more seating, and also have an outdoor terrace area, which I’m looking forward to learning more about.
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Sydney Food and Beverage
The Qantas lounge featured a basic food spread, though the food looked tasty. Hot options included soup, rice, and a couple of stews.
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Food Spread
Then there was a salad bar, as well as various picky bits.
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Food Spread
There was also a bakery section, as well as some sweets.
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Food Spread
In terms of drinks, I was glad to see that there was a barista coffee stall, run by Vittoria Coffee (the coffee was very good, though frustratingly I forgot to take a picture of the coffee itself). I’m glad Qantas still serves barista coffee here, as most of the lounges that I visited (including the otherwise depressing Plaza Premium lounge) served barista coffee at Sydney Airport. It was good to get a last taste of Australian coffee before flying out!
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Coffee
I was also pleased to see some Australian wines here. However, given that some of Qantas’ outstation lounges feature a fully tended bar, I would’ve wished this was the case here. At least there was a good variety of wine, and it’s my understanding that the new business class lounge will feature a tended bar.
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Drinks and Wine
Meanwhile, on the other end of the lounge, you’ll find a coffee machine (not recommended), fruit, and other snacks.
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Drinks
I’m a little confused by the food and beverage options at this Qantas lounge. On one hand, we know that the new Qantas lounge will feature a refreshed food and beverage menu, as well as a tended bar.
On the other hand, I feel like Qantas has historically, and continues to invest significantly more in their food and beverage offering at outstation lounges, compared to Qantas’ own Sydney lounge. Even their old lounge at Sydney Airport didn’t have a great food and beverage offering. Perhaps it’s because Qantas provides a worse food offering in business class lounges when there’s a separate section for first class (e.g. I know that Qantas’ business class lounge in Singapore doesn’t feature as extensive of a food selection, since there’s a separate first class section).
Australia’s cuisine has so much local flair, and I’d want Qantas to showcase that at their hub business class lounge. Once the new lounge opens, I’d hope to see some sort of made-to-order option at the very least. The Emirates business class lounge had a much better food and beverage selection for me (despite the lack of barista coffee).
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Sydney Showers
In terms of other facilities, Qantas’ temporary lounge has four shower suites. I suppose it’s quite impressive that they managed to set up shower suites at a makeshift facility, which presumably would’ve previously been for crew.
I used one of these shower suites, and it was decent with good ventilation, featuring Lit’ya amenities. My one observation would be that there wasn’t a door of any sort between the shower area and the rest of the room.
Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Shower Toiletries
Conclusion: Qantas’ Temporary Business Class Lounge Sydney
There are two angles I can review this lounge from. From the perspective that this is a temporary setup, I guess that this is a lot better than I was expecting – it feels like a lounge with a decent amount of capacity, there are showers, and it’s a quiet space with good WiFi.
However, of course this facility isn’t great for a hub lounge. Although the Emirates lounge (which Qantas passengers also have access to) isn’t much better from a facilities standpoint, it features better catering and is often much quieter overall, so I’d consider heading there instead of it was open. As a Oneworld passenger you won’t be able to use the Emirates lounge, and there also aren’t other Oneworld business class lounges at Sydney Airport – which is a bit of a bummer.
This is especially disappointing as the lounge serves as an anomaly in Qantas’ lounge network. If you’ve experienced a Qantas outstation lounge in London, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, or Singapore, or even at one of Qantas’ other Australian hubs, you’re bound to be a little disappointed when passing through here. At the same time, those who are visiting this lounge as their first Qantas lounge experience may think that Qantas’ overall lounge game is subpar, and miss out on one of the better outstation lounges during their future travels. While I understand the space limitations, perhaps the lounge could’ve invested more in their food and beverage offering, which also screamed mediocre here.
The Qantas first class lounge deserves the hype it gets, though if you don’t have access, don’t be fooled by its halo effect when coming to this lounge. Combining with the fact that Sydney Airport is very easy to transit through, I’d minimise the time I spend at the airport before my flight. Fortunately we’re expecting this to change in 2027, with the opening of their new business class lounge.
What do you think of Qantas’ lounge game at Sydney Airport?
