Qantas had the world’s best airport lounge, but things are changing

Which is the best airline lounge in the world? There used to be a quick and easy answer to the question: the Qantas First Class Lounge at Sydney Airport. Not any more. Cathay Pacific has just raised the bar with its new first-class lounge – The Wing – at its Hong Kong hub and is now neck and neck with the flying kangaroo.

The Hong Kong-based carrier turned to London design firm StudioIlse to create the most glamorous airport lounge in the world, finished with dark woods offset with green leather banquettes and pale green and pink marble.

Before boarding, the bar offers any cocktail you can think of, three different champagnes (including a 2016 Taittinger Millesime), a 2016 Chablis and a 2016 Bordeaux, plus dozens of malt whiskys. The menu is extensive… perhaps too extensive. A chef cannot be good at everything.

The showers (big enough for two) come with Bamford toiletries. The spa is whisper quiet and the best place in the airport for a pre-flight massage or facial. Once you’ve checked in, you will pray for a storm to roll in over the South China Sea so you can stay a little longer.

Cathay Pacific is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in spiffing up its lounges, not just in Hong Kong but in most major destinations. It will introduce its first ever dedicated lounge in New York later this year after the airline moves to JFK’s new Terminal 6.

But it’s not alone. Emirates, Delta, Qatar Airways, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, United and American Airlines are following Cathay’s lead. Each is competing to design a “lounge equivalent to a boutique hotel”, says Ashley Dowell, a specialist in airport lounges at architecture firm Gensler, who also works with British Airways.

What has sparked the new ground war? Oddly, it is a development 39,000 feet above Earth.

For almost 20 years, airlines, notably Emirates, have used the vast Airbus A380 to raise the bar higher than their competitors, by installing large suites, some with double beds, bars and showers. But that jet is in its dotage – most only have another 10-12 years of flying left. The Boeing 777X and Airbus A350-1000, which will replace the A380, do not have enough space for showers and large bars. So, airlines are trying to differentiate themselves with new perks on the ground to lure high-spending travellers.

Home comforts

Virgin Atlantic, which already operates the best lounge in Britain with its Clubhouse at Heathrow Terminal 3, has made it even better by introducing “The Royal Box” – an invitation-only private retreat – and a revamped Gallery mezzanine floor. There are new work pods and a pop-up spa, offering facials, massages and manicures. The dedicated Clubhouse at Los Angeles LAX is a vast improvement on the space Virgin used to share with other carriers and the New York JFK Clubhouse will be closed and completely refurbished next year.

British Airways, the original class-conscious airline which led the way on exclusive lounges with its Concorde Rooms at London’s Heathrow and New York’s JFK, is also refurbishing its lounges, starting in Miami and Dubai. The new colour palette is a world away from the dull tones of New York JFK’s confusingly named Soho and Chelsea lounges. The blues and reds that used to be BA’s signature are back. There’s white marble, too.

Some of the details are uniquely British: the cushion upholstery echoes that of seats on the London Underground. The biggest improvements are the loos and the showers, which are huge, jauntily tiled and come with a Dyson hairdryer.

Next up for refurbishment will be BA’s Newark lounge, which will have a more muscular, industrial style in keeping with its New Jersey location. San Francisco and Boston are also in for a refresh. All the lounges at Heathrow Terminal 5, BA’s hub, will be refurbished starting next year. The dated arrivals lounge will be first.

For those who want the ultimate lounge at Heathrow, look no further than The Windsor. The newly upgraded private wing has private rooms and bathrooms, food by British chef and restaurateur Jason Atherton and private security screening. A chauffeur in a BMW will drive you to the steps of your aircraft. You’ll need to pay a small fortune for access, however.

Only in America

For years, US airline lounges were little better than motorway service stations. But the new Delta One lounges at JFK, Los Angeles, Boston and Seattle have overtaken Virgin’s Clubhouses in the US.

At the 3700-square-metre flagship JFK lounge, there’s Missoni furniture and a restaurant with a drinks trolley. On a recent visit the waiter mixed my Martini next to my table. I enjoyed salmon sashimi, black cod in miso, and passion fruit soufflé for dinner. If you don’t have much time, there’s a buffet with fresh pizza from the stone-oven.

The Delta One spa offers complimentary massages and there are vast showers – although there can be long waits for both. If you have a few hundred dollars burning a hole in your pocket, staff will drive you across the tarmac to your aircraft, minutes before departure, in a Delta red Porsche SUV. Ask for Champagne. Not the drink… that’s the name of one of the chauffeurs.

A Gulf in class

Emirates has overtaken British Airways as the world’s favourite international airline. It carries more passengers more international kilometres than any other, and it promises upgrades to its lounges which critics say are not as snazzy as the cabins on its jets. From next year there will be baristas and mixologists, menus featuring “the best of local cuisine”, the airline promises, bread/pizza ovens, wireless charging everywhere, and new showers in its lounges in major hubs.

Etihad lounges at the new Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi are hard to beat. On a recent visit I entered via a private lobby and a lift took me up to the third floor where I relaxed in a day room with Giorgio Armani Casa furniture, a daybed and private bathroom. I sipped cocktails in the Constellation Bar, with views over the UAE flag carrier’s Airbus A380 superjumbos, before enjoying crab and lobster with Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque 2015 champagne in the restaurant.

Qatar Airways lounges at its Hamad International hub in Doha prioritise design and privacy. There are bedrooms with en-suite showers in the Al Safwa first-class lounge where you can get up to six hours’ sleep. Its new Al Mourjan Garden Lounge for business-class passengers is light and airy and never seems crowded – a key problem at many Gulf airport lounges. The airline will next year open a 1400-square-metre lounge at New York JFK’s new Terminal One – the airline’s first dedicated lounge in the US.

Best of the rest

Singapore Airlines offers the ultimate in exclusivity. There are business-class and first-class lounges at its Changi hub and, more indulgently, The Private Room for passengers travelling in Suites Class (the class above first class) and first class. The carrier has just launched a first-class concierge service that offers meet-and-greet services, ushers to speed you through security and to The Private Room, and buggy transportation to the gate.

In Air France’s La Premiere Salon at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, it’s all about the food. The menu is devised by Alain Ducasse and each course is paired with a rare grand cru vintage. In Lufthansa’s first-class lounges in Munich and Frankfurt you can enjoy a cigar after lunch or dinner in the fumoir. Turkish Airlines’ lounges at its Istanbul hub now offer everything from live cooking stations to online gaming.

Cathay may be leading on glamour but it could do better with its food. Qantas’s Neil Perry, the winner of the Icon Award at the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards 2024, is still the best chef employed by any airline on the ground and in the air. His salt and pepper squid, followed by the braised chipotle beef brisket, then coconut and mango sorbet for dessert, paired with Aussie wines, are hard to beat.

If Cathay can raise its food game at The Wing first class in Hong Kong, it will leap into first place. At least, that is, until Qantas opens new lounges for its new Project Sunrise non-stop service from London to Sydney next year. Stand by for a revamp of the Qantas lounge at Heathrow Terminal 3 and a new business-class lounge at Sydney.

The Telegraph, London