The Qantas International Business Lounge at Auckland has been in operation as it is now with minimal changes over the last 5 or more years (and probably longer).

There is definitely room for improvement, which Qantas has recognised, earmarking Auckland for a potential renovation in coming years – but with no confirmed timing as yet.

We recently re-visited the lounge and have added a few more pictures to this overview.

Qantas Auckland International Airport Business Lounge Details

Lounge Location

After passing through customs and security departure, you will walk through duty free shopping on the way to the departure gates. If you turn to the right while in the shopping plaza, you’ll see a sign directing you to the premium airport lounges.

The escalators that lead to the Qantas Business Lounge and Emirates Lounge on the second floor are located directly opposite the entrance to the privately-run Auckland Airport Emperor Lounge.

The Qantas-operated lounge is open seven days a week from 4am each day until the departure of the final Qantas or Emirates flight for the evening. The entrance to the Qantas First Lounge is here too.

Lounge Seating & Views

The lounge itself including the furniture is rather dated, however it is a reasonable size and located on an external second floor wall with large windows.

There are a number of seating areas, with a couple of quiet zones. The benefit of natural lighting from the windows helps make the lounge more appealing during the day.

There are a couple of magazine shelves, with the main one located just inside the lounge entrance also providing an updated departures board. Not an abundance of reading options, but reasonably stocked.

A cellphone and tablet charge station is located to the right end of the lounge. Convenient, however felt a little like something they had dragged in from one of the gates, and I would much prefer a USB point where I could use my own lead.

In a long hallway to the right of reception, a coat rack and storage shelves are provided for those wishing to offload some excess baggage.

For those needing to last-minute business facilities, a small room with a couple of PCs and printer is located off the same hallway directly opposite the coat rack.

The bathroom facilities were appealingly light and welcoming compared with the rest of the lounge, and obviously well-serviced. The inclusion of the Aurora Spa hand wash and cream, along with the fresh white cotton hand towels, was a nice touch.

Shower facilities along with bath towels provided are also available to all guest on request from the reception.

Food & Drink

Catering facilities are adequate without being impressive. A standard Kiwi buffet breakfast of sausages and scrambled eggs was available, and for lunch, wraps, crackers, cheese and other standard lunch snack fare.

The food looked edible but given that it was still early in the morning, it felt as though it had been sitting there for a while, which wasn’t really enticing me to partake.

For breakfast I opted for a toasted hot cross bun and coffee. Unfortunately, the hot cross bun was hard, and as this lounge doesn’t have a barista like found in the Qantas lounges in Australia, the coffee came from a machine and was pretty bad.

I definitely enjoyed the bench top freezer full of Kapiti single-serve ice cream tubs. While they did not make up for the poor food and I would not normally recommend ice cream for breakfast, it was an unexpected win.

Drinks facilities also provide some excellent selections. A good-sized self-serve fridge was well stocked with chilled soft drinks, local and imported beers, and a nice selection of white still and sparkling wines.

Fresh chilled water and juices are located to the left side of the fridge, with a selection of red wines available for self serve to the right.

While this lounge does also provide a small selection of spirits, these are not available for access before 11.30am.

Lounge Access Options

The lounge is managed and run by Qantas and, naturally, complimentary access is available for those passengers flying in Business or First Class with Qantas or its strategic airline partner Emirates.

Access is also available for those passengers flying Business Class with any of Qantas’ oneworld alliance partners such as LATAM to Sydney or Santiago and Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong.

Gold and Platinum elite status Qantas Frequent Flyer and Emirates Skyward members, along with associated oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members, are also entitled to complementary access when their next onward flight is in any cabin class on a oneworld-marketed and -operated flight.

The purchase of an annual Qantas Club membership also provides access to those passengers flying in Economy with Qantas, Emirates or Qantas’ subsidiary Jetstar.

While there are traditionally no day pass purchases available, Qantas has recently started running a trial providing one-off access for a set fee to a number of their Domestic and International lounges for lower-tier Qantas Frequent Flyer members.

Our Take – Auckland Qantas Business Lounge

While the Auckland Qantas Business Lounge is functional and conveniently-located, it is old and tired. Given that Auckland is Qantas’ most-frequented international destination, I wonder how it has been neglected for so long.

The drinks options and bathroom facilities are of a good standard and certainly provide what is needed for a couple of hours, however the food leaves a lot to be desired and the seating, both in style and setting feel more like an old RSL than a international airline business lounge.

Thankfully it seems that Qantas have been in discussions with Auckland Airport to renovate the lounge with the intention of creating one of their highly-regarded International lounges similar to their Singapore and Hong Kong International Premium lounges.

In the meantime, existing business and elite passengers on LATAM and American Airlines flights will have to put up with Grandad’s pad until the new lounge eventuates.

Qantas Business Class passengers and Qantas Frequent Flyer status holders can head next door to [the Emirates lounge](http://www.pointhacks.com.au/reviews/emirates-auckland-lounge-overview/ ‎) if they prefer – certainly the food is better although there’s less natural light, depending on the time of day, could be more crowded.

Check here for more information on the Qantas International Business Lounge and others, including access and guest qualifications.