Qantas has completed a major upgrade of its domestic lounges at Melbourne Airport, providing customers with more seats, an Asian spice bar and premium designs inspired by Melbourne’s landscape.

The new Domestic Business Lounge and Qantas Club have been completely redesigned to use space more effectively, offering seats for nearly 900 customers. More than 130 additional customers can be accommodated – 40 percent more in the Business Lounge and 10 percent more in the Qantas Club.

Following a 12-month redevelopment, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce officially opened the new domestic lounges at Melbourne Airport today.

Mr Joyce said the multi-million dollar investment was a vote of confidence in Melbourne’s future.

“Melbourne is one of the busiest ports in our network, and with the demand for premium travel on the rise, it’s the right time to be investing in bigger and better lounges,” Mr Joyce said.

“Our Frequent Flyers tell us that starting their journey in a comfortable and premium lounge is important to them, which is why they were front of mind when we embarked on this redesign. Given it’s Melbourne, serving quality local food, wine and barista coffee is obviously a priority.”

Key features of the new lounges include:

• Designed by Woods Bagot, the natural timber and colour palette of turquoise and grey in the Qantas Club is inspired by the Great Ocean Road, while the dark tones and sophisticated finishes in the Business Lounge symbolise Melbourne’s dining culture and supper clubs.
• Following the popularity of feature dining offerings in Perth (gourmet pizzas) and Brisbane (Mexican cantina), the Melbourne Domestic Business Lounge offers a spice bar serving freshly made Asian dishes including noodle soups, char siu pork and Sichuan eggplant.
• Both lounges offer all-day barista coffee, a bar serving Australian wine and beer, seasonal dining, business facilities including Wi-Fi and printing, an increased number of device-charging access points and a service experience by Accor.

Qantas operates 53 lounges worldwide. In the past five years, Qantas has built, upgraded or refreshed 85 per cent of its lounge network.

Last week Qantas announced a multi-million dollar investment in a new First Lounge and an expansion of its existing Business Lounge at Singapore Changi Airport. This is in addition to the upgrades to the airline’s lounges in Tokyo, Auckland, Sydney, Brisbane, Hobart and Tamworth.

The Melbourne Qantas Club is open to Qantas Club members, Gold Qantas Frequent Flyers and above, and those with equivalent oneworld tier benefits, while the Business Lounge is open to customers travelling in the Business cabin, Platinum Frequent Flyers and above, and equivalent oneworld members.

Qantas operates up to 750 domestic and regional flights from Melbourne every week.