Qantas expands Brisbane Premium Lounge Entry

With travel demand booming, Qantas’ Premium Lounge Entry facility in Brisbane is kicking into a new gear. Now with a second security screening channel available at peak times, premium travellers will have even more time to enjoy the lounge. Or before very early morning flights, perhaps a wink more sleep.

First debuted back in 2016, Premium Lounge Entry was always designed with a second security lane in mind. But with the cost of each baggage X-ray tipping into the six figures, only one was installed at first. As it turns out, that second screening channel makes a real difference at peak hour.

Qantas’ Brisbane Premium Lounge Entry’s second path

With travellers now well and truly back in the skies, Qantas’ Brisbane Premium Lounge Entry facility had become a victim of its own success.

At Brisbane Airport’s busiest times – typically early mornings on Mondays and Tuesdays – it was common to find the queue snaking well out the Premium Lounge Entry door. After joining that line, travellers could typically expect to wait at least half an hour before setting foot in the lounge.

But that was before. With the second baggage X-ray up and running, I set my stopwatch to see just how much faster things are now. While the line did still begin outside the Qantas Premium Lounge Entry doors, it now moves much faster. In fact, I was through to the lounge in under 20 minutes – on a morning that was the busiest I’ve ever seen at Brisbane Airport.

To be more precise, it took just a few minutes to get through the doors and reach the podium (hi Rummy, always great to see you here!). Once I’d scanned in, I was enjoying the Qantas Business Lounge just 15 minutes later. Not bad, when the queue at the airport’s general security channel was snaking back to the far end of the check-in hall.

That gave me time to grab a quick takeaway coffee from the lounge, with my flight called for boarding just as I’d put the lid on my latte. Clockwork.

Who can use Qantas’ Brisbane Premium Lounge Entry?

Qantas Premium Lounge Entry welcomes a wide range of high-tiered travellers here in Brisbane. It’s one of the reasons we’ve been calling on Qantas to install this second screening lane since April 2022. But it’s great to see that it’s finally here.

Whether by cabin class, frequent flyer status or paid membership, there are many ways to qualify for Premium Lounge Entry. Here’s who makes the cut.

• Passengers flying Business with Qantas and QantasLink.
• Qantas Gold, Platinum, Platinum One and Chairman’s Lounge frequent flyers.
• Other oneworld Sapphire and Emerald cardholders.
• Equivalent Gold and Platinum members of Qantas’ other partner airlines, such as Emirates.
• Qantas Club members.

Eligible guests of the travellers above also have access to Qantas Premium Lounge Entry. Most flyers on the list above are able to bring one complimentary guest into the lounge, and that guest doesn’t need to be travelling. For Qantas Platinum members and above, the allowance is two complimentary guests.

Premium Lounge Entry also provides access to all three Qantas domestic lounges in Brisbane. This includes the Qantas Club, Qantas Business Lounge and the invitation-only Qantas Chairman’s Lounge.

Summing up

With airport queues often lengthy even in the ‘priority’ lanes, it’s great to see Qantas Premium Lounge Entry reach its full potential in Brisbane. Getting through the formalities faster means a little extra time for a bite to eat in the lounge. It also helps take the stress out of the airport experience, knowing that you’ll make your flight even if it’s boarding soon.

It’s fantastic to see that the coffee counter at the top of Premium Lounge Entry is back open as well. That helps tackle one of the other pain points for lounge guests – the morning coffee lines. To that end, Qantas is also back using the Skip app in its Brisbane lounges, allowing travellers to place their coffee order without lining up.

It sure is a great time to be a Brisbane-based flyer!

Also read: Qantas London First Lounge part of $100m lounge upgrade plan

Feature image courtesy of Qantas.