First look: Qantas Broome Regional Lounge

The essence of Western Australia’s vibrant Kimberley region flows through every corner of the all-new Qantas Broome Regional Lounge. It’s a template that will be seen more widely across Qantas’ future lounge renovations, explains Angus Lui, the airline’s Product Design and Development manager.

‘There’s beautiful greenery in the Broome region – it’s important we get those splashes of colours,’ he says as we tour the space ahead of its official opening. With plenty of natural light bouncing off pastel-blue couches and ochre-red marble tabletops, the lounge is easily the best spot to chill at Broome Airport.

Capturing the Dampier Peninsula

Located in a new extension at Broome International Airport, the new Qantas lounge offers seating for up to 100 guests; a marked improvement in capacity over the older space. As always, the lounge welcomes Business Class passengers, Qantas Club members and elite frequent flyers with Qantas Gold status or higher.

Our first impressions of this space are positive: it’s warm and inviting. The lounge is divided into different zones for relaxing, snacking and working. A new addition here are the solo working pods towards the back, which we’re told will gradually be introduced to other Qantas lounges.

With most of Broome Airport’s terminal exposed to the sweltering 35°C heat outside, the air conditioning here provides a welcome relief. But we’ve found it can be too cool at times, so you might want to sit closer to the windows, which provide clear apron views.

Like other Qantas regional lounges, the food and beverages here consist of self-serve ambient options. Help yourself to a cuppa from the coffee machine (a new addition) or soft drinks from the fridge. The bar opens from midday and includes single-serve bottles of red and white wine and beers.

Light nibbles include cookies, cheese and crackers, muesli bars and crisps. For anything more substantial, you’ll need to BYO. Toilets and showers are located outside the lounge, just to the side of the entrance.

Wi-Fi is available throughout with speeds averaging around 5 Mbps for downloads and uploads – not lightning fast, but usable. Most seats have access to AC power plugs along with USB-A and USB-C outlets.

What’s next for Qantas’ regional network?

Coffs Harbour, Tamworth, Mackay, Emerald and Gladstone are amongst the next in line to receive the same treatment as Broome as part of the regional lounge refresh program. But there’s no update yet on renovating Qantas’ older capital city spaces, such as Sydney’s domestic and international lounges.

QantasLink CEO Rachel Yangoyan says the refresh of seven Qantas lounges is a long-term investment into the future of regional flying.

‘Delivering a great experience across the whole travel journey is important which is why we’re upgrading and refreshing seven of our regional lounges over the next 12 months with a multimillion-dollar investment.’

‘We are investing for the long-term future of regional flying in this country with more than 40 newer aircraft joining the QantasLink fleet over the next few years. These new aircraft offer a better customer experience and allow us to maximise regional connectivity, while improving in-flight service,’ she said.

Photography and words by Brandon Loo, who attended the opening as a guest of Qantas. All opinions are his own.