Back in September last year we reported on the unfortunate permanent closure of two Oneworld lounges at Hong Kong International Airport due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Qantas permanently shuttering its dedicated lounge and Cathay Pacific trimming its offering by removing The Deck Business Class from its range of offerings.
Now it seems there’s been a change of heart from the Australian-based carrier at least, which has been directing its lounge-eligible guests departing from Hong Kong to the Cathay Pacific and Plaza Premium lounges for the last couple of years.
Qantas Hong Kong lounge to reopen
In an exclusive reveal by Executive Traveller, it turns out the popular Qantas Hong Kong lounge will indeed make a comeback after all, with an official reopening announcement slated for Wednesday 15th February 2023.
It’s not clear at this stage what the proposed reopening date for the lounge will be, with a redesign on the cards, since much of the original furniture was apparently relocated to Australia after the initial closure!
The Qantas Hong Kong Lounge
The Qantas Hong Kong Lounge is nestled near Cathay’s recently reopened The Deck Business Class lounge on the far right side as you pass through security screening, one level above the departure concourse.
When Hong Kong International Airport first opened in 1998, this space was the British Airways lounge, and indeed since changing hands in 2014 BA also directed its lounge-eligible passengers to the Qantas facility, prior to COVID-19.
Even though they were all eligible to use Cathay Pacific’s lounges, most people are unaware or just do as they are told, so the lounge would remain reasonably busy until BA’s two London flights took off around midnight each evening, even though the final Qantas departure was at around 8pm.
The lounge was also used by Business Class passengers departing from Hong Kong on Finnair, Air France and KLM.
BBQ Char Sui Pork was the specialty here, though I have to say I never actually tried it – Qantas does great buffet salads in its lounges and I always made a beeline for those whenever I visited!
Qantas already reopened its other overseas lounges in London and Los Angeles, as the airline returned to international flights once COVID-19 border restrictions eased.
Here in Singapore, there was a reopening for the Qantas Business Class lounge in December 2021, followed by the carrier’s excellent First Class Lounge at Changi in June 2022.
Summary
It was such a shame to hear about the permanent closure of the Qantas Hong Kong lounge during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it’s great to read this scoop from Executive Traveller that the facility will be saved after all.
We’re expecting a formal announcement of this on 15th February, which is also slated to include plans by the airline to make a long-awaited upgrade to its home-base Sydney Business Class lounge.
It will also be very interesting to see how many of the airline’s latest design features like those seen in the Singapore First Lounge make their way to Hong Kong, given that a ‘refreshed look’ is on the cards.
The return of the Qantas lounge in Hong Kong will provide a great alternative option to the Cathay Pacific lounges for eligible travellers, and we’ll be happy to visit ourselves once again as soon as we can.
(Cover Photo: Sumu Design)