Qantas Chairman's Lounges are currently open in Sydney,Brisbane,Perth,Canberra and Adelaide. The Melbourne lounge is closed for the time being. Chairman's Lounges might identify themselves by a cryptic"Private Lounge"sign or else by no signage at all. If you don't know where it is,the suggestion is,you really don't belong. All Chairman's Lounges are found at the domestic terminals. At airports where domestic and international terminals are far apart,such as Perth and Sydney,Chairman's Lounge members flying international will have to slum it in Qantas'first-class lounge.
While you need to flash your boarding pass to prove you're on board the big red roo to get into any other Qantas lounge,a Chairman's Lounge member can get into their private domain regardless of which airline they're flying. Their black membership card alone opens the door.
What's inside?
It's red carpet all the way for members inside a Chairman's Lounge. They're hushed,there's heaps of space to work,private suites for taking phone calls or meetings and capacious showers with fluffy towels and bathrobes. There's a buffet table but also an a la carte menu. Alcohol is available any time of the day.
The staff ratio is high,service is more personal than you'd find even in most first-class lounges and those inside are cosseted like members of a dazzling and exotic species. At Brisbane's Chairman's Lounge which overlooks the tarmac,sound-dampening glass insulates those within from the hubbub of airside activities. There are no boarding calls. When your time comes,a Chairman's Host will advise you it's time to depart.
All the lounges are different,and in the case of Sydney – what were they thinking? Past the black-and-grey foyer is a series of waist-high partitions in high-gloss kiwi-fruit green. Furnishings consist largely of hippo-sized armchairs in caramel and lime. It's jangly,bizarre and anything but calming. Melbourne Airport's Chairman's Lounge features a Mondrian-style grid filled with Fruit Loop-coloured panes. Brisbane,most recent addition to Qantas'Chairman's Lounges,has a less grating tobacco and vanilla colour scheme.
Status anxiety
For those who sense their position in life entitles them to admission to Qantas'Chairman's Lounges,finding the gilded gates barred can come as a cruel blow.
According to her Australian Senate statement of registerable interests,last updated on May 14,2020,Senator Jacqui Lambie is not a member of Qantas'Chairman's Lounge. On March 25,2021,Senator Lambie launched an expletive-rich tirade against Qantas staff who denied her admission to the lounge. Despite an act of contrition including a fulsome retraction and a fervent apology to the Qantas staff,Senator Lambie's tirade earned her a six-month ban from all Qantas flights.
Membership of the Chairman's Lounge is for two years,renewed at Qantas'pleasure. When Qantas refused to renew his membership in 2019,broadcaster Philip Adams was said to be miffed. Especially so since it was Mr Adams in his adman days who coined the phrase'the spirit of Australia',widely used as Qantas'mantra. For those who have risen high,the axe of relevance deprivation falls swift and hard.