New Qantas Heathrow lounge planned to coincide with direct Sydney flights

Heathrow will gain one of four new Qantas airport lounges as part of an A$100 investment.

The targeted opening date will align with the first ‘Project Sunrise’ flights direct from London to Sydney by the end of 2025.

The London hub will gain a First lounge as part of the airline’s single biggest investment in its network of airport facilities in more than a decade.

The First lounge is expected to feature direct access to boarding gates, views of the airfield and a focus on wellbeing.

It will operate alongside the current international lounge at the London hub, which will become a dedicated international business lounge.

Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said: “London is one of the most important destinations on our network and it’s the perfect location for a First lounge, especially with our direct Project Sunrise flights on the way.

“Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest airports so we’re very pleased to be working with them to secure a great space in the terminal for an additional lounge.”

The overall three-year phased project also includes the re-opening of an international lounge at Hong Kong airport and upgrades and expansion of business lounges at Sydney and Melbourne airports.

Joyce said a faster-than-expected recovery in travel demand meant the airline could accelerate investment in its lounge network.

“Being back in profit means we’re back to making long term investments for our customers. That started with the major aircraft order we announced last year and now we’re building on that with a major investment in our lounges,” he added.

“Millions of people a year visit our lounges and they are typically our frequent flyers who travel with us the most, so anything we do to improve them is a way of saying thank you to our most loyal customers.

“We have three new and upgraded lounge spaces due to open this year and the pipeline we’re announcing today will take us through to 2025.”