Qantas says it will invest millions in upgrading aircraft and the airport experience for travellers flying out of Brisbane.
The Flying Kangaroo revealed a multimillion dollar refurbishment plan that will see the airline’s First and Business Class Lounges in the International Terminal designed to create a single lounge experience.
The new lounge will increase the amount of space for customers to dine, work and relax.
A new lounge precinct will be constructed in a domestic terminal expansion, increasing capacity by 30 percent with the redesign of the existing Qantas Club and construction of a new Business Lounge and Chairmans Lounge.
Qantas recently completed upgrades to its LA lounge.
Upgraded lounges are just the beginning of changes because around half of airline’s Boeing 737 aircraft will also undergo refurbishments at the Brisbane maintenance facility. The other half will be done in Sydney to fast-track the program.
Changes onboard include the addition of personal seat back video on demand inflight entertainment and installation of wireless Q-Streaming entertainment.
Each of the 737 aircraft will also receive an extra row of economy seats made possible by the reconfiguration of the rear galley and lavatories.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the upgrade of the lounges as well as the refurbishment of the 737 fleet was part of the airline’s continued transformation.
“The 737 is the backbone of our domestic fleet and this refresh is part of our strategy to deliver the best experience for our customers, whether they’re in the air or on the ground.”
Alan Joyce, Qantas Group CEO
“Brisbane is a crucial hub providing connections between our major domestic routes and services into regional areas as well as international flights to Los Angeles, Singapore, Hong Kong and as of a few weeks ago, daily flights to Tokyo.”
Earlier, this week Qantas announced seasonal holiday flying with 48 return services between Brisbane and Christchurch and 36 return services between Brisbane and Wellington from 3 December 2015 to 22 February 2016.
Forward bookings for the recently launched daily service between Brisbane and Tokyo Narita are also very healthy helping drive inbound tourism to the city and south-east Queensland.
Work on all of the new lounge facilities begin at the end of the year and are scheduled for completion through 2016 and early 2017.
