Qantas Business Class – Brisbane to Melbourne – 12 December 2020 – flying Australian domestic business class during COVID-19

To be frank, I do not usual fly business class on my domestic and international trips. It’s money that could be better spent when I am holidaying. For those lucky enough to fly business class or who have accumulated enough frequent flyer points, then let me know tell you about domestic business class in Australia under our national carrier, Qantas.

I booked my flights using my Qantas frequent flyer points, but because they had no option to use frequent flyer points for the economy option and I wasn’t keen on spending a heap on a domestic flight, I opted to spend my frequent flyer points thinking that it’s better than letting the points expire, because who knows when international travel is coming back.

The first perk to flying business class is that you can visit the airport lounges. At Brisbane Domestic Airport, the Qantas Lounge is located near the food courts. Just head towards at gate 19 and you will see it. Inside, you are able to bring one guest with you and they will need to scan their boarding pass. The club lounge is separated between normal Qantas Club lounge and at the rear, the Qantas Business Lounge, which is fancy looking.

Due to COVID-19, some changes were made to the lounges, here is just a sample:

• guests can no longer use the shower facilities
• all buffet options have been removed and replaced with a server at the counter, i.e., you can’t pick up your own food
• hand sanitizers are everywhere around the lounge
• magazines are limited to just Qantas magazines
• no tacos could be made, which is unique at the Qantas Business Lounge

The Qantas Club Lounge is spacious. There is plenty of space to sit down and work. It seemed like a lot of the people in the lounge were working professionals on their laptops. The refreshments here were nice and simple. On offer to guests were some crispy spring rolls and refreshing noodle salad.

My friend and I headed to the Qantas Business Lounge in the rear, after realizing that we were entitled to enter the more glamorous lounge. The Qantas Business Lounge is even bigger, the sofas are nicer and the food and beverage options were superior to those offered in the Qantas Club Lounge. Guests were entitled to try the beef dish with crispy potatoes and pumpkin soup and bread, plus an assortment of breads, snacks and salads. (I felt out of place.)

On the flight, given I was on the evening flight, we were served lamb shanks and a garlic focaccia. There was a vegetarian option, but it didn’t sound that interesting. There was even a serving of red or white wine, but I opted to have a soft drink.

Throughout the flight, we had to wear masks on the plane and couldn’t take off except during meals. To my disappointment, I am told that economy passengers had a muesli bar instead of the usual hot meal. Also, all the in-flight screens had flight information, but none of them could stream movies or televisions shows. Hence, you had to bring your own entertainment onto the flight.

On the night, my plane was delayed to leave and I made it home pretty late. It’s just part of COVID-19, as things take a bit longer getting on and off flights.

Brisbane Airport is northeast of Brisbane’s CBD.

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