Review: Qantas’ Perth International Transit Lounge (featuring an outdoor terrace!)

This is our review of the Qantas International Transit Lounge at Perth International Airport.

It marks the end of the first batch of reports from my recent Australia trip – basically the London to Perth element. The second batch of articles, covering my flight home from Sydney via Singapore on Qantas, will appear in September.

The key article from this first batch – my review of business class on the non-stop 17 hour Heathrow to Perth Qantas flight – is here.

With three non-stop Qantas services to Europe, Perth International Airport has found itself on the map as one of Australia’s premier gateways, attracting travellers who might never have visited Western Australia on their journey to Sydney, Melbourne or elsewhere.

Flights are popular and often full, with prices higher than Qantas’ one-stop options via Singapore. Higher prices also mean more demanding passengers, so a few years ago Qantas built an international transit lounge to accommodate not just those flying from Perth but also those transiting onwards.

Because Qantas also sells the Boeing 787 connecting flights from Perth to Sydney as domestic flights, it is perfectly possible to find yourself – as I did – in the International Transit Lounge as a domestic passenger and enjoy an upgraded experience over the usual domestic lounges.

To do so, you need to be on one of the Boeing 787-operated connecting flights. This is either:

• QF6 from Perth to Sydney
• QF34 from Perth to Sydney

QF10, the non-stop flight from London, used to continue onwards to Melbourne but that was changed about a year ago.

Using the Qantas Perth Transit Lounge as a domestic passenger

Because the above flights are technically international connecting flights, they depart from the international terminal and you’ll be treated as an international passenger. It is a bit of a strange process, although kudos for Qantas and Perth International Airport for making it work!

Check in in Perth is in Terminal 4, at the normal Priority / business class check in desk where you are given a special sticker on your boarding pass indicating you are a domestic passenger. This is required to clear immigration in Sydney as a domestic traveller and not an international arrival, so don’t throw your boarding pass away!

You head through security at Terminal 3 (where they have the new scanners) before heading up to the escalators and following the signs to ‘International Departures’. The door to this is meant to open 3h before departure but in my case opened just under two hours prior.

Once open, your boarding pass is checked for the sticker and you have to go through security again, this time with the old scanners (so you have to unpack laptops, tablets and liquids from your bag).

Finally, you’ll be in the international departures section and can head straight to the Qantas Transit Lounge – if it’s open. Officially, it’s meant to open three hours before departure but in reality it depends, much to the chagrin of a fellow passenger who had clearly been waiting some time.

I had to wait five minutes for it to open after clearing second security and was one of the first passengers in. Meanwhile, anyone transiting from Rome or Paris to Sydney can head straight to the lounge when their flight lands.

Inside the Qantas Perth International Transit Lounge

The lounge is relatively new, having opened in 2018 ahead of the launch of the non-stop London-Perth flights. Like its other lounges, it has been designed in collaboration with Australian designer David Caon.

The quality and overall amenities of the Qantas Perth Transit lounge are much higher than you’d expect in domestic lounges because it is considered an ‘international’ lounge.

Whilst Qantas’ Perth to Europe flights don’t feature First Class cabins, the lounge is a joint lounge for business class passengers and those with oneworld Emerald and acts as a bit of a hybrid.

It is one level below departures, with access via a staircase or lift. Most of the lounge is given over to a range of seating with capacity for 141 passengers:

and

Gentle spa-style music was playing throughout, including iconic Brian Eno piece An Ending (Ascent). It really was very relaxing!

On the far left and close to the buffet you’ll find a dining area with tables:

This was formerly a wellbeing studio with guided yoga, but I think it is probably more useful as a dining space – I’m not sure how many people are ready to do yoga without a change of clothes.

Although the lounge is below the departures level, at the back of the lounge you’ll find an open-air terrace. This has a clever louvre system that shuts when it rains, as it did during my visit (the first real rain Perth has experienced in months, I was told). Normally, these would be tilted open and you’d be able to see the sky!

There are 15 shower suites which feature light therapy panels you can turn on to activate a bright light and help you adjust to the time difference.

The design has clearly been inspired by the phenomenal Singapore lounge First Class showers thanks to the hole cutout, but these are not quite as luxurious. There is no marble and no artificial skylight, one of my favourite features of the Singapore lounge.

Toiletries are from LaGaia Unedited, Qantas’ First Class partner.

If you want to freshen up without a full shower then there’s also an area set up to wash your face with a four-step skincare regime in partnership with LaGaia Unedited:

Bar and dining in the Qantas Perth International Transit Lounge

A staffed bar is available on one side of the lounge, cleverly serving both the ‘indoor’ section and outdoor terrace.

Part of the bar had been set up as a hydration station with four different infused waters. There was also an ice bucket featuring other hydrating drinks such as organic coconut water, which gets a big thumbs up from me!

I wish more airlines stocked coconut water:

Also on the outdoor terrace is a BBQ with a couple of a la carte options made to order including a mushroom or bacon and egg breakfast sandwich:

More food is available from the buffet, including chicken sausages, baked beans, scrambled eggs and grilled mushroom for hot food and yoghurt, muesli, fruit and pastries for cold:

To my surprise there was also a panini grill as well as a juicing machine, both of which were popular with guests:

Conclusion

Perth International Airport may not have been designed with the oddities of a connecting flights in mind, but Qantas has done an excellent job in creating a seamless experience for customers both connecting through and starting their journey here.

As a hybrid lounge for both business class passengers and oneworld Emerald cardholders, the Perth International Transit lounge is a notable upgrade over its business offerings but not quite as good as its Singapore or Sydney First Class lounges. This is perfectly acceptable, of course, given the lack of First Class cabins on the 787s plying Qantas’ European routes from Perth.

Given the space’s limitations, Qantas has done well with the Perth International Transit lounge. Whilst there are no windows, the inclusion of an outdoor, open-air terrace is a boon (at least, on one of the 364 days of the year it’s not raining!) whilst the Refresh station and former Wellbeing Room are genuinely innovative, even if not always successful.

You can find out more about the Perth International Transit lounge on the Qantas website here.