October 19, 2017
Qantas expects to cut the ribbon to its new London Heathrow airport lounge in November, giving travellers on the Flying Kangaroo their first dedicated Qantas lounge at the busy UK hub.
“We'll be opening London in the next few weeks,” Qantas Head of Customer Product and Service Phil Capps told
Australian Business Traveller on the sidelines of Qantas’ delivery event in Seattle for its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
“The build is nearing the end of its completion, we’re getting daily updates from the builders and from the London team” Capps said of the long-delayed project, which has seen its open date repeatedly pushed back from March to mid-year and most recently October.
At Heathrow, one of those plays is the tended bar on the lounge’s upper level, which the airline will promote as
a gin bar
"The concept of a gin and tonic is very iconic in the UK, and we have some fantastic artisan distilleries in Australia,” Capps explains. “so we think we can both respect the local market while also bringing a unique sense of Australia into the lounge.”
This cheeky coals-to-Newcastle approach will showcase some of Australia’s unique gins to the UK market, headlined of course by
boutique Victorian gin Four Pillars.
Qantas opening new London Heathrow T3 first business class lounge - Australian Business Traveller