QF CBR Dom J Lounge
 

Was in the QF CBR Dom J Lounge from about lunch time onwards until early evening before my CBR-ADL flight. This is one really outstanding domestic J lounge. Wonder whether it is part of the new lounge enhancements after the Christmas closure or whether it has always been like this. The lounge staff were all very enthusiatic, going around offering to help fetch drinks from the bar or items from the buffet. From late afternoon onwards when they changed the lunch hot offering to the dinner offering, there was in addition to the usual salad and self-made toasted sandwich buffet - a manned taco station and Caesar salad station where someone will do up the taco and the salad according to your selection. There were also additional 2 plates of the day.
The lounge was really, really empty and it only picked up slightly towards late afternoon but not at all crowded.
I did pop briefly to look at the Qantas Club next door. The QF Club has nice views of the runway, the J Lounge unfortunately faces the pick-up/drop off ramp and the car-park landside.
CBR airport seems to be equipped with convertible international gates.

They are phase 3 of the airport. They aren't ready yet. (Phase 1 was gates 9-14, Phase 2 was gates 3-8 and the new screening checkpoint. During phase 2 construction, the checkpoint was to the right of the QF check in area leading to what is now the air side QF customer service desk)
I think the international area of CBR will be similar to the domestic area at NRT T2. I only hope they won't have space to install body scanners at what will end up at the international screening checkpoint.

That sounds new. Then again, I've only ever been in there early morning or evening.

The lounge has always been the best J lounge on the domestic network since the renovations a few years ago!

The staff have always been great and the food well stocked even right up until close when there is less than 5 people in the lounge.

The toasted sandwhich machine is new in all J lounge as is the Taco station and Caesar salad station.

These are "enhancements" since the Sofitel take over of the lounges

The toasted sandwich machine in MEL j is a PITA. People slowly assemble the sandwiches in front of the serving area before moving back up the line to the toaster. The line up waits and waits and waits for old slow coach to delicately put bread, ham, cheese, bread together .....

( and yes, I was waiting and getting very hungry and very irritable )

Last Wednesday in SYD witnessed a bit of a staff pow / wow going on and thought that given QF had pulled from HBA there may be a bit of union action going on.

15 minutes (2 toasted sangas) later the congregation broke up to smiles and all leaving with a David Jones wrapped gift. From there 5 star restaurant service (of, 5* in a 2* restaurant) ensued.

I was impressed by the cultural change short lived as it would have been.

It reminded me of the CX HKG lounges so I was pretty happy.

I am not a fan of the sandwich toasters, but I get it is an "enhancement" for the self loading cargo to do more of the self loading of their stomachs, though I can understand toasing your hamd and cheese sanga would be nice, but I don't want to be that slow poke trying to get it all together and figure it out without burning myself :) I've found a general downguage in the offerings in the past year or so, though the soups do tend to be the hilight and a marvelous chicken lunch dish BNE put on in December.

The CBR J lounge is, I agree, the best in the network. I don't know how full it gets during peak periods for civil servant types and the like, but whenever I've been it has been very nice indeed. One one minor disappointment is the relative small area at the bar. When I was there back on Boxing day there was obviously much interest in the cricket going on, but it's quite narrow area where the bar is with just a couple of tables facing the TV area. Of course you can always take your drink to another part of the lounge, but I did want to stay close by to watch the game and enjoy a coldie. :)

speaking of catering, whatever happened to the idea of the woodfired pizzas and the like that QF introduced for about 5 minutes when the J lounges first opened? huh? enhanced well away!! :D

5 minutes was about the maximum the edible centre of those pizzas used to last before being snaffled leaving just the dry outer ring ...

That's right, IIRC you missed the pizzas at a recent FT AGM because you failed the essential Boy Scout motto "be prepared (and run when you smell pizza)" :D

Status on BA - points to QF
 

I was there last night - and I've got to say, it really is top notch!

There are some images on loungeindex.com : which really show this.

One real surprise though was that I was initially denied entry with a BA Gold Card, while I had a QF FF number on my BC (already got Gold again on BAEC, so now banking points to QF).

I was eventually let in but was told that from Feb the status on your boarding card must be on the boarding card, and you can no longer gain entry to the Canberra lounges with status on one carrier if that card is not on the booking.

Seems wrong to me - is this a Canberra thing?

I've occasionally had to teach the lounge dragon (the one manning the entry most saturday mornings certainly qualifies for that epithet) on exactly how lounge entry eligibility works, so it could just be a "local" issue specific to the certain subset of the staff.

I guess they're trying to catch out people who fall in status, but it doesn't make sense because if your status on the card is current, say expires Jul 14, then what does it matter what number/status is in your booking or on the boarding pass? If you have a valid (non expired) card, even from a partner carrier, then I don't see how they could deny access.

Seems strange.

Of course I've seen all kinds of people try things at lounges. the funniest I saw recently was the UA F lounge at LAX I was checking in, and some folks came up "Is this the priority pass club?"

I've never been stopped entering the CBR lounge. I just walk past the desk showing my Platinum card and a QF branded boarding pass.

The status thing apparently is an issue with the EK tie up.

More here:

Totally concur.

Had the same problem myself in CBR yesterday. They were insistent on changing the FF number on the card. When I dug my heels in the lounge dragon went off to consult a manual and finally said 'Well, it only says EK here, so just this once I'll let you in with BA card...' as if it was a massive favour! Tsk!

But yes, entering on an EK card on a QF earn is now a thing of the past - rules have changed. Not that QF have told anyone about it!

Well it does make more sense that the partner airline pays for the access and yeah I bet QF loses out big time - way more EK pax would use QF lounges than QF using EK, even at DXB I'd wager.

Ouch $170 for a bit of time in a lounge like that? wow.