Bigger, better Qantas lounge to be revealed today

Qantas’ new Karratha Airport lounge will be unveiled today by the national carrier’s WA regional manager Julian Barry.

Guests will be able to sit back to sweeping views across the runway, salt flats and spinifex plains from the first floor of the airport while enjoying complimentary beverages, high-speed WiFi and Foxtel.

The lounge will be open to business class customers, eligible frequent flyers, Qantas Club members and Oneworld members from tomorrow.

Sitting on the upper floor of the airport, it is about three times larger than existing facilities. A Qantas spokeswoman said the lounge had been designed with changing market conditions in mind.

She said Qantas expected demand for travel on the Karratha route to stabilise within the next 18 months.

In April a Federal Government report highlighted a slump in Karratha airport’s traffic, with passenger numbers in 2016 dropping 19.5 per cent compared to 2015.

City of Karratha Mayor Peter Long told Pilbara News the data in the report had been skewed by the removal of charter flight figures.

“Our figures, which are based on the actuals that airlines are charged, has seen a 10.6 per cent drop in passenger numbers when comparing January, 2016, to January, 2017,” he said.

The City is in talks with Singapore Airlines subsidiary SilkAir to run weekly flights between Karratha and Singapore.