It’s an exciting time for Air New Zealand. The carrier has recently introduced a new business class, which is being retrofitted on existing Boeing 787s. On top of that, the airline is upping its lounge game, though it’ll require some patience.
Air New Zealand Lounge Auckland getting a makeover
Currently Air New Zealand has a single international lounge at its Auckland Airport (AKL) hub. The Koru Lounge is pretty good quality (with great coffee!), though does get very busy during peak periods. That’s why it’s exciting to note that the airline plans to significantly expand the footprint of this lounge, as it will be nearly doubling.
The lounge is currently around 2,000 square meters (21,500 square feet), and the footprint will be increasing by approximately 1,700 square meters (18,500 square feet), for a total size of 3,700 square meters (40,000 square feet).
Not only will the lounge be larger, but it’ll have an all-new concept. Once the expansion is complete, it will have a new “Elite” section, exclusively for Air New Zealand’s Business Premier customers, along with members of Air New Zealand’s Airpoints Elite tier. Meanwhile Star Alliance Gold members and Airpoints Gold members will be invited to use the standard part of the lounge, which all travelers use nowadays.
It’s not yet clear if premium cabin passengers on Star Alliance partner airlines will have access to the Elite space or not, as I imagine those details are still being ironed out. The Elite section will be located inside the entrance to the lounge and to the left, while the rest of the lounge will be located to the right.
The lounge will also get a full makeover, with the new interiors celebrating “the beautiful sights and textures of Aotearoa, brought to life through colours, materials, furnishings, and carefully curated lighting and art.”
Both lounge spaces will feature fit-for-purpose spaces to suit travelers’ needs, including improved business areas, comfortable areas to relax, a dedicated family area, a barista bar, and more. The new Elite section of the lounge will feature an elevated experience, with more space, an expanded food and beverage offering, and views across the apron and runway. It remains to be seen how “expanded” that food and beverage offering is. Could we see a la carte dining, or is that a step too far?
The concept of creating a “lounge within a lounge,” or of creating multiple tiers of lounge access, is nothing new. Just look at United, for example — there are United Polaris Lounges for eligible business class passengers, and United Clubs for others. United is hardly along with that, though. Carriers like Air Canada and Singapore Airlines also have separate facilities for select premium travelers.
Here’s what Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran had to say about the updated lounge concept:
“We’ve designed our new lounges around what our customers told us matters most – more space, more seating, and the ability to choose how they spend their time. Across both lounges, total seating capacity will increase by 70 per cent, providing a significant boost in comfort and capacity for international travellers passing through Auckland.”
“We know our customers value having spaces that are suited to their travel needs, whether that be a quiet business area that allows focus, room for families to play before jumping onboard a flight or a social space to enjoy a coffee before departure.”
Timeline for Air New Zealand’s lounge changes
When can travelers look forward to this new lounge setup? Construction is expected to start in early 2026, and will take place in two phases. The current lounge will remain open with reduced capacity while work is completed on the new lounge space.
Once the new lounge is open, the current lounge will be redeveloped, and it’s expected to open by late 2027. Of course it’s important to emphasize that airport projects rarely run on time, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see this slip further. By the time the new lounge setup is complete, Air New Zealand should have retrofitted its entire Boeing 787 fleet with the latest business class.
The airline is still deciding how to handle lounge access while the work is ongoing. Several months ago, the airline sent a survey to its most valuable customers, asking what people would prefer for lounge access while the work is being performed:
As you may have noticed, our Auckland International Lounge has been experiencing periods of high demand so we’re going to be undertaking extensive construction work to improve our lounge and make your experience with us even better in the future. It’ll mean a lot of disruption, but we know you’ll think it’s worth it, and will be making sure you still have access to a dedicated space before you fly while construction is taking place. We’d like to know if you’d prefer an option to stay within our current lounge space while construction is happening next door, or whether you’d prefer to prepare for your flight somewhere free of construction activity.
Bottom line
Air New Zealand is planning major changes to its international lounge in Auckland. Starting in early 2026, the lounge is expected to undergo a significant expansion, which will take until the end of 2027 to complete. With this, we’ll see the lounge capacity nearly doubled, and on top of that, we’ll see the lounge get an all-new design, which should feel quite elevated compared to the current setup.
While the new lounge should be great when it finally opens, expect that it’ll be quite unpleasant until late 2027, when all of this work is done.
What do you make of Air New Zealand’s Auckland lounge plans?
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