Qantas just recently opened their First Lounge at Changi Airport, which adds some much needed lounge capacity for oneworld (and particularly Qantas) at Changi, given how overcrowded lounges here get.
This is Qantas’ fourth “true” First Lounge in the world, after their lounges in Sydney, Melbourne, and Los Angeles.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore Review
Let’s get right into the review of the Qantas First Lounge, including the location, hours, access requirements, layout, amenities, dining, and service.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore Location
The Qantas First Lounge is located in Changi Terminal 1. It’s in the central part of the terminal, and if you’re originating in Singapore, just clear immigration and then turn left.
Changi Airport Terminal 1
You’ll then see the escalators leading up to the lounge.
Changi Airport Terminal 1
At the top of the escalator, the Qantas First Lounge will be immediately ahead and to the right.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore signage
The lounge has a sleek exterior, and is tough to miss.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore exterior
Qantas First Lounge Singapore Hours
The Qantas First Lounge Singapore is open daily from 2:30PM until 11PM. Those are limited hours, but that’s because all of Qantas’ flights (including to Brisbane, London, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney) depart in the evenings.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore Access Requirements
The Qantas First Lounge is open to all oneworld first class passengers as well as oneworld Emerald members. There’s no need to be flying Qantas to use the lounge, as long as you’re departing on a oneworld airline.
Qantas fFirst Lounge Singapore reception
Do note that if you’re flying Cathay Pacific, they depart from Terminal 4, which is a bit of a pain to get to. If you want to use this lounge while flying Cathay Pacific you’ll want to clear security in Terminal 4, then take the bus to Terminal 2, and then take the train to Terminal 1.
You’ll have to do the same thing on the way back, so it’s a rather time consuming process. See this post for how much of a pain this ended up being for me.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore Layout & Seating
The Qantas First Lounge Changi is just over 1,000 square meters (10,700+ square feet), and has seating for 240 guests. The lounge is basically one long rectangular room.
The highlight of Qantas First Lounges is dining, and that’s certainly taken into account with the design of this lounge, because over half of the lounge is dedicated to that.
Qantas First Lounge Changi layout
Qantas First Lounge Changi layout
Just inside the entrance to the lounge was seating designed for relaxation rather than dining. There were a bunch of semi-private seats, as well as some couches.
Qantas First Lounge Changi seating
Qantas First Lounge Changi seating
Qantas First Lounge Changi seating
I’m not sure I buy into this, but they note that this area and the shower rooms have “skylights,” which you see in the below picture. These are supposed to replicate natural daylight to help travelers adjust their body clock prior to flying to London or Australia.
Personally I doubt sitting under one of those for 20 minutes will impact whether or not you have jetlag…
Qantas First Lounge Changi seating
Also in this area is a small business center with just two seats.
Qantas First Lounge Changi business center
Further into the lounge is more seating — I love the decor of the lounge.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore seating
Qantas First Lounge Singapore seating
Then there’s the huge dining area, which is broken up into two roughly equally sized spaces.
Qantas First Lounge Changi kitchen
You can see the first area below.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore dining area
To the side of the first dining area is the bar.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore bar
The two dining areas are separated by some high-top seating.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore dining area
Then there’s the next dining area, which has significantly more seating, as there are also tables towards the interior of the lounge.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore dining area
Qantas First Lounge Singapore dining area
Qantas First Lounge Singapore dining area
At the far end of the lounge is the kitchen, and you can dine there as well if you want.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore kitchen
Qantas First Lounge Singapore Showers
While the Qantas First Lounge doesn’t have a spa (unlike the Melbourne and Sydney lounges), it does have shower suites.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore shower rooms
These are some of the most gorgeous shower rooms I’ve seen in any airport lounge. Each had a sink, toilet, and a walk-in shower.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore shower room
Qantas First Lounge Singapore shower
Qantas First Lounge Singapore shower toiletries
As mentioned above, they also have skylights.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore shower room light simulation
Beyond the showers, the toilets were also all individual rooms, which I appreciate.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore toilet
Qantas First Lounge Singapore Dining
The Qantas First Lounge has incredible a la carte dining, with a menu designed by Neil Perry. The menu read as follows:
When I sat down I was welcomed by Eric, who would be taking care of me, and was offered marinated olives with orange zest as an amuse bouche, along with a towel.
Qantas First Lounge dining — olives & towel
I decided to sample my way through the menu and drink list a bit, all in the name of research of course. 😉
To start I had the Calamansi Mojito, followed by the Merlion Blush.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore cocktails
Qantas First Lounge Singapore cocktails
Then to eat I had the two most popular dishes — the salt & pepper squid, as well as the laksa with crayfish, rice noodles, bean sprouts, and egg.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore salt & pepper squid
Qantas First Lounge Singapore signature laksa
I then had a latte.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore latte
For dessert I couldn’t decide between coconut and mango sorbet with palm sugar syrup and toasted coconut flakes, and the torta di verona with blueberries and toasted almonds. Eric insisted I have both, so that’s exactly what I did.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore dessert
Qantas First Lounge Singapore dessert
I didn’t chime in on the food and drink quality up until now because it was truly flawless across the board. Every single thing was exceptional.
While the focus is on a la carte dining and the servers bringing you drinks, the lounge does also have some self serve drink stations. As you can see, they pour Taittinger champagne in the Qantas First Lounge.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore self serve drinks
There’s also a station with soft drinks, olives, fresh fruit, and some snack mix.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore snack station
Qantas First Lounge Singapore snack station
Qantas First Lounge Singapore snack station
Qantas First Lounge Singapore Service
What I haven’t mentioned until now is what probably makes this lounge the best — the people. I’ve never seen a lounge staffed by people who have such a passion for making sure everyone has a great experience.
I can’t state enough how good service in this lounge was, especially to the service at the LAX lounge, which is a mixed bag.
In fairness, the lounge has only been open for a few weeks, so I hope this enthusiasm doesn’t fade.
Qantas First Lounge Singapore Bottom Line
The Qantas First Lounge Singapore is phenomenal, and is such a nice addition to the oneworld network. The lounge has gorgeous decor, and exceptional staff and food.
What an absolute treat this lounge is. I definitely prefer this to the Qantas First Lounge Los Angeles.
This might be crazy, but I actually think I prefer this lounge to Singapore Airlines’ Private Room at Changi Airport, as I like the food and decor here more.
What do you make of the new Qantas First Lounge Changi?
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