If you have been keeping track of the Qantas lounges at Changi Terminal 1 this year, you will know the schedule rarely sits still for long. Earlier this month I reported that the First Lounge had pushed its opening back to 4.30pm. Qantas has now revised the hours for both lounges again, and this round of changes is broader. The Qantas Singapore First Lounge now opens at 3.45pm daily, 45 minutes earlier than before, and Qantas has added a note on what happens when it fills up. The Qantas Singapore International Business Lounge now stays open until 1am every night, but its pre-dawn openings are gone, replaced by a short 8am to 10am session on three mornings a week.
Photo Credit: Qantas
Qantas Singapore First Lounge: now opens at 3.45pm
The First Lounge is now open daily from 3.45pm to 11pm, giving it seven and a quarter hours a day. That is 45 minutes more than the 4.30pm opening from earlier this month, though still 15 minutes short of the 3.30pm start it had in August. Qantas has also published a note on capacity. If the First Lounge is temporarily full during peak travel periods, eligible guests will be welcomed into a dedicated premium area within the Business Lounge until space becomes available. Reading between the lines, the evening peak around the Qantas departures to Australia and London is clearly busy. If a sit-down dinner in the First Lounge matters to you, arriving in the late afternoon rather than closer to boarding is the safer bet.
Qantas Singapore Business Lounge: open until 1am
Every evening session now runs to 1am, 45 minutes later than the previous 12.15am close. The trade-off comes at both ends of the day: most afternoon sessions start at 2.30pm rather than 2pm, and the long 3.20am to 10.15am mornings are no more.
| Day | Morning | Afternoon to late night |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | No early session | 10.40am to 1am |
| Tuesday | 8am to 10am | 2.30pm to 1am |
| Wednesday | No morning session | 2.30pm to 1am |
| Thursday | No early session | 10.40am to 1am |
| Friday | 8am to 10am | 2.30pm to 1am |
| Saturday | No morning session | 2.30pm to 1am |
| Sunday | 8am to 10am | 2.30pm to 1am |
What this means for oneworld flyers at Changi
The biggest losers are early risers. With the 3.20am openings gone, anyone on a departure before about 9am now has little or no time in a Qantas lounge, whichever day they fly. For those of us on the morning KUL run with Malaysia Airlines, the 8am to 10am window on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays is now the one to plan around. Wednesday and Saturday mornings have no Qantas lounge at all.
At the other end of the day, the 1am close is good news for anyone on a late-night oneworld departure, with an extra 45 minutes in the Business Lounge. If you are eligible for the First Lounge but arrive early, start in the Business Lounge (open from 2.30pm most days, and from 10.40am on Mondays and Thursdays) and walk over once the First Lounge opens at 3.45pm. The two lounges sit at opposite ends of Terminal 1, with the Business Lounge towards the C gates and the First Lounge towards the D gates, so allow a few minutes for the walk.
This is a more substantial reshuffle than the tweak earlier in the month. Night owls gain 45 minutes in the Business Lounge and First Lounge guests get back most of their afternoon, but early risers lose the pre-dawn openings that made the Business Lounge so useful for the first wave of morning departures. The new capacity note is also worth keeping in mind at peak times.
Just weeks after the last change, Qantas has reshuffled its Singapore lounge hours again: an earlier First Lounge opening, a 1am Business Lounge close and no more pre-dawn mornings.