Qantas business class flyers are getting a pre-departure upgrade — those flying in premium cabins out of SFO will now have access to the Cathay Pacific lounge, Qantas’ Oneworld partner. In the past, Qantas flyers could only visit the Air France-KLM lounge, which wasn’t known for being the fanciest international business class lounge.Qantas operates nonstop year-round flights from San Francisco (SFO) to both Sydney (SYD) and Melbourne (MEL).The Cathay Pacific lounge presents a bit of an upgrade to Air France’s offerings. Travelers will enjoy more food, seating and amenities including a noodle bar, shower suites and computer workstations.Entrance to Cathay’s lounge is permitted to those traveling in business class on Qantas, Qantas elites and Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire elites. Qantas Club members (the airline’s lounge membership program) will still have access to the Air France lounge.“While relatively compact, it’s nowhere near as crowded or cluttered as the Air France/KLM lounge, and also fares much better if you want to grab dinner ahead of your 10pm flight,” Australian Business Traveller writes about Cathay’s SFO space.Qantas launched four weekly Boeing 787 flights between San Francisco and Melbourne last September and flies one of its last nine Boeing 747s to Sydney. Being a member of the Oneworld alliance, you can book Qantas flights with American Airlines miles — one-way tickets from the US to Australia start at 40,000 miles in economy and 80,000 miles in business.Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Qantas 787-9 business class cabin.
