Qantas, Cathay Pacific and British Airways Open New LAX Business Lounge

The lounge's contemporary design reflects Californian culture combined with signature elements from each airline, featuring a communal fireplace to relax and socialize around and a central glass atrium providing natural light and space.

The lounge offers customers menus influenced by California's many cultures, a new dining area, a cocktail bar serving signature cocktails and premium wines, and a barista service. Customers can also enjoy an enhanced buffet, faster WiFi, new workstations and nine shower suites with Aurora Spa amenities.

From today the lounge will accommodate 400 customers. Upon completion of all phases in early 2015, it will offer seating for 600 customers. This combined with the new world-class Qantas First Lounge, will be more than double the size of the former space.

Qantas Senior Executive Vice President The Americas and Pacific, Vanessa Hudson, said the new Los Angeles Business Lounge significantly enhances the international pre-flight experience.

“The multi-million dollar lounge offers a new standard of luxury for oneworld customers traveling from Los Angeles,” said Ms. Hudson. "We have invested heavily in the U.S. in recent years and the new Los Angeles Business Lounge delivers on our promise to keep evolving our product to ensure we provide the best travel experience possible on the ground and in the air."

“The ambience of the lounge, combined with the contemporary and premium design, has been created to provide a place for our customers to relax, work or socialize pre-flight," she continued.

“The lounge provides Qantas customers with a wider selection of dining options, so they can maximize their sleep on board our overnight flights to Australia.”

Renowned Qantas Chef Neil Perry has designed the new menus based on signature Qantas Lounge favorites, with influences of California's many cultures including Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Korean and U.S. West Coast street food.

Californian food carts similar to the pop-up dining concept offer freshly prepared dishes such as crumbed cod tacos with red cabbage slaw and lime chipotle mayo and Asian-spiced chicken wings. Customers can also enjoy a variety of hot and cold dishes from an enhanced buffet.

Qantas has partnered with Sofitel to offer a new service experience for the first time in Los Angeles, consistent with the service standards across its Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Singapore lounges. The service includes a hosted experience for customers traveling in First, Platinum Frequent Flyers and oneworld Emerald members with exclusive services including shirt pressing, shoe shining and priority access to showers.

Upon completion, the Business Lounge will also include seven additional shower suites bringing the total to 16, a Family Zone and a dedicated dining area. Customers in the dining area will be offered a daily plate choice with matching premium wine or beer and be able to enjoy Qantas signature dishes from an additional buffet area.

A new world class Qantas First Lounge accommodating over 200 customers will open in Los Angeles in line with the completion of the Los Angeles Business Lounge. While the new Qantas First Lounge refurbishment is in progress, Qantas, Cathay Pacific and British Airways First and premium tier Frequent Flyers will use the new Los Angeles Business Lounge.

Tom Owen, Senior Vice President, Americas for Cathay Pacific said: “Cathay Pacific travelers are accustomed to a premium lounge experience due to our renowned airport lounges in Hong Kong and around the world, and the new Los Angeles business lounge certainly delivers on this expectation.

“Our major investment in the Los Angeles business lounge is a reflection of the importance of this market to us and we are pleased to join with fellow oneworld carriers Qantas and British Airways in welcoming our customers inside.”

Steve Clark, Head of North America, Asia Pacific Customer Service and Operations for British Airways' said: “This new lounge facility reflects British Airways' commitment to delivering customer service excellence both in the air and on the ground. We now operate a double daily A380 between Los Angeles and London Heathrow and our customers will surely benefit from the investment in the lounge.”

Qantas is the only carrier to operate A380 services between the U.S. and Australia. Qantas operates double daily A380 services from Los Angeles to Sydney and Melbourne, a daily B747 (refreshed with A380-style interiors) service from Los Angeles to Brisbane, a daily B747 New York to Sydney service and will introduce direct A380 services between Sydney and Dallas/Fort Worth from September. Qantas celebrates its 60th year flying across the Pacific this year.

Cathay Pacific Airways flies four times daily from Los Angeles to Hong Kong and beyond, including over 22 destinations in Mainland China. Cathay also offers daily flights from Chicago – increasing to 10 flights per week on August 2, 2014 – four times daily from New York (JFK), daily from Newark Liberty, double daily from San Francisco and Vancouver, 10 flights per week from Toronto; and cargo flights to 15 cities across the Americas.

British Airways, part of International Airlines Group, is one of the world's leading global premium airlines and the largest international carrier in the U.K. The carrier has its home base at London Heathrow, the world's busiest international airport and flies to more than 70 different countries. British Airways carries almost 40 million customers a year and has a fleet of more than 280 aircraft. It operates twice daily A380 services from Los Angeles to London Heathrow's Terminal 5.