During our recent trip to Australia, we had the opportunity to visit the Air New Zealand Lounge in Sydney before flying back to Singapore on Singapore Airlines’ Business Class.
Prior to visiting the Air New Zealand lounge, we visited its neighbouring SilverKris Lounge. Due to our business class ticket, we were able to visit both lounges before our flight because both airlines are part of Star Alliance.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to spend in the Air New Zealand lounge as our flight departs at 06:45 am and the lounge only opens at 06:00 am. Therefore, our impressions of the lounge are limited to the short amount of time we’ve got to spend in the lounge.
This is our full review of the Air New Zealand Sydney International Lounge.
General Information
The Air New Zealand Sydney International Lounge opens from 6:00 am to 9:30 pm daily. Officially, it opens 2.5 hours prior to Air New Zealand departures from the terminal.
How do I access the Air New Zealand Sydney International Lounge?
| Common Access Methods |
|---|
| Premium cabin (Business / First Class) passengers on Air New Zealand flights |
| Premium cabin (Business / First Class) passengers on Star Alliance flights |
| Airpoints Elite members on Star Alliance flights |
| Airpoints Gold, Elite Partner and Koru members on Star Alliance flights |
| Star Alliance Gold members on Star Alliance flights |
As we were flying on Singapore Airlines and taking Business Class, we were able to access the Air New Zealand lounge using our boarding passes.
Location
The Air New Zealand Lounge in Sydney is located in the International Terminal at Level 3.
Once you’ve cleared immigration, you can follow the overhead signs to where the airline lounges are located. The Air New Zealand lounge is on level 3, right beside the SilverKris Lounge by Singapore Airlines.
Environment
The Air New Zealand Lounge was spacious and huge. Once you’ve checked in at the counter, you’ll enter through a long stairway that leads to the main hall.
In the hall, you’ll see rows of dining tables and chairs. Since we visited at 6:00 am right when it just opened, the lounge was completely empty and we were the first in it.
As you head inwards, there’s a huge space with chairs that the airport runway. This is the perfect spot to rest in if you’re an AV geek who loves plane spotting.
Considering Air New Zealand operates approximately 11 to 13 daily flights from Sydney International Airport, the lounge’s generous seating capacity is a strategic design. We can imagine that the prime runway-view seats will fill up quickly during peak hours.
Food and Beverages
As we visited in the early morning, the lounge was primarily serving breakfast food.
There was a selection of international breakfast foods such as bacon, ham and pastries. There was also yoghurt and muesli for visitors looking for a healthier option. Even though there were a lot of stations, the overall selection was not great.
There was a separate section for properly cooked food, but there were just fried wedges, scrambled eggs and bacon. Unfortunately, as someone with an Asian palette, we preferred the Asian selection in the neighbouring SilverKris Lounge. Objectively, we felt that the food spread here in the Air NZ Lounge was more diverse if you don’t have any cuisine preferences.
Bathroom
There is an expansive set corridor filled with shower rooms in the Air NZ Lounge. When we visited when the lounge just opened, all the rooms were available and no reservations were necessary.
Individual shower rooms were spacious and had private toilets.
Antipodes, a popular New Zealand skincare brand, provides bathroom amenities in the shower rooms.
Final Thoughts
Air New Zealand Sydney International Lounge
Summary
Air New Zealand Sydney International Lounge is a great option to spend your pre-flight hours in if you have access to it.
We prefer it to its neighbouring Silverkris Lounge as the space is more expansive and there are more seats available. It’s also a lot quieter and peaceful which is a huge premium in a place like the airport.
When it comes to food, it’s decent but difficult to gauge as airport lounges generally scale down their breakfast options compared to other meals. Despite that, the food here is still better than the expensive food options provided in the airport’s public areas.
