ANALYSIS, San Francisco, USA — Airline Qantas recently announced that internationally in the new airbus A380, first-class passengers will have their own suite and their will be a new dedicated business class domestic lounge areas in Sydney, Melbourne & Canberra for super-premium frequent flyers.

Now Qantas lounges are already among the best in the World, and better than any single American lounge I have been in both internationally or domestically.

They have included at no charge food, wine, decent range of drinks, magazines, free wireless, plenty of work cubicles, leather sofas, big-screen TVs, espresso coffee and are generally big enough to hold a convention in!

Only some European / Arab / Asian lounges come close to Qantas.

The Qantas First International lounges are world class innovation as I posted last week.

Airport comfort an innovation

Comfort and amenity lead to inspiration of ideas, as well as easy implementation.

This is important because in the emerging global workplace, so much work for high-level executives and knowledge workers in global firms occur outside the workplace.

I would say 50% of my working life is outside the office. I haven’t been in the office for 10 days, and won’t be for 3 more.  Personally I have a large heritage-style office, but I still get my best ideas travelling.

The airport lounge is one of the extensions of the modern office.

Often I get my best ideas in that other extension of the modern office: hotels.

Hotels like the Palace SF, the Bristol Vienna, the Excelsior Rome and the Prince De Galles Paris.

Even though I did not enjoy the swish LanesBorough in London, I still got some pretty good inspiration from the environment there on some days.

At current I am partial to Pied Piper bar and the Garden Court where I am staying right now.

Ideal Ariport lounge

The ideal Airport lounge has areas for implementation: business desks, new magazines, wireless internet, lots of space, and even better plenty of power-points.

Inspiring meeting areas are a bonus, as it can be easier for organizations to fly everyone to the airport for a quick meeting, thus also making easy implementation.

Leaving the office, or worse the open-plan cubicle (only good for collaboration-heavy jobs) can given high-level managers the time to think. And many GMs or C-Suite can’t think in environments where they are continually interrupted, like many modern offices.

New: domestic Business lounges

If a designer gets the balance right, it can create a great environment to work and play. Qantas have a good job so far, but ideally segmenting those who want to work (and related values) from those who want to play (holiday-ers) makes life easier for both. I am not sure of the segmentation, but segmentation works.

Those travelling on business will finally have a place free of distractions, even more so than the excellent Qantas Club, and 2thinknow current thinking posits that community tends to form when people have like-minded goals or social strata.

Similar goals, with a degree of variance creates, an environment where people can be comfortable talking to each other. Communities form in comfort of shared goals, just as friends form in a close team work environment, or at a shared game of football, chess or Doom… (I’m kind of retro so I like Pac-man)

And personally a great food offering (like in the new International first lounges) , expanded drinks and more peace & quiet will make it easier for me to work on implementation and inspiration.

I should like to point out that due to the massive size of the Australian continent and it’s distance from anywhere, Australians fly a lot. It’s 23 hours approx to London!

More on Qantas new Domestic Lounges

New First Cabins in Airbus A380

I am assuming Qantas will do something similar in the Boeing Dreamliners.

That Qantas is catching up to it’s competitors is great news. As a frequent Qantas flyer, a first-class suite (and I don’t always fly First, OK?) will give a real reason for the premium from business, in addition to the brilliant Wine and Port selection.

Personally, I like the fact two people will be able to eat together.

See the Qantas A380 tour for more information

Why Qantas is Innovating here

Qantas is giving me room to move, a peaceful environment and stimuli I control (magazines, entertainment, food, computer workspace). And I know my phone won’t ring. So I can just relax and let my mind percolate the solution to problems (inspiration) or work (implementation).

That’s an innovation.

Why aren’t US airlines ‘up-to-scratch’?

At first glance a confluence of factors, in short: Bail-outs, bankruptcies and cheap-tickets. Raise the prices, stop cutting costs and bring back comfort. Re-position as premium.
Other modes of transport will then become more efficient for bulk carriage like Europe, but that is analysis for another day. Trends in this area have started in UK & Germany.

Take care, flying back late on Wednesday, so I’ll report after!

Christopher