Air New Zealand International Auckland Lounge
The Air New Zealand Auckland Lounge, International Terminal is called the Auckland Koru Club. It is a radical update at the airline's Kiwi hub, taking it's styling cues from an upmarket Auckland cocktail bar. Large light and bright, it has a large dining hall and some semi-outside space.
NEWS: Air New Zealand has unveiled its new flagship international lounge. Called the Koru Club, it is a radical update at the airline's Auckland hub. It takes styling cues from the already updated Air NZ Sydney lounge.
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Auckland Air New Zealand International lounge review
The brand new Air New Zealand Auckland business class lounge is a great change from the previous lounge, which almost dated back to old TEAL days, and which after 20 years was looking seriously dated.
The most impressive feature is the covered outdoor terrace area overlooking the runway which comes complete with a fireplace. It was built out from the airport's former observation deck. The ceiling can be open to the skies on Auckland's rare sunny days, and at the back of the lounge are three suspended chairs giving the lounge an almost 1960s atmosphere.
Here there is a living green wall is home to ten types of native New Zealand flora.
Facing the outside terrace are a rack of seven purple daybeds looking out over the runway. These a quiet zone where there are delicate string screens provide a subtle backdrop for relaxation.
To keep noisy children away from this area there is a separate children's room, and it is a very good one indeed. This area is separated by glass and heavily soundproofed, while also modelled on a split level tree house.
However most passengers will make straight for the bar, which again is a radical change from the old refrigerator in the corner of the old Koru Club. Instead, it is a fully tended bar, following the recent trend among many airline lounges.
There is a good selection of all the kiwi newspapers on the stand on the far side of the inner area statue, with lots of copies of the NZ Herald, and occasionally a Sydney Morning Herald. At the far end of the inner area (the old business centre) there is also a small cinema area, with a large wide screen TV.
There are no sleeping facilities in the Auckland Koru Club, however in a very Kiwi fashion there are day beds. There are two of them - right by the window, which means the light streams in.
To one side of the dining room is a TV room, with four rows of vast black leather armchairs which also have white side tables to place you Steinlager on.
The lounge was designed by architectural firm Gensler, which also worked with Air New Zealand on the Sydney and Los Angeles lounges.
Covering 21,000 square feet of space, the new lounge is significantly bigger than the previous one and is located in a different area, where over 350 people can be seated.
Bar
As you might expect, the bar does a great line in premium New Zealand wines, in particular the sparkling. There is also a great cocktail list, and Kiwi beers too, with Steinlager on draft, while Stella and Corona are in the fridge.
Beside the bar is an iPad, on which you can order barista-brewed coffee.
The beer fridge is a real delight, having a vast array of everything from DB Export Gold, to Steinlarger, Monteith's dark, and Becks. On the main part of the bar there is (in free pour bottles) Bacardi, Jim Beam, Coruma rum, Grants Whisky, and Bacardi, along with two red wines.
Food
There is also a vast dining room, which is a complete turn around from the old buffet area. With benches along the walls, and 2+2 seat on white tables, the whole area looks very smart.
Naturally, the dining room includes a 'food theatre' station where chefs will prepare food as you watch.
A separate self-serve buffet is more for 'food on the run' if you only have a few minutes before catching a plane, and includes sandwiches and salad, muffins, and a great Kiwi cheese plate.
Food has however gone downhill lately in the International Air New Zealand Auckland lounge, and isn't actually as good as in the domestic lounge (or even as good as in Sydney). The food changes 3 times a day, with the best selection at breakfast, when there are scones & clotted cream.
By lunchtime there are just a few olives, gherkins, a very bad hummus, some cheese (3 types, with edam in odd red squares sliced into slivers) cold beef, and a pretty good pate. Scones and cream make a brief reappearance at teatime, while in the evening there are hot dishes.
Business Facilities
There is a small business centre, but again following the lounge trend, there are no computers in here: it is a strictly bring your own device type area. However, all the workstations and indeed the large white table in the middle of the lounge has inbuilt power sockets (Australia/NZ type only) and USB power ports.There are also nearly 300 power sockets and USB power ports located throughout the lounge, although they can be hidden away: some are under the benches for example.
At the far end of the room there is a large desk with heaps of various types of mobile phone charger adaptors mounted on it - a nice free perk.
Bathrooms
There are bathrooms with OK showers in the lounge, and there is also a spa, however only genuine business class passengers with a long haul flight (not Tasman or Pacific islands) are permitted.
The Spa shuts in the middle of the day, and even when it's open, the options are basic: in effect you can get a massage, but that's it.
Access
The Auckland Koru Club doubles up as the generic Auckland Star Alliance lounge, and as such is used as everything from the Singapore Airlines Auckland Business Class Lounge to the Thai Airways Auckland Lounge.
Oddly, despite being a oneworld lounge, this is also the Cathay Pacific Auckland Lounge.
Access is given to Air New Zealand's business class passengers, Air New Zealand Koru Club members, Airpoints Elite and Gold members, Virgin Australia Gold members, and Star Alliance gold level members.
Video: Air New Zealand International Lounge
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Auckland Airport Guide
| Air New Zealand International Auckland Lounge | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rating |
Video walkthrough and Image gallery by Loungeindex.com
| |
| Pros | Great Bar Good airfield views Amazing food |
|
| Cons | Can feel rather sterile Hidden away from the terminal |
|
| Location | Airside, after security, up escaltor, right, to level 2 | |
| Terminal | Int | |
| Opening hours | 0430-2230 | |
| Cost | No Access | |
| Lounge for: | ||
| Other Airlines: | Singapore Airlines Auckland Lounge Cathay Pacific Auckland Lounge Thai Airways Auckland Lounge | |
| Access | Star Alliance: Air New Zealand Business Class, Koru Club | |