Qantas’ top-tier frequent flyers will have access to Air New Zealand’s network of domestic lounges when flying with Air New Zealand from 28 October 2018 as the partnership between the Aussie and Kiwi carriers kicks into gear.

Card-carrying Qantas Gold, Platinum Platinum One and of course elite Chairman’s Lounge members will be able to visit any domestic Air New Zealand lounge before their flight – provided of course they’re booked on the Qantas codeshare version of that flight, which will carry a QF8xxx flight number.

They'll also have guesting rights to bring in one fellow traveller booked on the same flight (and earn Qantas frequent flyer points and status credits in the range of 800-1200 points and 10-20 status credits depending on their ticket.)

However, Qantas Club members are not included in the AirNZ lounge access deal.

This mirrors the reciprocal arrangements for Air New Zealand’s Airpoints frequent flyers, which sees Elite and Gold members booked on a codeshare flight with Qantas enjoying access to Qantas Club lounges in Australia's capital cities and regional centres.

Air New Zealand's lounges at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland will remain off-limits to Qantas Frequent Flyers because the QF/NZ hookup applies only to the domestic network of each airline, not trans-Tasman and other international services. 

Read more: How the Qantas, Air New Zealand alliance will take on Virgin Australia