Qantas revamping Auckland lounge as it reports record profit

Qantas is revamping its lounge network, including this one in Perth. Photo / Supplied

Qantas will revamp its Auckland Airport lounge as part of a global upgrade of its lounge network.

The airline made the announcement after reporting a record profit and says the Qantas first and business lounges in Auckland will be redesigned into a single lounge, offering a premium design with spaces to work and relax, and a new dining experience.

It will be based on the format of Qantas' international lounges in London and Hong Kong, "regional inspiration'' from New Zealand will be incorporated throughout the design, food and wine. The airline this year also opened a new transit lounge in Perth.

The Auckland development is in the early stages and an update on a scheduled opening date as well as details of the design will be released soon. It will be within the current lounge footprint.

Group chief executive Alan Joyce said Auckland was an important part of the airline's international network and the investment in a new lounge was part of our commitment to providing customers with a better travel experience.

Today Qantas has unveiled a record underlying pre-tax profit of A$1.6 billion ($1.75b), up 14 per cent on the year before.

Australia's national carrier also announced bonuses of A$67 million for 27,000 mainly unionised staff who will be paid an average of $2500 each.

Its statutory pre-tax profit for the year to June 30 came in at A$1.4b, up 18 per cent on the prior 12 months.

That profit is 5 per cent higher than the last record earnings Qantas posted in 2016.

Net profit after tax rose 15 per cent to A$980m.

The airline's revenue came in at A$17.06b (up 6.2 per cent).

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the record profit "reflected a strong market as well as the benefits of ongoing work to improve the business".

"These numbers show a company that's delivering across the board.

"We're seeing healthy demand across key sectors matched with improving levels of capacity discipline, which is a positive sign for the year ahead.

"This record result comes despite higher oil prices.

"We're facing another increase to our fuel bill for FY19 and we're confident that we will substantially recover this through a range of capacity, revenue and cost efficiency measures, in addition to our hedging programme.''

Soon after the announcement shares fell 0.9 percent to A$6.66 on the ASX.

In June, the airline announced a deal with Air New Zealand where the airlines will code- share on domestic routes and look at other ways of co-operating such as developing alternative fuels.

The airline also bolstered its transtasman service with more flights using bigger planes as its commercial partner, Emirates, pulled off flying the Tasman from Auckland.

Qantas has more than 70 return flights per week from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Auckland, with a third of the services from Sydney serviced by Qantas' upgraded A330 aircraft.

During the past year, the airline took delivery of the first Dreamliners in its fleet and launched its Perth to London service, the first regular flight between Australia and Britain.

The marathon flight has been about 78 per cent full during its first few months, a figure the airline says meets its expectations.