Where is the Melbourne Regional Express Lounge Located?

Melbourne’s Regional Express Lounge is in Terminal 4 which is home of Jetstar and Regional Express Airlines flights can be found in a far corner of the terminal. After clearing security follow the signage until you reach an escalator that takes you downstairs towards gates 30-33 where you’ll find the lounge all the way done the far end. During quieter periods at the airport especially it is easy to loo overlook finding this lounge as flights may not be always departing from there.

Conveniently, terminals 3 and 4 are now connected airside at Melbourne Airport making it possible for Virgin customers to easily access the lounge should they be in possession of Priority Pass. Qantas passengers using Priority Pass will need to transfer through to T4 and clear security (relatively easily with new CT scanners installed at T3/4) but allow extra time nonetheless.

Keep in mind that REX’s Melbourne lounge operating hours whilst well suited to REX flights itself is not as exhaustive as the nearby Qantas and Virgin lounges and is only open between 7.30am and 9.30pm daily with the exception of Saturdays where it closes at 2.30pm.

Who Can Access the Melbourne Regional Express Lounge and When is it Open?

The REX lounge is unique in that it is not just open to just customers flying Regional Express but also to customers flying other airlines who are members of the Priority Pass and Lounge Key programs. Now is a great time to join Priority Pass which is particularly well suited to intermediate travelers with up to 50% discount on memberships available here.

To enter the lounge it is important to note that there is no dedicated reception, instead you must first present yourself to the REX Customer Service Counter who will then unlock access to the Lounge behind once they have verified your eligibility. Eligible passengers to the lounge include:

REX Customers flying Business Class (currently only offered on Boeing 737 services)

REX Lounge annual members

Paid Lounge access (between 9am and 2pm on Weekdays -$16,50 for REX Flex Dares or $33 on Saver Fares

Priority Pass Members

Lounge Key Members

Diners Club Cardholders

Lounge Design and Seating

REX’s Lounge in Melbourne is only a fraction of the size of the nearby Qantas and Virgin’s offerings but for a much smaller airline catering strongly to the regional market, the REX lounge is comfortable and thoughtfully laid out. It certainly didn’t have the hustle and bustle of the nearby Qantas and Virgin Lounges but still offers a good choice of seating arrangements from high back chairs to tub chairs with mini tables. The lounge itself for comparison’s sake is slightly smaller than the airline’s flagship lounge in Sydney.

As with many of the other lounges in Melbourne it does enjoy some albeit rather limited natural light although any views of the tarmac are not possible due to the high location of the windows well above a mainly brick wall. Frosted glass windows facing the terminal councourse do add a degree of privacy to the lounge although for better or worse obscure much of the view looking back into the terminal.

At the rear of the lounge there is a small food and beverage station and the amenities whilst the seating area is all in one open space. This was more than adequate seeming the rather limited passengers that were there at the time when we were visiting around 10am on a Saturday but with REX aggressively pushing to expand their jet network this lounge may become inadequately small in the future should there be a surge in passengers using it.

Food and Beverage

Self Service Food

REX’s Lounge in Melbourne does not have the most extensive food offerings but considering it is a lounge catering towards mainly short distance regional flights and can be accessed by Priority Club Members for no extra charge it is respectable nonetheless. Expect more packaged snacks and lite bites suited to the time of the day. As we visited at breakfast time cereal sachets were also available. During lunch expect mainly sandwiches and wraps as opposed to hot food. There is also pot noodles and cereal sachets ready to go. It is very much DIY with facilities available to help you prepare something to eat.

Self Service Drinks

Drinks are also very much self service in this lounge and you can treat yourself to soft drinks and the self service espresso machine at anytime. In addition there is a chilled filtered water machine available as well. The coffee machine made a reasonably ok coffee for what it is but it appeared several customers were encountering difficulty in using it.

A limited selection of alcoholic drinks including several beers and wines is available although it is not unlocked until 3pm. This seems a little disappointing considering Virgin and Qantas’s domestic lounges allow this from midday.

Service and Staff

Service and Staffing is rather limited in this lounge with no dedicated reception as it is handled by the REX Customer Service Counter immediately outside the Lounge. Initially myself and a fellow passenger were left wandering for about 5 minutes with no sign of anyone at the service desk or in front of the lounge to check us in. As it appeared the staff had to juggle balancing servicing the lounge and checking in passengers I could understand the slight delay although perhaps having reception at the lounge would solve this issue or at least a bell button could improve this.

Staff who presumably also had other duties with the airline were spotted numerous times entering the lounge to keep it clean and tidy and food and drinks options topped up. They seemed to do a good job considering especially considering the extra responsibility thrown in to also look after the lounge!

Lounge Amenities

This Lounge has basic amenities that would you expect in any lounge including several desktop computer terminals, a small literature stand, messaging chairs and complementary WiFi. Unlike its Sydney cousin there are however no toilet or subsequently shower facilities so you’ll need to walk a short distance into the terminal outside to access the former or head to a Qantas or Virgin lounge for showers.

The WiFI internet connection whilst useable wasn’t overly fast so don’t expect to be doing data intensive work here and you might be better off tethering your phone internet to your laptop to get a more reliable connection.

Summing Up

Overall when accessing the REX Lounge in Melbourne with the right mindset it is a more than acceptable lounge for what it sets out to achieve and the customer base that it services. It by no means offers the most extensive of food and beverage options or amenities but it is nonetheless a comfortable and relaxing place for a short visit before a flight.

It’s debatable whether as an economy class REX passenger it would be worth paying to access due to its relatively small size and limited amenities and food and beverage options although the case may slightly more compelling later in the day when alcoholic beverages are complimentary. Likewise if you have a basic Priority Pass membership which requires paying $35USD (currently $27) for each visit you’ll find the average lounge in the network will provide far more bang for buck than this lounge.

A real added bonus about the lounge is how it is open to Priority Pass and Lounge Key members meaning those flying other airlines out of the terminal or any domestic terminal at Melbourne for that matter especially those flying on JetStar or Virgin.

For those who already have access to the Virgin or Qantas lounges it is probably not worth substituting for this lounge but for those Priority Pass members flying Jetstar or Virgin with no lounge access with them this lounge might be all you need for a quick visit before those flights.