Qantas has announced it will expand the Qantas Regional Lounge at Broome Airport to help meet the growing demand for premium air travel to the region.

Qantas Domestic Chief Executive Officer Lyell Strambi said the refurbished lounge would be almost doubled in size and completed by as early as July this year.

“Broome is an important part of our network for leisure and regional business travel. We are committed to providing our customers with the best travel experience on the ground as well as in the air,” Mr Strambi said.

“With Qantas offering thousands of seats into Broome each week, we have witnessed first-hand the significant growth in travel to the region.

“The expanded Qantas Regional Lounge will help cater for this extra capacity and give passengers more room to relax and work prior to their flight.”

The renovated lounge will have additional seating and high speed Wi-Fi as well as a range of premium refreshments, magazines and newspapers.

The Broome Qantas Regional Lounge will be closed from this week for the duration of construction.

Mr Strambi said during this time, eligible customers will receive a voucher for food and beverages to use within the airport, until the lounge reopens.

“We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience during construction but we think they will be pleased with the improvements we are making to the lounge,” he said.

Mr Strambi said Qantas’ fleet of aircraft, network, lounges and frequent flyer program make the airline best for business and leisure travellers.

“We are the only domestic airline that offers a meal and checked baggage to passengers as part of their fare, no matter what time they are flying or which class they are in,” he said.

Last month Qantas announced its schedule for non-stop services between Broome and Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney for the season commencing 31 March 2013 until 13 October 2013. The schedule includes a new weekly direct return service between Broome and Melbourne.

Qantas together with QantasLink will operate 25 services and up to 3500 seats each week to the popular Western Australian destination from Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, using the airline’s fleet of Boeing 737-800 and B717 aircraft.