Virgin Australia announces lounge network changes

Earlier this year, Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia announced that they were going their separate ways. Since then, many have been asking how Virgin Australia were going to fill the gaps this left in their lounge network.

We knew that access to the Air New Zealand lounges was finishing, but it was not clear what was going to happen. Now, less than two weeks away from the finalisation of their divorce, we have some answers.

Virgin Australia International Lounge Access

While we were expecting changes on the New Zealand network, Virgin has gone a step further. Today, it announced quite a revamp of its lounge access rules.

On the plus side, it has announced new, dedicated lounges for travellers departing from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. This new arrangement largely replaces the current (and confusing) lounge access situation.

On the negative side, the Brisbane lounge isn’t ready yet. In addition, we will be waiting a little while longer for the lounge in Wellington to become available

The House – Melbourne and Sydney

In Melbourne and Sydney, the current Etihad Lounges are going to be taken over by a third party operator, No1, and rebranded as The House. These lounges will be used for both Etihad and Virgin Australia flights departing from those cities.

These lounges will be used by most international travellers on the Virgin network. There are a couple of exceptions. Firstly, travellers to Singapore will have access to the SilverKris lounge. Those travelling on Delta from Sydney will have access to the SkyTeam lounge.

Brisbane – My Lounge

Virgin are promising a new lounge a Brisbane Airport, to be branded as “My Lounge”. This is slated to be opened in the next few months.

While we wait for that to be completed, if your are flying on Virgin Australia to Los Angeles you will have access to the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge. In other cases, Virgin are seeking alternative arrangements to offer lounge access. If all else fails, they will offer a food and beverage voucher to use at any of the outlets at the Brisbane International Airport.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, Virgin Australia passengers departing Auckland, Christchurch or Queenstown will be sent to a third-party lounge. In the case of Auckland, this will be the Strata Lounge.

In both Christchurch and Queenstown, passengers will find themselves in the Manaia Lounge.

Wellington does not presently have a lounge available, although Virgin are working on a new lounge. This will be the first Virgin lounge outside of Australia. Until this lounge is available, eligible members will receive food and beverage vouchers.