Odd things happening with Virgin Atlantic’s US Clubhouses – new management? mergers?

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• WaynedP says:

  27 Feb27 February 04:35

  Am returning JNB to LHR on tonight’s VS450 so will presumably be among the last to pass through JNB lounge before it closes tomorrow and will see what I can glean first hand from the ground.

• Andrew J says:

  27 Feb27 February 04:56

  “anyone flying with any SkyTeam airline would be able to enter a Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, which meant that there would no longer be any ‘quiet hours’ for Plaza Premium to monetise”

  I thought you said that wasn’t going to be the case Rob? Or has that now changed and the Clubhouses will be fully integrated into the ST lounge network?

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:

    27 Feb27 February 06:36

    My guess (and everything is a guess currently) that the LHR lounge will be special cased and not part of the SkyTeam network otherwise it will be full of shorthaul AF/KLM passengers. For lounge provision this was a massive downgrade for AF/KLM passengers when they moved to T3 as they no longer had the SkyTeam lounge which used to be in T4. Virgin should provide an alternative facility for SkyTeam flyers if it wants to get out of lounge obligations at LHR but where would a new lounge go? Qantas are already planning a separate F lounge.

    A few months ago there was supposed to be some exciting news about the BA lounge space in T3 but things have gone quiet with that.

  • Rob says:

    27 Feb27 February 07:37

    Not the case in London, but London was never outsourced.

• Erico1875 says:

  27 Feb27 February 06:06

  Is that the same Sodexo who run prisons in UK?

  • Blair Waldorf Salad says:

    27 Feb27 February 06:14

    And some pretty bad workplace canteens

  • lumma says:

    27 Feb27 February 07:15

    And got a ton of money from the government to run some of the COVID testing sites

  • Simon says:

    27 Feb27 February 07:49

    Sodexo are the lowest of low cost operators. You would never appoint them if you cared about quality.

    • PeteM says:

      27 Feb27 February 08:20

      I have seen Sodexo run high quality catering operations, mostly in France. But yes, they are generally fairly awful…

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    27 Feb27 February 09:04

    Yes and overworked staff and running facilities into or near the ground seem to be part of there business plan.

• Blair Waldorf Salad says:

  27 Feb27 February 06:17

  What to do if you’re a status/pointy end passenger at SFO? Delta and AF fly from entirely separate terminals so if AF lounge is closed it’s not like the passengers can pop in next door to a Delta alternative. Odd since that AF/KLM lounge at SFO is very intensively used prior to their departures; and with a La Premiere cabin (cough….row) on the SFO route I can’t imagine those passengers are being left to fend for themselves in the terminal.

  • Nick says:

    27 Feb27 February 12:27

    Aren’t all the terminals connected airside at SFO? Certainly access to the Centurion in T3F is available from the International terminal because I’ve done it.

    • Blair Waldorf Salad says:

      28 Feb28 February 04:34

      No; that’s the one thar is connected by airside walkway but the others are not

• Mark says:

  27 Feb27 February 08:47

  Mmmm. Was looking forward to trying out the IAD lounge in May. Looks like it will be the Air France-KLM Lounge now.

  Will be interesting to see if the LHR lounge is “opened up” it’s busy enough as it is!

  • Panda Mick says:

    27 Feb27 February 09:20

    Don’t think that you’ll be slumming it in an AF / KLM lounge. The KLM lounge ay AMS (or at least, once of them) is lovely and makes Galleries look quite poor in comparison.

    What is especially lovely is all the Delft (I wish I’d kept mine) houses on the way up the escalator….

    Sorry, drifted off there. AF and KLM are excellent…

  • memesweeper says:

    27 Feb27 February 12:20

    The IAD lounge had a much better menu than the average lounge, but it’s not a great space. It wouldn’t be a huge loss if it goes for good.

• Chris W says:

  27 Feb27 February 09:52

  Virgin need a second lounge in LHR T3. Surely they have been planning for this?

  • AL says:

    27 Feb27 February 13:22

    Is there much space? You’ve got at least four Oneworld lounges (CX, BA, AA, QF), the Clubhouse, the Centurion lounge and two paid lounges (an Aspire and a something else). There’s probably things I’m missing, too.

    I agree they need to do something – but where?

    • Andrew J says:

      27 Feb27 February 14:56

      EK lounge too

• WaynedP says:

  27 Feb27 February 16:11

  Currently enjoying Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at Johannesburg Airport.

  Food is superb (just as it was in the LHR T3 Clubhouse last week) and service leaves nothing to be desired.

  Spoke with one of the two staff at entrance counter both wearing red Virgin Atlantic uniforms about “rumoured closure” of lounge and was emphatically reassured that it’s only a very temporary closure of one week for refurbishment and business as usual upon reopening.

  Of course staff on the ground may or may not be fully informed, and when I queried whether it really will be only one week for a full refurbishment there was a concession that it might drag on a bit longer, but only days, not weeks.

  And I was told that they will be open to receive guests tomorrow night (28th).

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