Virgin Atlantic scraps its Manchester Clubhouse …. to become a oneworld lounge instead?

Lost in the annals of time – well, 2019 – was the announcement that Virgin Atlantic was planning to open a Clubhouse lounge at Manchester Airport.

It was part of a broader strategy to increase its network from Manchester following the collapse of Thomas Cook, which operated a substantial long haul network from the airport.

At the time, Virgin Atlantic hoped it could swoop in and become the de facto long haul carrier at the airport.

In addition to increasing capacity and adding new routes, Virgin Atlantic said:

“In order to provide an unrivalled travel experience, Virgin Atlantic will bring its iconic Clubhouse lounge to Manchester for the first time from Spring 2020.  Upper Class customers and Gold Card members can take advantage of the exclusive space before their flight, which will include a la carte dining and a full service bar, quiet working spaces and a spa, allowing passengers to relax and rejuvenate before they depart.”

Spring 2020 always seemed optimistic, especially when you’re dealing with airside construction, but the whole project came off the rails thanks to covid and seems to have been in purgatory since. Whilst the space was built – it is sitting there in the new pier – the fit out had not commenced.

Four years on from the planned opening, Virgin Atlantic confirmed to us yesterday that plans for the Manchester Clubhouse have been shelved. It said:

“Following a review of our Clubhouse portfolio, a lounge in Manchester is no longer part of our future plans. We remain committed to our customers in Manchester, our home in the North, and to providing services to in-demand leisure destinations from the region, including a brand new direct service to Las Vegas which launches in June.”

This is a shame and a real loss for customers in the North. Virgin Atlantic’s Clubhouses, in particular its flagship lounge at Heathrow, are some of the best business class lounges out there with table service, made to order cocktails and fantastic staff.

Unfortunately, it seems that a Manchester Clubhouse would not have washed its face financially. Virgin Atlantic is in the final stretch of a four-year strategic plan to make the airline sustainably profitable. That has left CEO Shai Weiss with some difficult decisions to make and also put a razor-sharp focus on operating routes that turn a profit.

Low-yield destinations such as Islamabad, which operated during covid, have been replaced with premium leisure destinations such as the Maldives and Dubai. These also allow the airline to crossell packages with its Virgin Atlantic Holidays division.

Whilst Virgin’s exact expansion plans at Manchester were never announced, it certainly wanted to be serving more than just the five current destinations – Atlanta, Barbados, Las Vegas (starting in June), New York and Orlando.

In the meantime, Aer Lingus has also joined the fray and now offers direct flights to New York, Barbados and Orlando. Whilst currently operating A330 aircraft, Aer Lingus has a fleet of long range A321LR narrowbodies which it can slot in at quieter times and have a lower breakeven point than the Virgin Atlantic fleet.

The ability to earn British Airways tier points on Aer Lingus flights, announced this week, will increase the appeal of these Manchester flights over the Virgin Atlantic alternatives.

Out of the ashes ….

The question now is how the lounge space that was earmarked for Virgin Atlantic will be used.

According to X account SPD Travels, the same account that initially flagged the news, it is to be taken over by an airline alliance. Assuming this is correct (and we haven’t been able to verify this independently) you have three suspects, all of which are credible – Star Alliance, SkyTeam and oneworld.

According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, the alliance flying the most seats into Manchester is Star Alliance, with 122,875 for July 2024.

This was a surprise to me, given that SkyTeam (via Virgin Atlantic) has a strong presence as does oneworld with its British Airways, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Royal Jordanian and Royal Air Maroc flights.

SkyTeam is in second, with 88,861 seats and oneworld not far behind, with 80,662 seats.

Realistically, all three alliances could be potential new tenants. Let’s look at each one individually:

Star Alliance

With the most seats from Manchester, it would make sense for Star Alliance to operate its own lounge, purely from a capacity perspective. It has the customers to make it a worthwhile investment and also has the highest number of individual airlines operating from the airport (12). Long haul carriers include Singapore Airlines, Air Canada and Ethiopian.

SkyTeam

Given that Virgin Atlantic had an agreement with Manchester Airport for the space, it would make sense for the airline to release it to its own alliance, SkyTeam. This would allow it to offer its customers a modern facility without being on the hook for the fit out cost. It would also avoid the embarrassment of giving its competitors a strategic advantage by handing over a prime lounge space.

oneworld

oneworld may have the smallest presence at Manchester Airport, but it has become aggressive in opening its own alliance lounges with Seoul and Amsterdam opening in the past few months (image above).

British Airways received a lot of criticism for closing its own lounge at the airport, leaving passengers stranded at substandard third party lounges. Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific are also unlikely to be happy with the current provision.

Conclusion

What makes this situation interesting is that all three of the above scenarios are plausible. A SkyTeam, Star Alliance or oneworld lounge would all make sense, albeit for different reasons.

So far, no alliance has been willing to come forward and confirm, but we will keep you up to date as the situation evolves.

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How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (June 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):

You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points.

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.

Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.