The new Virgin lounge in Adelaide [opened 23 Feb 2021]

[traceyy]

it says early 2021 I’m flying on Thursday assuming it’s not gonna be open then?

 

[oz_mark]

The actual opening date hasn't been announced yet.

 

[jakeseven7]

They’ve been talking about opening the broom closet for a while

But with all the border closures perhaps that’s pushed it back a little...?

 

[henrus]

Is the lounge in Adelaide even finished?

Pre pandemic there was a temporary lounge whilst the new lounge was built but I haven't seen anything saying construction was complete?

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Think I saw April mentioned somewhere.

 

[Carrots]

Current view of the VA Lounge here...

 

[jase05]

Is the lounge in Adelaide even finished?

Pre pandemic there was a temporary lounge whilst the new lounge was built but I haven't seen anything saying construction was complete?

Construction was almost completed before the collapse of VA.
I do see people working in their from time to time but no completion date set

Post automatically merged: Jan 19, 2021

They’ve been talking about opening the broom closet for a while

Whilst the old one most definitely was a broom closet I can say from walking around in the new area early on it’s quite an increase in size which was much needed

 

[ozstamps]

Staff in ADL claimed to me a few weeks it was to be ''Australia''s largest'' which sounds totally implausible.

Right down opposite the Virgin departure gates

 

[jase05]

Staff in ADL claimed to me a few weeks it was to be ''Australia''s largest'' which sounds totally implausible.

Right down opposite the Virgin departure gates

Yeah, seems a stretch.
When I was in there last year I’d estimate it was around double if not more than the old broom closet but the biggest in Australia seems far fetched

 

[moa999]

A few photos were posted by the construction company on Insta, but seemingly now deleted.
Looked fairly complete.

Very different to old Virgin lounges.
Gone are the purple highlights, curved ceilings and bright white.

In comes polished concrete, wooden floorboards, light wood and dark blue-green paint

 

[Carrots]

To be fair, after the footprint of the old lounge, it will definitely feel like their biggest lounge when in there.

Lucky that the airport terminal expansion began prior to Covid or we’d still be in the old space!

 

[Must...Fly!]

A few photos were posted by the construction company on Insta, but seemingly now deleted.
Looked fairly complete.

Very different to old Virgin lounges.
Gone are the purple highlights, curved ceilings and bright white.

In comes polished concrete, wooden floorboards, light wood and dark blue-green paint

Not sure I like the new look. The old had a real brand about it - you knew you were walking in to a VA lounge. A bit like Virgin Atlantic and their clubhouses.

The photos that got put up looked to me like they could have come from any old airport bar really.

I know it's not important...

 

[AIRwin]

My prediction is 16 February:

Virgin Australia Business Class - Meals, Menus & Service

So who is currently providing catering to Virgin ? They obviously have some sort of supplier for the snacks and limited drinks in economy, snack boxes, soft drinks and alcohol in business.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[Carrots]

My prediction is 16 February:

Virgin Australia Business Class - Meals, Menus & Service

So who is currently providing catering to Virgin ? They obviously have some sort of supplier for the snacks and limited drinks in economy, snack boxes, soft drinks and alcohol in business.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Can only hope.
Meant to be in Geelong in a fortnight for a weekend so hoping it'll be open for the flight over on the Friday!
Will be the first time on a bird in near on 12months!
(assuming Victoria doesn't turn to the poop!)

 

[jase05]

My prediction is 16 February:

Virgin Australia Business Class - Meals, Menus & Service

So who is currently providing catering to Virgin ? They obviously have some sort of supplier for the snacks and limited drinks in economy, snack boxes, soft drinks and alcohol in business.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

I’m in the airport most days and the folks I know in management are unfortunately keeping their cards close to their chest. I will keep hassling them

 

[AIRwin]

I’m in the airport most days and the folks I know in management are unfortunately keeping their cards close to their chest. I will keep hassling them

Yes please! I'd like to attend the opening...

 

[ozstamps]

.
Flying out of there on Feb 11, so you can GUARANTEE it will open a few days later.

2 plats in Biz Class, but you need to buy your own coffee and snacks at the airport - pretty poor. Real Third World short sighted type thinking. Qantas are laughing their heads off. No business pax with a choice, would go near Virgin out of ADL for months.

Virgin really should have thought about one day valid $ vouchers given at check-in, for a snack or beverages in mainland Caps with no lounges open yet, to pax who otherwise would have automatic lounge access. A darn sight cheaper than opening the Lounge.

It really has been acting like Tiger#2 for 3 months.

 

[AIRwin]

Flying out of there on Feb 11, so you can GUARANTEE it will open a few days later.

Another basis for my prediction of 16 February then (Tuesday + ADL flights ramping up from 15 February)

 

[eastwest101]

Exclusive interview with Virgin CEO Jayne Hrdlicka

Trusted and independent source of local, national and world news. In-depth analysis, business, sport, weather and more.

www.abc.net.au

There isn't any transcript so people will need to watch it (approx 14 mins) but in a recent interview JH was pushed about what the Bain iteration of VA was going to look like, and how they were going to obtain these efficiencies. It was unfortunately edited but JH returned to the mantra of "better technology" and a "smaller footprint in cities that matter" when quizzed about what VA were doing wrong, so that is still code for if you live in SYD MEL BNE and PER then you matter, but if you live anywhere else, than Bain probably expects you to take your business over to QF if you really care about lounges. The better technology argument will be seen with proof being in the pudding that VA get their online Velocity and Virgin websites working propery and talking to eachother, automated and online check-in is different as all the early easy gains have been made already and there is no existing technology that can fly the plane with less than 2 pilots, load or unload a B737, park aerobridges, board a planeload of pax, do safety briefings on board and run cabin services, run a lounge, refuel aircraft, maintain aircraft etc - thats all staff and you can outsource as much as you want but the contractors still need a margin so the "easy" gains have been made pre Covid-19 anyway.

No doubt that the Bain VA has lost a large amount of the corporate overheads and the entirety of its international fleet and staff but they have also lost their economy of scale, regional reach and frequency which almost makes them a non-starter for business travellers now. Obviously Qantas has even bigger balance sheet problems with a large grounded international fleet, and a larger workforce on jobkeeper or huge redundancy costs built in, and a Jetstar operation that would still be a drag, rather than an profitable asset at the moment.

 

[jase05]

No business pax with a choice, would go near Virgin out of ADL for months.

I did initially think that way but I must admit I’ve come around and just accept it for what it is.
Of course I’d like things a little nicer including a lounge but my main priority is the seat so with the huge price difference I’ve pretty much gone back exclusively with VA.
As a few examples of midweek flights on the days and times I usually fly from ADL
MEL J SAV $399, J $549, QF $789
SYD J SAV $479, J $649, QF $946
BNE J SAV $549, J $749, QF $1129
PER J SAV $799, J $999, QF $1413

So if I fly VA J Saver I can pretty much get return for the same price as QF one way. Even if I choose the full VA J fare I’m saving between $250-500 one way, now I do like to indulge in the lounge but i can’t see me eating/drinking THAT much. I figure I’ll just put a few bucks back into the SA economy and have a bite to eat and a few drinks in the terminal before flights