Exactly one year huh!
Just found this old thread
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....in-australia-anytime-lounge-access-31693.html
Planned right from the start, that thread was started 22 July 2011, when was it released we are bludging freeloaders and no longer welcome, 22 July 2012. Coincidence, dont think so.
There were a lot of likes on the OP of that thread which simply stated, "QF had taketh; VA had giveth." Oh well, if anything lounge-wise a VA Gold is still doing a bit better than a QF Gold.
Still pretty cool heads here. When QF withdrew ATA there were metal (or plastic, whatever was available at the time) knives drawn out and we didn't hear of the end of it for about a year or more. This will simply disappear into the ether without much of a bitter taste.
So just to confirm: is it
arrivals access or
same day travel access? That is, if I fly BNE-SYD, I can use the lounge in BNE prior to my flight, then the one in SYD after I touch down. However, if I then go to a meeting, come back some hours later and fly SYD-ADL on JQ, do I get access (if I am a Gold or Platinum)?
An active QF Platinum can confirm or deny this, but the way I read the current QF access rules, as long as a WP has flown or will be flying QF, JQ or
oneworld on that day, they can access the domestic lounges (either type). (Saying that, there appears to be a conflict between the Qantas Club access rules page (
Eligibility and Access to The Qantas Club lounges) and the Platinum benefits page (
Frequent Flyer - About the Program - Platinum Benefits - Platinum)). I can't tell whether the new VA Gold and Platinum access rules are a mirror of this privilege, or it specifically only applies to
arrival off a flight (viz. reasonable time after arriving off an eligible flight).