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Virgin Australia has finally reopened its lounge at Canberra Airport, the last of seven remaining lounges in Virgin’s network to return to service.
The Canberra lounge, located above gate 7 near the international departures area, opened back up on 16 March 2021 – almost a year since it closed due to COVID-19.
While there haven’t been any major changes to the lounge design in Canberra, Virgin is rolling out the same new menu that it launched with the opening of its new Adelaide Lounge last month. This menu features freshly-prepared salads, sandwiches, wraps and other snacks, with barista coffee and cold beverages also available.
Rather than using a QR code ordering system, like in Adelaide, snacks at Virgin’s Canberra lounge are being served by staff members from a hosted bar.
“We’re pleased to confirm that from today all Virgin Australia domestic lounges will be open nationally, including in Canberra,” a Virgin Australia Group spokesperson said on Tuesday.
“As travel demand continues to strengthen, and state borders remain open, we’re excited to offer a fantastic network of domestic lounges for our frequent flyers to access at major airports around Australia.”
Access is available to Velocity Gold & Platinum members, Business Class passengers, Virgin Australia Lounge members and guests with complimentary lounge passes who are departing Canberra on a same-day Virgin Australia flight. Access on arrival is temporarily unavailable.
Virgin Australia has progressively reopened its remaining airport lounges over recent months, starting with the Brisbane lounge when it exited voluntary administration in mid-November 2020. At the time, Virgin said its Canberra lounge remained under review as the airline “assesses the response of the corporate market in the post-pandemic environment”.
Virgin Australia’s previous lounges in Darwin, Cairns, Alice Springs, Mackay, Perth (Terminal 2) and Wellington will not reopen.
Qantas reopened its excellent Business Lounge at Canberra Airport last year. The Qantas Club in Canberra remains closed for now, but affected passengers are being redirected to the Business Lounge (which is the nicer of the two lounges, anyway).
Priority Pass members can also receive a $36 food & beverage credit for City Hill Coffee at Canberra Airport.
Virgin Australia in-flight catering upgrade coming soon
Catering on board Virgin Australia’s flights is still limited for now, but this will soon change. Virgin will relaunch its Business Class menu with proper meals, glassware and metal cutlery on 25 March 2021, saying goodbye to the unpopular Business Class snack boxes and drinks served in plastic cups.
From the same date, the complimentary small snack served in Economy (generally crackers, a small muffin or a biscuit) will be replaced with a buy-on-board retail menu.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Open Lounges?
