Melbourne VA Lounge becoming airside from August 2022

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Saab34

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I heard on 3AW drive that the Airport are removing the security and escalators etc.

So they expect you do exit the terminal, walk down to T4 and enter down there?

Is this for real?
 
Will it make any difference visiting the QF lounge before a JQ flight?
 
Saab34 said:
So they expect you do exit the terminal, walk down to T4 and enter down there?
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I suspect (hope?) the escalators will be one way down to the area where VA baggage claim currently is.

Then again, that would reduce the number of retail opportunities arriving customers would be forced to walk past.
 
serfty said:
Yep - you'll have to pass more retail outlets to reach the lounge - which will be at least airside.
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Never understood why a lounge being airside is a good thing, especially with the current circumstance where security is attached directly and exclusively for lounge patrons.

I am hopeful though this change will address the bottleneck of passengers that are departing/arriving the one security checkpoint that currently exists for T3.

With the current lounge renovations I wonder if they will move the entrance to the west, where the business centre and 2nd bar is -- so it would attach directly to T4?
 
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serfty said:
I suspect (hope?) the escalators will be one way down to the area where VA baggage claim currently is.
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So, if that is the case, when transferring from the city to depart MEL with VA - I step off skybus at the first stop, at the end of T3 ground level, then walk outside down to T4, go inside T4 but remain landside, go up to the departures level and use this new landside corridor to walk to T3 bag drop, then turn around and walk back down the same corridor to T4 again, go through T4 security, and finally turn around yet again, to walk back to T3 using an airside corridor!?!? 😱
 
dk4 said:
So, if that is the case, when transferring from the city to depart MEL with VA - I step off skybus at the first stop, at the end of T3 ground level, then walk outside down to T4, go inside T4 but remain landside, go up to the departures level and use this new landside corridor to walk to T3 bag drop, then turn around and walk back down the same corridor to T4 again, go through T4 security, and finally turn around yet again, to walk back to T3 using an airside corridor!?!? 😱
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Or get off at T2?
 
AIRwin said:
Or get off at T2?
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The T2,T3 & T4 stop is one in the same for inbound from Southern Cross. The second stop is T1.

Anyway, I am sure something better will be devised, but it is way too much walking and back tracking. Is there room at T4 check in for VA to move their desks over to there? (If VA doesn't make the distance from kerb to plane door as small/easy as possible, it will impact my decision to depart MEL with them. And given what MEL did with their T2 redesign (as well as some JQ T4 gates), they have previous form in increasing that distance, not reducing it.)
 
Skybus has a stop outside T4, not used much though previously; maybe they'll reroute.
 
Generally it takes me an hour plus from stepping off the plane down at the far JQ gates, waiting, collect bags, wait for bus, to then exiting the LTCP. It would have to be one of the longest distances from gate to kerb let alone gate to the airport hotel or T2.

Would be better off developing the old Tiger pier, move VA there, and shift Rex and misc other over to the VA Pier which is past its use by date.

For such hikes for similar distances around the world from gate to kerb I would normally jump on a air train or something. We are so backward here.
 
Saab34 said:
For such hikes for similar distances around the world from gate to kerb I would normally jump on a air train or something. We are so backward here.
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It looks like it's about 600m from far gate to kerb, that's not really a distance that an airtrain would operate over, unless the distance was all in a straight line. Usually just lots of travellators to assist such traverses of major airports. Airports like SIN, ORD, some terminals in JFK have these sorts of walks. At PEK and HKG it can be 500m from a far gate to the start of the Airtrain.

And the piece de resistance as far as airport walks go, is BKK far gate to the kerb, about 1km. With a delightful ( :rolleyes: ) "end of the walkway" chime as you approach the end of each travellator.
 
Maybe not an airtrain, more like the thing that they have in SIN's Changi (the driverless people mover), on the inner side, ie, after immi.
MEL T3 and T4 should have travellators then, but of course, this will cause the need for renovations, and ergo, money.
End to end, ADL airport would be at least 500m or so, maybe even more.
Edit: 850m according to the ADL airport website.
But leaving MEL VA to fly out, will be a pain in the ### for sure, will be a very long trek.
Wonder if they will keep the exit as it is for those arriving into MEL VA new terminal (one way exit).
VA will now be a LCC, ""*classy*"" to go through T4 to get to T3 even if just for domestic security screening!
 
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dajop said:
It looks like it's about 600m from far gate to kerb, that's not really a distance that an airtrain would operate over, unless the distance was all in a straight line. Usually just lots of travellators to assist such traverses of major airports. Airports like SIN, ORD, some terminals in JFK have these sorts of walks. At PEK and HKG it can be 500m from a far gate to the start of the Airtrain.

And the piece de resistance as far as airport walks go, is BKK far gate to the kerb, about 1km. With a delightful ( :rolleyes: ) "end of the walkway" chime as you approach the end of each travellator.
Click to expand...

The thing I’m most worried about is it might encourage more VA flyers to buy Maccas and bring it onboard from the food court!
Hate how people do this now with no onboard snacks :(
 
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