Is there an extra level beyond velocity platinum like CL?

[Flying Fox]

He tried hard to award me his partner membership, as I do most of the travel in our company. However Virgin are very strict on the policy of spouse only. Fair enough I guess.

Claim to be your boss's day wife/husband which is accurate considering the number of waking hours you spend together is probably more than your actual husband/wife/partner.

 

[medhead]

You know what you describe sounds unbelievable to me when we consider the lower stand of food being served up in the lounge. The gap between hotdogs and 3 course meal (qantas F lounge style) is vast. Too big to bridge even.

The other the question is how do they enter the club in SYD. By walking through the building works?

The Club members do indeed have VIP on their boarding pass. My boss is a member and takes great delight in showing me his boarding pass every time to remind me how special he is

He took me for lunch in the Brisbane lounge a few weeks back.... AMAZING!!!! A table was set for us, and a three course meal selected from the menu. A fantastic wine list available and every manner of spirits on hand.

We were alone in there from about 3:30pm until 4:30pm, then two other passengers came through. Nowhere near as busy as the Chairmanship Lounge seems to get.

He also gets automatic upgrade to business class 1A on every ticket, and a concierge meets him at the plane at the end of every trip. I've even seen flight crew move people out of 1A to accommodate.

Certainly has its perks... If you can get in

He tried hard to award me his partner membership, as I do most of the travel in our company. However Virgin are very strict on the policy of spouse only. Fair enough I guess.

 

[grubbidok]

Claim to be your boss's day wife/husband which is accurate considering the number of waking hours you spend together is probably more than your actual husband/wife/partner.

He he... waiting for the inevitable messy/awkward scenario whereby a VIP wife/husband gets favourable allocation over the VIP's favoured mistress/lover (or even more fun, vice versa).

I'm surprised that 'VIP' is the boarding pass designator. Perhaps I just think it is over-used now and thought there would be something more 'special'. I remember being at an event as a guest of an Indian state government and went to go into the VIP tent to charge my phone. The guy at the front door told me "no sir, this is not your tent" and pointed me towards the much nicer VVIP tent.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

and pointed me towards the much nicer VVIP tent.

Errr.....VVIP? Please tell me that doesn't stand for very, very important person!

 

[grubbidok]

Errr.....VVIP? Please tell me that doesn't stand for very, very important person!

Yes it did. Apparently the term VIP in India had undergone some significant grade inflation and was no longer sufficient.

 

[Jama]

Yes it did. Apparently the term VIP in India had undergone some significant grade inflation and was no longer sufficient.

sounds like Platinum.

 

[time_flies]

You know what you describe sounds unbelievable to me when we consider the lower stand of food being served up in the lounge. The gap between hotdogs and 3 course meal (qantas F lounge style) is vast. Too big to bridge even.

The other the question is how do they enter the club in SYD. By walking through the building works?

I would think keep an eye on the old meeting room space at Brisbane, currently under construction. Me thinks this could hold a nice alternative for Business/Platinum travelers?

Fingers tightly crossed...

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I would think keep an eye on the old meeting room space at Brisbane, currently under construction. Me thinks this could hold a nice alternative for Business/Platinum travelers?

Fingers tightly crossed...

Hope you're right. But does it seem logical......keep the "clubbies" over the back with a view of the carpark whilst lowly WPs get tarmac views? (At least I'm assuming it'd be tarmac views).

 

[lukenet]

I would think keep an eye on the old meeting room space at Brisbane, currently under construction. Me thinks this could hold a nice alternative for Business/Platinum travelers?

Fingers tightly crossed...

That would be nice...

Hey time_flies,

How big is is the company you work for? Do you guys have a large travel budget or something?

 

[smit0847]

That would be nice...

Hey time_flies,

How big is is the company you work for? Do you guys have a large travel budget or something?

And how does your boss have time for a 3 course meal before a flight if he is so important?

 

[time_flies]

Good networking is the key. What's the old saying...

"It's not what you know, it's who you know"

 

[FrequentlyFlying]

Hi Everyone,

First time post but have been having fun reading up on the rumours and posts around Virgin's The Club.

Being closely affiliated with a Club member - wanted to highlight a few points that haven't been discussed yet.

The member I'm closely associated with is also a CLPO and a GM for a large international company in Australia. I've also noticed not all CL members have been offered the same status match. After a lot of flying on QF, Virgin helped us out on when we were stranded after a cancelled JQ flight in Queenstown by rebooking us on their flight within 5 minutes of the announcement of cancellation. Having used VA for the past couple of weeks I can outline the following:

The Club is far superior to the CL Lounge (which I can attest to having been to several).
-Food offering as good as, if not better than the Int'l QF Flounge. The CL has buffet service compared to VA's table service. On my visit we were given a full culinary experience, all within about 30 minutes.
-The lounge is stunning and spacious and nowhere near as packed as the CL, which can get quite packed at certain times. The staff are also far more attentive than CL
-If booked in economy, an upgrade is as well as guaranteed - in rare cases, like when we were booked on VA last minute, they still extend the J experience to economy seats
-Transfers on int'l and Coast to Coast flights
-Most noticeably, greeting and escorting through the int'l terminal even when travelling EY

Overall, VA has upped the game to such an extent that QF seriously lags behind. The disparity in treatment of a CLPO compared to a club member is quite striking and VA really seems to be making the most of this opportunity!

 

[day-heg]

Hi Everyone,

First time post but have been having fun reading up on the rumours and posts around Virgin's The Club.

Being closely affiliated with a Club member - wanted to highlight a few points that haven't been discussed yet.

The member I'm closely associated with is also a CLPO and a GM for a large international company in Australia. I've also noticed not all CL members have been offered the same status match. After a lot of flying on QF, Virgin helped us out on when we were stranded after a cancelled JQ flight in Queenstown by rebooking us on their flight within 5 minutes of the announcement of cancellation. Having used VA for the past couple of weeks I can outline the following:

The Club is far superior to the CL Lounge (which I can attest to having been to several).
-Food offering as good as, if not better than the Int'l QF Flounge. The CL has buffet service compared to VA's table service. On my visit we were given a full culinary experience, all within about 30 minutes.
-The lounge is stunning and spacious and nowhere near as packed as the CL, which can get quite packed at certain times. The staff are also far more attentive than CL
-If booked in economy, an upgrade is as well as guaranteed - in rare cases, like when we were booked on VA last minute, they still extend the J experience to economy seats
-Transfers on int'l and Coast to Coast flights
-Most noticeably, greeting and escorting through the int'l terminal even when travelling EY

Overall, VA has upped the game to such an extent that QF seriously lags behind. The disparity in treatment of a CLPO compared to a club member is quite striking and VA really seems to be making the most of this opportunity!

Welcome to the forum. Great first post!

 

[Jama]

Overall, VA has upped the game to such an extent that QF seriously lags behind.

That's if your considered a somebody by VA. If your Platinum and flying constantly your still a nobody.

 

[FrequentlyFlying]

Yes but to be fair, this thread is about VA's VIP tier...

 

[vantage03]

Overall, VA has upped the game to such an extent that QF seriously lags behind. The disparity in treatment of a CLPO compared to a club member is quite striking and VA really seems to be making the most of this opportunity!

Great post and from experience I couldn't agree with you more! Welcome to AFF.

 

[maninblack]

I saw a person who is way beyond DYKWIA in the VA lounge few months back and turned out he was on my flight sitting across the aisle from me. Discreet, polite, and I could tell that the VA staff throughout had no idea 'who he was'. They wouldn't even have known to invite him into 'the Club' if such a silly thing actually exists in MEL. (don't think so) Anachronistic concept in a country like Australia IMO but for those who need such things...

I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.
Groucho Marx