OOL Lounge

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Noob said:
Not directly OOL Lounge related but, what's with this FB location? "Virgin Australia First Class Lounge" at Sydney International:

Virgin Australia First Class Lounge - Airport Lounge | Facebook
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Hey Noob, how about a new thread for that. Sounds like news to me but I'm not Facebook saavy. Is it saying that VA are getting/have a FLounge? DO V OZ even have first class? I'm lost, so a new thread may be wise for this topic.
 
mickeyc747 said:
Found an old article on a news limited web site. Have I just missed the lounge each time I have gone through that airport at least twice a fortnight.
Virgin will open a lounge at Coolangatta airport by June 30 this year and a further two lounges would be added by the end of the year.


Read more: Virgin Blue unveil glam new uniforms, business class cabins | News.com.au​
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That was the original plans,

While we were at the lounge the other day after the ATR Evac test, I was speaking with Roger on the way out and he told me originally they planned for Q3 2011 and to move into where the Jetstar lounge currently is.

Funnily enough, Jetstar/Qantas aren't so keen on giving up that space. So they had to change all their plans and build one from scratch.

Q1-Q2 201[-]1[/-]2 is the updated opening date.
 
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Btw there's some progress being made on the lounge as of last night. The scaffolding and barriers are up from Hungry Jacks all the way out and beyond the baggage handling area. Seems like they will use that old seating area that was near gate 1. I suspect they will need it to install an escalator.
 
Andrew Kelly said:
Btw there's some progress being made on the lounge as of last night. The scaffolding and barriers are up from Hungry Jacks all the way out and beyond the baggage handling area. Seems like they will use that old seating area that was near gate 1. I suspect they will need it to install an escalator.
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Virgin have started using gates 2 and 3 all the time lately too, can't remember the last flight I got from gate 4 or 5, looks like they have moved Jetstar out to the farther gates in preparation that Virgin will use the gates near what seems like being the new Lounge.
 
I concur, I used gate 3 last night. By the way the construction barriers stretch out to the baggage area it does lend itself to Virgin claiming gates 1-3. One would hope so then they can finally implement priority boarding. Also let's note that the long term plan for GC Airport is to extend the current terminal south to create more building space and gates. That would mean Virgin then sits in the middle of the terminal.
 
Andrew Kelly said:
I concur, I used gate 3 last night. By the way the construction barriers stretch out to the baggage area it does lend itself to Virgin claiming gates 1-3. One would hope so then they can finally implement priority boarding. Also let's note that the long term plan for GC Airport is to extend the current terminal south to create more building space and gates. That would mean Virgin then sits in the middle of the terminal.
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Or they take up that whole end ;)
 
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Now we just have to wait for the roof to be lifted for a floor to ceiling glass viewing window to the tarmac and our own priority boarding lane directly from the lounge to aircraft (via a priority boarding aerobridge :cool: ..........stuff the "regional feel" :mrgreen:)
 
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I still wonder how QF are going to react to VA at OOL. It appears that VA are now the airline building themselves a nice little monopoly in the GC Business Class market.

I guess it comes down to VA's cost advantage, but given that the GC is Australia's 6th largest city, and people from GC do travel further than just SYD and MEL and don't like the thought of having to switch from JQ to QF (who act as 2 different airlines when things go belly up :evil:) to go overseas, I wonder if they are losing a large amount of loyalty to VA.

As an OOLer who was staunchly loyal to QF until they JQ'ed the Gold Coast, I for one have made the permanent switch to VA and am very happy with my decision. QF is solely for some CC frequent flyer point earn and premium class redemption burn.
 
scibo10 said:
I still wonder how QF are going to react to VA at OOL. It appears that VA are now the airline building themselves a nice little monopoly in the GC Business Class market. As an OOLer who was staunchly loyal to QF until they JQ'ed the Gold Coast, I for one have made the permanent switch to VA
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OOl is the standout port, but there are a number of others that QF JQed, that also have business markets and DJ will be the only option for a business seat. The only thing that makes me unsure of this bold move for DJ is how poorly the PE product was utilised. Will a full J experience be enough to sway people to part with extra cash? We'll just have to wait and see but a lot will depend on the price of these new J fares. PER is not really a good example because lots of people will want to pay extra for that 5-6 hour flight, but I'm not so sure about the 1 hour flights??? Keep them reasonable and they'll be bought, make them too dear and they'll go begging............
 
Totally agree. The price needs to be just low enough to make it an easy enough choice when booking a biz flight to Syd or Mel.
 
swanning_it said:
The only thing that makes me unsure of this bold move for DJ is how poorly the PE product was utilised. Will a full J experience be enough to sway people to part with extra cash? We'll just have to wait and see but a lot will depend on the price of these new J fares.
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Another thing to keep in mind is the ability to upgrade to J using points. I know that I would never have done this for the PE product as there just wasn't enough difference between it and Y to justify it. I think J will be a step above this. Whether people will pay cash for it though, as you say, will depend upon the price, but I don't think the demand will be so sensitive for points redemptions.

Lucky enough to be on a BSI last night, and noted only 8 J class seats rather than the usual 12 of QF. This should also help in the J utilisation. Don't forget that the FF Division of QF is the most profitable, and I assume that it will be for VA too, if it isn't already. They probably factored this in when deciding to introduce J into some unlikely routes.

Am happy that VA lounge will be in its proposed location, with views of the runway, and did not take over from the JQ lounge.

Time to count down the days... :)
 
I’ll be quite happy when I start seeing a layout and the space taking shape, but until then I’m really not sure how it’s going t work in the location they’ve chosen.

Would be really awesome if it turned out like the QF F lounge in SYD though!
 
Lets hope they put in their own Lounge Angels and not the current Aero dont care staff. ( Last tuesday arrived 5 minutes early from Melbourne the only DJ aircraft there, stairs put in position by pit crew no staff to meet the aircraft waited 10 minutes, weather was fine no storms) (Everyone got priority baggage pit crew had unloaded it all before pax disembarked)

I know catering is outsourced by hopefully not the desk staff.

I still think we should be allowed to use the lounge at Metricon Stadium though.
 
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