The Lounge - Perth

[crazydave98]

All good stuff thank you comint.
cheers
CrazyDave98

PS never try to apply logic to get between an airport operator and a buck - they are quite happy with bare-faced extortion.

 

[oz_mark]

Not speaking as someone who would have access - but when I'm at an airport, I like having lounges to go to as somewhere away from the main terminal with wifi and comfy couches. Next on the list is customer service staff, after that a well-stocked bar and some food options, after that shower facilities. Anything else is candy

I wrote a bunch of stuff and then realised I was just rehashing what comint had already written - but yeah, neat idea If DJ were to entertain an idea such as this, would it make sense to consider expanding the mini lounges in to full lounges if traffic would support it?

I started to think about what I would like in a 'lounge-lite' as well, and mostly came down to the same sort of things as well, however some thoughts.

a) Perhaps on the beverage front, an entry could include a voucher for a drink from the bar if not supplied in the lounge proper.
b) The reduced food service can be good if well thought out I guess it comes down to what can be reasonably be pre-prepared elsewhere and just served.

I have also been in some small lounges overseas, such as the CX/JL lounge in KUL - small but seems adequate for the purpose. Small food selections but seems to work.

I think it is an idea worth investigating (and I would take adavnatge of them!)

 

[notzac]

a) Perhaps on the beverage front, an entry could include a voucher for a drink from the bar if not supplied in the lounge proper.

Complimentary coughtail vouchers!

[size=-2](for those not aware - it's an AA thing - QF Club/Gold/Platinum members are entitled to freebie booze vouchers at the Admirals Lounges, while AA members have to pay)[/size]

 

[wallacej]

Dave, thanks for the opportunnity to be heard.. really appreciate that. And in reference to the other thread, I also have never known you as anything other than a DJ employee.

As for the list of airports you mention, you could trial 2. One for commint and one for me being OOL and HBA

I am sure we will be able to supply you with adequate feedback.

And slightly OT, any news on having a status level above gold? I earn my Gold the hard way, lots of flights at the "cheap" fares, but managed to qualify 3 months before the end of my qualifying period. If I was to throw a V Australia flight into the mix to the US I can imagine that would push my status earning rates through the roof.

 

[comint]

Premium Passenger Waiting Area

One for commint and one for me being OOL and HBA.

Our own personal waiting areas LOL, I can’t even imagine how much money would have to be spent with an airline, to get that level of service.

While I don’t want to overwhelm this thread with my posts, and need to encourage others to share ideas – I, after consideration, think there might be better value in adjusting the concept from “Lounge Lite” to “Premium Economy: Gate Wait”.

Basically the same as I originally posted, a “roped-off”/”segregated” part of the general departure lounge, available to PE/Gold/Lounge/PriorityPass/PrePaid. Thus, consider the visual concept below (where the foreground would be standard departure seating [ignore the desk], plus the GateWait entry area is restricted by scan/swipe) –

The “gate wait zone” can be thought of as an extension of the seating systems onboard the aircraft, where the premium seating is sectionalised to the front of the metal tube, and general economy seating to the rear (notwithstanding the blue zone/exit rows). (So, I withdraw my original MCY “separate room” comments.)

Next change would be the (reduced) F&B offer. This service would need to be delivered by Vending Machine inside the zone; these machines would be managed by the airport operators. (And while customers wouldn’t have to put money into the vending machine, presumably just swipe their card/bar code etc, the machine would tally all sales and bill Virgin Blue, on behalf of the airport operator.) E.g. you want a coffee, you have a choice – use a terminal concession for something fresh, or get something instant (at no charge to the drinker) from the vending machine. In both situations the airport operator wins, either from the café’s rent or DJ paying them for the GateWait vended beverage/snack.

This small cordoned off part of the general departure area would need to be implemented inside all terminals that Virgin Blue aircraft visit. Including the ends of the Virgin Blue piers in BNE, SYD, MEL & ADL. It must be considered a conceptually different but complementary strategy to The Lounge. This is an aggressive premium market offer, positioned against a competitor who is systematically dropping premium services outside of its CityFlyer network.

Anyway, far too many of my thoughts…

 

[Natt]

Re "light lounge"

how about a vending machine for the drinks? Not exactly sure how it could work but when you swiped your card maybe you could get a couple of codes so you could get your beer/small bottle of wine

You could also put the snacks in the machine as well.

 

[rwatts]

Re "light lounge"

how about a vending machine for the drinks? Not exactly sure how it could work but when you swiped your card maybe you could get a couple of codes so you could get your beer/small bottle of wine

You could also put the snacks in the machine as well.

Hmmmm. When you check in, your Velocity account could be loaded with mini-lounge entry credit and x number of credits for drinks and snack items. Swipe Velocity card at door for entry and at the machine to redeem snacks. Credits automatically deducted from account and unused credits expire at end of day.

Richard.

 

[crazydave98]

All great suggestions thanks - particularly about how to deliver the service. comint I'd like to understand the shift in your proposed product from Lounge Lite to Prem Gate Wait. In terms of communicating what the product is, maybe making it clearly an adjunct to The Lounge would work best?

Thinking out loud, if at a later date we were to make reciprocal Lounge access arrangements with a partner (join an alliance), entry by swiping Velocity/Lounge member card would need to be supplemented by being able to scan a boarding pass but that is adding some complexity. Come to think of it PY guests who are not Lounge members need access too, so maybe lowest common denominator is boarding pass scan. But then how to deliver vending? Card swipe would again be technically easiest (i.e. lowest cost), but again may be driven to boarding pass scan.

The trick with this whole concept will be matching its cost to the premium revenues it drives for VB. Costs are relatively easy (and as mentioned the largest components are likely to be fixed - airports charge us for putting in kiosks so they will extract their pound of flesh for a private space).

Keep 'em coming.

 

[rwatts]

Come to think of it PY guests who are not Lounge members need access too, so maybe lowest common denominator is boarding pass scan. But then how to deliver vending? Card swipe would again be technically easiest (i.e. lowest cost), but again may be driven to boarding pass scan.

Premium Economy and Corporate Plus passengers who are entitled to lounge entry but are not Velocity members could perhaps be given a temporary card by the check-in agent. Generically printed cards with mag stripe shouldnt be too expensive. Cardboard cards if they could work in the same readers might be even cheaper. Passengers who check in online or at kiosks would have to visit a service desk and show their BP for a temporary card.

With Velocity membership not costing anything, over time I dont think there would be too many such passengers who didnt already have a card. Especially if each time a temporary card was issued, membership was automatically generated for that passenger and a permanent card sent later.

Richard.

 

[Mal]

The type of 'lounges' offered at some ferry terminals and train stations are a good start for describing how I'd see something like this.

Normally they're a small 'office' type space (often with 1/2 height partitions rather than being closed in) and offer fresh coffee/tea (from an urn for example), soft drinks, snacks, newspapers etc. Often they have no staff 'manning an entry desk', but do have staff around keeping an eye on things.

Liquor makes things a bit more difficult. Responsible service laws make having an open fridge a bit difficult in a hard to control space - and encourages "take away orders" and people sneaking in.

 

[UP4014]

Although I'm about to give Diners Club the flick, they have their own lounges which I've used in places like Peru which I quite happily used as the airlines had temp departed (during a coup) but Diners was still there.

The lounge in Lima was cough, but it had drinks and men outside with guns to make sure we got to the plane.

No reason in this day of privateering of airports they couldn't organise something themselves.

 

[comint]

Passengers who check in online or at kiosks would have to visit a service desk and show their BP for a temporary card.

Creating staff contact, where it would not have naturally occurred - creates additional cost, and presumably challenges the original business case for online/kiosk check-in. However, originally I had exactly the same thought, after considering how AA limits access to the Flagship Lounge at LAX (i.e. an AC staff member gives eligible customers a card with the access code.)

The idea of an inert entry challenge is quite intriguing though. Rather than having to rely on IT and expensive, active communications at the door to validate entry eligibility, it would be so much easier for the "entry barrier" to get its code each day, and anyone who successfully confirms it - gets in.

If so, the question becomes - how to communicate the daily code to passengers? So, I thought… how about on the boarding pass? Thus while generating every boarding pass, the system could identify eligible passengers, and simply print-out the corresponding airport’s daily gatewait access code onto the pass. BUT… how likely is an eligible passenger to share the code with others, when there is no supervision of entry? Perhaps an entry camera, kick-out clause (in the T&C) & random physical monitoring may be enough to dissuade this behaviour?

your Velocity account could be loaded with mini-lounge entry credit and x number of credits for drinks and snack items. Swipe Velocity card at door for entry and at the machine to redeem snacks. Credits automatically deducted from account and unused credits expire at end of day.

I think I know why you are presenting this idea – to stop the oink. (I mean, in a regular The Lounge, if the nougats weren’t staff protected, half the bowl may accidentally fall into my carry-on, every visit.)

But... the offer in both Premium Economy & The Lounge is – whatever you like from the menu/options, and as much as you want (potential oink guilt from staff being the limiting factor). So I think for consistency, the Premium Gate Wait zone, should reflect the same philosophy. But, I reckon a Fair Use clause in the T&C and the Vending Machine asking for a bar code scan on every vend, might stop the oink, as guests realise they are being monitored for fair use. Again this is passive monitoring, the machine is not actively communicating (although maybe it can refer a user, after a certain number of the same bar code scans, to ground staff for assistance). Also, when the system tallies at each service/refill/bill generation, perhaps it could also download who did what for any post-analysis/follow-up at DJ-HQ?

Not exactly sure how it could work but when you swiped your card maybe you could get a couple of codes so you could get your beer/small bottle of wine

Can you legally vend alcohol in Australia?

comint I'd like to understand the shift in your proposed product from Lounge Lite to Prem Gate Wait. In terms of communicating what the product is, maybe making it clearly an adjunct to The Lounge would work best?

Ahhh, but it’s not an adjunct it is a diminishment! (The perception being that Virgin Blue is offering something “less” - when customers compare against The Lounge offer.) GateWait needs to be perceived as an improvement, to achieve this customers need to compare it with “waiting in the general departure area”! Thus, importantly, the zone is NOT a “lounge” in anyway, whatsoever.

Secondly, I think oz_mark’s post; to negotiate up on F&B, right off the bat - is extremely important to consider. (And even Mal & BAM1748’s subsequent posts.) We all have a perception of what should be in a “lounge” and in particular what F&B should be available. A “dry lounge” with no fresh food is just going to be a negative from the start (vouchers, or 2 for 1 offers at the airport bar aside).

Thirdly, we need to discuss where the domestic Qantas Group premium ground service offer is weakest. (As DJ is out to snatch Qantas Group customers.) And that would be all airports where they don’t have (or the brand doesn’t offer) lounges/premium check-in etc. So, instead of chasing Qantas where they are lounge strong (i.e. other than OOL, the other airports mentioned in previous posts) you confront where they are lounge weak.

Comparing breadth/quantity to depth/quality of “premium ground service offer”, I consider Qantas Group domestic offer weaker in breadth. (i.e. they don’t present a “premium ground service offer” everywhere. However where they do offer depth, e.g. 3 different types of domestic lounge in the one terminal, they are extremely strong.) So the customer conversion question is – do you value (the potential of massively extended) quantity over (slightly reduced) quality? (The Lounge needs to be distanced from this equation, as it is a quality offer in all major cities. And should be valued as such!) Thus DJ gives its priority guests - something good on the ground in all the main centres they fly frequently, plus a guarantee of a minimum premium ground service everywhere else they might end up infrequently.

Fourthly, its about selling the concept to the Airport Operators, in a way designed to keep their charges so much lower than if opening a lounge and challenging their concessional income stream.

Fifthly, it complements nicely as an addition feature for the Premium Economy something more anywhere/everywhere offer.

…matching its cost to the premium revenues it drives for VB

Ahhhh, holistic value vs transactional value. United we stand, divided we fall! The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. etc...

OK, that’s my thread hogging done.

 

[oz_mark]

Thinking out loud, if at a later date we were to make reciprocal Lounge access arrangements with a partner (join an alliance), entry by swiping Velocity/Lounge member card would need to be supplemented by being able to scan a boarding pass but that is adding some complexity. Come to think of it PY guests who are not Lounge members need access too, so maybe lowest common denominator is boarding pass scan. But then how to deliver vending? Card swipe would again be technically easiest (i.e. lowest cost), but again may be driven to boarding pass scan.

I would have thought that some link back to the BP would be required, as access to the lounge does require you to have an onward flight. In addition, would the PriorityPass allow access as it does for The Lounge. I would hope so.

I don't know how much the cardboard cards cost (as used by CabCharge), but perhaps they provide an option, or a resuable plastic card retained by the door! could allow for a single entry option - just then need a way of distributing appropriately.

Alternatively, you could issue codes on th BP as a one time pass. Issue all the relevant folk with their own unique, valid for that day challenge code. You'd need a dispersed set to discourage guessing or just addng one!

I think a well designed offering at what QF have abandoned as leisure routes may offer something worthwhile (and the red rat could be reading these things as well!)

 

[Natt]

Hmm I wonder

regarding access maybe it could be a pass you could print off the net?

Or velocity members could buy a guest pass like they do already but a "mini pass"

just a thought

 

[mm472]

Virgin blue to open new ‘the lounge’ at perth airport

All the WA travellers will be happy by this news i am sure ! !

Virgin Blue > News and Press Releases

 

[notzac]

Re: Virgin blue to open new ‘the lounge’ at perth airport

Sounds excellent; great news for DJ pax!

If anyone knows, are there going to be The Lounge locations opening at any of the international terminals around Australia?

 

[Flashback]

Re: Virgin blue to open new ‘the lounge’ at perth airport

All the WA travellers will be happy by this news i am sure ! !

Virgin Blue > News and Press Releases

It's been a long time coming! Was supposed to open much earlier, but good that it's much closer now.

 

[serfty]

... and its Announced, opening Dec 2009

Virgin Blue > News and Press Releases

Tuesday 8 September 2009: Virgin Blue today announced plans to expand the airline’s presence in Perth with an investment in a new 500 square metre “The Lounge” at Perth Airport, which will have seating capacity for over 120 Guests.

Virgin Blue Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey, said: “We’ve demonstrated that Western Australia has been a key focus for us during the past 12 months, introducing new regional, interstate and international services to WA.”

“Our executive management team visited WA late last year and met with a number of people from the public and private sectors to investigate market needs and the potential for growth. Our expansion and continued investment is a direct result of their input,” he said.

The Lounge in Perth will open in December 2009 and will be conveniently located on the ground floor of the Virgin Blue terminal, immediately through the security screening point. It will provide a range of services for both business and leisure travellers, including business facilities for those who want to continue working while they are on the move, as well as a range of options for people who want to sit back and relax by either watching HD plasma TVs, or choosing from a selection of newspapers and magazines. ...

 

[Oneworldplus2]

A selection of beers and self service wines will be served after 11am daily, along with premium savoury snacks.

The most important detail in the fine print.
I don't think that the bar in the QP's open till 1pm now?
But good on DJ for opening one in PER. About time as well.

 

[Flashback]

The most important detail in the fine print.
I don't think that the bar in the QP's open till 1pm now?
But good on DJ for opening one in PER. About time as well.

2pm in MEL/SYD from what I've seen; didn't take notice of PER opening time as I was in there at 5.45am and was nowhere near the bar...