Velocity Platinum Bad deal KrisFlyer Gold lounge

[malmacdowall]

The Singapore KrisFlyer Gold lounge has to be the worst lounge deal that Virgin Australia made for thier Platinum members.
It seems to be getting worse with every visit.
Tonight's "dinner " selection was a choice of fried Vegetable balls(that were cold in the hot pan), steamed rice, chicken curry, soup and 1 other hot dish .... crammed packed with people the 1 round plate of desserts disappears in seconds of landing ... Just a third rate lounge ..... No toilet or shower facilities in the lounge either .. Come on Virgin, your platinum members want a better deal, particularly in a transit location like Singapore ..

 

[grubbidok]

Not sure if it's the worst deal (the Etihad lounges in SYD and LAX are pretty s**t too when on "half-service" for VA flights) but definitely sub-par.

 

[Pleb Status]

The Singapore KrisFlyer Gold lounge has to be the worst lounge deal that Virgin Australia made for thier Platinum members.
It seems to be getting worse with every visit.
Tonight's "dinner " selection was a choice of fried Vegetable balls(that were cold in the hot pan), steamed rice, chicken curry, soup and 1 other hot dish .... crammed packed with people the 1 round plate of desserts disappears in seconds of landing ... Just a third rate lounge ..... No toilet or shower facilities in the lounge either .. Come on Virgin, your platinum members want a better deal, particularly in a transit location like Singapore ..

What airline were you travelling on? I assume SQ?

 

[malmacdowall]

Yes, on SQ

 

[malmacdowall]

Chalk and cheese compared to Etihad lounges in UAE

 

[Pleb Status]

Yes, on SQ

On a SQ flight number or on the VA codeshare?

 

[Jet L]

Maybe its time VA or Virgin Group open some F and J Lounges domestically and internationally

 

[ap_member]

I agree; it's really disappointing.

The Singapore Airlines partnership leaves a lot to be desired. Another part of the equation that irks me is the lack of lounge access in airports that don't have a proper Singapore Airlines lounge. With Etihad for example, you can use their partner lounges, but with Singapore Airlines, you're out of luck (at least from my understanding of the program). So a return trip to Paris would only see access to one 'proper' lounge (in the Australian departure airport), two visits to a sub-par lounge in Singapore and nothing in Paris.

 

[Punky]

Can't see it changing anytime soon. It is, after all, Singapore Airlines home, and that is the lounge that it offers. Star Alliance members use the same lounge....

 

[kpc]

My understanding is that Velocity wanted access to Sq Business Krisflyer lounge in Sin for its Plat members but Sq said "no".

 

[yohy?!]

its offensive really, its gaps like these that drive people away from VFF.

SQ provides the defacto international network for VA in Asia, SIN as a hub should be a significantly better experience.

 

[llamaesque]

My understanding is that Velocity wanted access to Sq Business Krisflyer lounge in Sin for its Plat members but Sq said "no".

Hugely disappointing, the Business lounge is actually half decent. Krisflyer Gold lounge is an over-crowded shambles.

 

[777]

To be fair to VA it's the same cough deal that Star Alliance Golds suffer when passing through Changi.

 

[Jet L]

Never been there so I cannot speak to experience but if *G have to put up with it then VA-G should be able to live with it

 

[samuson]

Completely agree, the krisflyer gold lounge is terrible. It's the no toilets and no showers that annoys me - as an airline with primarily transiting passengers, this is a joke.
In saying so, I cannot understand why VA can't push for something similar to the NZ arrangement (which would be a start).
"In addition, from 6 January 2015, Business Class passengers, Elite members and Elite partners, when connecting to or from an Air New Zealand or Singapore Airlines flight between New Zealand and Singapore, are able to access the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class lounge in Singapore. Please note, no guests are permitted."

 

[burmans]

Completely agree, the krisflyer gold lounge is terrible. It's the no toilets and no showers that annoys me - as an airline with primarily transiting passengers, this is a joke.
In saying so, I cannot understand why VA can't push for something similar to the NZ arrangement (which would be a start).
"In addition, from 6 January 2015, Business Class passengers, Elite members and Elite partners, when connecting to or from an Air New Zealand or Singapore Airlines flight between New Zealand and Singapore, are able to access the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class lounge in Singapore. Please note, no guests are permitted."

Perhaps because the SQ alliance is a marriage of convenience at best.

 

[roby]

Completely agree, the krisflyer gold lounge is terrible. It's the no toilets and no showers that annoys me - as an airline with primarily transiting passengers, this is a joke.
In saying so, I cannot understand why VA can't push for something similar to the NZ arrangement (which would be a start).
"In addition, from 6 January 2015, Business Class passengers, Elite members and Elite partners, when connecting to or from an Air New Zealand or Singapore Airlines flight between New Zealand and Singapore, are able to access the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class lounge in Singapore. Please note, no guests are permitted."

Well, I think each alliance has it’s own merits. Probably NZ got their lounge deal because they fly their own metal to SIN which I think is fair enough. If you look at the NZ/SQ deal, you will find that there is no lounge access for MI flights at all, no points with the lowest economy fares, no Star redemptions in Business/First on A380/B77W aircraft, no points exchange between programs, cough earning rates on SQ metal even with NZ flight number, etc. I think the VA/SQ alliance is far more superior.

 

[NZflygirl]

Just a guess but I don't think VA Plat is viewed as being on par with SQ PPS, flying J with $25,000 min spend?? I know I've not spent anywhere near even half way (or maybe even a quarter or less) to get to 800sc.

NZ I think gets in due to their deal on the AKL-SIN route and maybe a bit of the *A at play. There are limitations to that one route after all. And there's more routes in Oz and more Aussies! Is lounge crowding a consideration?

 

[Lemon_Party]

The lack of toilets/showers is poor, but at least there is a section with a view and that is reasonably light and airy. It's not the worst place to spend a couple of hours. Clearly the SQ J lounges are better, but compared to other airlines flagship lounges, SQ J lounge at SIN isn't great either.

SQ partnerships biggest weakness for me is intermittent coverage by only providing access to silverkris lounges as someone else noted.

It would be much better if SQ could provide a lounge option at each airport, and a touch of class at SIN for top tier flyers would be a bonus (recently I used the F lounge in AUH - incredible) - I'm sure a lot of VA flyers use SQ due to the alliance. I know I do.

 

[malmacdowall]

Totally agree Lemon_Party, the F lounge in AUH is amazing and even the business lounge is outstanding. Exactly why I go with Etihad to Europe, not SQ... but on Asia runs there doesn't seem to be a better option