Virgin Australia Golds lose LAX lounge access

[Dannyism]

I think it was stinking hot when I was there. I just remember the waitress making me a damn good and very strong whiskey sour...

I always end up on the outside terrace anyway which is the best part of both lounges.

spacebar

You didnt miss much. Its a long white room with arm chairs and a couple of table/seats.

Meal from a menu served to you but basically J buffet food prettied up and a private code only door that leads in/out of the F lounge to J. Oh, and I though the ceiling was too low.

J terrace is the best part, Im really going to miss not sitting there next month.

 

[fewings85]

I'm now a priority pass member so I guess I will use the KLM Lounge for my return leg in March.

 

[ozjuice]

Doesn't the KLM lounge close at 10PM?

 

[fewings85]

flight departs 9.55pm so boarding around 8.55pm so not an issue

I land at LAX around quarter to 5 in the evening.

 

[grubbidok]

So, one of my little rituals used to be stretching my legs and walking out to the In-N-Out on Sepulveda for a snack (about 15mins walk from the terminal) on layovers of 2hrs or more. If you enjoy plane-spotting there are some incredible views of planes landing on the way.

Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but perhaps not such a bad option considering current options.

 

[Rdarby]

I'm in the Etihad lounge now. Be aware that if you arrive from a Delta flight as I did, I am not sure what terminal it was, you can follow signs to Terminal B Tom Bradley. This takes you through endless tunnels and keeps you airside so you pop out near the lift to the lounge entrance on level 5. However this means you did not check in and did not collect your voucher, if that is relevant to you. You do skip security.

I find the lounge small and crowded and really miss the old one. There is a long waiting list for the single shower per restroom here. Finding a seat is hard.

 

[fewings85]

sounds like Etihad will be glad to see the back of VA PAX when they move in with Delta. Might free up the lounge a little bit.

I hope the Sydney Etihad lounge isn't this bad. I'll be experiencing it for the first time this Thursday morning.

 

[CPMaverick]

I don't think Etihad has any flights during the VA lounge period, so this lounge was previously closed. But yes the staff, if they aren't employed solely to service the VA flights, is probably quite stressed about all the overcrowding.

 

[fewings85]

flight departs 9.55pm so boarding around 8.55pm so not an issue

I land at LAX around quarter to 5 in the evening.

I'm now a priority pass member so I guess I will use the KLM Lounge for my return leg in March.

I should mention I meant to type KAL not KLM Lounge.

So during the times in the eithad lounge its all just VA J PAX and VA WP only? Damn.

 

[grubbidok]

Does anyone have any opinion on the SYD Sky Team Lounge? I'm thinking that perhaps I'll just start using DL metal on trans-Pac flights from now on (TBH as a Y traveller I've felt VA slipping and DL getting better on that route anyway, but the lounge is the last straw). That seems to be the access on that flight.

I sent a complaint to Virgin about the new arrangements and got a pretty non-interested "yeah, sorry about that. We do try you know" response. Didn't even answer the specific questions I had (i.e. is the SYD EY lounge a permanent change, or also temporary? What happens with my SG wife and WP myself when we get to LAX [not the first time I've asked that BTW]).

Even the current DL Sky Club is better than the EY lounge at LAX, and I'm actually pretty confident the new DL lounge at LAX will be quite good. But the EY lounge at SYD is not worth going to with the numbers the VA flights pump into it and if that is a permanent fix for their flagship route count me out. Can't see the point in using VA as an elite on that route anymore if the lounge access is actually a worse option than hanging outside in the terminal.

Don't care about points either, to be honest most of my flights have had to be VA metal DL number anyway as VA can't handle booking a multi-city itinerary in the US!! But that's yet another issue...

 

[CPMaverick]

The SYD Skyteam lounge isn't anything to write home about. Not as good as the SQ or EY options but it is decent enough.

 

[grubbidok]

The SYD Skyteam lounge isn't anything to write home about. Not as good as the SQ or EY options but it is decent enough.

Is it roomy? My biggest issue has been not being able to get a seat in the EY lounge

IMO the EY lounge in SYD is actually two lounges. A great lounge when flying EY as there is room and it is full service, and a terrible lounge when flying VA as there is no room and they only provide half service (i.e. no dining)

 

[Jurahn]

Is it roomy? My biggest issue has been not being able to get a seat in the EY lounge

IMO the EY lounge in SYD is actually two lounges. A great lounge when flying EY as there is room and it is full service, and a terrible lounge when flying VA as there is no room and they only provide half service (i.e. no dining)

Wow, my upcoming trip to the US is turning into a bust as far as SYD and LAX lounge access goes, if the posts here are anything to go by. I was planning to have breakfast in the SYD EY lounge before the flight to LAX (I'm just a toast and cereal girl, so not worried if they don't have too much else in the way of breakfast offerings), but if the place is going to be packed and it's going to be impossible to even get a seat, I'm now starting to wonder whether it's worth taking the walk to the American Express lounge instead? Can anyone comment on the Amex lounge?

I don't have any alternative lounge access in LAX unfortunately, so it's the EY lounge or nothing

 

[CPMaverick]

Is it roomy? My biggest issue has been not being able to get a seat in the EY lounge

It's an odd shape, long and thin. If it was full there would be some congestion probably as there are bottlenecks in the walking areas. I've never had an issue finding a seat however.

 

[rtyuiop]

A quick report from my first visit to the EY lounge here in LAX...

Not overly full (so far)
Food isn't a patch on the *A lounge, but not terrible
The 630 opening time is quite annoying - surely one of the main advantages of a lounge is the way it helps with a very long wait?

And lastly - the most annoying thing ever - I really struggled to find a powerpoint when the lounge was empty, there are not even remotely enough. How on earth can somebody build a relatively recent lounge and not have an international power point next to every seat? Do they get designers who have never set foot in an airport to do them?

 

[anat0l]

And lastly - the most annoying thing ever - I really struggled to find a powerpoint when the lounge was empty, there are not even remotely enough. How on earth can somebody build a relatively recent lounge and not have an international power point next to every seat? Do they get designers who have never set foot in an airport to do them?

I wouldn't say their designers never set foot in airports; just maybe don't use lounges the same way as most other pax do. Or so we think.

Isn't it a funny irony how these days we are supposed to own devices that have better and better battery times, and yet we need access to power sockets even more and more? Even some of the buses in Brisbane now offer USB charging ports.

Jokes aside (maybe), I guess most of the arguments against the inclusion of many power points are:

• Wiring and power consumption (i.e. how much power would be sucked up by devices in that lounge)
• Aesthetics - OK, not really, but just guessing here

It's rather funny also that picking two reviews of the new EY lounge when it opened - one from a popular travel blog and another from AusBT - none of those two even mention anything about power sockets, let alone that there are very few. And I'm rather sure that the blogger would have use of a charging point; the author of the AusBT review and most of their readership - being "business travellers" - would likely find power sockets useful (assuming it was vitally required at the airport). Looking at how EY have decided to lay out the furniture and space, it didn't probably occur to them that at least a good smattering of power sockets across the lounge would be an idea.

 

[rtyuiop]

To be fair I did find a few more after I posted that message. But still not many!

I guess maybe etihad doesn't expect many connecting pax outbound at LAX, and so aren't worried about folks there for a long time?

 

[ozjuice]

Sharing some pictures would be awesome guys! especially food layout.

 

[Denali]

VA1 at Sydney and currently standing outside the EY lounge and its closed. No one answering the door bell.

EDIT. OPPS, stupid predictive text. I'm at Sydney!! People standing outside the lounge now.

 

[rtyuiop]

Not sure if it is perhaps open for a window between now and then Denali, but it opened at 6:30pm on Monday...