Virgin Australia has reopened its domestic lounge at Melbourne Airport following a lengthy refurbishment.
The new Virgin Australia Lounge in Melbourne features the same basic layout of the previous lounge. But the space has been given a makeover with new furniture, signage, lighting and bathroom facilities. The style is similar to that of the brand new Virgin Australia Lounge in Adelaide that opened earlier this year.
With room for 650 people (or 500 with the current COVID-19 capacity limits), the new lounge features a barista coffee and wine bar, a buffet area, a business centre, various seating areas with apron views, bathrooms and showers.
“Capital city lounges are a big part of the Virgin Australia guest offering and we thank our loyal customers who have waited patiently for many months to see this incredible Lounge re-open in time for interstate travel to resume for Victorian and New South Wales residents,” Virgin Australia Chief Customer and Digital Officer Paul Jones said.
Virgin Australia also reopened its lounge in Sydney this week as regional COVID-19 travel restrictions are phased out in NSW, Victoria and the ACT. There are now 5 Virgin Australia Lounges open across the airline’s domestic lounge network with the Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth locations also open.
Virgin’s Canberra and Gold Coast lounges are still temporarily closed but will reopen in the coming months. The airline says the ongoing closure is “due to government restrictions and operational requirements”, which presumably means there aren’t enough flights departing these airports at the moment to make opening the lounges worthwhile.
As its new Melbourne lounge opens, Virgin Australia is also rolling out a new & improved dining menu to all lounges. Dishes include new salad options, breakfast croissants with ham, cheese & scrambled egg, scones, pasta, freshly baked cookies and smashed avo on sourdough toast – which also features on the airline’s Business Class menu on breakfast flights.
Over the past months while construction work on the Melbourne lounge was in progress, Virgin Australia had been sending Platinum & Business Class guests to the former VIP “Club” lounge at Melbourne Airport. Gold frequent flyers and Lounge members had access to a temporary Melbourne pop-up lounge next to McDonald’s.
Virgin says its Club lounge at Melbourne Airport, as well as its premium lounges in Sydney and Brisbane, will reopen by the end of March 2022.
Earlier this week, Qantas also reopened its domestic Business lounges in Sydney and Melbourne, along with its regional Qantas Club in Tamworth.
Qantas has not yet reopened any of its lounges in Canberra. The Qantas Clubs in Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Rockhampton and Port Hedland also remain closed for now. Passengers who would normally have access to the Qantas Club in Sydney or Melbourne are currently being sent to the Business Lounge instead.
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