Rhys and I were at Heathrow Terminal 3 today to celebrate the reopening of the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, and indeed the reopening of the entire terminal, after 450 days.
Virgin and its partner Delta are the first two airlines to move back.
I was expecting the lounge to be empty, so it was a pleasant surprise to arrive and find it bustling before a couple of flights got called. The airline is running 11 passenger flights and eight cargo flights from Heathrow today.
There is no real structure to this article so I will just slot in some pictures as we go.
The Upper Class Wing has also reopened for drive through check-in as you can see – I got dropped off there:
Inside the lounge, things are pretty much as they were. The Clubhouse has always been primarily table service. You can either order food and drink via an app, as you can in the British Airways lounges, or give your order to a waiter – although the waiter will still scan the QR code on your behalf using his own device and input your details.
The deli bar is up and running but you now need to order for delivery to your table.
There was no ‘at bar’ service yesterday but Virgin is hoping to get the bar stools out from next Monday.
The Clubhouse spa has gone
Here is the key bit of news for regular users – the spa has gone. Not necessarily gone for good, but gone for now.
It has been replaced by a number of Peloton bikes as you can see here:
There is also a relaxation area under construction by the showers and steam room, which will contain sleep pods amongst other things.
The Virgin team was insistent that the spa could return if they found the right operator, but the time was not right.
What about the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at Manchester Airport?
The other bit of news is about Manchester. As we covered yesterday, the Terminal 2 extension has opened at Manchester Airport.
Virgin Atlantic will be restarting flights from Manchester next month starting with three weekly services to Barbados.
There will be a Clubhouse lounge in the Terminal 2 extension. It has apparently been structurally finished but not furnished. There is no plan to open it until 2022 when there will be the passenger volume to justify it.
The good news is that Virgin Atlantic passengers will be able to use the brand new 1903 Lounge in Terminal 2. 1903 is the premium airport-operated lounge brand (cash entry starts at £32.50) and I was very impressed by my visit to the original 1903 Lounge in Terminal 3 a few years ago.
Whilst the 1903 Lounge won’t be a Clubhouse, I don’t think passengers will be short changed. It will be a HUGE improvement on the awful Escape Plus lounge previously used by Virgin Atlantic passengers.
Conclusion
There was a real spring in the step of the Virgin Atlantic team today. As one person explained it to me, they liked Terminal 2 but it was beginning to feel like overstaying a visit to your in-laws. The lounge team were also delighted to be back, having been furloughed for almost 450 days.
If you have been putting off booking Virgin Atlantic Upper Class because of the lack of Clubhouse access, drive through check-in and the arrivals lounge (which has also reopened, although I didn’t see it) then you no longer have any excuses.
Written by Head for Points @ https://www.headforpoints.com
Written by Head for Points @ https://www.headforpoints.com