During the refurb, travellers on Virgin Australia flight VA1 to Los Angeles are the real winners, with business class guests plus Gold and Platinum members of Velocity instead invited to use the new Etihad lounge at Sydney Airport:

There they join passengers on VA29 to Abu Dhabi, who already have Etihad lounge access before jetting to the UAE.

Guests on Virgin Australia’s shorter international flights to destinations including New Zealand, Fiji and Indonesia, along with eligible Velocity members flying with Air New Zealand, Delta and Hawaiian Airlines can instead use a temporary Air NZ lounge during the construction period.