flyerCO

No guest at arrivals lounge. Arrivals lounges generally don't allow guests as they're outside the STE+ policy.

bgriff

Well, Virgin Atlantic is also outside STE+

But who knows who decided on it, but at some point it was universally decreed that arrivals lounge access doesn't come with guests:
https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con...n-lounges.aspx
https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...als-lounge.jsp

Perhaps because the main point of arrivals lounges is to take a shower, so it is much easier for an arrivals lounge to reach its effective capacity (set by the number of showers) than for a departures lounge to reach its capacity (set, mainly, by the number of seats).

mia

VS arrivals lounge at LHR is tiny.

I was at the VS LHR Clubhouse a few weeks ago, and disappointed to see that it has been reconfigured to resemble a gigantic restaurant. Much of the space is now dining chairs and tables, at the expense of other types of seating.

C W

Are there still Eames chairs?

bennos

Yeah, I noticed that too (prior to PM access being restored). The Library got infilled and the pool table was a construction zone, so presumably also infilled. Short of finding a new space to expand into, though, it's not clear how else to handle the influx of DL passengers...

BGT

Any experience with VS moving you from an extra legroom without any explanation? No one and Delta or VS can tell me why. Only to talk to an agent at the airport. Extremely frustrating.

bstv69

Planning a trip to India in January and am debated whether to fly with delta or Virgin Atlantic. The prices are pretty much the same and I will be a Platinum Medallion for this trip so my question is: which product is better in coach. I am a tall guy who always selects exit row, will i be able to do this on Virgin? Thanks

bgriff

I just visited the LHR Clubhouse for the first time in a while and just wanted to comment on this ... the seating in the Clubhouse is definitely more dense than it was, but I think it is still a very nice lounge, with a lot of diversity of seating types remaining. Changes include:

The old Library area has now been split into half dining area, half lounge seating.

The area that used to have a pool table and video game tables (I think? I forget) is now more dining seating.

The old TV area is now more densely populated with lounge seating, and there is a new area with a few little work desks near there

The hot tub has been removed and walls have been moved around in that area of the spa to create a new seating area with TVs and relaxation chairs


Overall I think they did a fairly good job -- the areas they have densified were generally under-utilized and/or poor uses of space (plus the hot tub was always broken and little used even when it was working), and the seating options are still eclectic and Virgin-style (it hasn't become a Sky Club) while meeting the need for greater capacity. The most popular unique features of the lounge (spa and haircuts, food and drink) remain the same as before, although I imagine at busy times of day it may be a bit more competitive to get spa appointments than it once was, unless they have staffed up proportionally.

The biggest problem now is that the LHR Clubhouse never did a great job of having power outlets by enough of the seats, and as far as I could tell few to none of the new seats have new power outlets along with them. So the current access to power situation is frankly unacceptable for a modern airport lounge.

SlimpyJones

I believe the pool table has now returned and lives upstairs in the loft.

mia

Thank you. I was in a particularly sour mood the last time we were there, and I'm sure that coloured my perception. Don't recall the specifics now, but I needed to re-pack our bags (to accommodate Duty Free goods?), and it was difficult to find a flat surface at a suitable height.

bgriff

I could see that being a problem, though it probably would have been an equal problem in the old lounge configuration too. The Clubhouse has always been strong on design but not always equally strong on functionality. (See also my comment about the state of power outlet access.)

In that particular situation I would probably try to grab one of the couch areas by the window (and behind the bar), which are also usually my favorite place to sit anyway. But at busy times you might not find any open.

nebraskaboy

A previous response to this post stated access is available to the LHR Clubhouse during the connection to JNB from North America. Just reviewing Delta.com and they call out that access is only granted to when taking transatlantic flights (quote below). Has anyone successfully gained access to the lounge when travelling beyond LHR (before I buy my tix)? Two diamonds travelling together so no worries about non-status guest.

flyerCO

As long as connecting to TATL from LHR to NA I've always gotten access. When flying just JNB/LHR and not connecting same day to NA, then I've been told no, but given as a "courtesy."

pvn

I'm looking at a CPH trip in a couple of weeks, and one of the routings I found is on a VS ticket, ATL-MAN-CPH, with the CPH segment marketed by SAS and operated by cityjet.

I'm probably not going to buy this routing, but it made me wonder, if there are IRROPs, will I be able to reroute via AMS or CDG?

What about on the return (CPH-LHR-ATL with CPH-ATL being marketed and operated by SAS and LHR-ATL being marketed/operated by VS)?

CPMaverick

It's a VS ticket, so they would be in charge of the reroute. I'm not sure who their preferred partners are (besides DL), but I don't think they partner up with AF or KL, so I doubt they'd reroute you on those carriers. They'd first try to get you on a VS flight over the Atlantic I presume, probably to LHR then onwards with a partner.