How Virgin plans to upgrade its Sydney, Brisbane, Perth lounges

Virgin Australia’s reopened Melbourne lounge marks the first time the airline’s ‘new lounge look’ introduced at Adelaide has been extended to its existing lounges, but it certainly won’t be the last.

Other Virgin lounges – including Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra – are also in line for a ‘less corporate, more casual’ refresh adding key aspects of the Adelaide design.

Virgin Australia's refreshed Melbourne Lounge.

This could even be subtly rolled out in several stages rather than closing any lounge for an extensive overhaul.

Although the next round of make-overs will be incorporated into Virgin’s lounge refurbishment schedule, the airline also sees ways to make smaller changes along the way.

“We’ll continue to work through our maintenance and refurbishment schedule (but also) do updates where where we think appropriate,” explains Sarah Adam, Virgin Australia's General Manager for Product & Customer Experience.

“That might be elements such as taking things like the greenery in sooner than then a full refurbishment,” Adam tells Executive Traveller. 

“There are elements we could bring in now that don't need to wait for a full refurbishment.”

Virgin Australia's refreshed Melbourne Lounge.

Adam said this could include some of the playful signage of the Adelaide and Melbourne lounges, “although obviously that comes with a level of disruption” for passengers and the lounge’s usual operations.

For its part, Melbourne serves as the poster child for how each lounge can be made more functional yet at the same time softer and more welcoming, evolving them into something that’s more ‘on brand’ for Virgin Australia 2.0.

New furniture and fittings evoke “a really relaxed vibe,” Adam says, while there’s a clear preference among travellers for the lounges to have defined spaces or zones for different needs, as is the case in the Adelaide and now Melbourne lounges.

Virgin Australia's refreshed Melbourne Lounge.

In Melbourne those spaces include

• The Gallery Lounge, described as "the perfect place to take in the stunning views of the tarmac” and featuring comfy chairs and ottomans
• The Sunroom, which affords "a mixture of cosy seating arrangements" leaning towards couples, colleagues and family members
• The Long Stay, tagged as "a chill-out zone adjacent to the Wine Down Bar with a focus on single seating for the solo traveller to catch up or unwind prior to their flight."

Those three areas were created within the lounge’s existing footprint and without removing or adding walls, Adam says.

“The structure stayed the same, we were able to create zones through furnishings” and by realigning some spaces to embrace existing features such as the barista station and wine bar.

Also read: Virgin Australia trials toasted sandwiches for economy meals