Update: Virgin Australia's new Brisbane lounge is now open – check out our photo gallery!
Previous: Virgin Australia will open its new lounge at Brisbane airport tomorrow, Wednesday, July 27, as the airline continues its drive to woo premium passengers away from Qantas.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson confirmed to Ausralian Business Traveller that the new lounge will open its doors to Virgin Australia passengers on Wednesday afternoon, after being closed for many months of renovation.
The lounge takes its design cues from Virgin's Melbourne Airport lounge with a bright and contemporary feel and will feature what Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti has described as a "priority access lane."
Virgin's Sydney lounge will get a modern Melbourne-esque makeover in 2012 and will be expanded to two floors, Lounge designer Tim Greer of TGZ Architects told Australian Business Traveller.
"The main lounge is on the lower level, there’s another mezzanine level upstairs which the airport have been using for functions" Greer says. "We’ll take over that space and have a two story lounge.”
Perth is in line for similar renovations, Greer says, with all Virgin Australia lounges eventually built along similar visual and functional lines to Melbourne.
“Each lounge will be like (Melbourne) but configured for a different space” Greer says. “We’ll have have a suite of lounges based on the same ideas, with a visual connection but subtle differences.”
“But they’ll all have a library space, a bar space, a hub space, a verandah space and a quick stay space because those are the spaces we’ve identified that people really want.”
Check out our photo gallery of the new Melbourne Airport lounge for a taste of what's in store for Brisbane.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Virgin Blue - Velocity Rewards
12 May 2011
Total posts 66
Great news! You guys going on the launch to take some snaps and a review for us?
21 Jul 2011
Total posts 89
Well can't wait to try DJ's offering. QF Business lounge in Mel this morning no hot food at 8.40. My years of loyalty to QF are numbered with this real competition opening up. Mr Joyce, I hope you're taking notes!
04 Nov 2010
Total posts 670
Virgin was letting Qantas Gold and Platinums into their Melbourne lounge even if they had no Velocity or were just Velocity Red but that arrangement runs out this week, will they extend it for QF Gold and Platinums in Brisbane now? I hope so because thats the only way you can really 'experience' these lounges, photos alone don't quite do justice.
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