V-Flyer

JFK, BOS and SEA flights moving into T3 from March 2014. That'll be >250 DL pax in the Clubhouse daily then. I see the VS1 has been retimed (poorly IMO) and also the VS 11 is moving back by two hours to spread out the BOS flights between DL and VS.

Inevitable I guess. We'd better enjoy the relative serenity* of the CH while we can!

* Yes, I know it can get ridiculously busy at peak times! Even more so from April ...

Urgh.

I see its actually April. Means an extra month of a "quieter" CH!

I would imagine space constraints are the reason why the whole of DL hasn't moved into T3.

I guess once AC, CA, SQ, MS etc all bugger off to T2 next year, DL will move fully afterwards, subject to any building works HAL want to undertake on T3.

With vacated airline lounges at T3, I wonder if DL will have its own Skyclub in T3 (doubtful) or if somehow there could be an enlarged CH to cope with the additional demand (again doubtful).

As Suggested by willd upthread - why Couldn't DL have its own lounge in T3? They must have enough money for it?

Hmmmmm..... will quiz the LHR CH flying club rep on Thursday when I see her

Raffles has written about this today on headforpoints.

I quote: "How it will cope with an influx of Delta passengers remains to be seen.  I foresee particular problems if SkyTeam elite members are given access when travelling Economy, although it is possible that Delta and Virgin will arrange access to a separate lounge for non-Upper Class passengers."

Let's hope so ... I say send them to Servisair! It would probably still be an improvement on most of the lounges they're used to in the US!

The CH is a big part of the trip for me when I fly with VS and it's not going to be as enjoyable if it's too crowded and the service suffers .

Blacky1 wrote:The CH is a big part of the trip for me when I fly with VS and it's not going to be as enjoyable if it's too crowded and the service suffers .

I completely agree, the soft product, and the LHR CH ın partıcular, ıs the maın factor swıngıng my long haul flıghts to vırgın over BA. And ıf thıs heralds a new era of overcrowded lounges and strıcter polıcıes where I can't get my chıldren ın, then ıt's goıng to be a case of 'so long and thanks for all the redheads'. The extra BA reward flıght ınventory for gold status ıs already sorely temptıng me!

RC

I hope VS realise that, for many premium passengers, the Clubhouses are their biggest asset.

In the air there's now very little that makes VS stand out over BA - and even less over some of the middle and far eastern carriers - so as ratechaser points out above, the Clubhouses are often the game changer.

I fear any downgrade of the unique Clubhouse experience would be a retrograde step that could drive away many high-spending passengers.

Totally agree with gumshoe. Just experienced LRH and BOS Clubhouses this weekend and they certainly make the experience unique.
But let's not forget the Revivals Lounge at Heathrow , it is a much smaller facility but boy was the shower this morning welcome, and needed! I cannot imagine this facility accommodating a huge influx of extra customers.

I fear that this could be the beginning of the end as far as the unique UC Wing and CH experience is concerned.

Like many others have said, if the DL J passengers plus status passengers who aren't flying J are allowed access to the Clubhouses then the place will become an entirely different proposition.

Imagine trying to get a treatment...!

Hopefully they may be able to adopt the EK rule - access only when flying on EK metal - but I presume that this will depend on who is the dominant partner.

pjh wrote:Hopefully they may be able to adopt the EK rule - access only when flying on EK metal - but I presume that this will depend on who is the dominant partner.

The DL press release says:

"The move will allow for convenient connections and a seamless customer experience for customers flying with Virgin and Delta, including access to Virgin Atlantic's award winning Clubhouse for all business class passengers."

So it looks like the best we can hope for is that they restrict it to business & first pax only. As Raffles says, if they allow all their elite status pax access as well, that really will lead to trouble.

250 pax a day isn't that many really.

Interesting...

Could this lead to a massive influx of Delta pax in the CH - or could it be nothing to worry about? I guess only time will tell, but from looking at flight times out of LHR you could workout when it would be busy or not..?

Would be interesting to hear what VA has to say on the matter?

Seattle flight leaves at 12.20pm.
Which is the same time as the Little Red Manchester flight which is being axed.

Thanks to Pilot Prune for that snippet!

Anyone know what the 'maximum occupancy' of the CH is?

Sealink wrote:250 pax a day isn't that many really.

VS have, what, about 25 flights a day out of LHR and DL will have 5 so it's about a 20% increase.

The bigger concern, though, is how many DL elite status pax flying in Y will use the CH if they're allowed to.

I suspect the proportion of elite pax travelling in Y on the average DL flight is far higher than on VS, simply because there are far more of them.

Thinking more about this - it could really be a game changer...

Clubhouse is as many have said a really unique point of difference. For many UC it is a norm, but for some of us PE pax the idea of getting day tickets is quite exciting! If it becomes almost impossible to get these, especially at JFK where Delta have loads of flights leaving T4.

Today for example there are 3 VS flights from T4 at JFK - so most of the time getting a space in the clubvhouse for a few bucks would happen (with a bit of luck!). Delta have 57 flights from T4 today - so if they start letting DL pax into this it could be very very busy!

Darren Wheeler wrote:Anyone know what the 'maximum occupancy' of the CH is?

Good question ... I'd guess around 400, given it's 2,500 square feet and the Gatwick one, which is 800 square feet, can hold 130.

If you are a Diamond, Platinum or Gold Medallion member traveling on or after July 3, 2013, on a Virgin Atlantic-operated flight, you can expect to receive the following benefits:
•Priority Check-In
•Priority Baggage Handling
•Priority Security
•Priority Boarding
•Baggage fee waiver for one additional piece up to 23kg (~50lbs)

Additionally, Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse access will be offered to Diamond and Platinum Medallion members on same-day travel when flying on a Delta- or Virgin Atlantic-operated transatlantic flight to or from the U.K.

Please travel with and be prepared to show your Medallion card to the Virgin Atlantic representative to receive these benefits.


https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US ... faqs.html#

As I said a while back the bigger concern is when DL move all flights to T3. I can't seem them wanting to keep split terminal operations for too long, especially with this partnership. I also don't see HAL being too happy with another split terminal operation (a la UA, BA is a bit of a different beast).

I think HAL has learnt from the issues with T5 hence the staged migration of carriers into T2. I would imagine HAL want to keep space at T3 for a period of time just in case there are T5 type issues. Once T2 is fully bedded in I anticipate DL moving across in full.

It will be interesting to see what happens then with the CH.

Presumably at that point DL would open their own lounge in T3. Whether anyone would use it if they also had access to the CH is another matter.