V-Flyer

Flew down from Newcastle this morning and have spent a good few hours waiting for my onward flight to Vancouver.
The BA First Lounge in T3 is in serious need of a revamp, food is "adequate" and drinks (all self service OK), but it still falls considerably short of the Clubhouse in every respect.

Had a wander into the Qantas Lounge which is newly refurbished and smells great of new carpet and paint. It is obvious they are trying hard, even the welcome was more genuine, but again it ain't no Clubhouse!

Have to admit that despite my reservations both beat sitting in Café Nero!

The general consensus is the CX lounge in T3 is the best OW one. Followed by Qantas with BA and AA also available. BA lounges serve so many status passengers at the London hubs they’ll always be a bit so so. I flew to LUX last week on a £42 day return, as a BAEC Gold I was in the lounge, with a guest. The Virgin CH doesn’t have to deal with thousands of SH economy passengers with status.

It’s apples and pears. VS is really a niche airline with a fantastic clubhouse whereas BA have literally thousands of oneworld status passengers passing through their LHR lounges everyday. I have been known to drink JW Blue to the value far exceeding the cost of my LHR/MAN ticket

Hazban.... why did you not fly with Virgin then

ken54 wrote:Hazban.... why did you not fly with Virgin then

No doubt because he was flying to Vancouver.

Spot on Honey Lamb!
I have flow the route with them in the past. Great City.

not sure why you fly an airline then moan about it. surely the best thing is not to fly them, like i do with Ryanair.

ken54 wrote:not sure why you fly an airline then moan about it. surely the best thing is not to fly them, like i do with Ryanair.

I see your point ken54 but it’s an overly simplistic view. When you want to get somewhere you choose from what’s available and whether you want direct flights or connections.

I’ve just flown this route LHR-YVR return: the BA lounges are dire (get ready for the YVR lounge hazban, it’s much worse!), it’s a fact. The rest of the product is good (I was flying F), but the T3 lounge especially is like a cemetery. I was glad I’d spent most of my time in the CX lounge and just the last hour in BA lounge, it was that awful.

Again if Ryanair was the only airline flying to a destination, i just would not go, i would not book it then complain, i just would go

just a reminder that just like with BA - not every lounge is up to the standard of the CCR or First lounges or even Club lounges - that not all VS destinations have a CH up to the standard of LHR, LGW and JFK.

Indeed many destinations only have 3rd party lounges with relatively limited facilities and food and drink offerings.

Just making an observation not a moan about everything BA (ken54).
Thanks for the heads up Bretty re YVR. I have actually flow the route a few times in first and know what to expect!

Airport Lounges are only part of the travelling experience and I appreciate being able to use them, but when selecting who to travel with on board experience, convenience and value for money are probably more important to me.