Hi!
I'm flying to NZ and back with Virgin.
I got the mail from the airline to bid for a ticket upgrade to business and the starting price are not bad so I was thinking to try, for the first time in my life, to bid to travel in business!
One of the benefit of the upgrade is the lounge access and I was wondering: if I buy the upgrade for the flight NZ -> Brisbane (then I'll have an domestic connection flight), may I use the Lounge access in Wellington AND in Brisbane or in Brisbane the 'll ask the ticket for the coming domestic flight?
Virgin Upgrade ticket to Business -> Lounge Access
MatteCar on 18/12/2019 - 14:16
Comments
True…its not true business business. At best is slightly better eco class.
Thank you.
I'll do WLG - BNE so ye, will still be an A320. Didn't knew about the iPad…but I was more interested to the Lounge access and catering honestly, I've got my iPad!
Minimum bid is 140$ and the flight looks pretty empty so should be enough. Do you even earn more Velocity or status credits upgrading to business?Wait.. what? I didn’t think VA had any A320s on trans-Tasman (do they have any at all?). It should be a 737-800. Business class product is the same as domestic, but still decent. I don’t really feel the need for a lie flat bed for a 3-4 hr flight.
Not sure there are any better business class seats on the bne-wlg route either - I thought all the better seats were on bne/syd/Mel-akl (with qf a330 or ci a350 or nz 777 planes) or Mel-wlg (sq 777?) or syd-chc (ek A380). Your only other option on this route is nz and THEY fly a320 iirc, but with no business class.
Do you even earn more Velocity or status credits upgrading to business?
No.
You still won't have in flight entertainment; they stopped providing iPads for business class in September 2019. The seats are a bit bigger and nicer than economy but nothing fancy and were dated. You'll likely be flying on an A320 narrowbody
I did not know this and this is the thing I'm most outraged about today. And, on your average day, I'm outraged about a lot.
(edit: actually after thinking about it a few minutes - I'm more outraged about the rip-off that is eBay Plus for those who foolishly paid full price for it)
I think you can only use the lounge in Brisbane if your domestic flight is also in business class
https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/information/domestic-a…
So basically if you fly Business you should be able to use their lounge on arrival. Note that it's time limited (60mins counting from flight arrival) which might not suit your need best.Yep, looks like. Perfect!
How does the time limit work? They come over to you and tell you to piss off?
Virgin's J class catering is quite good so I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
I dont think accessing a lounge on arrival to Brisbane will be possible.
Theoretically, according to the rules you can access a lounge on arrival but the problem you have is that you will only be eligible for the arrival lounge on your business ticket for your international flight.
At BNE international, Virgin use No. 1 lounge which is only accessible to departing passengers, you wont physically be able to get to it.
You can try arguing the point at the domestic terminal but I dont think they would let you in because at that stage your business class ticket is spent because you have left your arrival airport of BNE international, you will be viewed as a domestic economy passenger.Also you have to clear customs and immigration at BNE international, sort out your checked bag transfer and then get the train to domestic, you might not have time for the lounge.
I’ve two hours in BNE, I can allow an hour for the lounge. Is the international lounge for arrival and departure the same or are two different separate?
No, what Im trying to tell you is there is one international lounge for departures only, you cant get there from international arrivals.
The lounge SUCKS! lol - the one in NZ is even worse. I just got back from NZ and went to the lounge in Christchurch and literally there was scrambled eggs and wrinkled sausages and orange juice…….Nothing else. Nespresso coffee pods. It was so crap
But yeah the Business class cost me $130 each way extra and even at that price I was still wondering if it was worth it. The seat room was good, but the meals etc weren't anything to write home about.
They just want to balance the plane out. They would offer this as free if people like you told them to stuff it.
The flight is only 3 hours or so… it is tolerable in plebeian section…. but too want to what… give them more money for what?Re entertainment, Virgin has had an app for quite a while. All entertainment is available via that on you our own device.
For $140, I would give it a try. Lounge access, bigger seat, fewer queues, and their catering is generally pretty good.
Make sure you download the Virgin Australia Entertainment app for streaming in-flight entertainment (this is for both economy and business).
If you get the upgrade, you might be able to access the VA Brisbane domestic lounge before your onward connection (definitely not any of the lounges in the international terminal since they won't be accessible from arrivals).
Can't answer the connection part - but be aware their trans tasman planes are the same as domestic and their business class very average
You still won't have in flight entertainment; they stopped providing iPads for business class in September 2019. The seats are a bit bigger and nicer than economy but nothing fancy and were dated. You'll likely be flying on an A320 narrowbody
I did this last month on SYD-AKL with the minumum bid of $175 and was accepted - only 5 out of the 8 seats were taken