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If you have a Virgin Atlantic flight coming up soon, listen up.
4 of the U.K.-based carrier’s Clubhouse lounges will temporarily close at Boston, Johannesburg, San Francisco, and Washington-Dulles, as first noted by Head for Points.
Here’s what we know about the Virgin Clubhouses’ planned closures.
Big changes are just around the corner for Virgin Atlantic when it joins the SkyTeam airline alliance on March 2, 2023.
Until recently, Virgin’s Clubhouses — outside its main lounge at London Heathrow (LHR) — have been run by third-party lounge operator Plaza Premium, which also owns its own group of lounges worldwide.
Given that most of Virgin’s flights from its’ U.S. airports depart in the late afternoon, Plaza Premium has been able to use that dead capacity to open the Clubhouses up all day for its own lounge members.
However, when Virgin joins SkyTeam, elite members in the airline alliance will also gain access to the Virgin Clubhouses.
Hot Tip: Virgin Atlantic premium passengers or those flying with elite status get access to Virgin Clubhouses, as well as to partner lounges in airports where there isn’t a Clubhouse.
It turns out that Sodexo will be the new operator of several Virgin’s non-U.K. lounges. Sodexo, which doesn’t run any of its own lounges at the moment, will likely make changes in its newly acquired lounges — hence the reason for their temporary closures.
The Clubhouses affected are Boston (BOS), Johannesburg (JNB), San Francisco (SFO), and Washington D.C. (IAD). However, Virgin Clubhouses at London-Heathrow (LHR) and New York (JFK) will stay open.
The table below details the closure periods of these affected lounges, as well as the alternatives passengers will have access to during that time:
Lounge | Closure | Alternative Lounges |
Boston (BOS) | March 1 through April 14, 2023 | Delta Sky Club Express |
Johannesburg (JNB) | March 1 through March 13, 2023 | SLOW Lounge |
San Francisco (SFO) | March 1 through March 25, 2023 | China Airlines Lounge |
Washington, D.C. (IAD) | March 1 through March 3, 2023 | Turkish Airlines Lounge |
It appears that the ownership of several Virgin Clubhouses will change hands from Plaza Premium to Sodexo. Therefore, 4 of its Clubhouses — including 3 in the U.S. — will close for a short period of time starting March 1, 2023.
How different they’ll be when they reopen remains to be seen, but we’ll keep you updated as soon as we know more information!
