posted Thursday, 26 November 2009, 20:20 (+0800), by Martin
At the end of a recent
business trip in Adelaide,
some colleagues and myself finished our customer meetings at about 4pm on a Friday afternoon,
and headed to the airport, with most of us booked on a Virgin Blue flight scheduled for 7:15pm.
When checking in, we were told our flight was delayed by about an hour, and we were told to listen for announcements about boarding times for our flight.
One of my colleagues was booked on a Qantas flight that evening, and managed to get us all into the Qantas Club lounge. It just felt wrong walking into the Qantas Club lounge with a Virgin Blue boarding pass in my pocket, but I wasn't about to complain - I would much rather spend a few hours in the lounge enjoying the free food and drinks, than out in the airport.
However, we soon discovered a problem - in the Qantas Club lounge, the only announcements are for Qantas flights, and that wasn't of any use to us waiting for our Virgin Blue flight!
Pulling out a laptop, we checked Virgin Blue's website, via the Qantas wireless internet access. However, it didn't provide us with any useful information about our delayed flight.
Several hours later, the lounge was emptying as people were leaving to board their flights. We were considering sending one of our number out into the airport to check the screens for the departure time for our flight.
Before we could decide on a course of action, the Qantas Club lounge staff kicked us out of the lounge, as it was being closed for the evening, as there were no more Qantas flights out of Adelaide!
Our flight began boarding about half an hour later, so we certainly got good value out of our visit to the Qantas Club lounge.
When checking in, we were told our flight was delayed by about an hour, and we were told to listen for announcements about boarding times for our flight.
One of my colleagues was booked on a Qantas flight that evening, and managed to get us all into the Qantas Club lounge. It just felt wrong walking into the Qantas Club lounge with a Virgin Blue boarding pass in my pocket, but I wasn't about to complain - I would much rather spend a few hours in the lounge enjoying the free food and drinks, than out in the airport.
discarded
Adelaide Airport, Adelaide, South Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 50mm f/1.8 @50mm, 1/30 sec, f/2.8, ISO640
Canon EOS 50D, 50mm f/1.8 @50mm, 1/30 sec, f/2.8, ISO640
texting home
Adelaide Airport, Adelaide, South Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 50mm f/1.8 @50mm, 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO640
Canon EOS 50D, 50mm f/1.8 @50mm, 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO640
However, we soon discovered a problem - in the Qantas Club lounge, the only announcements are for Qantas flights, and that wasn't of any use to us waiting for our Virgin Blue flight!
please switch off your mobile phone
Adelaide Airport, Adelaide, South Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 50mm f/1.8 @50mm, 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO640
Canon EOS 50D, 50mm f/1.8 @50mm, 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO640
Pulling out a laptop, we checked Virgin Blue's website, via the Qantas wireless internet access. However, it didn't provide us with any useful information about our delayed flight.
the aftermath
Adelaide Airport, Adelaide, South Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 50mm f/1.8 @50mm, 1/25 sec, f/2.8, ISO400
Canon EOS 50D, 50mm f/1.8 @50mm, 1/25 sec, f/2.8, ISO400
Several hours later, the lounge was emptying as people were leaving to board their flights. We were considering sending one of our number out into the airport to check the screens for the departure time for our flight.
Before we could decide on a course of action, the Qantas Club lounge staff kicked us out of the lounge, as it was being closed for the evening, as there were no more Qantas flights out of Adelaide!
Our flight began boarding about half an hour later, so we certainly got good value out of our visit to the Qantas Club lounge.
That is very selfish by the Qantas Club Lounge. They should provide information of the flights that are other than Qantas. But is there no lounge of Virgin airlines at the Adelaide Airport?