Back in December of last year, Delta announced they'd be taking over Singapore Airlines' 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic, which would lead to a pretty damn powerful joint venture for transatlantic travel. At the time the details hadn't been hashed out, though that has now changed, as the details have been announced and the partnership…
Continue reading: Delta and Virgin Atlantic announce details of their joint venture (fuel surcharges are up in the air)
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
wow that was fast! I'd imagine the Virgin Clubhouse at JFK Terminal 4 will be more crowded now that Delta elite members have access to it!
Will this mean Virgin Clubhouse access with a delta lounge membership?
What about with a membership and a SkyTeam flight like AF? Or AF with a DL flight number?
@ Iolaire McFadden -- I haven't seen an announcement suggestng that SkyClub members would get access, so I doubt it.
Do you think Singapore Airlines suites/PPS members will still have access to the Virgin Clubhouse?
@ Joey -- That's a great question. As of now they still seem to have a contract for the lounge, though I suspect that will change. Maybe not immediately, but eventually it will I'm sure.
Hopefully, availability will be like Air France used to be, rather than what it is now.
I've had trouble figuring this out - I know that Hawaiian changed their mileage rates for redeeming Hawaiian miles on VS, but didn't they also add fuel surcharges to the awards as well? What would an upper class JFK->LHR RT award run with HA miles?
I'm looking forward to learning more about their partnership and how we can use Virgin Atlantic miles to fly on Delta.
@ Bill -- To the best of my knowledge Hawaiian still doesn't impose fuel surcharges on Virgin Atlantic.
They charge 125,000 miles for Upper Class between the east coast of the US and Europe, and 160,000 miles for Upper Class between the west coast and Europe.
I believe BE/DM/PM will only get access to the clubhouses when travelling to transatlantic on wither Delta/Virgin.
Clubhouse access for Platinum and Diamond members is ONLY WHEN TRAVELING TO AND FROM THE UK on Delta or VS. This is made clear in the FAQs and fine print but Delta keeps excluding it from the headline text, which is very misleading...there are going to be lots of angry Delta Diamonds banging on the door at the JFK Clubhouse!
That said, given how nice the Clubhouse is, I'm happy they're doing something to keep it uncrowded and to avoid feeling cost pressure to water down the product, but still -- don't bait and switch.
Also, seems like this would be a good time to book VA tickets using DL miles if one is planning to...if VS tickets come with fuel surcharges, it seems like DL might take the opportunity to decide "why not" and start charging them more broadly.
If I'm reading this correctly, i will be able to book Delta business class SFO-CDG for 90,000 VA miles. Is that right? That looks like a good deal, but how is availability? And, do i use the delta website or the VA website?
@ David O -- In theory that's correct, though Delta is horrible about releasing low level award space, and chances are there will be hefty fuel surcharges imposed as well, so you'd probably pay close to $1,000 in addition to the miles.
I happen to have a Delta top tier something or other thanks to their partnership with SPG program. As a SPG Platinum that gives me something worthwhile when flyign with delta, but does it mean I am truly of that level in Delta, and therefore will be treated top tier on VS now too?
@ Dax -- Sadly that's not enough "status" to get you anything on Virgin Atlantic.
Suspected as much. When I lived in London I was VAA gold for a few years, was a great experience as regularly seemed to get comp'ed from Prem+ to Upper. Moving to the states and switching to United was an eye opener!
[...] Lucky has some details on the Delta/Virgin America joint venture and its implications for earning and redeeming mil.... [...]
While you mention not too many people would care, I would really like to know how I can book domestic flights on Delta with Virgin Atlantic! I just happen to beb in those small towns where Delta has the only direct flight to ATL, hence the fares are ridiculous on Delta, but they do offer plenty of low award space that make redeeming for points worthwhile. I haven't been able to find a way to redeem on Virgin Atlantic this whole day on their website. Once I select a departing US city, it automatically populates only UK destinations. Much thanks!