The oneworld alliance has started the process of opening its own branded lounges. We recently saw the opening of the first two lounges, at Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN) and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS). While I can’t personally vouch for this, there’s a (logical) rumor regarding one of the next possible locations for the lounge network…
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Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Manchester no longer in the cards
In 2019, Virgin Atlantic announced plans to open a Clubhouse at Manchester Airport (MAN). The plan was initially for this lounge to open in 2020, though if I recall correctly, something big happened that year. 😉
Nearly five years later, it seems pretty clear that Virgin Atlantic has given up on its Clubhouse plans in Manchester, as there are no signs of this lounge. For that matter, it’s logical that Virgin Atlantic would no longer want to invest in a lounge here.
Not only is the airline trying to return to profitability, but Virgin Atlantic retired many planes at the start of the pandemic, limiting the carrier’s growth. At this point, Virgin Atlantic’s network out of Manchester also isn’t huge — the airline flies to Atlanta (ATL), New York (JFK), and Orlando (MCO) year-round, and flies to Barbados (BGI) and Las Vegas (LAS) seasonally.
Will a oneworld lounge open in Manchester instead?
Twitter/X user @SPD_travels has an interesting update regarding the lounge situation in Manchester, which makes quite a bit of sense. This confirms that Virgin Atlantic no longer plans to open a Clubhouse in Manchester.
Instead, a new alliance lounge will be opening at the airport. It’s not stated what that alliance is, but it’s pretty clearly that oneworld is being referenced, based on the mention of it being an alliance that’s recently growing its lounge network, and which is seeing new service to the airport.
Now, logistically, does it make sense for oneworld to open a lounge in Manchester? Manchester is served by many oneworld airlines, and currently doesn’t have any oneworld lounges, but rather customers are sent to contract lounges.
The oneworld airlines at the airport include British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, and Royal Jordanian. On top of that, Aer Lingus operates some transatlantic flights out of Manchester. While the airline doesn’t belong to the oneworld alliance, it is part of the oneworld transatlantic joint venture.
The terminal logistics limit which oneworld passengers could use this lounge, though, at least for the time being. This lounge would be located in Terminal 2, so that means some oneworld passengers wouldn’t have access:
- Finnair operates from Terminal 1, while British Airways and Iberia operate from Terminal 3; however, these airlines are expected to eventually move to Terminal 2
- Meanwhile Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, and Royal Jordanian, operate from Terminal 2; on top of that there’s Aer Lingus, which could very well send its passengers to this lounge
So it’s not the world’s biggest oneworld presence right now, but that will increase in the long run. It definitely seems like there’s more merit to operating a oneworld Lounge here than a Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse. Only time will tell how this plays out, so it’s anyone’s guess when the lounge could open, how big it could be, etc.
In fairness, arguably there would be just as much merit to opening a SkyTeam Lounge or Star Alliance Lounge, since both of those alliances also have a significant presence at the airport.
Bottom line
While we’ll have to mark this as “developing” for now, it looks like the oneworld alliance might be opening a lounge at Manchester Airport, in the space that was supposed to be a Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse. Virgin Atlantic has reportedly scrapped plans to open its own lounge at the airport, so it seems logical for oneworld to step in and use this space, given the alliance’s lounge goals.
What do you make of the prospect of oneworld opening a lounge at Manchester Airport?
Lounge or no lounge I do my best to avoid this airport. It has the worst security arrangements, with large numbers of bags being rejected unnecessarily and long waits. It also grubby and run down. I used it last week for Iberia from Terminal 3 and the airport station involves a long trek past numerous broken travelators (every single one is broken) .. then a long trek inside and outside of buildings. The contract lounge...
Lounge or no lounge I do my best to avoid this airport. It has the worst security arrangements, with large numbers of bags being rejected unnecessarily and long waits. It also grubby and run down. I used it last week for Iberia from Terminal 3 and the airport station involves a long trek past numerous broken travelators (every single one is broken) .. then a long trek inside and outside of buildings. The contract lounge in T3 is ok. Hope Iberia join Aer Lingus and fly from Liverpool John Lennon airport soon, like Jet2 which has just opened a base serving 25 destinations…. Unlike Manchester, Liverpool has super fast security, very easy parking, convenient to get through very quickly. Manchester maybe investing in Terminal 2 but the neglect of the rest of the airport over the years is evident.
Why bother
MAN is by any standards a terrible airport.
Run down and down right ugly buildings, terrible but expensive parking, noisy and a security facility that is just incredibly inefficient.
I mean, unless there is further information, I struggle to understand why OneWorld is the only obvious option. OneWorld is a pretty minor player at the airport. While it wouldn't shock me if it was a OneWorld lounge, it also wouldn't shock me if it was SkyTeam or Star. Star has by far the most airlines operating from MAN. SkyTeam is the alliance of Virgin, so might make sense if they decided to opt for...
I mean, unless there is further information, I struggle to understand why OneWorld is the only obvious option. OneWorld is a pretty minor player at the airport. While it wouldn't shock me if it was a OneWorld lounge, it also wouldn't shock me if it was SkyTeam or Star. Star has by far the most airlines operating from MAN. SkyTeam is the alliance of Virgin, so might make sense if they decided to opt for an alliance lounge instead of their own lounge.
Lots of possibilities that would be reasonable unless there is more information that you have that you aren't sharing...
Come 2025, all airlines but Ryanair will be in Terminal 2 so it makes sense.
I know the referenced tweet hints at oneworld, but wouldn't Star Alliance also be possible here? Several Star partners operate to MAN, including SQ with longhauls to both Singapore and Houston. AC also flies there in the summer. Even if it's an underdog I wouldn't completely rule them out.
SkyTeam lounge ? Considering Air France and klm have multiple flights plus and Virgin all from terminal 2
one of the worst/inefficient security I've experienced in any airport in MAN
Regarding terminal usage - T2 is due to become the main terminal (used by 80% of pax) by summer 2025. T1 will be closed and T3 is very likely to become Ryanair only. Gives more credence to the idea of it being a oneworld lounge, when all the airlines are soon to be under one roof.
Manchester T2 is currently under major redevelopment, to be completed in 2025. Once finished, T1 will close and they say 80% of the airlines will consolidate at T2, with T3 retained for low cost carriers. BA and IB most certainly will move over, so this does make a lot of sense.
All airlines barring Ryanair are due to move to T2 next year and on the completion of this phase of the T2 redevelopment. This means Aer Lingus (Dublin/Belfast), British Airways, Iberia and Vueling (also an IAG airline) will be in T2 also
Where is the rest of the latest trip report? It's been days since an installment.