For my journey back to the US I was flying from Sydney to Melbourne to Los Angeles. I was supposed to be on the 6:30AM flight from Sydney to Melbourne, but both the 6:30AM and 7:30AM flights got canceled, apparently due to fog in Melbourne.
It’s insane how many flights Virgin Australia operates between Sydney and Melbourne. For example, over the course of three hours in the morning there are flights at 6:00AM, 6:30AM, 7:00AM, 7:15AM, 7:30AM, 8:00AM, 8:30AM, and 9:00AM. Goodness gracious.
I met up with Zac of Points from the Pacific in Sydney (he was also staying at the Hyatt Regency and was on the same flight to Melbourne), so we shared an Uber to the airport at around 4:30AM.
Virgin Australia’s domestic flights leave from Terminal 2.
Sydney Airport Terminal 2
The check-in process was super quick, though I did check my bag for the first time in forever, given how big it was at this point in the journey.
Sydney Airport Terminal 2
Bye bye bag!
The agent also gave me an immigration form and a fast track card for Melbourne.
Express Path card & immigration form
At this point it was around 4:55AM, and Zac pointed out that Virgin Australia’s “Lounge Premium Entry” opens at 5AM, so we figured we’d check that out. Essentially it’s a separate entrance at the far end of the terminal for business class passengers, as well as Velocity Platinum and Gold members.
Virgin Australia premium check-in Sydney Airport
Virgin Australia premium check-in Sydney Airport
I felt a bit weird taking pictures inside since it was also a security checkpoint, but basically it’s a separate check-in facility where you can also go through security, and that lets out directly in the lounge. Since we already had our boarding passes, we could head straight to security.
Virgin Australia premium check-in Sydney Airport
Then just past security was the entrance to the lounge, which is actually the only place to go from this entry. This is a cool concept, especially when you consider that even domestic business class passengers have access to this.
Virgin Australia Lounge entrance Sydney
Inside the entrance was a large hallway, and you could go different directions based on whether you wanted to go to the lounge, to the terminal, to the customer service desk, etc.
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport
The lounge itself was surprisingly big, but then again, I guess in Australia a lot of people have lounge access. The lounge had many different seating options, including communal tables, coffee tables with lounging chairs, dining tables, etc.
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport seating
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport seating
I appreciated the number of partitions that were used in the design of the lounge, because it would feel a lot less private if they didn’t use these.
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport seating
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport seating
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport seating
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport seating
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport seating
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport seating
In the far corner of the lounge were some PCs with a heavy duty printer.
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport business center
The buffet was back near the center of the lounge. The selection and quality of the food was significantly better than what you’d find in most US lounges.
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport buffet
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport buffet
There was yogurt, sliced fruit, hardboiled eggs, cold cuts, salad, bread, cereal, etc.
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport breakfast selection
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport breakfast selection
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport breakfast selection
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport breakfast selection
There was also a Tasman Sea Salt station, though I’m not sure I totally get that? Are you just supposed to put the salt on a cracker, or…?
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport breakfast selection
In terms of drink, there was a soda fountain, juice, and water. Then there was also a fridge with beer and wine, though at 5AM I didn’t investigate that too much.
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport soda fountain
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport drink selection
There was also a selection of tea.
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport tea selection
Most impressively, however, there were two coffee stations with baristas who could make whatever you’d like. Why can’t more lounges have barista-made drinks?!
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport coffee machines
I had a flat white, while Zac had a cappuccino.
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport cappuccino & flat white
The Wi-Fi in the lounge was fast, and we spent about 30 minutes in the lounge. At that point we took the escalator down a level to the main terminal.
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport escalator to gates
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney Airport escalator to gates
We still had an hour until boarding was supposed to start. The reason we left the lounge so early is because we wanted to try out the Priority Pass options in the terminal.
As I first wrote about a month ago, Priority Pass added seven restaurants and bars at Sydney Airport to the network, so as a Priority Pass member you can get 36AUD of free food & drinks. I had been wanting to test this out, so this was the perfect opportunity to put a credit card with lounge access to good use!
I shared my experience with this in a separate post. What a cool feature!
Boarding was scheduled to begin at 6:30AM, so we headed to the gate at around 6:15AM. Terminal 2 at Sydney Airport is fairly small, so it was just a short walk to the gate.
Virgin Australia domestic terminal Sydney
Our flight was departing from gate 40. I’m impressed by how well designed Virgin Australia’s gate areas are. There’s plenty of seating, outlets, etc. I also appreciated that they had a separate priority boarding queue that was in a different area from the main queue, which probably helps prevent congestion.
Virgin Australia domestic departure gate Sydney Airport
Sure enough, at around 6:30AM priority boarding was called.
Virgin Australia Lounge Sydney bottom line
Domestic lounges in Australia are significantly better than what you’ll find in the US. On top of that, even domestic business class passengers have access to these lounges (though unlike in the US, Australian airlines don’t offer unlimited complimentary upgrades). The lounge was spacious, had a good food selection, and most importantly (for me), had freshly made coffee. Virgin Australia also deserves praise for their great check-in facility.
What a pleasant experience all around!
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