New Virgin Australia lounge opens

Virgin Australia lounge Canberra Airport. Picture: Supplied

Virgin Australia lounge Canberra Airport. Picture: Supplied

VIRGIN Australia has opened the doors to a new 300-seater airport lounge it says has "transformed the Canberra travel experience".

The 1082 square metre lounge, designed by renowned architect Tim Greer of Tonkin Zulaikha Geer Architects, occupies the west wing of Canberra's domestic terminal.

The snazzy-looking lounge includes fancy Marblo bars, natural stone flooring and leather chairs, the airline said.

There's light refreshments on offer and a menu designed by Australian chef Luke Mangan for passengers to feast on while they soak up sweeping views across the tarmac.

And of course there's the free wi-fi, power PC, printer, newspapers and magazines, and of course a television that will show the latest from Foxtel.

Virgin Australia Chief Executive Officer John Borghetti said the enhancements herald a new standard of travel in the nation’s capital.

"Canberra is an important hub for corporate, government and leisure travellers and we now offer a premium end-to-end travel experience that not only encapsulates Virgin Australia’s distinct look and feel but also our high standard of service," Mr Borghetti said.

"For the first time in over a decade Australians will have a choice when it comes to competition in business class travel in and out of the capital."

There will be more check-in counters, leather seating in departure lounges, additional passenger screening areas and baggage carousels within the new terminal space.

The airline also unveiled enhancements in the air including a new business class section on its refurbished Embraer fleet, which it claims flies between Sydney an Canberra in 23 minutes.

View the original article here

Departing planes lounge longer in Brissie

DELAYS: Departure times at Brisbane Airport have blown out in January. Source: The Courier-Mail

A NEW runway demand management tool introduced at Brisbane Airport has made little difference to travellers with almost one in three flights arriving late and departure times getting worse in January.

New monthly data released by the Federal Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, show 30 per cent of flights arrived late - down from 30.8 per cent the previous month.

But departure times blew out, with 24.6 per cent leaving more than 15 minutes later than scheduled compared with 21.1 per cent the previous month.

The results again left Brisbane Airport among the worst in the country for on-time performance, well behind Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Cairns, Canberra and Darwin.

They have deteriorated significantly compared with a year ago when 81.8 per cent of flights departed on time, and 78 per cent of arrivals landed within 15-minutes of schedule.

The new Metron system introduced by Airservices Australia in December operates by holding aircraft on the ground longer at airports, in order to limit the amount of time they spend in holding patterns at their destination.

Although a statement from Airservices Australia said the system had already reduced the amount of time aircraft were spending in holding patterns over Brisbane, the improvement has not been reflected in the data.

The statistics further highlight the need for a speedy resolution to the current impasse between Brisbane Airport Corporation and airlines over how a new parallel runway should be funded.

The BAC is demanding airlines start paying now, seven years before the runway is operational, but the airlines have been refusing.

Yesterday, the Premier called on the Federal Government to intervene in the stoush to ensure the construction of the runway goes ahead.

Preliminary works began in September, but a BAC spokeswoman said the second stage could be delayed if funding was not secured.

View the original article here