A 'Virgin' experience

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There are so many recreational areas in Virgin Atlantic's Clubhouse that it's difficult to choose where to sit.

Gemma Greenwood stepped on board a Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Dubai to sample the airline’s Upper Class experience and to discover whether its much-publicised ‘limo to lounge in 10 minutes’ promise was achievable.

Virgin Atlantic, the brainchild of British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, might not be as large an operator as UK flag carrier British Airways, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in spirit.

It has become known as ‘the cheeky airline', brandishing provocative slogans on its fuselage such as ‘No way BA', while innovation and quirkiness has always been top of its agenda - the airline launched the first biofuel demonstration flight using a combination of babassu oil and coconut, earlier this year.

The airline has also proved a pioneer in the realm of airport lounge concepts, with the £11 million (US $20.4 million) Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at Heathrow's Terminal 3 offering a lounge experience like no other - think cocktail bars, the ‘Cowshed' spa, a deli and brasserie, hairdressers, pool and poolside lounge, an office and library, a sky lounge and garden and the den where passengers can play video games and watch movies.

In fact for the second year running, Virgin Atlantic has won the Best Business Class Lounge Award in the SkyTrax World Airline Awards 2008 for its flagship Clubhouse, beating off stiff competition from BA's new T5 lounge, Cathay Pacific's Hong Kong Business Class lounge and Qatar Airways' Business Class lounge.

The Clubhouse, which covers more than 2500m² was also recently listed as one of the 12 Coolest Places to be on Earth in Arena magazine - and that's saying something given that no one really likes hanging out at Heathrow Airport.

Virgin's T3 facility is "more compact" and "more than competitive" with rival BA's much-criticised T5, the airline's chief operating office Lyell Strambi told ATN.

"When T5 was announced, we stood back to assess the situation," he said.

"And it was one of Virgin's finest hours; we realised we couldn't out-grand it so we thought, how do we out-small it?"

"We sat down with BAA (British Airports Authority and said, ‘how do we get our customers as close [to the main airport action] as possible?'"

The answer was a revamped Terminal 3 with a "modern check-in environment" with high-touch technology for economy customers" and a drive-through check-in area for Upper Class customers with a promise of ‘limo to lounge in 10 minutes'.

"In fact, the average time [from limousine to the clubhouse] is eight minutes; this is a typical Virgin reaction [to a challenge like T5]," said Strambi. "The real secret with T3 is the Upper Class wing. A massive bridge and ramp takes you up into the terminal. Only known vehicles are allowed through and that includes our limousine. When you arrive it looks like a trendy hotel foyer."

With so much hype, ATN couldn't resist putting this Virgin Atlantic to the test...

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