Virgin Points are going to get more valuable.
At a press conference in London this morning, Virgin Atlantic was announced as the first U.K. based airline to join the SkyTeam alliance. Delta, Air France and KLM are current partners of Virgin Atlantic.
It is hoped that Virgin Atlantic will become a SkyTeam member in January of next year, though both the alliance and Virgin Atlantic were careful not to commit to a specific live date. We were aiming for the end of the month. The CEO of SkyTeam said they don't want to overcommit at this point. We have been working on this for a long time and it will probably be the beginning of next year.
There is a guide to the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
This announcement is great news because Flying Club members can earn and redeem Virgin Points on Sky Team members. Flying Club members will be able to redeem their Virgin Points on a number of new airlines once Virgin joins SkyTeam. Skyteam airlines fly to more than 1,000 destinations around the world, with the partnership opening up a slew of new airlines, routes and destinations for Flying Club members.
SkyPriority member benefits include priority check-in and boarding and lounge access for Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Silver and Gold members.
Flying Club Gold members will become Elite Plus from the day they join Virgin's SkyTeam.
It's important that Virgin Atlantic gets back to its best for its customers and people by joining Skyteam. As a result of our membership, we will be able to strengthen our relationships with our valued partners at Delta and Air France-KLM, as well as open up opportunities to work with new airlines. With an expanded network and maximized loyalty benefits, it will enable a seamless customer experience.
The new alliance membership could lead to new Virgin Atlantic routes. It would make sense for the airline to fly to the hubs of SkyTeam members, including Korean Airline, Vietnam Airlines, Aeromexico, and China Airline. It is not known how the new alliance membership will affect Virgin's relationship with other airlines.
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Sky Team is a global airline alliance. The Oneworld alliance has British Airways, Qatar Airways and American Airlines as members, while the Star Alliance network has 26 members.
Skyteam airlines are listed below.
You have a complete guide to Sky Team benefits.
There is a potential dilemma for Virgin's Clubhouse lounges. Weiss stressed that the airline would be taking steps to make sure the customer experience doesn't change as other SkyTeam elite members gain access. If the stars align, the airline hopes to expand the size of its airport lounge.
SkyTeam members split across Terminals 2, 3 and 4 during the last two years due to a variety of terminal swaps. The Clubhouse will only be accessible to those departing from Terminal 3.
Don't expect it to happen soon. While Virgin Atlantic teased the arrival of several new routes in 2023 CEO Weiss was clear that Virgin Atlantic currently has no plans to return to the London hub. Weiss said the decision was not a problem with Gatwick Airport and the way it operated. Gatwick was a second base for the airline prior to the Pandemic. During the Pandemic, Virgin consolidated all of their operations in london.
The additional reporting was done by Jordan.
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