Aeroplan Elite Members Can Now Access Virgin Australia Lounges

Back in January 2021, Aeroplan and Virgin Australia linked up to form a new partnership, in which Aeroplan members were able to earn and redeem points on Virgin Australia metal.

Like Aeroplan’s other non-Star Alliance partners, the relationship ended there: you weren’t able to access lounges, get additional baggage, or enjoy priority security when travelling with such partners.

One of these is changing as of today, as lounge access on Virgin Australia flights is now granted on the basis of Aeroplan Elite Status!

Lounge Access with Virgin Australia

As of September 7, 2022, Aeroplan 50K, Aeroplan 75K, and Aeroplan Super Elite members will now be granted access to Virgin Australia lounges when flying on a same-day ticket with Virgin Australia, regardless of the fare or class of service.

Using your Aeroplan Elite Status to access Virgin Australia lounges will work very similarly to accessing lounges within the Star Alliance network: having Star Alliance Gold will grant lounge access, while Star Alliance Silver will not. Similarly, Aeroplan 50K and above members have access to Star Alliance member lounges as an elite benefit even when travelling in economy class, and this will now apply to Virgin Australia.

In fact, for the purposes of lounge access, you can think of Virgin Australia as a Star Alliance member, as you’ll be able to bring one guest to the lounge with your Aeroplan Elite Status. Note that business class passengers aren’t typically allowed guests, while elite members are.

Virgin Australia lounges will complement existing Star Alliance lounges that Aeroplan 50K and above members already have access to in Australia, such as the lounges operated by Singapore Airlines or Air New Zealand.

Virgin Australia operates a lounge in the following airports:

• Adelaide
• Brisbane
• Canberra
• Gold Coast
• Melbourne
• Perth (Terminal 1)
• Sydney

All of these Virgin Australia lounges do not belong to any lounge network (i.e. DragonPass, Priority Pass), so Aeroplan Elite Status is the easiest way to gain access for Canadians.

Personally, having lounge access when flying economy class could be enough to sway me to book domestic flights in Australia using 8,000 Aeroplan points (at the shortest distance band, which is the majority of flights between populous cities). Furthermore, I could add a stopover within Australia for an…