Virgin Atlantic’s Heathrow Clubhouse celebrates 1st birthday!

Virgin Atlantic would like to wish its flagship Clubhouse at Heathrow many happy returns as it celebrates its first year of operation since its redesign. In one year, the newly designed Clubhouse has played host to a record 250,000 guests, served over 125,000 glasses of champagne, given 44,000 treatments in its Cowshed salon, cut over 15,000 Upper Class heads of hair in its Bumble and Bumble salon and had 1000 passengers bathing in its Jacuzzi in addition to winning some of the most prestigious design awards in the industry.

Since March 2005, the Clubhouse has won a host of awards including Best Airline Lounge at the British Travel Awards 2006, Best Leisure or Entertainment Venue at the FX Design Awards 2006, Best Airline Lounge for Skytrax 2006, Red Dot Award for Superior Design, Best Hospitality Environment and Best of Show at the Design Week Awards 2007. It was also recently listed as one of the 12 Coolest places to be on Earth in Arena magazine (March 2007).

Steve Ridgway, Chief Executive of Virgin Atlantic commented: "The new Clubhouse has been a real hit with our Upper Class passengers who now turn up much earlier for their flights so they can spend as much time as possible in there! We have also seen a considerable number of new Upper Class passengers flying with us as more and more passengers hear about what it has to offer!

“We are thrilled with the many awards that the Clubhouse has won in its first year. These awards are testament to the efforts and talent of our in-house design team and all those involved in the creation of the Clubhouse and of the dedicated team who run the Clubhouse show."

Joe Ferry, Head of Design for Virgin Atlantic commented: “I’m delighted that both our passengers and our staff love the design of the new Clubhouse at Heathrow. Our ambition was to create a feeling of a five star members club whilst injecting the fun and spirit of the Virgin brand by integrating features such as the Jacuzzi and Den. With the feedback we have had so far, we certainly seem to have achieved our goal.

“Its fantastic to see Virgin Atlantic’s design team and collaborating designers collect some of the most prestigious awards in the design industry. I’m thrilled that the team are once again proving there can be a real return on investing in design.”

The Clubhouse provides the ultimate pre-flight experience for every passenger with an array of exciting and unique areas.

Passengers can enjoy a stylish haircut in the salon from Bumble and bumble; relax in the spa pool or sauna; choose from a range of Cowshed treatments; enjoy a game of pool in the Den; a blockbuster film in the Cinema; enjoy a delicious cocktail at the 14 metre long bar; and choose from the extensive Brasserie menu for a richer dining experience before their flight.

The £11m flagship lounge, which is over 2,500 square metres in total and was created by the Virgin Atlantic design team and the London based architectural practice Softroom, who created the interior’ design to feel like a private members’ club.