Bits: Qantas and Emirates open lounges, Virgin salt and pepper sets, HfP party at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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News in brief:

Qantas and Emirates re-open their UK lounges

There is good news for anyone flying with British Airways out of Heathrow Terminal 3 in the near future.

Qantas has re-opened its Heathrow Terminal 3 lounge. This is an excellent facility and well worth a visit. Unfortunately, we haven’t done a proper review since the opening party. This clearly wasn’t typical (I doubt the Qantas CEO will be pouring your drinks if you go) but it left us in no doubt that this is far superior to the British Airways and American Airlines lounges. Our initial review of the Qantas London Lounge at Heathrow is here.

As a member of the oneworld alliance, you can access this lounge with a British Airways Gold or Silver card, or if you are flying British Airways in Business Class or First Class. There is no need to be flying with Qantas.

Of course, if you have an American Express Platinum card, you can also try the brand new American Express Centurion Lounge in Heathrow Terminal 3 which we reviewed here.

The opening hours are currently 6am to 4pm. Whilst Qantas flights are limited, the airline has a joint venture with Emirates and the opening hours seem to be designed to fit around their schedule.

You can find out more about the Qantas London Lounge on the Qantas website here.

Emirates lounges are opening too

Emirates has announced the phased re-opening of additional UK lounges to coincide with the relaunch of flights from London Gatwick yesterday.

Emirates lounges at Manchester Airport and Birmingham Airport will open this month. The lounges in Glasgow and London Gatwick will open in January.

Wilbur and Orville Virgin Atlantic salt pepper set

[SOLD OUT] Get yourself a Virgin Atlantic salt and pepper set!

EDIT: Sorry, the limited supply available seems to have gone within an hour

One of the highlights of flying Virgin Atlantic Upper Class is getting your very own Wilbur and Orville salt and pepper set – see above.

These are genuinely cult items. I remember taking a pair when I flew Virgin Atlantic Upper Class in the late 1990’s, and very few trends in the aviation industry survive that long. That said, the quality has dropped – my set is metal whilst they are now made out of plastic.

The reason I am mentioning this today is that Virgin Red is letting you buy a set of Wilbur and Orville salt and pepper shakers. They cost just 800 or 900 Virgin Points depending on whether you want black or silver.

This is surprisingly good value and it’s an ideal stocking filler for any aviation enthusiast, or yourself.

If you have not yet registered for Virgin Red, you can download the app here and link it to your Flying Club account. You will then be able to order your Wilbur and Orville set via the ‘Spend’ menu. You cannot order them from the Virgin Flying Club site.

Head for Points party at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix …..

Judging by emails I received yesterday, there is an unofficial weekend-long HfP party taking place at the W Abu Dhabi Yas Island hotel this weekend during the Grand Prix.

W Abu Dhabi Yas Island is the hotel which is built directly across the racetrack, see above. This makes it an astonishing place to stay during the Grand Prix weekend.

We have always mentioned Abu Dhabi grand prix redemptions on HfP when they became available. So far six rooms-worth of HfP readers, with a total of 11 people, have met up in the hotel.

I have some photos but I won’t run them as I don’t have the express permission of everyone. It’s possible that a few are claiming to be working from home …..! I hope you all have a great weekend.

The hotel website is here if you want to try your luck with a Marriott Bonvoy redemption for next year at some point.

PS. One of the readers sent this photo from the balcony of his suite: