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Virgin on the Criminal

by Malcolm Matson posted at 2006-03-25 13:52

I am sitting in the recently redesigned and updated Virgin Clubhouse Lounge at Terminal 3, London Heathrow Airport, waiting for my flight to New York to be called.  This place has everything to relay and revive you before the journey ... any choice of food or drink you can imagine; sumptuously comfortable sofas and recliners; newspapers and publication from around the world and a library lined with real leather bound books; pool table, beuaty parlour, row upon row of locked-down Sony Vaios and a hushed atmosphere that befits a zone of exclusive comfort and pamper.   The only mistake (which the staff seem to have already twigged) is the bottomless buckets of sweets lined up on a counter which, judging by the two manic, hyper-active kids witing to return home that are screaming around them - are loaded with sugar and other incongruous stimulants for this placid place.  A mood-designed lighting scheme throughout and shower-rooms with hot and cold .... and its all FREE, FREE, FREE.  No charge for anything .... except of course, getting onto the Internet!!  For some peculiar reason, Mr Branson has handed that closed monopoly to T-Mobile.  Whether it is he, that great free-wheeling, market driven entrepreneur of the skys or whether it is BAA, his retail-crazed landlord - I am not sure.   But pay you must to use your PC or PDA to access anyone outside this Lounge and pay BIG....

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