Hi all, after all the (sometimes well-deserved) vitriol directed towards VA lately I just wanted to share a positive story. I booked my mum to fly on a reward flight from MKY-SYD today. She's a bit cautious so she left Moranbah an hour earlier than she would normally have to for the two hour drive to Mackay. Unfortunately some idiot from the mines decided today was a good day (after weeks of rain) to move mining equipment on the highway and predictably got bogged and blocked off the highway. She got stuck for an hour while they created a detour and diverted traffic around it and it really looked as though she'd miss her flight. I called Virgin to see if there was anything that could be done, and they offered to put her on the later indirect service (via Brisbane) for the difference in taxes only (about $15), but advised waiting until closer to the time in case she could make it (she was already checked in and had carry-on only).
Turns out she did make it in the end with 20mins to spare, and the flight was a further 20mins late anyway, but I really appreciated the service and understanding of VA, and it reinforced I'd made the right decision switching (I flew QF yesterday too, which only reinforced it further). And, I admit, it's mellowed me a little about the previous bad experiences.
On another note, during my time freaking out I priced some last minute flights just in case. VA was still offering MKY-BNE-SYD later that day for $175 (and even the flight she was going to miss was $185), whilst QF were asking $713. Intrigued I did some dummies. A last minute BNE-SYD today was $109 on VA vs $160 on QF. A SYD-MEL was $135 on VA vs. $279 on QF ($199 on JQ). Don't know if this is simply due to load, or if VA has decided not to gouge last minute tickets (or maybe Sabre just can't do it yet!).
Turns out she did make it in the end with 20mins to spare, and the flight was a further 20mins late anyway, but I really appreciated the service and understanding of VA, and it reinforced I'd made the right decision switching (I flew QF yesterday too, which only reinforced it further). And, I admit, it's mellowed me a little about the previous bad experiences.
On another note, during my time freaking out I priced some last minute flights just in case. VA was still offering MKY-BNE-SYD later that day for $175 (and even the flight she was going to miss was $185), whilst QF were asking $713. Intrigued I did some dummies. A last minute BNE-SYD today was $109 on VA vs $160 on QF. A SYD-MEL was $135 on VA vs. $279 on QF ($199 on JQ). Don't know if this is simply due to load, or if VA has decided not to gouge last minute tickets (or maybe Sabre just can't do it yet!).
