Article: The Sad History of Virgin Australia’s Long-Haul Network

[HS-TQE]

I’m still wondering how Virgin can call themselves a full service airline when they have no international lounges, all people get in economy is a drink of water, tea or coffee unless they pay. Even the food in J is now nothing much more than a poor representation of food as evidenced on my two recent trips to/from Adelaide and to/from Sydney. Seems like their capital is reducing yet again and they are cutting corners on their service.

Virgin hasn't called themselves a "full service airline" since being taken over by Bain. As per their earlier press releases Virgin has been describing themselves as a "Value Carrier", not a full service carrier Which is basically a Hybrid Budget Carrier.

EDIT: The recently departed VA CEO in an interview as recent as Late 2024 emphasised that Virgin is a "Value carrier", not a full service or low cost carrier

SOURCE: Virgin Australia’s Big Play: Qatar partnership, long-haul return, and IPO path

 

[Stuser]

I’m still wondering how Virgin can call themselves a full service airline when they have no international lounges, all people get in economy is a drink of water, tea or coffee unless they pay. Even the food in J is now nothing much more than a poor representation of food as evidenced on my two recent trips to/from Adelaide and to/from Sydney. Seems like their capital is reducing yet again and they are cutting corners on their service.

I agree with the majority re the changes to the frequent flyer programme. The airline must be wanting to lose customers rather than gaining them. Or is it a way of cutting the cost of all the passengers that can use the lounge now so that it can sort of become a welcome place rather than a den of mess that has every cat and his dog able to get it. (Said tongue in cheek of course).

Completely agree with you. The offerings at the domestic lounge are almost laughable.
Although it’s funny, I’ve been at the Canberra lounge a few times, obviously in off peak cos it was almost empty each time.
Sydney lounge is often packed and dirty…

And yeah no international lounge means your “status” gets you what exactly?

 

[PERLHR]

Out of interest can you not use the VA domestic lounge at BNE for international? I'm sure I was in that lounge flying to PER and they had QR pax in the lounge and made an announcement for its departure...

 

[HS-TQE]

Out of interest can you not use the VA domestic lounge at BNE for international? I'm sure I was in that lounge flying to PER and they had QR pax in the lounge and made an announcement for its departure...

I.think those QR passengers were connecting to VA domestic flights.

VA's own flights to DPS/NAN/ZQN/VLI/APW departs from the international terminal alongside their international partner flights, a separate building down the road from the Domestic terminal.

VA's Brisbane lounge is in the domestic terminal.

 

[justinbrett]

Out of interest can you not use the VA domestic lounge at BNE for international? I'm sure I was in that lounge flying to PER and they had QR pax in the lounge and made an announcement for its departure...

Even if you could, why would you?

BNE International terminal is a good 2.5Km away from the domestic terminal and requires a bus transfer. I doubt enough pax are doing this to require lounge PAs.

Are you sure you haven't mixed up the city? Adelaide perhaps?

 

[PERLHR]

Even if you could, why would you?

BNE International terminal is a good 2.5Km away from the domestic terminal and requires a bus transfer. I doubt enough pax are doing this to require lounge PAs.

Are you sure you haven't mixed up the city? Adelaide perhaps?

Actually yes it could have been ADL as I have used both in recent times.

 

[jase05]

Actually yes it could have been ADL as I have used both in recent times.

Yes, in ADL that is correct.
QR will direct you to the VA lounge but you can also use the QF lounge if in J or have OW status

 

[henrus]

In my mind, long haul is anything with twin-aisle aircraft. You won't convince me otherwise.

So when QF operates MEL-SYD on an A330 or 787 thats long haul?

Points hacks has the following:
"A short-haul flight is one of up to 3 hours in duration. Medium-haul flights take 3-6 hours. A long-haul flight runs for 6-12 hours, whilst an ultra-long-haul flight is in the air for over 12 hours."

 

[trippin_the_rift]

So when QF operates MEL-SYD on an A330 or 787 thats long haul?

Yes.

And BNE-MNL that I did recently with PR on 321neo is a 5hithaul.

 

[anat0l]

The regional ATR operation had a similar very expensive lease rate (almost the same as the 737 rather than cheaper) to the A330s. Both Borghetti era failures had a "I want those a/c now!" feel to it by middle management backed by the CEO and the board without doing due diligence on the lease rates.

Actually it was the reverse, JWI was the common terminology used in head office - JWI = “John wants it” and it trumped business cases, risk analysis, common sense and anything else you can think of.

JB threatened to sack anyone who disagreed with him.

Amazing how a board could keep someone in the job who not only orders stupidly high priced aircraft but later in his tenure parks a whole of them. No financial accountability from the board. Hundreds of millions down the drain, and they just continued on. He should have been knifed long ago.

Virgin was heading for administration regardless.

It's funny reading stuff like this when essentially at the time, JWI or not, everyone thought JB could do no wrong and by extension, VA.

It took VA to fail (and partially because the pandemic put them to the sword, cf. if it didn't happen) before anyone actually questioned whether the VA CEO and the board had any financial literacy or responsibility, regardless of how well the airline was able to dazzle and enamour passengers.