Brace for ex QFF boarders!

[drewbles]

Given that a *lot* of QF WP's that did the match to VA WP did not retain, even given instant elite benefits, I cannot see a mass exodus.

I've had many conversations with people over on Milepoint about why people on UA who have 1K or GS with them, don't make the switch (AA did offer an EXP match for UA elites last year briefly).

My argument was "you've been given the golden ticket, and all you need to do to ramp up your points is fly more and move your UA credit card to an AA card (the USA has dozens of good CC earners on both programs).

The general response was "but we've got a butload of points with UA". My counter argument was never met though which was "well, you have elite with UA for 12-18 months so move paid travel to AA, then burn your UA points whilst you still have elite benefits".

Some flyers (there and here) have legitimate reasons they can't switch, moreso in the USA due to their home/regional town being a hub for UA or AA which is understandable, but the majority of people I posed this question to were not, and had no compelling reason to stay with UA (even less so when I saw them constantly complaining on FB and Milepoint about how cough UA's treatment of 1K's was). The other argument (once again, by one or two people only) was that UA and *A had better connections to places they fly to regularly (as in more than 5-10 times a year, internationally) for business. That also makes perfect sense.

So there's no real logic to loyalty it seems. I doubt an influx of QF people will happen to VA. We are a small ecosystem here on AFF, and definitely not the normal client base of QF. As has been mentioned in a lot of places, the removal of 'budget' JASA's etc from the online system will go unnoticed by most (just as the loyalty bonus changes will; but I got in 2 of 'em in the past month thanks to AA, just before the change ).

 

[lovestotravel]

Doesn't feel like an LCC to me whenever I'm comfortably in row 3 or ka-ching-ing in one of my compo J upgrades. Doesn't feel like an LCC when I take note of the attractiveness and pleasantness of the crew.

...in fact I find the only thing LCC about it is the humility, generally, of my fellow travellers compared with that mob of slightly-snobby rock-wallabies prancing around elsewhere.

Free upgrades ? Sounds like a poor excuse to get people to fill the J cabin!
Do you mean the crew who are either really good or really bad and no consistency ?
Do you mean the Luke sandwhiches which have been on offer for years ?
Do you mean the packed lounges with hot dogs, salad and cheap wine ? I'd rather pay $30 outside and get a decent meal OR relax knowing that the QF J lounge always has a good spread of differing food items that don't require a 6 month wait to trial a new "menu"
Do you mean the constant schedule changes on the SYD-CBR-SYD and MEL-CBR-MEL route which means most of the time the flight you have booked will be cancelled or moved by up to 90 mins each way which then causes problems with meetings/deadlines/things you want to do at a certain time

All smells like a LCC with a minor face-lift to me, oh wait that IS what Virgin have done..... Give them another few years and they will likely be better, but the lack of IFE is another nail in their offerings.

Of course if I was flying to/from PER from MEL/SYD/BNE I would have some love for VA but as I am not I don't mind

I am even going as far to let my complimentary upgrades lapse (again) as I have no reason to fly Virgin domestically.

Good to see you attempt to dig in the knife in the first sentence. I would have been disappointed at anything less :!:

Maybe, just maybe, it is time to admit that both carriers have their limitations and also their good points. They both do some good things for us from time to time and they both get it wrong from time to time.

I have no issues with Qantas, ASA's were/are nice and I didn't even know about them until about 15 months ago but big deal, everything else suits me perfectly.

Virgin is a mixed bag of trial and error of which I am happy to avoid.

As I said a few more flights on QF and I'll keep platinum in 2015/2016 and beyond perhaps. It doesn't take many J AUS-USA flights to retain Plat.

Now all that being said mid 2015 we'll see what is happening, alot will likely change by then.

For me, if QF has no 787's with the Red Roo on the tail and/or no orders for 787/777X/A350 and the remaining A380's are cancelled or moved to JQ or something else then I will move my flying back to VA as the future of QF would be looking VERY grim, and there is no point remaining loyal to QF.

 

[Ausbt]

Do you mean the Luke sandwhiches which have been on offer for years ?

Yes I do. Luke puts a lot of effort into those sangers. My tip: toss them in your carry-on and whack them in your toastie machine the next day, they really come up a treat!

 

[drewbles]

Free upgrades ? Sounds like a poor excuse to get people to fill the J cabin!

Talk to the US airlines then

Do you mean the crew who are either really good or really bad and no consistency ?

I can count on one hand the bad in-flight or ground crew experiences I have had with VA. I have lost count with QF.

Do you mean the Luke sandwhiches which have been on offer for years ?

Yes. They need to go. ASAP!

Do you mean the packed lounges with hot dogs, salad and cheap wine ? I'd rather pay $30 outside and get a decent meal OR relax knowing that the QF J lounge always has a good spread of differing food items that don't require a 6 month wait to trial a new "menu"

You can't compare the VA lounge with the QF J lounge. Compare it with the QF pub. Still, VA have acknowledged they are fixing the menu very soon.

Do you mean the constant schedule changes on the SYD-CBR-SYD and MEL-CBR-MEL route which means most of the time the flight you have booked will be cancelled or moved by up to 90 mins each way which then causes problems with meetings/deadlines/things you want to do at a certain time

Can't comment on that as I never take that route.

All smells like a LCC with a minor face-lift to me, oh wait that IS what Virgin have done..... Give them another few years and they will likely be better, but the lack of IFE is another nail in their offerings.

Respectfully disagree here. I flew DJ 3 or 4 flights when they were DJ and not VA-esque, and it is night and day. They are launching wifi on board for IFE, and QF is doing the same. Airlines are realising that it's the era of the tablet and phone, and allowing people to BYOD is reducing their cost, and keeping the customer happy. Having some tablets on board as well will fill the gap, and save everyone coin.

Of course if I was flying to/from PER from MEL/SYD/BNE I would have some love for VA but as I am not I don't mind

Yes. They are streets ahead of QF here, and I fail to see how QF are going to be able to 'blow them out of the water' with their upcoming J offering, but i'm always happy to be surprised

I am even going as far to let my complimentary upgrades lapse (again) as I have no reason to fly Virgin domestically.

Shame. Should jump on an A330 service to PER for a holiday. Lots of relaxing things to do there

I have no issues with Qantas, ASA's were/are nice and I didn't even know about them until about 15 months ago but big deal, everything else suits me perfectly.

Virgin is a mixed bag of trial and error of which I am happy to avoid.

Fair enough. QF works for you and VA works for me. Each to their own, but hopefully VA will win more people over (they have to for their J to be sustainable IMHO; I've never taken an A330 J flight that's had more than a handful of people, with the exception of XFA going tech in PER and being offloaded to our flight (XFB), even then it was only 3/4 full.

As I said a few more flights on QF and I'll keep platinum in 2015/2016 and beyond perhaps. It doesn't take many J AUS-USA flights to retain Plat.

Now all that being said mid 2015 we'll see what is happening, alot will likely change by then.

For me, if QF has no 787's with the Red Roo on the tail and/or no orders for 787/777X/A350 and the remaining A380's are cancelled or moved to JQ or something else then I will move my flying back to VA as the future of QF would be looking VERY grim, and there is no point remaining loyal to QF.

What's the Chinese proverb/curse? May you live in interesting times? How very true in the FF world =)

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Yes I do. Luke puts a lot of effort into those sangers. My tip: toss them in your carry-on and whack them in your toastie machine the next day, they really come up a treat!

And here I was under the impression an in-flight meal (loose term) is meant to be able to be digested in-flight. Learn something new everyday!

 

[oz_mark]

And here I was under the impression an in-flight meal (loose term) is meant to be able to be digested in-flight. Learn something new everyday!

Maybe you need a USB powered toastie machine for inflight use

 

[JohnK]

Doesn't feel like an LCC to me whenever I'm comfortably in row 3 or ka-ching-ing in one of my compo J upgrades. Doesn't feel like an LCC when I take note of the attractiveness and pleasantness of the crew.

That may well be your impression but it does not come across that way to everyone.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

You can't compare the VA lounge with the QF J lounge. Compare it with the QF pub.

Sorry drewbles, but a platinum flyer has every right to compare the VA lounge to the QF J lounge (and even on occasion with the F Lounge). For platinum/business flyers, that is a direct comparison and I think I remember JB stating that VA wouldn't need WP/J lounges because the standard offering would be more than comparible! :?:

 

[SeatBackForward]

Prepare the Virgins, the ASAs are revolting!

 

[Fruitcake]

If the rest of the QF J lounge set act like the two muppets on my VA flight last night who tried to deposit their hand luggage - with QF WP tags affixed - in the business class overhead bins before walking back to economy, then I hope the VA Lounge remains downmarket!

 

[Princess Fiona]

Sorry drewbles, but a platinum flyer has every right to compare the VA lounge to the QF J lounge (and even on occasion with the F Lounge). For platinum/business flyers, that is a direct comparison and I think I remember JB stating that VA wouldn't need WP/J lounges because the standard offering would be more than comparible! :?:

I agree, this is one area that VA really need to lift their game on.
If I were based in SYD/MEL the game would be entirely different for me.
Currently it's JQ vs VA domestic (for the most part), QF vs VA international. It makes sense for me to maintain status with each. If my choice domestically was between QF and VA the scales would be tipped in QF's favour as IMO there is no contest between the QF J Lounges and golden triangle J service and the current offering by VA.
Trans-cons are another matter. The VA product on this route is IMO vastly superior in almost all respects ( bar the lounge issue) to QF.

 

[Plutonus]

If the rest of the QF J lounge set act like the two muppets on my VA flight last night who tried to deposit their hand luggage - with QF WP tags affixed - in the business class overhead bins before walking back to economy, then I hope the VA Lounge remains downmarket!

+1

Virgin please consistently enforce business overhead for business only.

 

[Fruitcake]

+1

Virgin please consistently enforce business overhead for business only.

In my experience, they certainly do - in this case these two "gentlemen" were spotted and asked to recollect their bags, which they sheepishly did.

 

[MarkD]

Prepare the Virgins, the ASAs are revolting!

Yes they are revolting LOL
Seriously though, if they took SM last time, they would be pretty close to dropping back to silver by now, and considering how busy the lounges are now, they wouldnt dare do another SM IMHO
Regardless, most people wouldnt give a cough,its only people on this, and similar forums who really care about Status runs etc, and this is a small pond

 

[Ausbt]

And here I was under the impression an in-flight meal (loose term) is meant to be able to be digested in-flight. Learn something new everyday!

Actually I've done many a take-away. Say for example I have to do a SYD-BNE-MKY on a Flexi. Well I've already had brunch in the lounge, so I'm not really up to loading up on another meal. Plus in my line of work here are limited opportunities for lunch anyway, I always have food in my bag as I spend long days working at client sites. I'm also a waste-not-want-not type of guy, so the obvious solution is to bag-up those goodies for later consumption. Another thing I love is to pocket a few Robert Timms coffee bags from the lounge - seriously the ability to find a half-decent cup of coffee in some remote region can be difficult and some of my clients even stock their kitchens with instant - oh the horror! Anyway a couple of Robert Timms bags will get you through.

 

[cmon0005]

I am not going anywhere just yet, still prefer QF domestically and internationally, their lounges are some of the best in the world. Their FF programme is the one of the best, Oneworld is great and I make good use of that yearly. Yes it is annoying that some ASA's have gone (harder to obtain) but not a big deal as most of my flying is paid anyway.

 

[amaroo]

I am not going anywhere just yet, still prefer QF domestically and internationally, their lounges are some of the best in the world. Their FF programme is the one of the best, Oneworld is great and I make good use of that yearly. Yes it is annoying that some ASA's have gone (harder to obtain) but not a big deal as most of my flying is paid anyway.

+1

Recent changes to ASA will only affect the people that don't fly enough to gain/retain status. It's called a Frequent Flyer Program for a reason:idea:

The lounges will have less traffic, the upgrades to J will be easier to secure.......all positives IMO.

 

[SeatBackForward]

+1

Recent changes to ASA will only affect the people that don't fly enough to gain/retain status. It's called a Frequent Flyer Program for a reason:idea:

The lounges will have less traffic, the upgrades to J will be easier to secure.......all positives IMO.

I'm the same position as you. ASA's haven't been much use to me, I think I used them once to fly my in-laws in Y to Brisbane, but thats all. Obviously QF haven seen this as a low-value adding product (from their persepctive) and are taking measures to reduce them, any business would do likewise with a low-profit stock. Considering that members holdings FF points are effectively creditors to QF, it also improves their balance sheet!

 

[boomy]

Recent changes to ASA will only affect the people that don't fly enough to gain/retain status. It's called a Frequent Flyer Program for a reason:idea:

The lounges will have less traffic, the upgrades to J will be easier to secure.......all positives IMO.

I agree. The QFF program should reward frequent flyers and I guess there was too much abuse of ASA to retain status the "easy" way.

Too many qualified for WP so Qantas had to introduce P1 to give a better service to its hard core FF's

The domestic J lounges are getting busier every year (very hard to find a seat in BNE J lounge at peak hours).

Although ASA is harder to book and may even be terminated in 3 months, there are still enough good ways to burn QFF points.

Regarding the OP, I will be very surprised to see many cross the road to VA. I tried Virgin a few years ago (reached gold) and I must agree with recent posts that they are more of a LCC and have no advantage over Qantas (except maybe to those who fly in/out PER often).

 

[SeatBackForward]

Although ASA is harder to book and may even be terminated in 3 months, there are still enough good ways to burn QFF points.

Just to clarify, ASA's are not any harder to book. Its just harder to book a specific type of ASA's namely the cheap ASA's that were equivalent to a classic award anyway.