Have Virgin cancelled the 'Fly Ahead' benefit again?

[ben95]

Aka no show?

yes and no. If I just doesn’t turn up to the airport then the plane has an extra empty seat which could be used by VA to fly someone else ahead. Seems fair to charge me a fee to rebook in this case.

If I request to fly behind X hour before departure then the seat could be sold/given to someone to fly ahead. A win-win situations for everyone it seems, especially the late night flights are usually cheaper than the peak hour flights.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Small sidetrack - have anyone tried to “Fly Behind”? If flying ahead is a benefit then it feels to me volunteering to take a later flight is beneficial to VA as well?

I suggested this to VA as a possible enhancement for platinum status.

Even if they limited it to once or twice a year. Nothing more frustrating than being stuck in traffic and potentially going to miss your flight! The ability to call and ‘fly later’ would have been an amazing benefit.

 

[Must...Fly!]

I suggested this to VA as a possible enhancement for platinum status.

Even if they limited it to once or twice a year. Nothing more frustrating than being stuck in traffic and potentially going to miss your flight! The ability to call and ‘fly later’ would have been an amazing benefit.

Would be good but I can see why they might be hesitant. It does import some additional liability on to VA in the case of the last flight of the day being cancelled.

 

[henrus]

Small sidetrack - have anyone tried to “Fly Behind”? If flying ahead is a benefit then it feels to me volunteering to take a later flight is beneficial to VA as well?

Yes but only when my flight has been delayed I've asked in the lounge to fly on a later flight which is actually earlier.

 

[FishFood]

I'd really like to use Fly Ahead for an upcoming flight, however the website says that for Gold VFF members you can only fly ahead on flex or business fares. Interested to hear some data points on whether it is still worth trying my luck.

Benefits At A Glance

Silver, Gold and Platinum members enjoy a range of Status benefits with our participating international airline partners. Benefits may include Priority Check-in, Priority Boarding, Priority Baggage, baggage allowances and lounge access.

www.velocityfrequentflyer.com

 

[sudoer]

Interested to hear some data points on whether it is still worth trying my luck.

Definitely won't happen over the phone. Slim chance you can convince them at the airport (if you ask very nicely.)

In short, worth trying but highly unlikely.

 

[FishFood]

Slim chance you can convince them at the airport

I realised I missed the context that this is a choice fare. This is available on that fare category for platinum VFF members

 

[Human]

I realised I missed the context that this is a choice fare. This is available on that fare category for platinum VFF members

It’s definitely worth asking but I agree with the others above that your chances are slim. Is there anything you can give them to work with? Were you Platinum for x years before only being bumped down to Gold recently? Are you only a few SCs away from Platinum and on track to definitely make it to Platinum this year? Are you the CEO of Qatar Airways? In other words is there something — anything — that differentiates you enough from all the other schmucks who are Gold but who try their luck?

 

[prelude]

Definitely won't happen over the phone. Slim chance you can convince them at the airport (if you ask very nicely.)

In short, worth trying but highly unlikely.

At the risk of drawing attention to a good thing, I've been able to fly ahead two out of two times I've asked at the lounge as a Gold. Granted, both times were at non-peak hours and the flight I switched to was not close to full.

I didn't mention the fact that I was a Gold or "Fly Ahead", I just said something like "would there be any chance at all getting on an earlier flight to xx_, managed to get to the airport a bit early".

 

[ozstamps]

Are you the CEO of Qatar Airways?

I think they send in an empty A380 for him.

 

[danielt25]

I've had no luck recently even when ringing up. I check expert flyer and find open seats (plenty of them), ring the platinum deck only to be told the flight is sold out. I currently see it as non-existent benefit.

Did you mention to the agent that there were seats still for sale on the website? If so, what was the response?

 

[travelislife]

I suggested this to VA as a possible enhancement for platinum status.

Even if they limited it to once or twice a year. Nothing more frustrating than being stuck in traffic and potentially going to miss your flight! The ability to call and ‘fly later’ would have been an amazing benefit.

Looks like you have got your wish…!

 

[sevenfourtyseven]

My experience this morning with no status and on a economy lite fare - when asked to move to a flight 3 hours ahead, the staff member at the SYD check-in help desk was more than happy to move me to any flight I wanted!

 

[wandersen]

If virgin wanted to make this a real benefit they’d let you do it yourself on the app

 

[henrus]

If virgin wanted to make this a real benefit they’d let you do it yourself on the app

I agree but also from a commercial perspective I see why they don't. Air New Zealand offers same day changes on the two higher tickets which are only ~$40-80 more then a base ticket. These can be changed via the app from 12am day of travel so it's common for those in the know to book the cheapest flight of the day and then change to the one they want, obviously the airline misses out on extra revenue in this case (assuming that traveller would have just booked the time they wanted in the first place).

 

[SeaWolf]

If virgin wanted to make this a real benefit they’d let you do it yourself on the app

You are able to do it from the self-service kiosks at the airport, not sure how long that feature has been there though.
I think you also need to not be checked in to use it, if you checked in online already then I think the option doesn't appear.

 

[Harrison_133]

You are able to do it from the self-service kiosks at the airport, not sure how long that feature has been there though.
I think you also need to not be checked in to use it, if you checked in online already then I think the option doesn't appear.

It's been there for a while. If you haven't checked in, it automatically pops up to ask if you want to fly ahead after you enter your details. If you have already checked in, it's listed on the main page with the list of options like print bag tags etc.

 

[SeaWolf]

If you have already checked in, it's listed on the main page with the list of options like print bag tags etc.

That's good to know. I don't often use Fly Ahead but it's super handy when I do.

 

[ben95]

do we know what’s the right buttons to press to get to the right team for fly ahead request on the phone?

Tried to request that on the phone this morning and dialing 136789 and entered my velocity number but still seemed to got to the wrong team. I had to be transferred to the “premium team” to process the request. It wasn’t any back and forth and the initial guy who took the call handed it over well but just wondering what’s the right number to call and button to press to get directly to this “premium team”

 

[samas]

do we know what’s the right buttons to press to get to the right team for fly ahead request on the phone?

Tried to request that on the phone this morning and dialing 136789 and entered my velocity number but still seemed to got to the wrong team. I had to be transferred to the “premium team” to process the request. It wasn’t any back and forth and the initial guy who took the call handed it over well but just wondering what’s the right number to call and button to press to get directly to this “premium team”

I have asked this a few times how i get straight to the "premium" team each time I get handed over like that. I mean I enter my velocity number in the phone so it knows I'm Platinum!

However the response was that I just have to go through that process to be then handed over to the premium team. Other requests the initial agent I have found have been able to often handle - but fly ahead is always a transfer to the premium team for me.