As I'm trying to give up this flying lark, I'm trying to burn up my flexi flights as the $80 fee makes them not worth refunding or credit shelling.
Had the brilliant idea of using a complimentary upgrade on my last remaining flexi - home from CBR to BNE. There was availability, but only via SYD, and leaving CBR at 7pm.
That seemed worth a go - and could check out the business product on the Embraer to Sydney as well as the 737 to Brisbane.
All was going so well, until I got to the airport - every Virgin flight to/from Sydney delayed (QF all on schedule). Oh well, I mention this at the lounge, and they tell me they'll page me - which to their credit they did, moving me off the Embraer and on to a delayed ATR, and onto a later 737 ex Syd.
Board, and get 17F - with no-one next to me. Excellent, it isn't business, but a blocked seat works for me... then a woman is suffering claustrophobia - I agree to be moved - to 4D with a biggish bloke next to me. Oh well, such is life. Then I'm given 2 new boarding passes - 4D to Syd, and 4D to BNE (i.e. out of business class). Then the announcement comes that there is no food due to a catering issue, except for Platinums - fine, I'm platinum, I get a little box of nuts and an inedible brownie slice - lots of people looking a bit hungry too... oh well, DYKWIA?
So make it to Sydney, and manage to get moved back into business class. Go to the lounge, where they're in full clean-up mode, with very scarce offerings. One young fellow is quite distressed, as he is told they're clearing the food as the last flight "boards in 4 minutes" - he explains that his flight is delayed and won't be boarding for some time and he is hungry...
Anyway hop on the flight, and get offered a cheese board and a glass of wine... then land just a few minutes too late to get the last train home.
So by moving onto a later flight to use my complimentary upgrade, I received one cheese board (slice of nice soft cheese, mediocre hard cheese, quince paste, 5 or 6 crackers, raspberry desert), a nice glass of wine and a $70 cab fare. Not my cleverest idea of the week...
Had the brilliant idea of using a complimentary upgrade on my last remaining flexi - home from CBR to BNE. There was availability, but only via SYD, and leaving CBR at 7pm.
That seemed worth a go - and could check out the business product on the Embraer to Sydney as well as the 737 to Brisbane.
All was going so well, until I got to the airport - every Virgin flight to/from Sydney delayed (QF all on schedule). Oh well, I mention this at the lounge, and they tell me they'll page me - which to their credit they did, moving me off the Embraer and on to a delayed ATR, and onto a later 737 ex Syd.
Board, and get 17F - with no-one next to me. Excellent, it isn't business, but a blocked seat works for me... then a woman is suffering claustrophobia - I agree to be moved - to 4D with a biggish bloke next to me. Oh well, such is life. Then I'm given 2 new boarding passes - 4D to Syd, and 4D to BNE (i.e. out of business class). Then the announcement comes that there is no food due to a catering issue, except for Platinums - fine, I'm platinum, I get a little box of nuts and an inedible brownie slice - lots of people looking a bit hungry too... oh well, DYKWIA?
So make it to Sydney, and manage to get moved back into business class. Go to the lounge, where they're in full clean-up mode, with very scarce offerings. One young fellow is quite distressed, as he is told they're clearing the food as the last flight "boards in 4 minutes" - he explains that his flight is delayed and won't be boarding for some time and he is hungry...
Anyway hop on the flight, and get offered a cheese board and a glass of wine... then land just a few minutes too late to get the last train home.
So by moving onto a later flight to use my complimentary upgrade, I received one cheese board (slice of nice soft cheese, mediocre hard cheese, quince paste, 5 or 6 crackers, raspberry desert), a nice glass of wine and a $70 cab fare. Not my cleverest idea of the week...
