I have had enough.... [Offloaded after Flight not called in VA lounge]

[lovestotravel]

Well, if what JohnK is describing is correct, it applies to all of those in the lounge waiting for that flight. And really not sure where the minority comes from anyway. It could be a very frequent event but I'm betting not all flyers are members of this forum.

Given that for most flights there are either zero or a very small numbers of names called, the "failure to board" % would be very very low.

 

[Pushka]

I don't see failure to board as being evidence of a correct call to board process. Like many have said here, they leave the lounge earlier due to poor processes. Or feel they have to be obsessive about checking the boarding gate because the process is unreliable. Hardly conducive to comfortable travel and surely not what is expected in lounges.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Given that for most flights there are either zero or a very small numbers of names called, the "failure to board" % would be very very low.

Well perhaps that explains why most ticketing is on a no refund basis, the % might've been high enough to be hurting them, nut nowadays its probably irrelevant what the % is.

 

[SeatBackForward]

I don't see failure to board as being evidence of a correct call to board process. Like many have said here, they leave the lounge earlier due to poor processes. Or feel they have to be obsessive about checking the boarding gate because the process is unreliable. Hardly conducive to comfortable travel and surely not what is expected in lounges.

But to remove all subjectivity in the matter, about people behaviour/lounge calls/procedures etc..the cleanest and most normalised number would be: % of failures to board.

 

[lovestotravel]

I don't see failure to board as being evidence of a correct call to board process. Like many have said here, they leave the lounge earlier due to poor processes.

The majority of people on any flight are not in a lounge anyway, they are all by the gate!

 

[SeatBackForward]

I think the best bit of info to have had would've been, how many other WP's that were in the lounge did make it onto that particular flight...but of course we'll never know that.

 

[Pushka]

But to remove all subjectivity in the matter, about people behaviour/lounge calls/procedures etc..the cleanest and most normalised number would be: % of failures to board.

Isn't the issue about providing good consistent and reliable customer service? On your basis you would be happy just to get from a to b regardless of how bad that experience is.

 

[lovestotravel]

Well perhaps that explains why most ticketing is on a no refund basis, the % might've been high enough to be hurting them, nut nowadays its probably irrelevant what the % is.

Lots of reason for no refunds on tickets, I imagine on-line check-in and associated non-airport check-ins cause more problems for airlines as they don't know if you are actually AT the airport or not.

But we are going OT more and more now

 

[SeatBackForward]

Isn't the issue about providing good consistent and reliable customer service? On your basis you would be happy just to get from a to b regardless of how bad that experience is.

But if the majority of people make their flights and board ontime, then doesn't it count as being reliable and consistent? (Reliably and consistently bad counts)

 

[Ausbt]

No I wasn't putting you down.

But you hate Virgin, Qantas and Jetstar so Tiger is all thats left.

You coulda' headed up to Lismore on Rex and driven over to the GC. What's more, last time I checked it was only $300 to join the Rex Lounge. I've flown Rex a lot, and quite often I've found no one sitting next to me (...on those SAABs with the 2-1 layout at least!)

 

[Pushka]

But if the majority of people make their flights and board ontime, then doesn't it count as being reliable and consistent? (Reliably and consistently bad counts)

But there are lots of posts just in this thread which state that the boards are not reliable.

 

[clarkkent]

I too am wary of the boards but have not yet been let down by the announcements. If I'm worried that they aren't updating properly I often google the flight number - the online tracking sites seem to be quicker to show updated departure times.

 

[JohnK]

So John, let me get this right, you're complaining that Virgin needs to change their boarding procedures because of what happened to you - and possibly to some others.

I do not understand the relevance with your reference to a totally unrelated thread.

I am not asking for Virgin to make changes to cater to a minority, but only to simply provide a service they promise to provide.

Virgin claims to provide a service from their lounges (e.g updates to flights, boarding calls etc) which in my situation they clearly did not.

They also claim to treat high tiered frequent flyers better which in my situation they clearly did not. As I mentioned earlier Qantas gate staff would have been calling to find out my whereabouts.

- Clearly the departure boards in the lounge are incorrect.
- Clearly the boarding calls made are inconsistent.
- Clearly some passengers get paged for failing to board while other passengers aren't paged and then offloaded.

And judging by a lot of the responses in this thread my incident is not an isolated incident and people have had to rush to make flights. I was just unlucky enough to miss my flight yesterday.

 

[Plutonus]

You say Qantas treats you better as a status FF, and this would've never happened with them, so why do you fly with Virgin?

Serious question, sorry if already covered.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

You say Qantas treats you better as a status FF, and this would've never happened with them, so why do you fly with Virgin?

Serious question, sorry if already covered.

He's moving over to Tiger this week. No lounge to worry about there, just got to wait at the gate, so problem solved.

 

[anat0l]

You say Qantas treats you better as a status FF, and this would've never happened with them, so why do you fly with Virgin?

Serious question, sorry if already covered.

The flights were cheaper?

 

[SeatBackForward]

And judging by a lot of the responses in this thread my incident is not an isolated incident and people have had to rush to make flights. I was just unlucky enough to miss my flight yesterday.

So it is not an isolated incident, and granted AFF probably has a higher representative of potential "failures to board", it can't be (overall) a significant enough occurence for Virgin to have stomped down on it with any great urgency. So, that must mean these such incidents are in the minority.

You want Virgin to change their procedures for something that only applies to a minority of people, yet you denounced QF for doing the same thing on the other thread.

 

[Justinf]

I do not understand the relevance with your reference to a totally unrelated thread.

I am not asking for Virgin to make changes to cater to a minority, but only to simply provide a service they promise to provide.

Virgin claims to provide a service from their lounges (e.g updates to flights, boarding calls etc) which in my situation they clearly did not.

They also claim to treat high tiered frequent flyers better which in my situation they clearly did not. As I mentioned earlier Qantas gate staff would have been calling to find out my whereabouts.

- Clearly the departure boards in the lounge are incorrect.
- Clearly the boarding calls made are inconsistent.
- Clearly some passengers get paged for failing to board while other passengers aren't paged and then offloaded.

And judging by a lot of the responses in this thread my incident is not an isolated incident and people have had to rush to make flights. I was just unlucky enough to miss my flight yesterday.

But you were told they did announce it twice. Unless you are an expert in body language going by your 'guilty look', it's your word against theirs. You might be right about the whole thing and your experience is certainly regrettable and I do realise that this can happen to anyone, but you also just simply might not have heard the announcement.

 

[hummel]

I learnt my lesson when VA delayed a flight by 45 minutes, so I went to get something to eat. Came back to the gate about 15 minutes before rescheduled boarding time to be told time had been brought forward and plane had gone.

While I was annoyed I realised the mistake and paid the $50 fee to change to the next flight.

 

[Tas]

And I cannot take anymore....

It is quite clear that Virgin does not want me as a customer.

I have been waiting for the 5:10pm SYD-OOL and I have been waiting near the service desk.

No boarding calls were made and the flight status was blank. Time moved to 17:15 and still no boarding call. Time moved to 17:20 and still no boarding call.

From my experience it is a requirement of gate staff to phone the lounge and announce boarding. This is then followed up with the boarding call being put through in the lounge. I have experienced on a number of occasions when this procedure is not followed. (Definitley not the fault of the lounge staff.)

What has really startled me with this case is that the JohnK would wait to 5 mins after the scheduled departure to question the departure time. I would always question the lounge service staff at say 5pm as to the status of the aircraft. Then if the abovementioned procedure has not been follwed it allows contact to be made with the gate staff informing them that you are on your way. In the past when I have done this it is usually followed directly by the announcement in the lounge.