Now You're Flying Virgin Australia

[samiam]

Maybe it's just me, but I have seen a noticeable change in the service levels of all the crew, ground and air, over the past few weeks as the new products/features are rolled out. There seems to be a real sense of excitement, and with it a desire to go the extra mile. Maybe everyone's just jazzed about all the changes, but whatever the case if this is something that's come from the top down, well done!

In the words of the desk attendant in the MEL Lounge: "Since Mr Borghetti joined Virgin things have changed for the better. He's really made things happen".

That was unsolicited and unexpected.

 

[pshepvic]

Just noticed this on the Gold benefits page on the Velocity site:

Priority phone Jump the call queue if the line’s busy.

How does this work? I've never had to enter my Velocity number when I've called DJ before so I'm wondering how you can get priority

I called a couple of weeks ago though, and waited on hold for 5 minutes, before hanging up, calling back and selecting the Business Class phone option. The call was then answered in about 20 seconds.

Virgin Australia or CrazyDave - how do we get the Priority phone service without being naughty and selecting the Business option?!

 

[Keith009]

Just noticed this on the Gold benefits page on the Velocity site:



How does this work? I've never had to enter my Velocity number when I've called DJ before so I'm wondering how you can get priority

I called a couple of weeks ago though, and waited on hold for 5 minutes, before hanging up, calling back and selecting the Business Class phone option. The call was then answered in about 20 seconds.

Virgin Australia or CrazyDave - how do we get the Priority phone service without being naughty and selecting the Business option?!

I called yesterday and my call was answered on the first ring. Maybe they use voice recognition? :mrgreen:

 

[LiamR]

I called yesterday and my call was answered on the first ring. Maybe they use voice recognition? :mrgreen:

Do you have your own dedicated number on the back of the card? A la Ryan Bingham?

 

[Keith009]

Do you have your own dedicated number on the back of the card? A la Ryan Bingham?

I've not gotten my card yet. I simply rang the number I found on the website.

 

[pshepvic]

Do you have your own dedicated number on the back of the card? A la Ryan Bingham?

For a second I thought "Ah, back of the card, of course!"

But the number on the gold card is the same as the number on the website, so my question still stands!

 

[jsd]

When you call Velocity (131 875) it gives you 4 options...

Press...

1 for Virgin Money Credit Cards
2 for Velocity NAB cards
3 for Bookings and changes to Virgin Australia flights (this will patch you to 13 67 89)
4 for Velocity Rewards Membership Contact Centre

Press number 4 then you get this message:

Welcome to the Velocity Membership contact centre, if you are already a Velocity Member please enter your membership number now

Punch in your Velocity Number now... upon picking up your status the system will give you this message:

Thank you, please hold for just a moment and we will give your call priority to reach the Velocity team

And there you go, 95% of the time you will go straight through to the 'Gold' team, the other 5% you might wait for a maximum of 5 mins

 

[pshepvic]

Ah I see - to be honest I've never rung velocity, only reservations.

Looks like for reservations the only way to get priority is to select the business class option, as it definitely doesn't ask for your velocity number.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Ah I see - to be honest I've never rung velocity, only reservations.

Without wanting to sound xenophobic, one complaint I have with Velocity is their call staff. Obviously an OS call centre and I often have trouble either understanding their english or more commonly, getting them to undertand my question/requirement. A number of times I've finished the call (politely) and thought to myself "Well that was a total waste of time".

I don't seem to have those difficulties when speaking with VA staff, which leads me to believe they must be different call centres.

 

[Major]

Their call centre is in Manila

 

[lazybones1987]

Their call centre is in Manila

The velocity call center is in KL.

 

[Misha]

I am currently sitting in an airport hotel in Sydney after taking the first A330 flight from MEL - SYD on Virgin Australia's Cable Beach in seat 1A.

Will post a trip report when I am back in Melbourne...

 

[david-au-2000]

I don't have any trouble with the Philipino accent, in fact for call centre staff in my experience their English is usually first-rate. The one thing that does bug me a bit is how they just go into too much detail and repeat everything, when all I want to do is get the information I want and hang up. Its almost like they are just so overly polite and fawning its annoying!

 

[AaronBradford]

I am currently sitting in an airport hotel in Sydney after taking the first A330 flight from MEL - SYD on Virgin Australia's Cable Beach in seat 1A.

Will post a trip report when I am back in Melbourne...

You were in 1B, I was in 1A

I have pictures! Will post, also. Thanks to the lovely crew, especially Jade!

 

[Misha]

You were in 1B, I was in 1A

I stand corrected - my apologies good sir


*mumbles to self: "should have left him in 14B" *

 

[AirlineGuy]

Live2Air is now provided complimentary to the entire aircraft on all flights that are under 2 hours/flights previously charged at $4.90. There is still a charge for flights over 2hours/previously charged at $9.90, except for those on Flexi and Premium fares.

Quite a good improvement I think. Flights on the triangle and lots of others now free. I'm surprised that the airline hasn't marketed this change at all...although it is a bit inconsistent as to whether you get an aircraft with the system or not these days...any whispers about the new IFE at all???

 

[Misha]

Trip report (a very long one at that) has been posted about last night's A330 flight from Melbourne to Sydney.

Cheers

http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/trip-reports-and-trip-photos/virgin-australia-a330-mel-syd-30388.html

 

[Nigelinoz]

Good trip report Misha,well written and some good photos,but for me one paragraph stands out.

For the record Flight DJ 885 departed 30 minutes late, though that did not bother me as I was on a pleasure flight. I was seated in 1B with full Premium Economy service on a Happy Hour fare purchased for $65 – the cheapest MEL-SYD fare I have ever bought.

That for me is the crux of the issue,Virgin's on time performance recently has been "middling" to say the best and it's something they need to address if they are looking to gain a slice of the business market,lateness on a Saturday evening may not be the end of the world and I guess it's possible to make up time on the journey but reliability is one of the reasons why I'm even considering leaving QF-because the last 8 flights I have had on QF were all late- so if Virgin wants my business they need to demonstrate that they can get me from A to B on time,whether it's 8AM on a Friday or 7PM on a Saturday.
Thanks for the trip report.
Cheers
N'oz

 

[Misha]

Nigel,

I think you make a very valid point. Particularly with FF who are usually flying for business, punctuality is important. No doubt VA are looking at this internally.

I know ATC and the weather plus numerous other issues can be held responsible, but the truth is historically this has been a weak-point for them and I should imagine they would be looking at that quite seriously as part of the re-brand.

Fingers crossed all Australian airlines can get this right...

 

[DJ 1D]

Live2Air is now provided complimentary to the entire aircraft on all flights that are under 2 hours/flights previously charged at $4.90. There is still a charge for flights over 2hours/previously charged at $9.90, except for those on Flexi and Premium fares.

Quite a good improvement I think. Flights on the triangle and lots of others now free. I'm surprised that the airline hasn't marketed this change at all...although it is a bit inconsistent as to whether you get an aircraft with the system or not these days...any whispers about the new IFE at all???

Interesting. I was on a flight Friday night and the FA said to me, "On this flight Live2air is free." I thought it was odd since I was in PE and it's always free!

She also announced it over the loudspeaker, but at that point I assumed it was due to some fault or delay.

I agree this is good news - and definitely should be marketed! I had no clue until I read your post.