OK, I know it was our *second* date, but still ...

[RooFlyer]

I'm doing the VA 'Switcheroo' from QF long-time Plat and booked for today HBA-xMEL-CBR-xMEL-HBA for a bit of research at the National Library. All in business. Was looking forward to how my new aero-lover would perform. The SCs will get me to Plat and this will dovetail well with my frequent international flights with QR.

First date was HBA-xMEL-CBR. B737 & 1C both legs. No lounge in HBA but I didn't care, as early morning flight and I arrived HLO about 10 mins before boarding. PB worked well both legs.

Crew on first leg amazingly enthusiastic and helpful. PDB of 'bubbles', water or OJ offered. I chose OJ. Breakfast - 2 cold options, which surprised me (both cold). I chose banana bread topped with strawberry droplets (confection) and coconut. Only 3 of those. The rest got the quinoa something. Very much looked to be plated in the galley and not the mass produced looking stuff that you get with QF. J cabin roped off, as per normal to keep J toilet just for J. Excellent service throughout. Announced a few connecting gates as we taxied in. After landing in MEL, the FAs got down most of the J bags. Never seen that before - good.

Excellent first flight; couldn't fault it, 10/10.



MEL-CBR. PB worked well again. PBD of OJ or water. I passed. Second breakfast of mushroom bruschetta or something else. I again got my choice of the bruschetta. Again, looked like it was plated on the plane and not at least looking like mass produced stuff. Very nice, and nice cup of coffee.



Crew not quite as sharp as first one, but no negatives at all. Very good flight 8/10.

Second date CBR-xMEL-HBA was supposed to be a flight out at abt 6:30pm, with an abt 30 min connection in MEL. Now, as the day was meant to be a bit of a rain Armageddon, I inquired at the MEL lounge about 'flying ahead'. Desk agent said, yes you can, but we can't do it here -has to be done in CBR.

I forgot to ask at CBR and went straight to the library. Got a text and e-mail abt noon saying my CBR-MEL flight was going to be delayed and I wouodn't make my connection, and they had re-booked me in economy CBR-xSYD-HBA. on QANTAS, leaving a hour earlier than my booked flight I called the Guest Contact Centre, got an Aussie sounding guy and told him QF wasn't on; please look again. After a couple of holds, he 'found' a flight at 3:00pm, which would give me abt a 4 hr layover in MEL before getting on my original flight to Hobart. Economy on CBR-MEL, but I'll take it.

Went to the airport where I discovered that I had been moved from my business seat (which I had already checked in on) MEL-HBA to something called 26D. Check-in person said that 1C is still untaken, but she can't assign it to me, go to the lounge. Lounge lady said she can't do it, call the guest contact centre. Then she said that, although the seat was still unassigned, business was 'full', not including me! Someone had grabbed the seat.

Call the guest contact centre after going round and round, with the agent not really understanding what I was after ("Can I have my paid and checked-in seat back please, because it hasn't been allocated to anyone else"). Board the aircraft (4B ) and she just comes on before phones off to tell me that the flight was now "under airport control" and she couldn't help. Took 20 mins to find that one (possibly true, but how did I get assigned a Y seat by the first phone agent, if that's the case??)



"Middle seat lottery". Not happy Jane. (Shhh, don't tell Virgin, but it wasn't actually hellish. It was Economy-X (no fee) and for a 1hr flight was OK, although no service other than water because of "short flight time".)

At MEL, went to desk at lounge and fortunately an experienced agent worked away for 15 mins but eventually got my seat back. What had happened was, when they put me on QF (not withstanding I never accepted any change), both my VA legs were cancelled. When the contact centre put me back on VA, including my original flight MEL-HBA, it was a 'new booking' and there was of course no J seats left, so I was up the back and in the middle again.

The seat had been grabbed by an 'upgrader' . Anyway, the determined Katie got my 1C back, after a lot of work.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Mr Upgrader boards - how long will the daggers be in my direction?

Currently in the MEL VA club zoo. You can bet I'll be the first to board!!

So, Virgin, snookums, as you tried to 'xx_' me on just the second date, our brand new relationship is under review. See how MEL-CBR goes, and what Plat benefits are useful.

 

[ferntree]

Oh dear, an awful lot of stress and drama there that you really didn't need.

I've found that it's when anything unusual happens, that's when you're most likely to encounter a stuff up, whether thru ill-trained staff or something else.

My only serious issue since making the switch a year and a half ago was when an award J flight was cancelled and they expected us to spend a night in transit at Sydney airport rather than reassign us J seats on a flight which had J seats available but refused to let us have them because they weren't award seats. Found out later the agent was in the wrong, but too late ... I'd already cancelled and booked on Jetstar as the only option to get me home in time.

Then there are the good experiences ... like when I phoned to cancel a Y Lite seat (conditions clearly say no refunds), the agent asked why I was cancelling, then offered me a full refund to my travelbank.

Hope you have more experiences of the latter kind and less of the former!

 

[ferntree]

Funny thing is, when we first came to Tas in 2000 we made Virgin our airline of choice, but switched to Qantas six or seven years later after repeated promises of a HBA lounge were broken.

What goes around comes around I guess ...

 

[Anna]

This thread reminded me of something I've been thinking over the last little while about how odd it is that humans tend to think in terms of 'good' and 'bad'. Johnson was bad so Truss will be good. Whoops Truss is bad so Sunak will be good. Telstra is bad so Optus will be good. Whoops again. So much of the time it's not a choice between good and bad, it's between bad and bad. Or between bad and worse. Not sure how humanity got itself to this point!

Not having a go at you Rooflyer, just musing. I've also been extremely disappointed with QF over the last 13 months but I can't quite convince myself that VA would really be any different long term (although on my 'first date' last month VA blew QF out of the water, or maybe out of the sky).

 

[ferntree]

I think you make a really good point ... the triumph of hope over reality!

That said, I can only form an opinion based on personal experience. Since taking the Virgin status challenge nearly two year ago now, I've flown around 40 times with Virgin and a dozen times with Qantas (in every case pre-existing bookings or to use up points/flight vouchers).

With Virgin I have had mostly pretty good experiences, one or two outstanding ones, and one dreadful one.

With Qantas the best we've ever reached was acceptable. Mostly within a range poor to terrible. You can check out my latest saga here. Follow the link and check out both my posts ... the saga doesn't end at the first one!

Another day, another Qantas drama ....

This is how I spent my morning: 1. Logged on to qantas.com to attempt to make a booking using part flight voucher, part cash (or to be more accurate, credit card). 2. Went to Manage my bookings, found voucher and clicked on Redeem. 3. Searched flights, completed dates and flight selection, and...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[RooFlyer]

Not having a go at you Rooflyer, just musing. I've also been extremely disappointed with QF over the last 13 months but I can't quite convince myself that VA would really be any different long term (although on my 'first date' last month VA blew QF out of the water, or maybe out of the sky).

No worries at all . I was thinking of calling the thread "The grass isn't always greener" and my move to VA is one of 'preferred airline' rather than 'loyalty'. Now I'll be Plat on both, I can happily take either with similar perks, but VA will nearly always be cheaper. Plus VA's tie-up with my favourite international airline, QR will work well for me. Unfortunately my 2 domestic flights next month to reach ADL where I board QR was before the tie-up, so will be QF, but the return will be VA

Not impressed at all with the Virgin lounge in Melbourne. A zoo with simply appalling food and bev options. Now, I'm used to QF business lounges, so maybe I should be comparing with QPs, but this is a major negative for my transition. I had 4 hours there and I took an hour or so in the T3/T4 concourse as it was much the same. The only advantage the VA zoo had over the concourse was the free beers in the lounge; wines were lamentable. Food much better in the concourse, even if it costs a bit. (BTW where in God's name does that long corridor lead to - What's at T4? Is it another word for Avalon? ). Thank goodness for the agent who got my seat back, else I would have been a very unhappy camper.

Having wrested my J seat back, when we departed MEL-HBA abt 15 mins late at 8:40pm, there was a vacant seat in the cabin! The crew were again great; keen, enthusiastic and a pleasure to fly with. PDB of a Victorian sparkling, or water. Meal orders taken before push-back - choice of two salads. Again, only cold options which again surprised me. I chose chicken 'salad' (it was called something else) and it was possibly one of the best cold domestic meals I've had. Absolutely delicious and perfect for what was now mid evening. And TWO choices of white wine - Chardonnay (of course) or a pinot gris. Top ups offered a couple of times but I had to decline, as I was driving.



I gave this flight 10/10 as well.

So, FWIW a comparison for short-haul business

Meals and bev - better on Virgin. Presentation and taste very good to excellent. Both VA and QF limit number of 'second choices' of meals.

Crew - better on Virgin. No faults on 3 flights, on two of them, 10/10. QF business FAs are good to very good (especially, I find, on Hobart-Melbourne flights), but Virgin's were a bit keener to please, and more engaging.

Lounges - I haven't been in MEL QP for years, but even thinking of the Hobart QP, which I bag regularly, Qantas lounge in MEL would have to be better than Virgin's. My ability to access QF business lounges is a major plus for them in my view.

Call centres - seem to be equally bad, although with Virgin I got to talk to someone within a minute on each of my 3 calls, on a day when there were many flight disruptions. That I can (usually, only ) get Qantas' Hobart call centre might put Qantas ahead.

As others have said, Virgin's seeming lack of focus on business travellers detracts from their on-ground appeal. If I was still shuttling around the country for work, then I'd selectively choose Qantas (especially as someone else would be paying)! But as a 20-25 domestic flight a year retiree, Virgin will do me most of the time, including most international connections. Oh, economy-X wasn't so bad, either. Bring a snack and you'll be sweet.

 

[MikeG]

Thanks, Rooflyer, I've been considering the switch as well.

 

[RooFlyer]

Thanks, Rooflyer, I've been considering the switch as well.

I’m sure Virgin will cough up, will disappoint me, and all the other stuff. At the moment though they have the big advantage of at least looking as though they give a damn and as I’ve said before, if I get a bad experience with them, at least it will be a very much cheaper bad experience than with the other mob.

 

[ferntree]

if I get a bad experience with them, at least very much cheaper bad experience than with the other mob.

 

[jb747]

This thread reminded me of something I've been thinking over the last little while about how odd it is that humans tend to think in terms of 'good' and 'bad'. Johnson was bad so Truss will be good. Whoops Truss is bad so Sunak will be good. Telstra is bad so Optus will be good. Whoops again. So much of the time it's not a choice between good and bad, it's between bad and bad. Or between bad and worse. Not sure how humanity got itself to this point!

That's certainly how politics works. We know that they'll all be horrible, but hope to get the least horrible one. Not that it ever turns out.

 

[Bundy Bear]

I find between Virgin and Qantas I go with the one that is cheaper or has a better schedule as I am Gold with both, I dread calling Qantas as I usually end up in South Africa where at least with Virgin the call is answered in a few minutes, and yes Economy X on flights to and from Perth if you miss the upgrade isn't so bad

 

[MikeG]

That's certainly how politics works. We know that they'll all be horrible, but hope to get the least horrible one. Not that it ever turns out.

I think it's more about better/worse comparisons, and what is important to the individual. My experience has been that Virgin Australia seems to deliver a service that is not as annoying as Qantas. I prefer a less annoying experience, but that's just me.

Post automatically merged: Oct 27, 2022

I find between Virgin and Qantas I go with the one that is cheaper or has a better schedule as I am Gold with both, I dread calling Qantas as I usually end up in South Africa where at least with Virgin the call is answered in a few minutes, and yes Economy X on flights to and from Perth if you miss the upgrade isn't so bad

I called Qantas 6 times today, and all six calls were answered by Fiji. I was trying the HUAR approach but gave up after 6 calls.

 

[jmacpher]

My Virgin Gold status will be gone soon. Found recent VA SYD-MEL prices higher than Q on dates I checked. My international business travel post COVID has been on Qantas, so settling in the other way.
Yep - VA lounges only offer beer and wine, although (at least in the past) you could get sourdough bread at breakfast which QC lounges do not offer. Coffee service is marginally better in Q lounges.
That Melb VA lounge is before security and the priority line has never been open when I needed it.
At least the SYD priority check in line is opening up

 

[antycbr]

My Virgin Gold status will be gone soon. Found recent VA SYD-MEL prices higher than Q on dates I checked. My international business travel post COVID has been on Qantas, so settling in the other way.
Yep - VA lounges only offer beer and wine, although (at least in the past) you could get sourdough bread at breakfast which QC lounges do not offer. Coffee service is marginally better in Q lounges.
That Melb VA lounge is before security and the priority line has never been open when I needed it.
At least the SYD priority check in line is opening up

The Melbourne lounge has been after security for close to 3 months now.

 

[Mattg]

I called the Guest Contact Centre, got an Aussie sounding guy

Delays and disruptions can happen on any airline, but what matters is the recovery.

This could have just as easily happened on Qantas, but good luck calling up and immediately getting through to someone with an Australian accent who's in a position to be able to help.

 

[JohnM]

No worries at all . I was thinking of calling the thread "The grass isn't always greener" and my move to VA is one of 'preferred airline' rather than 'loyalty'. Now I'll be Plat on both, I can happily take either with similar perks, but VA will nearly always be cheaper. Plus VA's tie-up with my favourite international airline, QR will work well for me. Unfortunately my 2 domestic flights next month to reach ADL where I board QR was before the tie-up, so will be QF, but the return will be VA

Not impressed at all with the Virgin lounge in Melbourne. A zoo with simply appalling food and bev options. Now, I'm used to QF business lounges, so maybe I should be comparing with QPs, but this is a major negative for my transition. I had 4 hours there and I took an hour or so in the T3/T4 concourse as it was much the same. The only advantage the VA zoo had over the concourse was the free beers in the lounge; wines were lamentable. Food much better in the concourse, even if it costs a bit. (BTW where in God's name does that long corridor lead to - What's at T4? Is it another word for Avalon? ). Thank goodness for the agent who got my seat back, else I would have been a very unhappy camper.

Having wrested my J seat back, when we departed MEL-HBA abt 15 mins late at 8:40pm, there was a vacant seat in the cabin! The crew were again great; keen, enthusiastic and a pleasure to fly with. PDB of a Victorian sparkling, or water. Meal orders taken before push-back - choice of two salads. Again, only cold options which again surprised me. I chose chicken 'salad' (it was called something else) and it was possibly one of the best cold domestic meals I've had. Absolutely delicious and perfect for what was now mid evening. And TWO choices of white wine - Chardonnay (of course) or a pinot gris. Top ups offered a couple of times but I had to decline, as I was driving.

View attachment 305503

I gave this flight 10/10 as well.

So, FWIW a comparison for short-haul business

Meals and bev - better on Virgin. Presentation and taste very good to excellent. Both VA and QF limit number of 'second choices' of meals.

Crew - better on Virgin. No faults on 3 flights, on two of them, 10/10. QF business FAs are good to very good (especially, I find, on Hobart-Melbourne flights), but Virgin's were a bit keener to please, and more engaging.

Lounges - I haven't been in MEL QP for years, but even thinking of the Hobart QP, which I bag regularly, Qantas lounge in MEL would have to be better than Virgin's. My ability to access QF business lounges is a major plus for them in my view.

Call centres - seem to be equally bad, although with Virgin I got to talk to someone within a minute on each of my 3 calls, on a day when there were many flight disruptions. That I can (usually, only ) get Qantas' Hobart call centre might put Qantas ahead.

As others have said, Virgin's seeming lack of focus on business travellers detracts from their on-ground appeal. If I was still shuttling around the country for work, then I'd selectively choose Qantas (especially as someone else would be paying)! But as a 20-25 domestic flight a year retiree, Virgin will do me most of the time, including most international connections. Oh, economy-X wasn't so bad, either. Bring a snack and you'll be sweet.

Good to see cheese, even if in a packet, and not some disgusting low-grade sweet Thing in a Box or Thing in a Wrapper...

(BTW has anyone ever looked at the use-by date on the QF Thing in a Box? It's about a year out - but to be consumed within 1 day of serving. Frozen Thing in a Box. )

 

[1022]

I’ve also been dabbling with VA. Before the switcheroo deal, as a lowly Red I scored a few J flights on VA a couple of times for not much more than Red-e fares on QF! I was very pleasantly surprised by J service, food and wine on VA, slightly underwhelmed by lounges. Oh and utterly blown away by this thing called priority boarding VA offers!!

I had my first Y flight today as a newly minted Switcheroo gold. Apart from lack of something to eat or free booze on an evening flight, these days I think there’s very little between the two carriers when sat in rows 5-10. There was a bit of a system wide meltdown due to winds in Syd. The crew were convivial, visible and friendly throughout the hour we were doing orbits over Singleton. Subtly that made the cabin a happier place than it might have otherwise been given we eventually landed nearly 2 hours late.

I’m willing to go on a couple more VA dates with a more open mind than I used to have when flying with them. Though I will miss T-80. Even as a lowly QF Gold my strike rate for my preferred 4A or 4F is decent.

 

[AIRwin]

Though I will miss T-80.

T-50 for non-EconomyX row 6 onwards

 

[1022]

T-50 for non-EconomyX row 6 onwards

Yep, I noticed I could shift from row 7 to 6 at OLCI as Gold. Though row 4 on QF is a pretty pleasant place compared to row 6…

 

[RooFlyer]

@jmacpher VA MEL lounge now after security after rejig of terminal.

Delays and disruptions can happen on any airline, but what matters is the recovery.

Recovery continued. Today I got an email with an apology for not getting my flight in business ( with an accurate description of the nature of the disruption), 10,000 points into account and refund of fare difference. The refund was expected (probably won’t be much) but the quick apology and points compo not expected and never such received from QF.

Now waiting for their website and app maintenance to finish to see if I get the J SCs ( not that I should, and not expected, with the $ refund of difference)