Program Update: Virgin Australia’s Fares For You

[PDog]

Ditto for me. 2 return cheapo flights with the other half pooling to me means I have enough sectors to remain WP and I can enjoy the WP benefits travelling with their international partners.

I'm not sure you can pool your eligible sectors? I think only points & status credits. You might need to take all 4 returns yourself

 

[Edge]

If they think they can halve the SC earn rate on the cheapest fares, then increase the price to earn the same SC as before they are delusional. As an example, I paid $159 for QF BNE-MEL, this flight earns me 15SC in discount Y. Similar VA flight earns 10SC and costs $159. If I want 15 SC its $229.

You'll get 20SC for the $229. Still more expensive on a $-per-SC conversion, but only marginally. If you're paying out of your own pocket it will hurt. If your company is paying it's an improvement, may mean that people book later rather than earlier when the cheapest fares are sold out

 

[Muppet501st]

So after careful evaluation of earning rates with my flight patterns I have come to the conclusion that VA are not worth continuing with.
I have just booked a whole bunch of QF flights for myself and my family that would have otherwise gone to VA.
If they think they can halve the SC earn rate on the cheapest fares, then increase the price to earn the same SC as before they are delusional. As an example, I paid $159 for QF BNE-MEL, this flight earns me 15SC in discount Y. Similar VA flight earns 10SC and costs $159. If I want 15 SC its $229.
.

Wouldn't the $229 flight earn you 20sc ? not sure if im reading the chart right

 

[MH_fan]

I'm not sure you can pool your eligible sectors? I think only points & status credits. You might need to take all 4 returns yourself

Oh...I'll need to check this. Anyway, 4 cheapo return flights in a 12-month period when I usually fly well over 100k miles per year shouldn't be too hard.

 

[Velocity Frequent Flyer]

Am I right in assuming that until the 30/1/17, getaway and elevate fares earn the same SC?

Thank you for your question.

You are correct, for travel before 30 January 2017 you will continue to earn at the Current Status Credit earn rate. For travel from 30 January 2017 you will earn in accordance with the new Status Credit earn tables.

Kind regards,
Velocity

 

[Deleted member 29185]

There seems to be a fairly consistant undercurrent of moving away from loyalty and onto a "what suits me best" attitude. I do hope you are taking note VFF. I never thought Ansett would go belly up and I think you have to realise that VA is not the quality of product that Ansett was. For years now, you've done your level best at alienating your most loyal guests, hoping those from other pastures will see some greenery in yours ... but how many of these pasture hoppers do you think you have left? QF has released their best profit ever and you lot could not even lure the pasture hoppers over even when AJ was threatening to close that competitor for ever! What chance have you now?

Back at the start of game change, JB did say that they would continue to fly LCC but combine it with full service (or words to that effect). This seems to be another step in that direction. Why not make Getaway the LCC fare and remove all perks and make everything pay for use and give no SCs and points. Of course you'll need to compete with JQ and TT which sounds odd and you'll need to offer fares which reflect that competition. Make elevate the old saver fare and reintroduce decent full service options for freedom and business (ditch business saver as it's a blantant and fairly transparent sham).

Stop thinking everyone that flys with you are idiots that don't notice when they're being conned.

 

[Velocity Frequent Flyer]

So an L class flight booked before 7 September 2016 for travel after 30 January 2017 would still earn full status credits and points?

Hi aaronm,

Are you referring to an L Class flight on the International Long Haul network? For L Class ILH bookings made prior to 7 September for travel after 30 January 2017, we will honour the current Status Credit and Points earn rates. From 30 January 2017 the Status Credit earn rate will increase for L Class Domestic travel and will remain as per current earn rates for L Class Trans Tasman and International Short Haul travel. The Points bonus will continue to be earned on all L Class travel from 30 January 2017.

Kind regards
Velocity Team

 

[blingy90]

@velocity frequent flyer.....

To clarify....fares purchased prior to September 7 2016, regardless of when travel is (pre or post January 30th 2017), will earn SCs under the old system???
I had my travel to re-qualify for plat all planned and booked, just want to check that the above is true.

Thanks

 

[Jurahn]

Oh...I'll need to check this. Anyway, 4 cheapo return flights in a 12-month period when I usually fly well over 100k miles per year shouldn't be too hard.

Eligible sectors definitely don't pool, so you will have to do the flights yourself - sounds like that won't be too much of a hardship for you though .

 

[grubbidok]

You are correct, for travel before 30 January 2017 you will continue to earn at the Current Status Credit earn rate. For travel from 30 January 2017 you will earn in accordance with the new Status Credit earn tables.

So Virgin are trying to stiff people with a huge price increase for no benefit until then (and very questionable benefit thereafter).

 

[JohnK]

Any leakage of 'high margin' customers must be addressed immediately. Losing 'low margin' customers (those who buy sale fares mostly) is not a big concern.

Low margin customers are just as important as high margin customers.

Low margin high volume customers are very important to maintain loads.

 

[grubbidok]

Low margin customers are just as important as high margin customers.

Low margin high volume customers are very important to maintain loads.

Agree this is often overlooked. Low margin pax are the bread and butter of an airline. High margin pax important to making bigger profits but they don't actually put an airline into the black

 

[Pleb Status]

Low margin customers are just as important as high margin customers.

Low margin high volume customers are very important to maintain loads.

Agree this is often overlooked. Low margin pax are the bread and butter of an airline. High margin pax important to making bigger profits but they don't actually put an airline into the black

Full service airlines (like QF) have created all new airlines (like JQ) to try to rid themselves of low margin customers.

 

[Mattg]

Full service airlines (like QF) have created all new airlines (like JQ) to try to rid themselves of low margin customers.

Jetstar was originally created to compete with Virgin Blue on price without trashing the premium Qantas brand. That doesn't necessarily mean Qantas was trying to "rid themselves" of low margin customers.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Full service airlines (like QF) have created all new airlines (like JQ) to try to rid themselves of low margin customers.

Are you sure? I thought they started JQ to specifically keep their low margin customers ... that is, they had to compete with the LCCs and that could not be done with legacy baggage. It cannot have been cheap to do so. If they wanted to offload the low margin customers completely, surely they would have simply got rid of low margin fares.

EDIT: Just beaten to it by a miniute.

 

[JohnK]

Full service airlines (like QF) have created all new airlines (like JQ) to try to rid themselves of low margin customers.

JQ is for low volume customers.

 

[eastwest101]

Are you sure? I thought they started JQ to specifically keep their low margin customers ... that is, they had to compete with the LCCs and that could not be done with legacy baggage. It cannot have been cheap to do so. If they wanted to offload the low margin customers completely, surely they would have simply got rid of low margin fares.

All correct, but lets not forget there was an Industrial Relations and cost of workforce agenda setting up JQ as well.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

JQ is for low volume customers.

I'm not sure I entirely agree. I've flown JQ quite a lot over the years and I wouldn't exactly place myself in the low volume segment. Conversely, I had a client that was definitely a low volume flyer but every flight was J or F (whichever the top class was on the flight he was taking) and he never flew JQ!

All correct, but lets not forget there was an Industrial Relations and cost of workforce agenda setting up JQ as well.

I can't recall, but that's all the more evidence that they definitely wanted to keep all the customers they could, rather than offload the low margins.

 

[alviau]

There seems to be a fairly consistant undercurrent of moving away from loyalty and onto a "what suits me best" attitude.

I've noticed this too, however not only in the aviation sector of the market. Pure loyalty, in the utopian way we like to think about it, I personally believe doesn't exist anymore. Not for a while anyway, and at least not in my ecosystem of products and services. I think it went out of the window decades ago with the increase of competition in the market and the power given to us consumers; who started it first? the chicken or the egg? I think it was a joint effort and I believe the consumer may have contributed quite nicely to it.
Here is Company A who you have been "loyal" to for years (due to lack of choice), Company B comes in with new, shiny, cheaper things and then Company C. It's very tempting to try and in a way split your loyalty out of curiosity, because it works out best for you, and because your needs and wants have changed. The companies will try to persuade you much as they can but there is a point when it's no longer financially viable to throw all this stuff at the consumer. We then feel betrayed; but as consumers we have participated in this game, because we also don't like being taken advantage of.
If you think of it in a different way... is it actually that bad we (some) are able to maintain status with more than one airline at the same time? That we can jump from bank to bank reaping the benefits? Chop and change our telecoms provider as we please?
I do like the choice and the power we get as consumers, but there's a famous saying somewhere... with great power comes great responsibility

It's a new world out there. Time will tell how this plays out. Good luck to all!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

who started it first? the chicken or the egg?

For the past number of decades we've seen merchants having to work very hard at maintaining a solid customer base (especially with the advent of the internet). It's not easy and when you look at VA's approach, it has been somewhat different to the standout successful businesses (not just aviation). A classic example of them treating customers like they're all idiots is their on board food offering. Much touted, and presumably because they realised they had to compete on that issue, so they serve up a thimble half filled with water and a crumb. JQ was doing better in a one for one comparison and despite so much angst about it, they simply allow the peception of being fed (which may only con some newbie flyers) and refuse to provide a reasonable snack. That doesn't con the seasoned flyer and as much as a food offering in whY is not a biggie as far as most are concerned, VA continue to treat as as fools. I predict more changes to this "fares for you" as people will most likely read line 2 of there catch cry "whatever your trip, there's a fare to match". Yes there is and from where I sit, many of those matching fares are with their competition!