As someone with lots of uncertainty in my travel I am (one of the rare ?) people who often travel on Flexi fares. In the past, this has normally been Qantas by default for a range of reasons including scheduling, lounge access, seat selection *and* in flight meals. When I recently started putting more travel to VA I was plesantly surprised to find that the Flexi also provided the extra benefit of a 'meal' on some sectors, which I very much appreciated since I was paying nearly double the cheaper fare for almost exactly the same product - a seat - but a seat with some assurance that I could make some limited changes without losing the whole ticket.
As one who rarely needs food on a 45-60 minute sector it was not an essential, but it was appreciated as recognition of the *much* more expensive ticket. But removal of the Flexi meal has just reduced the overall 'value' of the Flexi fare. I had about 11 sectors booked before this policy change. You could argue that I "expected" a Flexi meal with the cost of that ticket but won't get those meals - just the same snack as everyone else. I won't die in a ditch over it but there is something just distasteful (pun intended) about having a benefit that you anticipated getting enhanced away. I bet the cost of flexi fares doesn't drop - the savings will be transferred to the cost of all those snacks.
I rarely change my ticket more than once per trip, and very rarely check bags, so now I'm thinking that the cheapest fare is a better option since on balance I will probably save money.
You see Virgin, the little enhancements get people thinking... I am now annoyed that I have lost a benefit that I didn't know existed and don't use anyway !!!
