So, Have you made the switch?

[notzac]

Internationally Virgin barely has a leg to stand on. Virgin cannot match the schedules, alliances and service of QF and Oneworld nor the worldwide benefits of OW Emerald status.

I don't know I'd agree with you there - speaking purely for myself, I need to be able to get to Dublin and Mountain View for work. For the US trips, VA is on par with other carriers for schedule and convenience - I'm going to have to transit LAX no matter who I fly with (oh for direct flights to SFO again ). For Ireland though, VA/EY is very compelling as it means I can fly direct in to DUB without going anywhere near LHR. I think it really depends on where you need to get to as to which carrier is best for your needs .. totally agree with you on the reach of oneworld Emerald benefits though; giving that up was pretty tough - but I'm doing OK out of VA's program thus far

 

[Noob]

Through the changes Virgin are making they are going to expand their customer base. Virgin isn't Qantas, and some people prefer the type of product Qantas offer and won't "switch", which is exactly what VA predicted - they want to be "the airline of choice", not the largest airline.


IMO Virgin are going to win some and Qantas are going to loose some - not massive numbers, but enough to make VA the successful airline it deserves to be.

 

[notzac]

I'm going to have to transit LAX no matter who I fly with (oh for direct flights to SFO again ).

It's been pointed out to me that UA do fly direct SYD to SFO .. given that work fares are always and only ever LL, I don't consider UA to be an option (been there done that once - not enough liquor and therapy in this world to make me want to repeat that experience..!)

 

[Will]

I'll bet that dilemma saw a few heads being scratched at VFF's status matching department.:shock:

I would have agreed with you, but when I went into the lounge and looked at their matching sign-up sheet, the first 3 names on the piece of paper were all CL!


I am ready to make a substantial switch. Probably only enough to retain VA gold next year. A big challenge for me is the reduced SC earn on VA for connecting domestic flights; for instance I have just booked two return flights MEL-ABX via SYD on QF, that nets me 80 SC for each trip on QF but only half that on VA due to the different method of calculating a sector. I know that VA only requires 800 (v 1200), but as a lot of my flights are to regional centres connecting via capitals, that hurts!

For my next capital-to-capital flights, I'm on VA for sure

 

[maninblack]

I don't know I'd agree with you there - speaking purely for myself, I need to be able to get to Dublin and Mountain View for work. For the US trips, VA is on par with other carriers for schedule and convenience - I'm going to have to transit LAX no matter who I fly with (oh for direct flights to SFO again ). For Ireland though, VA/EY is very compelling as it means I can fly direct in to DUB without going anywhere near LHR. I think it really depends on where you need to get to as to which carrier is best for your needs .. totally agree with you on the reach of oneworld Emerald benefits though; giving that up was pretty tough - but I'm doing OK out of VA's program thus far

I thought you got to Mountain View via Cyberspace

 

[notzac]

I thought you got to Mountain View via Cyberspace

Through a series of tubes

 

[777]

Internationally Virgin barely has a leg to stand on. Virgin cannot match the schedules, alliances and service of QF and Oneworld nor the worldwide benefits of OW Emerald status.

Hi from Istanbul! Backing up what Notzac said it depends a lot where you are travelling. I got here on a one stop flight from MEL (via AUH). QF wanted to send me via SIN and LHR - adding an extra 10 hours to the trip.

I agree the lack of an Asian partner is a hole right now but for much of Europe the VA/EY tie up wins hands down.

 

[Paddy55]

I thought you got to Mountain View via Cyberspace

I thought you just had to Google it!

 

[stredinnick]

Yes, took my first VA Mel-Syd on Friday. Confused about something: do Status Gold members get complementary food? I ask this as I was handed a tray and a glass of wine while a lot of others around me were asked to pay. Anyway, enjoyable flight and on-time unlike my Q flight of earlier that day.

 

[markis10]

Yes, took my first VA Mel-Syd on Friday. Confused about something: do Status Gold members get complementary food? I ask this as I was handed a tray and a glass of wine while a lot of others around me were asked to pay. Anyway, enjoyable flight and on-time unlike my Q flight of earlier that day.

Were you on a flex, if not then you were given an unpublished benefit :shock:. The culture of such benefits were first put into place at QF many years ago by the very person now running DJ.

 

[maninblack]

Hi from Istanbul! Backing up what Notzac said it depends a lot where you are travelling. I got here on a one stop flight from MEL (via AUH). QF wanted to send me via SIN and LHR - adding an extra 10 hours to the trip.

I agree the lack of an Asian partner is a hole right now but for much of Europe the VA/EY tie up wins hands down.

There are many specific secondary destinations that neither will cover one hop, and a few major ones too. You don't have to go QF into Europe, you can go CX or JAL into many Euro destinations.

If we are talking specifics the lack of Asian service is a gaping hole for me and many others as is only 3 flights a week to the LAX.

 

[pangwen]

There are many specific secondary destinations that neither will cover one hop, and a few major ones too. You don't have to go QF into Europe, you can go CX or JAL into many Euro destinations.

If we are talking specifics the lack of Asian service is a gaping hole for me and many others as is only 3 flights a week to the LAX.

In regards to your first point, neither JAL nor Cathay offer that many European connections over Qantas.

IIRC, JAL goes from Tokyo to London (where Qantas goes), Frankfurt (where Qantas also goes) and Paris.

Cathay offers those destinations, plus:

-Amsterdam;
-Milan; and
-Rome.

If you also count Finnair, that just adds Helsinki as a one-stop destination.

So the previous posters wanting to go to Dublin or Istanbul are still out of luck.. (except once Malaysia join Oneworld, Istanbul will be serviced with a stop in Kuala Lumpur).

 

[maninblack]

In regards to your first point, neither JAL nor Cathay offer that many European connections over Qantas.

IIRC, JAL goes from Tokyo to London (where Qantas goes), Frankfurt (where Qantas also goes) and Paris.

Cathay offers those destinations, plus:

-Amsterdam;
-Milan; and
-Rome.

If you also count Finnair, that just adds Helsinki as a one-stop destination.

So the previous posters wanting to go to Dublin or Istanbul are still out of luck.. (except once Malaysia join Oneworld, Istanbul will be serviced with a stop in Kuala Lumpur).

You forgot Moscow.

I'm afraid "all roads lead to Rome", not Istanbul. :!:

They also fly to countless non-European destinations from their hubs.

But it Virgin's international services works for someone better than Oneworld then fine. At this point given my usual destinations I would generally struggle with it. Not against using it at all though.

 

[stredinnick]

Were you on a flex, if not then you were given an unpublished benefit :shock:. The culture of such benefits were first put into place at QF many years ago by the very person now running DJ.

Ahhh, yes it was a Flexi. I booked it really quickly a couple of hours prior to travel (having missed my Q return flight) and didn't even read the conditions. It does in fact state 'a selection of food and bev' on the ticket. Nice! I was actually sitting there, headphones+iPod on with $7 in my pocket ($1 short of a red wine I might note) and with a very confused look on my face while the cabin crew were trying to get my attention. Anyway, I'm starting to like VA!

 

[UP4014]

It's been pointed out to me that UA do fly direct SYD to SFO .. given that work fares are always and only ever LL, I don't consider UA to be an option (been there done that once - not enough liquor and therapy in this world to make me want to repeat that experience..!)

Have flown UA many times between these two cities, never any issues.

 

[JohnK]

I agree the lack of an Asian partner is a hole right now but for much of Europe the VA/EY tie up wins hands down.

That type of partnership may suit some people. I would much rather transit in SIN/HKG/BKK even if it meant an extra sector and some extra travel time.

Advertising "Fly Virgin Australia to Europe" is extremely misleading when you don't even step aboard a Virgin Australia aircraft.

 

[notzac]

Have flown UA many times between these two cities, never any issues.

I've only done it once (and admittedly was some time ago) .. poor service, inedible food and a projector screen for IFE were my main complaints. Colleagues who've recently flighted with UA across to the States tell me it's much the same, so I'll stick to connecting in LAX (or perhaps AKL; haven't tried the NZ option yet) for the time being.

Advertising "Fly Virgin Australia to Europe" is extremely misleading when you don't even step aboard a Virgin Australia aircraft.

Er .. but you do. Fly xx_-SYD-AUH-xx_ and you'll have the option of flying VA metal from Australia to the Middle East. Granted that this might be less convenient than choosing an all-EY-metal itinerary, but the option is there (this is what I do when heading to Europe).

 

[777]

That type of partnership may suit some people. I would much rather transit in SIN/HKG/BKK even if it meant an extra sector and some extra travel time.

Each to their own but that's 10 hours of my life i'd rather have back.

 

[Noob]

That type of partnership may suit some people. I would much rather transit in SIN/HKG/BKK even if it meant an extra sector and some extra travel time.

Advertising "Fly Virgin Australia to Europe" is extremely misleading when you don't even step aboard a Virgin Australia aircraft.

I think your view on this may be skewed by your opinion of Middle Eastern airlines :shock:

 

[medhead]

I have consistently switch half my regular flights to DJ. The limitation being schedule for the other half. Did submit feedback for a better schedule time to suit my needs, fully aware of schedule change limitations.