Velocity/Virgin websites are RUBBISH

[grubbidok]

Three (2.5?) words: Multi-city booking :evil:

Way to make me be book someone via ITA instead VA

 

[anat0l]

Three (2.5?) words: Multi-city booking :evil:

Way to make me be book someone via ITA instead VA

I don't think multi-city bookings were ever possible for a long time, except for two-hop multi-cities (excluding itineraries where either connections were unavoidable or gazetted routings that involve connections).

Certainly not as flexible as QF that allow up to 4 cities per multi-city itinerary (though just as troublesome to book, that's another thing).

Guess most people cope by making multiple bookings (of which the only serious disadvantage is having to pay the credit card fee repeatedly).

 

[RooFlyer]

Yeh it's such a frustrating experience - as far as web user experience goes, I don't think there is a single thing done right.

As other people have mentioned, the checkin process is just so hard, and the lack of a SSO is ever so frustrating.

I flew VA first time this year last month, and didn't believe it that that the process for checking in was signing into site A, redirect and re-signin to Site B, to then be redirected back to Site A and have to manually enter a booking reference.

QFF / QF don't do everything right, but man it's so much easier to use their site.

Oh-oh. You might have poxed it. We woke up this morning to find that QF IT had enhanced their web site such that you couldn't book a business class seat. Nope, the option just wasn't there.

Now you gotta admit, that's just sheer brilliance, isn't it. Change the booking bit and don't realize you've left off the business choice when you foist it on the public.

It was sort of fixed after 9am (time seem to depend on what browser you were using) but site functionality has been up and down since then as they tinker in the background.

Sure, VA site sucks, but the grass isn't all that greener on the other side.

 

[eastwest101]

Oh-oh. You might have poxed it. We woke up this morning to find that QF IT had enhanced their web site such that you couldn't book a business class seat. Nope, the option just wasn't there.

Now you gotta admit, that's just sheer brilliance, isn't it. Change the booking bit and don't realize you've left off the business choice when you foist it on the public.

It was sort of fixed after 9am (time seem to depend on what browser you were using) but site functionality has been up and down since then as they tinker in the background.

Sure, VA site sucks, but the grass isn't all that greener on the other side.

Yes agree - up until a few months ago QF had one of the most user friendly and intuitive web sites in the business - it was very stable, logical and reliable, but it seems that its impossible to reseist the temptation to change and tinker.

VA took a different approach and went from a sort of unreliable, fragmented and not very intuitive web site held together with elastic bands to a more stable one that still has all the "out of the box" default features still ticked but is even less useable than its antiquated predecessor, because no-one can figure out how to adjust it so that it actually talks to the VA business (or their partners for that matter).

 

[grubbidok]

I don't think multi-city bookings were ever possible for a long time

Exactly my point! For an airline website not to have this capability in 2013 is rubbish.

 

[blackcat20]

Exactly my point! For an airline website not to have this capability in 2013 is rubbish.

I think domestic were, but never international.

 

[serfty]

Domestically the multi-city booking was essentially two one ways with the possibility of having different city pairs within the same booking.

Sort of like an "open jaw" each end.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Starting to lose faith in JB's ability to fix VA - the problems are obvious from outside, should be obvious internally, and shouldn't take this long to fix.

I seem to recall mention of VA knowing they were jumping before being ready with Sabre, but as the Sabre team were solidly booked, VA had the option of jumping early or being delayed for 6 months.

I also seem to recall AFF posts saying back then, that at the rate they were taking to fix seemingly silly issues, 6 months may well pass and we'd still have a broken website..................isn't crystal ball gazing a funny old thing? Madam Mim was certainly correct this time around . Who's keen on a wager for the next 6 months?

We woke up this morning to find that QF IT had enhanced their web site such that you couldn't book a business class seat.......It was sort of fixed after 9am.

Sure, VA site sucks, but the grass isn't all that greener on the other side.

I respectfully disagree. QF stuffed up but essentially fixed it within hours (to a semi-workable solution). It happens. Now, how would you react if QF knew of the problem but still hadn't fixed it after months and months with no real solution in sight?

 

[RooFlyer]

<snip>


I respectfully disagree. QF stuffed up but essentially fixed it within hours (to a semi-workable solution). It happens. Now, how would you react if QF knew of the problem but still hadn't fixed it after months and months with no real solution in sight?

Oh, I'd be as pixxed off as most others on this forum I'm not by any means saying the QF situation is better than VAs - just to maybe throw a small salve to VA-ers that the other guy on the block isn't all that brilliant.

Maybe look at it this way. With VA, you know the booking engine is carp, and you adapt. With QF you never know what its going to be like day to day. They change something, put the site back up and it has consequential other faults. Then they try and change it during the day and its Up and down like the Assyrian empire.

 

[MarkD]

I can honestly say, I have never had an issue with the Qantas website, its easy, it remembers me and its clear what I need to do
VA on the other hand.......

 

[eastwest101]

..................isn't crystal ball gazing a funny old thing? Madam Mim was certainly correct this time around . Who's keen on a wager for the next 6 months?

At current rates of progress with about 25% of the problems fixed I would expect the VA web site to be fully operational and remembering who you are without multiple logins, and allowing people to select seats and do family pooling and book award seats by about mid 2016. Thats my guess anyway.

As you say - in the pre Sabre period not a lot of people were predicting it would be worse, and not a lot were predicting as requiring fixes more than 6 months after the transition. The issue isn't even Sabre, other airlines/Expedia and Tripcase etc around the world use Sabre and have websites that work OK - its the front end of the VA and Velocity websites that seem unable to communicate with Sabre or with themselves - that is a VA problem - not a Sabre problem.

MarkD does have a point - today was the first time I have ever had any dramas with the QF website, myself.

 

[Catweazle]

Totally agree there! Whenever I go to even just search for flights, it loads and loads and loads and then nothing happens. I try with three different web browsers and so often the same story. Generally I can get to the list of flights available, and after that the whole thing just s@#$% up! In comparison, QF's website has to be one of the easiest airline websites I've ever used!

 

[Markmat]

I agree with other users, I have had very little problems with the QF website and system, whilst VA system frustrates me incessantly.

 

[Pilbaracommuter]

For now, I've just decided to keep to the simple stuff and do only one transaction at a time. This seems to work.
- checking in I always go through the Virgin Australia website & keep clear of Velocity - key in FF#, departure airport & name. This usually goes through all the steps reliably to get my boarding pass printed
- if I want to check my bookings or FF account, go straight to Velocity & login. Sometimes I get the repeat login requests but usually all goes OK
- searching for reward flights seems fairly straightforward but success rate very poor - seat availability with QF seems much better
- seat selection - if I don't like the one allocated at time of booking, I ring up.

Last time I did a seat selection over the phone (about 2 weeks ago), the agent was very friendly and helpful. I asked why it was not possible to do it on line as I always do with QF. Answer was "you don't need to, we can do that". It seemed impossible to explain that looking at a seat map on the screen I can make a choice very quickly, but doing the same over the phone can be much more complex.

 

[grubbidok]

MarkD does have a point - today was the first time I have ever had any dramas with the QF website, myself.

VA are lucky that my major QF dramas seem to be in the air - it currently makes the VA website dramas the lesser of two evils.

However on more than the odd occasion I have had to book elsewhere simply because the website issues were so bad it made booking a VA flight impossible, even when I was committed to booking one. I refuse to call to make a booking, because it's 2013.

Personally I think they should stop trying to fix it and just bury the bloated carcass and start again with something functional. It needs a complete reboot, not just an overhaul.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I refuse to call to make a booking, because it's 2013.

I've just tried to make that call. First attempt, lost in the ether.....second attempt, received a recorded message "Thanks for your call. Our network is currently jam packed. Please call back later". Seems the web issues have a knock on effect to other services. How's the terminology "Jam Packed"

 

[bcworld]

I've just tried to make that call. First attempt, lost in the ether.....second attempt, received a recorded message "Thanks for your call. Our network is currently jam packed. Please call back later". Seems the web issues have a knock on effect to other services. How's the terminology "Jam Packed"

I've had the 'jam packed' message recently as well. At 7am...I don't think so!

 

[Clivem]

Exam time

Question 1.

Statement – The current state of the Virgin Australian / Velocity web site platforms in terms of their functionality is of sufficient concern that it could lead to the demise of the Airline in its current form.

Please - Discuss / Criticize / Evaluate / Interpret / Prove - Disprove / Review / Summarize

 

[Markmat]

I would agree, it could lead to the airline going back to becoming a leisure airline, as I don't believe the majority of frequent business travellers will cop this (We live in a digital age and we utilise apps and the web as part of our lives) , but people who travel infrequently will cop this as it won't impact on their daily lives significantly. The current website leads to time wastage which decreases productivity significantly, most people are reasonably forgiving, but if there is no light at the end of the tunnel they will move on.

The issue as I see it is VA did a great job of getting business travellers from Qantas through status matches, business class, entertainment, lounges etc, but a lot are moving back post sabre. These travellers will lose status with VA and this will re-inforce loyalty to Qantas as travellers love status. VA still has a window to recover as the Sabre experience happened less than 12 months ago, but once it moves past 12 months the status levels will drop and the status matched travellers will have moved on, if not already.

The other problem they have is if someone has moved on they are no longer looking at the website and will not know when they have fixed the issues, so they would need to make a big announcement that they have redone website. This can only happen when they have completely rebuilt as people will relook, but will only give it one chance.

 

[anat0l]

I would agree, it could lead to the airline going back to becoming a leisure airline, as I don't believe the majority of frequent business travellers will cop this (We live in a digital age and we utilise apps and the web as part of our lives) , but people who travel infrequently will cop this as it won't impact on their daily lives significantly. The current website leads to time wastage which decreases productivity significantly, most people are reasonably forgiving, but if there is no light at the end of the tunnel they will move on.

The issue as I see it is VA did a great job of getting business travellers from Qantas through status matches, business class, entertainment, lounges etc, but a lot are moving back post sabre. These travellers will lose status with VA and this will re-inforce loyalty to Qantas as travellers love status. VA still has a window to recover as the Sabre experience happened less than 12 months ago, but once it moves past 12 months the status levels will drop and the status matched travellers will have moved on, if not already.

The other problem they have is if someone has moved on they are no longer looking at the website and will not know when they have fixed the issues, so they would need to make a big announcement that they have redone website. This can only happen when they have completely rebuilt as people will relook, but will only give it one chance.

A few things about frequent business travellers, especially the ones who have been wooed by mass status matches or free Gold for execs and so on:

• The traveller is frequently not the person who organises the travel at the interface (some poor schluck like a PA does it)
• The said poor schluck deals with the system, e.g. instead of logging on to select seats (if necessary), they roll with the punches to call VA to do it
• Some of these schlucks deal with travel agents rather than websites direct. Otherwise, I assume similarity to QF, and there are corporate websites or interfaces which may be more rudimentary in design but otherwise different to the normal website we deal with. No excuse why that can't be invariably less buggy (but maybe less easier to use for most people).
• Many travellers have simple itineraries

Having talked to a bunch of business (clearly non-AFF) people who were initially disappointed with their company policy switch to VA, they are at worst indifferent about moving to VA, but not a single one of them has any idea of how frustrating the website is to use (most look at me and wonder what the hell am I on about).

For business travellers which do much of their own travel arrangements, especially, say SMEs, it could well be the case you (and others) mention, though then many of those will be price sensitive and hence will stick to VA for that. The "lost time" (or hair) in the process of dealing with a frustrating website or structure doesn't make up for the financial gain over paying prices at QF.