DJ 1D
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- Mar 2, 2011
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They introduced Gin and Tonic on the new menu. I try to squeeze 2 in on my OOL-SYD runs...
Virgin Australia just does not feel 'Special' anymore
- Thread starter jsd
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They introduced Gin and Tonic on the new menu. I try to squeeze 2 in on my OOL-SYD runs...
markis10
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They introduced Gin and Tonic on the new menu. I try to squeeze 2 in on my OOL-SYD runs...
I stand corrected, tonic is a mixer thats on offer as is soda water!
LiamR
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I'm going to try and re-phrase what the Original Post was saying, maybe we can shed some light on what's really happening
It's no secret, Virgin is growing up, smartening up and pulling out all the stocks to take on QF. This is a great thing, their new hard product (Lounge, BSI 737 & airports) is fantastic, not to mention the interaction we have here on on AFF with Virgin Australia.
Because of this new upmarket product, Virgin are picking up a lot more customers, particularly elite customers. This links in with haydensydney's article. http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ocity/who-isnt-gold-velocity-these-31793.html (Who isn't Velocity Gold)
Which, especially when you look around AFF, there is a lot more Golds compared to 12-24mths ago. What does this mean?
Well, for starters being Velocity Gold isn't as special as it once was. Like anything, the less people that have something, the more exclusive it comes.
Second, compared with the start of the year, the amount of people in the lounges has grown significantly. Nowhere near the levels of the Qantas Club, but, when I was in Melbourne around December last year, there would have been only 2-3 people in the Virgin lounge, there is now much much more.
Finally, yes, the crew have smartened up. There is still jokes, but it's safe to say (Thanks mostly to JB) the airline is smartening up. It still has that cheekiness Virgin is known for, but those cheesy jokes "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 8 ways to leave this aircraft" are long gone.
So to sum up, Virgin is growing, and, sadly being a Gold member isn't as exclusive as it once was. But there isn't much we can do about that, I'm glad Virgin are improving, and think they are doing a great job. But, I do think the OP has a point saying it isn't as special as it once was. But that's like anything in life, the more you do it, the less special it becomes.
Now - For those who say "Oh, they are very professional to me" and then those who say "Oh ,they always love a good chat with me" or those who say "They are always joking to me"
I'll give you a little inside information, I do hope Virgin Australia doesn't get angry....
My close friend is DJ cabin crew, and he always tells me how they are trained to analyse people before interacting with them. For instance...
Man with briefcase in suit sitting in 2D - Be polite, short and sharp, offer newspaper and smile. Leave them to do their work.
Person who is talkative looking fairly casual, find something to talk about, start a small conversation and impress them.
The way you interact with the crew, determines how you will be treated in return by the crew.
An example of this training, is my flight home on Saturday.
I had a fairly casual dress on the day, collared shirt, sleeves pulled up and dark jeans. I always smile and chat with the crew.. In return when I was waiting to use the lavatory inflight one of the crew said to me, "So we have been wondering, how does somebody get 2 Golds, one on Qantas, one on Virgin" I said how did you know and he said, I noticed when you boarded, it's my job.
Moral of my story - How you act onboard determines how you will be treated. A smile and How are you? Goes a long way.
Moral of this whole post - Virgin is growing, so there will be more and more golds. Becoming a less exclusive club. I say this knowing Virgin is still a lot better than Qantas.
jdevereux3 please correct me if you think what I'm saying is incorrect.
It's no secret, Virgin is growing up, smartening up and pulling out all the stocks to take on QF. This is a great thing, their new hard product (Lounge, BSI 737 & airports) is fantastic, not to mention the interaction we have here on on AFF with Virgin Australia.
Because of this new upmarket product, Virgin are picking up a lot more customers, particularly elite customers. This links in with haydensydney's article. http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ocity/who-isnt-gold-velocity-these-31793.html (Who isn't Velocity Gold)
Which, especially when you look around AFF, there is a lot more Golds compared to 12-24mths ago. What does this mean?
Well, for starters being Velocity Gold isn't as special as it once was. Like anything, the less people that have something, the more exclusive it comes.
Second, compared with the start of the year, the amount of people in the lounges has grown significantly. Nowhere near the levels of the Qantas Club, but, when I was in Melbourne around December last year, there would have been only 2-3 people in the Virgin lounge, there is now much much more.
Finally, yes, the crew have smartened up. There is still jokes, but it's safe to say (Thanks mostly to JB) the airline is smartening up. It still has that cheekiness Virgin is known for, but those cheesy jokes "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 8 ways to leave this aircraft" are long gone.
So to sum up, Virgin is growing, and, sadly being a Gold member isn't as exclusive as it once was. But there isn't much we can do about that, I'm glad Virgin are improving, and think they are doing a great job. But, I do think the OP has a point saying it isn't as special as it once was. But that's like anything in life, the more you do it, the less special it becomes.
Now - For those who say "Oh, they are very professional to me" and then those who say "Oh ,they always love a good chat with me" or those who say "They are always joking to me"
I'll give you a little inside information, I do hope Virgin Australia doesn't get angry....
My close friend is DJ cabin crew, and he always tells me how they are trained to analyse people before interacting with them. For instance...
Man with briefcase in suit sitting in 2D - Be polite, short and sharp, offer newspaper and smile. Leave them to do their work.
Person who is talkative looking fairly casual, find something to talk about, start a small conversation and impress them.
The way you interact with the crew, determines how you will be treated in return by the crew.
An example of this training, is my flight home on Saturday.
I had a fairly casual dress on the day, collared shirt, sleeves pulled up and dark jeans. I always smile and chat with the crew.. In return when I was waiting to use the lavatory inflight one of the crew said to me, "So we have been wondering, how does somebody get 2 Golds, one on Qantas, one on Virgin" I said how did you know and he said, I noticed when you boarded, it's my job.
Moral of my story - How you act onboard determines how you will be treated. A smile and How are you? Goes a long way.
Moral of this whole post - Virgin is growing, so there will be more and more golds. Becoming a less exclusive club. I say this knowing Virgin is still a lot better than Qantas.
jdevereux3 please correct me if you think what I'm saying is incorrect.
munitalP
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...
My post asked a couple of questions - of which you wont respond (typically) - neither of which were condescending or abusive.
...
Last edited by a moderator:
dfcatch
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Outrageous!!
medhead
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Ah, all is good. I'd have Bundy with my ginger beer.
I have just read all this and am disappointed my the amount of censorship by moderators and admin.
I would love to have read everything in the raw - warts and all!
It is difficult to form a view with chunks deleted and made pleasant.
Please can we have some free speech principles applying - after all we don't live in a communist totalitarian regime.
I would love to have read everything in the raw - warts and all!
It is difficult to form a view with chunks deleted and made pleasant.
Please can we have some free speech principles applying - after all we don't live in a communist totalitarian regime.
Last edited:
All you missed out on was some fairly childish name calling and a few unimaginative insults. The moderators have been fairly light-handed in their editing.
Lawlass
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- Sep 10, 2010
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I would LIKE this 120 times if I was allowed to. I actually mentioned the over-zealous moderation of this forum to one of the mods on the weekend.
concorde71
Member
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- Jan 5, 2011
- Posts
- 133
Over the last few months I have noticed that Virgin Australia just doesn't feel the same as it used to... they have sort have lost their 'Virgin Flair'...
I mean I can appreciate that they are trying to capture a greater share of the business market and don't get me wrong I like all these new changes (BSI A/C, The new lounges, the 330 etc.) But I feel they have sort of turned their backs on their existing customers...
I just don't feel as loved as I once was. They used to make me feel like I was their one and only cuustomer.... but now that is all gone. Which makes me kind of sad
Thoughts?
--
Sent from my Garmin-Asus A50 using AustFreqFly App
LOL did they chuck you out of the lounge???? I told you to drop it
D
Deleted member 29185
Guest
For my part, I'm happy. Not so much because I can now attain (and retain) gold.......to be honest I was happy with silver and the discounted lounge membership, but for the professionalism DJ now display.
I hated DJ with a passion back when they used to giggle all the way through a supposedly vital and mandatory safety briefing. That wasn't funny, that was embarrassing and possibly dangerous and they were in no way a credible airline (IMHO). Since Ansetts demise, we needed another quality airline to keep Qantas honest and the lack of that not only badly affected us (the PAX) but also Qantas themselves. A once untouchable name with the proud history that Qantas has, is now very tarnished due to one thing......lack of competition and corporate laziness/forgetfulness.
Well it seems at last Qantas have looming competition, which will be great for them, great for DJ and most importantly, great for us.
I hated DJ with a passion back when they used to giggle all the way through a supposedly vital and mandatory safety briefing. That wasn't funny, that was embarrassing and possibly dangerous and they were in no way a credible airline (IMHO). Since Ansetts demise, we needed another quality airline to keep Qantas honest and the lack of that not only badly affected us (the PAX) but also Qantas themselves. A once untouchable name with the proud history that Qantas has, is now very tarnished due to one thing......lack of competition and corporate laziness/forgetfulness.
Well it seems at last Qantas have looming competition, which will be great for them, great for DJ and most importantly, great for us.
pauly7
Senior Member
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- Dec 8, 2004
- Posts
- 5,363
Haha all you missed was some more of the same from a forum regular. I'm sure he will repeat at some point
For me I'm glad they are losing some of their childish flair and growing up! Haven't seen stupid jokes and singing happy birthday for a while which is good!!
MarkD
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Ahhh good old Dark and Stormy ... was off the rum for years till a mate gave me one of those... Damn him
pshepvic
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- Nov 4, 2006
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Ah that explains why I get more chit chat on a Saturday morning sitting in 1D than I do on a Friday night!
I've got to say I have noticed a marked difference in professionalism from the crews since I started flying DJ regularly last November. Back then some of the comments during safety demos etc weren't super professional, but I don't think I've seen that in the last 4 or 5 months at least.
Now it is a sharp, professional organization, with a crew that obviously knows what is appropriate, and is better at tailoring their conversations for the different individuals on the flight. I'd say they do that better than most QF crew now, who tend to go for the brief and to the point approach with everyone. Personally i don't mind it, but I can see how some others might see it as rude.
pshepvic
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That's actually quite funny! But I do have an odd sense of humour sometimes...
malmacdowall
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- Nov 16, 2009
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Ok, let's leave aside all the drama and focus on the important things here...
VA offers GIN AND TONIC on every flight!
Totally agree.... Although if they could change to Tanqueray gin I'd be really pleased ...
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