Virgin Blue - Cabin baggage weight beware!

[YellowLemon]

Booked on two VB flights this weekend, MEL-BNE on Friday 22.10.2010 scheduled 9:00pm was THREE HOURS LATE, typical Virgin Blue.

Then flying VB from BNE to MEL tonight there was an angry Virgin Blue staff lady just before security at Virgin Blue, picking people out before they entered security, and weighing their hand luggage.

My girlfriend was 1.5kg over (8.5kg not 7kg) and she said we would have to check our bags for $20 or whatever it costs.

I said to my girlfriend hey let's just go over to Qantas security and go up there, then walk back to VB terminal once through security.

We did this without and problem, except the lady downstairs actually came up looking for us and told us off! It was terrible and embarrassing. She snatched our boarding passes out of our hands and went to the gate to tell them we had overweight bags.

So just a warning to people thinking of flying VB! Save yourself the hassle - nothing but delays and bad service with these guys lately.

In the end, we got on with free bags anyway because the gate staff couldn't care less.


I used to be the biggest virgin blue fan, had all their status and lounge access etc,... but the last feew months it's taken a dive, and they deserve all they get if they are going for this sort of money grab. (Trying to check people's bags for a fee)

I admit we were in the wrong, but come on Virgin Blue, just a few weeks ago , you delayed people for ENTIRE DAYS, your planes are more late than Qantas, and instead of fixing this you hire angry ladies to pick on us at the airport!

Screw you VB, I hope you enjoy going the way of Ansett. :mrgreen:

 

[Mal]

Thanks for the warning that DJ sometimes weighs bags in Melbourne at security.

Won't change my opinion of them. They chose to enforce a rule that they've set, and you didn't meet... Perhaps it could have been handled better, but that seems to be on both sides of the story - not just their side.

 

[NYCguy]

Won't change my opinion of them either. Perhaps the woman was a little tiny bit of a fascist about the situation, but rules is rules. Having witnessed on many occasions the ludicrous cough that people try to take on as cabin baggage, I would say more power to the hand-luggage-naz_s!

 

[drron]

I certainly have had worse treatment by a gate agent from JQ at T2 in SYD who yelled and screamed at me about my oversize and overweight carryon-unfortunately for him it did fit in the JQ sizer and was within weight.No apology and unfortunately he doubled as an FA on the MCY flight.I was singled out as i was also carrying my 92 year old MIL's handbag as well.
Still fly with them if i have to but would much rather fly DJ even though at MCY they will weigh your carryons.

 

[medhead]

Was the scale that they were using to weight your bags have the inspectors mark? Did you check if it was all "legal" as such?

Also how long ago did you have gold status with DJ? From your post you say the last few months, which could imply that your gold status might almost still be current. In that case then there should be no charge for checked luggage as it is included.

 

[YellowLemon]

It was Brisbane where VB were checking the hand luggage weight. I'd never had this before in 10+ years of frequent domestic flying. Maybe I was just lucky until now?

Although I was in the wrong, the VB rules state you can take 1 x bag at 7kg, plus one handbag or laptop bag extra, plus a suit. How heavy are those allowed to be?? We didn't have a laptop bag or excessively large handbag. (Yes I know some people try to get away with a lot - that's why I was so surprised for being picked on for an 8.5 kg bag)

Yes check in would have been free for me with gold, but my partner I believe would have to pay (no status), and anyway I didn't want to wait for bag on an already delayed +++ flight.

 

[medhead]

Yes check in would have been free for me with gold, but my partner I believe would have to pay (no status), and anyway I didn't want to wait for bag on an already delayed +++ flight.

Or you could have checked in the bag against your allowance. No reason your partner had to check it in.

 

[YellowLemon]

Or you could have checked in the bag against your allowance.

Yes very true - had I known they were going to go medieval on me, I would have checked it in happily, since just prior I had to queue up at the priority check-in queue to have my web-checkin boarding passes re-printed since VB's new "Navitaire New Skies" software mangled the barcodes when I printed them in Brisbane......

Why can't they provide proper PDF boarding passes on web checkin like Qantas do? Oh but that is another story...

 

[dk4]

IMO Virgin Blue Group airlines need to move to the same hand luggage offer as Qantas Group, that is -

• 10kg unwritten on QF (advertised as 7kg, not enforced IME until 10kg)
• 10kg as written on JQ

I have been apprehended during check-in and was not impressed at being forced to check it at 8.5kg, which is pretty standard for my JQ & QF flights.

 

[VirginiaF]

That lady must get around because I have had the same experience once when flying MEL-SYD. Basically the same situation as the OP (apart from us not being Gold) - amount overweight was very minor, but again, when averaged across our combined on board luggage, would have been well under. The gate attendant wouldn't even let us repack (her remuneration may well be commission based). Oh well, we don't fly DJ very often. Maybe there's a reason. BTW - do many people tip airline staff in Australia or anywhere else around the world (sorry to get off topic - although there may be some correlation)?

 

[UP4014]

Thanks for the warning that DJ sometimes weighs bags in Melbourne at security.

Won't change my opinion of them. They chose to enforce a rule that they've set, and you didn't meet... Perhaps it could have been handled better, but that seems to be on both sides of the story - not just their side.

Perhaps it could have been handled better :shock:, I think it most certainly could have been handled better. Could it have been handled any worse?

 

[pauly7]

Perhaps it could have been handled better :shock:, I think it most certainly could have been handled better. Could it have been handled any worse?

It is a little bit funny if you ask me! I have these images of the Virgin bag lady chasing pax around the airport!

 

[rwatts]

It is a little bit funny if you ask me! I have these images of the Virgin bag lady chasing pax around the airport!

Thanks for using the term bag lady. Now I have the mental image of a homeless old bag lady in a ratty old Vermin uniform chasing transgressors around the airport while pushing their 3-wheeled shopping trolley filled with stripey bags and yelling incoherently.

Richard.

 

[straitman]

BTW - do many people tip airline staff in Australia or anywhere else around the world (sorry to get off topic - although there may be some correlation)?

No and No.