Virgin forcing me to change my itinerary due to SYD-OOL (via MEL) for SC run

[Deleted member 29185]

I received an email AGAIN saying that my flight SYD-MEL-OOL was changed to a non-stop.

Maybe this is a game of who tires first!

 

[Grooba]

Good luck to the OP, keep up the fight. As consumers we need to be holding the airlines responsible for their mistakes, new system or not.

 

[Fruitcake]

Good luck to the OP, keep up the fight. As consumers we need to be holding the airlines responsible for their mistakes, new system or not.

...whilst bemoaning the 'LCC attitude' of airlines that hold customers responsible for their mistakes?

 

[pat25d]

I get that this is annoying for the OP in this situation and that VA should be adding notes to this booking to stop it being changed, but...

Isn't this actually showing VA being proactive and trying to get pax onto more direct, shorter and more convenient routings?

I am getting a bit tired of AFF becoming almost as bad as the airlines FB pages.

 

[mannej]

I get that this is annoying for the OP in this situation and that VA should be adding notes to this booking to stop it being changed, but...

Isn't this actually showing VA being proactive and trying to get pax onto more direct, shorter and more convenient routings?

I am getting a bit tired of AFF becoming almost as bad as the airlines FB pages.

It is proactive in getting the customer offside, considering the fact they have already communicated the fact with VA that they do not want to go direct. First time, yes - great it is proactive. Second and any subsequent times no.

Let's not forget that the OP has their reasons for not going direct.

 

[pat25d]

It is proactive in getting the customer offside, considering the fact they have already communicated the fact with VA that they do not want to go direct. First time, yes - great it is proactive. Second and any subsequent times no.

Let's not forget that the OP has their reasons for not going direct.

I agree completely re: the second time

 

[mannej]

I agree completely re: the second time

And yes, the VA FB page has been very amusing over the last week or so!

 

[medhead]

I get that this is annoying for the OP in this situation and that VA should be adding notes to this booking to stop it being changed, but...

Isn't this actually showing VA being proactive and trying to get pax onto more direct, shorter and more convenient routings?

I am getting a bit tired of AFF becoming almost as bad as the airlines FB pages.

Maybe the first time. But how do they know it is more convenient for the OP. the first time they don't and have just made an assumption. The second time they have specifically been told direct is not convenient already.

 

[pat25d]

Maybe the first time. But how do they know it is more convenient for the OP. the first time they don't and have just made an assumption. The second time they have specifically been told direct is not convenient already.

Again, I agree that the second time is not acceptable.

But assumptions are sometimes what makes fantastic service.

How do airlines know that an op-up to J class is convenient? Maybe you have a booking with a friend in Y. Does that mean we should complain when an airline try to op-up someone to J when they didn't ask for it?

 

[robd]

Again, I agree that the second time is not acceptable.

But assumptions are sometimes what makes fantastic service.

How do airlines know that an op-up to J class is convenient? Maybe you have a booking with a friend in Y. Does that mean we should complain when an airline try to op-up someone to J when they didn't ask for it?

Of course you would complain to the airline - "why didn't my mate get an op-up too?" Very inconvenient!

 

[bullerdude]

Of course you would complain to the airline - "why didn't my mate get an op-up too?" Very inconvenient!

As a QF Plat my father has done that successfully

I'm hoping i'll get to try it on VA someday

 

[medhead]

Again, I agree that the second time is not acceptable.

But assumptions are sometimes what makes fantastic service.

How do airlines know that an op-up to J class is convenient? Maybe you have a booking with a friend in Y. Does that mean we should complain when an airline try to op-up someone to J when they didn't ask for it?

Yeah, I did only say "probably" about the first time. I guess as this case highlights assumption can go both ways.

I think I've seen 2 or 4 people complain about getting op-ups when friends/family didn't.

 

[NM]

If they want to be proactive in identifying more efficient routings/options for customers, then they should consider sending an email suggesting an alternate travel plan may be of interest to the passenger and they should log on the web site to review the options offered. Then when in the "manage your booking" part of the airline's web site, present the change as a suggestion or even a recommendation, and allow the passenger to decide if they want to accept the offer.

To me, that is being proactive and customer-focused. Making the change without asking first is being presumptive.

 

[carwashhair]

I received one of the OP's dreaded 'unavoidable change to your flight schedule' emails over the weekend, for a OOL-SYDxMEL Business reward flight routing this week. Just spent an hour churning through the Virgin Australia/Velocity system. Kept insisting that I had to meet a colleague at both ends, therefore the routing needs to stick. They were able to keep it there even though one flight was shifted an hour earlier, the other 15 mins later. I'll miss out on a lunch service but overall, I see it as a positive outcome. Just keep at it and stand your ground.

If Virgin just let these be, surely they'd save a hell of a lot on the man-hours required just to come up with ticketing alternatives. Bit of a waste of time for all involved.

 

[serfty]

...

If Virgin just let these be, surely they'd save a hell of a lot on the man-hours required just to come up with ticketing alternatives. Bit of a waste of time for all involved.

I believe the manual intervention relates to schedule changes, not trying to do you out of SC's. They see the routing SYD-OOL and try to assist you by reducing travel time, nothing else.

I did the OOL-xMEL-SYD run on the weekend with no problems (neither of the booked segments changed in schedule, although I did have to defer the booking a week due to lot's of rain in SE QLD).

 

[carwashhair]

I believe the manual intervention relates to schedule changes, not trying to do you out of SC's. They see the routing SYD-OOL and try to assist you by reducing travel time, nothing else.

I did the OOL-xMEL-SYD run on the weekend with no problems (neither of the booked segments changed in schedule, although I did have to defer the booking a week due to lot's of rain in SE QLD).

Aha, I see. I guess I don't know (or can't surmise) the back-room workings with nearly your amount of knowledge. I would have assumed that if the original flights are available to be booked online (i.e. the flights have not been cancelled) then there'd be no need (apart form trying to assist in reducing travel time) to change to different flights. Could it be a reward fare/bucket issue, i.e. trying to free up seats on certain flights?

 

[serfty]

... Could it be a reward fare/bucket issue, i.e. trying to free up seats on certain flights?

With the change in flight time I had assumed it to be a schedule change. It could well be a re-oganisation for fare/buckets etc.

I am considering a variant of "Hanlon's Razor" here: "Don't attribute to malice what can be adequately explained operationally".

 

[grubbidok]

I believe the manual intervention relates to schedule changes, not trying to do you out of SC's. They see the routing SYD-OOL and try to assist you by reducing travel time, nothing else.

I would tend to agree. Given the massive mix-ups the Sabre process has caused I'm certain they're just trying to fix up all the (genuine) mistakes people made or remedy the inconvenience caused in the hiccup phase (e.g. if the system didn't let you choose the more direct flight but they've now found one for you). I'm sure if you stated that you specifically chose the indirect route to suit your specific needs it wouldn't be a problem.

But they probably do have a bot or some other form of automated process finding problems and fixing them, which is why the multiple messages and changes may be occurring. But I'd doubt it's about screwing you out of SCs (especially given the live and let live attitude they displayed towards those HBA-DPS flights). It's probably even something they feel they're doing for the benefit of their customers - as hard as it is for people living in the "why fly direct when you can connect" bubble to understand, I would say that the usual experience would be people *appreciating* the change to something direct.

 

[jazza1971]

I just had the same email for a NTL-MEL-BNE-ADL run turn into a NTL-MEL-ADL run. Called Velocity, lovely Debbie didn't know why it had changed and had a look with a colleague and changed it back to the original booking. Wonder how many times its going to change again before the flights are taken.....

 

[Simo]

I just had the same email for a NTL-MEL-BNE-ADL run turn into a NTL-MEL-ADL run. Called Velocity, lovely Debbie didn't know why it had changed and had a look with a colleague and changed it back to the original booking. Wonder how many times its going to change again before the flights are taken.....

Makes a SC run hard when they are trying to use logic