Your great Virgin Australia experiences!

[Gremlin]

I've noticed recently that they have offered newspapers in PE. But they don't extend that to Y. I think it is kind of good as it protects the value of PE, despite my general inclination against this line of reasoning. I also wonder if they have a sell or return situation happening. Similar to how news agents only pay for the papers they actually sell.

I was sitting in Y the other day on an early morning flight. After Premium customers were offered the newspapers, the FA specifically singled me out with an "Excuse me Mr Gremlin, just wondering if you'd like to read the Fin Review?" It was done relatively discreetly and was well appreciated.

 

[AirlineGuy]

Wonder why the crew were protective of Row 2 given you were in 3, bit odd.

Rows 1 & 2 on the 737 aircraft are 'fixed' Premium cabin, a slight change that came into affect maybe 6 months ago. These 2 rows are always configured into the Premium Economy config and will never be converted back to general economy, and as such, unless assigned into one of the seats by ground crew, the cabin crew are instructed to protect the product of these seats inflight.

 

[aurora]

I'm only going by what we use to do in Adelaide, may be different in other states.

"We", Noob? I thought you didn't work for Virgin... explanation?

 

[LiamR]

Gotta say I take the side of the FA here .. you were essentially asking for a free upgrade; very much doubt you were likely to get the answer you wanted to hear here.

I see what you are saying, and did not expect to be moved seats at all. However, I've flown many many sectors and as a gold have been seated in the premium economy cabin, even on a y ticket. So. I was not allowed to move? Fair enough. I've done it before, but I guess this crew decides I shouldn't. However, to have it said to me the way she did, I don't expect.

FWIW, on average, about half of the people that sit in PE seats, are paying PE guests. So this isn't uncommon.

 

[Noob]

"We", Noob? I thought you didn't work for Virgin... explanation?

"We" as in newsagents - I use to own a small newsagency when I was 16 believe it or not. The Financial review, and I think most other Fairfax papers just like the "tops" and you chuck the rest, but south australian papers have to be returned in full and they organise the recycling themselves directly. I don't work for virgin, just read my posts and you will find some where I praise QF highlighting their advantages to flyers over Virgin in some circumstances...

 

[Bofter]

Thanks to Virgin Australia for a small gesture that has made both my fiancée and I happy Virgin flyers. We may never reach gold or platinum, but it is nice to feel appreciated.

 

[aurora]

"We" as in newsagents - I use to own a small newsagency when I was 16 believe it or not. The Financial review, and I think most other Fairfax papers just like the "tops" and you chuck the rest, but south australian papers have to be returned in full and they organise the recycling themselves directly. I don't work for virgin, just read my posts and you will find some where I praise QF highlighting their advantages to flyers over Virgin in some circumstances...

fair enough

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I've really got to mention this morning.................a bit of on-line history, first..

I was preselected 3D for OOL-SYD tomorrow. Only trouble is, I'm taking the family for a shopping day in Sydney, so had to for-go 3D for row 11 to be with my better half and the kids (my hand genuinely shook when I made the change). I'll be really unimpressed if we turn up in the morning and it's another BSI.........in fact, I'll probably cry :shock:.

Oh dear you are going to be a tad upset when I tell you your on yfa the newest bsi aircraft in the fleet :/ see you there!

Well, turned up at the airport and thar she sat, a gleaming white BSI brand spanking new 737-800 and I'd forgone the amazing leg room of 3D for row 11 .

Up the stairs we climbed, me saying to my wife I'd be able to show her the fabulous business seat I scored in lieu of PE last Thursday........and the seat I gave up this morning just to be with her (the guilt trip didn't work, BTW) and upon boarding, the lovely Kristina smiled welcomingly and stated, "Welcome Back, Swanning_it family, my cabin steward will look after you from here".

That's a bit unusual, I was thinking, when the beaming and delightful Andrew (standing just aft of the business cabin) indicted row 2 and said "these are your seats for this mornings flight"!

Well you could have knocked me down with a feather . 2A, 2C, 2D and 2F............boy could I really show my wife the business seats!

Andrew said, "You see Virgin does listen to our passengers"

Andrew and Kristina and Virgin..........a very warm and sincere "thank you" just doen't seem enough! I'm one very impressed, amazed and mighty pleased flyer! Obvoiusly now though, my better half has just told me she wants the business seats every time, so that much appreciated gesture, may well pay handsome dividends for DJ from now on ...........

Thanks guys, your professionalism shines through continually!

 

[DJ 1D]

Wow, nice one swanning! Now how in the world are you ever going to go back to flying in the old planes?

 

[notzac]

Truly outstanding! Gotta love good stories like that one

 

[DJ737]

Well done Swanning It.

Me thinks someone from Virgin Australia is watching these posts and making a note of the flight numbers, then putting something in the Cabin Supervisors file for that flight.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Hi there Chewthecrew! Shopping trip went swimmingly well, credit card somewhat lighter and back in the SYD lounge awaiting the trip home. Day was great fun, obviously setup for greatness from the start, thanks to our extemely attentive crew this morning and all I can say is that every time I have a small gripe about DJ, it's repaid umpteenfold by great business skill and good will from what seems a genuine and responsive DJ team.

I've mentioned it before, but I've not looked back since switching to DJ a few years back and the signs for me are very positive.

Concrats to all the staff at DJ and I hope DJ continue to show their loyal customers the type of service which is almost unheard of these days in the larger corporate world. Thanks once again.

 

[Mogul]

Can someone at VA organise a BSI aircraft for SYD to Per on Sunday 7/8 leaving at 13:30.

 

[Jack Melon]

Can someone at VA organise a BSI aircraft for SYD to Per on Sunday 7/8 leaving at 13:30.

You'd better bring your own IFE then .

 

[Mogul]

ORe: Your great Virgin Australia experiences!

I'm in PE, IFE is supplied by me.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Wow, nice one swanning! Now how in the world are you ever going to go back to flying in the old planes?

It topped off quite a memorable week! Just home now and got row 5, older aircraft. I managed the transition back without throwing myself on the floor kicking and screaming (but only just )

 

[LiamR]

If you would like to send some feedback through the official channels you can use:

Feedback form | Virgin Australia

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I am Liam........in fact I've got a few to do!

 

[LiamR]

I should note...

From what I've been told, the feedback dozen't seem to get passed down to the crew on that flight until 3-6mths after it was submitted. Kind of hard to even remember what they did. I believe they are working on fixing this.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Some great flights (and lounge experiences) this past week:

Sat 6/8 BNE-SYD DJ942 11am-12:35pm

Lovely lounge staff - of particular note was Jenny, who recognised me from previous visits and greeted me by name. She was genuinely friendly, and also quite chatty (which was nice, as I was travelling alone for this flight). The coffee she made was excellent, and having noticed that I'd previously taken a few of the cookies, she later brought some more over to my table without me asking (also a nice touch)... During our chat, I mentioned that I was quite tired from a lack of sleep the night before, and that I had a decent wait in the lounge (I arrived there at around 9am). Remembering this, she then noticed from afar that I had finished my coffee, and also remembered from previous visits that I usually drink more than one when flying in the morning - as such, she promptly brought another one over to me (with the correct number sugars I must say)... she truly could not do enough!

The crew on the flight down were fine - nothing amazing to report, but having said this, they were all friendly and courteous. I was seated in 15A (exit) on the 738 with the middle seat blocked, so plenty of room to catch up on some sleep!

Sun 7/8 SYD-BNE DJ989 8-9:30pm

Flying back home with my partner (also DJ Gold). At the priority (checked baggage) check-in, we asked to move from the 9pm departure, and were told that this would incur a change fee of $80pp. I then said something along the lines of "Really? Every other check-in desk/lounge desk now seems to waive change fees for Velocity Gold!"... she then replied with something like "ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, didn't realise you were gold, let me check for available seats"... this was despite a gold baggage tag being clearly visible on the bag sitting on her conveyor belt, and presenting an itinerary that showed "BX32" for both of us in the baggage section - a baggage code that, as far as I'm aware, is only available to Gold (correct me if I'm wrong of course). Being the priority check-in desk, I would have thought that the staff member would have first checked our eligibility to use that queue, before proceeding with the usual check-in procedure. Not a big deal of course, as we were able to switch flights in the end, but perhaps an area that could be slightly improved.

The lounge did not have the sandwich press out when we visited, although the food selection was ample. The crew were again fine.

Tue 9/8 BNE-SYD DJ938 10am-11:35pm

Priority security line was well-signed, although the security officer manning the entry to the x-ray belt (the "any aerosols?" guy) decided to invite several pax over from the main screening line as I was approaching the x-ray bins... I was then stuck waiting behind 3 clueless people asking/saying things like "do I have to put my mobile phone in the x-ray?", "I have spray deodorant but left the lid at home to save room, can you let me get away with it?", and my favourite - "we forgot to check-in my child's replica toy gun - as it has an orange tip on the end instead of a hole for bullets to come out of and scare people, can we still take it through??"... usually I would have just walked past them and put my bag straight on the belt, but they were blocking access to it with all of their stuff, so I had to wait... Moral of the story - don't call people over from the general line when there is someone approaching the premium checkpoint from the premium line!! (though fair enough if there is *no-one* in or approaching premium)

Lounge angels were great, and managed to seat me with my travel companion for this flight (who was booked on a seperate itinerary and with no status - not even a Velocity member). They then offered to check me in for the evening return flight, but as I was planning to ask for a flight change once disembarking in SYD, I told them about my intended flight change, and they offered to do this for me in BNE. About 10 minutes later, I was then approached to double-check my preferred flight time (once they had checked availability for all evening SYD departures). I gave my preference, and they returned a few minutes later with our boarding passes for the evening flight - they had not only waived the change fees for myself, but also for my companion on the seperate itinerary - I was quite pleased! They had also seated us together in row 3.

We were seated in row 8 for the flight down, and they again blocked the middle seat (it wasn't a full load), so we had some extra room.

Tue 9/8 SYD-BNE DJ993 8:30pm-10pm

Used the lounge premium kerbside entry for the first time, and I must say it is quite impressive!! It has quite an 'exclusive' feel to it, although the red carpet visible in so many of the promo photos has since been retracted (lol). Security staff were very friendly and chatty (which is a nice change from the general SYD T2 checkpoint), and didn't utter the usual "any aerosols?" - as they obviously assume that the pax using that checkpoint know the security rules almost as well as they do! Staff inside the lounge were quite friendly, and the party pies, mushroom soup and chocolate mini-cakes were absolutely delicious!! Also loving the Gabbiano Asti sparkling - if this ever gets taken away, I will be quite unhappy haha!

Boarding started 5-10 minutes earlier than expected. We left the lounge as soon as boarding was called, and we were quite surprised to arrive at a completely deserted gate! We double-checked the monitors, and it was indeed the correct gate, so we then boarded - to then walk onto a 738 with a passenger load of 35 (I estimated 30, and later asked the cabin supervisor)!!!!! It really did feel like a private jet, and we had the first four rows to ourselves. It was a 'rogue' jet, but I had luckily charged my iPod in the lounge before the flight, so I was kept busy watching a movie before falling asleep for the rest of the flight. The crew were again quite friendly, and we arrived into BNE about 10 mins ahead of schedule.

Keep it up VA!