Virgin Australia began offering free food on all domestic flights last week. The news has been largely welcomed by our members, who have long complained of Virgin’s lack of consistency when it comes to in-flight service. Until now, those on flights between the east coast and Perth already received a complimentary hot meal. However the … Continued
Following the end of the price war between Qantas and Virgin, combined with the recent removal of Virgin’s cheapest Saver Lite fares, our members have noticed that Virgin Australia’s so-called Happy Hour specials have not been looking too happy lately. The Thursday afternoon specials once offered some great deals on flights to a selection of … Continued
On 17 March 2015 Virgin will remove the Saver-Lite fares from all domestic routes except Trans-Tasman routes. Virgin have announced that all fares will now include complimentary check-in luggage. Our members are sceptical about this so called enhancement. Firstly many members are disappointed that they will no longer have the bag-free option which allowed them … Continued
This week one of our members is finding it difficult to use their Virgin complimentary platinum upgrades. I tried to use a platinum comp upgrade, but there seems no award seats available. I’ve checked on expert flyer, and it seems there are only 6 passengers in J out of possible 36 seats. I was searching … Continued
Finding Velocity Frequent Flyer reward seats on partner airlines, such as Etihad, Delta, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America, has proven a struggle for one of our members. The member wants to use their Virgin points to fly to the USA and Europe. However, they have been finding that award availability on some partner airlines has … Continued
In a move that is likely to put further pressure on rival Qantas, Virgin Australia has completely removed fuel surcharges from all of its flights. The fuel surcharge component will now be included in the base fare. The move is largely symbolic as Virgin previously only charged a surcharge on two of its routes; Sydney … Continued
This week one member’s selected seating was arbitrarily changed at the gate leaving them frustrated and resentful at Virgin ground staff. Our member was flying Darwin to Brisbane on a Virgin flight and requested, and was then duly allocated seat 5C upon check-in. When our member proceeded to the gate, the gate scanner flashed red … Continued
Earning Frequent Flyer points for money you are spending anyway is always an attractive proposition. Fuel has become a significant expense for many and an easy way to earn Qantas points through the Woolworths/Caltex tie up. Many of the Caltex service stations also allow you to earn Myer One points as a double dip. While … Continued
One platinum member this week is furious that they were pulled from a flight for arriving at the gate 15 minute prior to departure time. This resulted in our member having to fork out an additional $120 to catch a later flight. It would seem that Virgin made little effort to track our traveler down … Continued
Australian aviation history is littered with incidences of companies trying to be a successful third domestic airline. Not long after deregulation, we had Compass Mark 1 and shortly after Compass Mark 2, both short lived. Impulse airlines soon stepped into the role, and it ran successfully until capital was cut off by its backers. As … Continued
With the demise of the 767 as the Qantas mainstay for Transcontinental flights, much focus has been on its replacement, the Airbus A330. With Qantas operating aircraft that feature a 10 year old cabin, they were always going to struggle. After all, Virgin’s new deliveries featured a seat in Business Class that converted to a … Continued
One member this week is horrified at what they perceive is a potential fraud on behalf of Virgin when booking via the Virgin website. This member booked a flexi-fare and upon selecting the relevant fares and attempting to pay, the price was $17 more than the advertised price and no explanation was given for the … Continued