Virgin Removes Bag-Free Fares. Enhancement or not?

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

Virgin getting stingy with complimentary platinum upgrades?

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

Velocity Frequent Flyer: Where are the partner reward seats?

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

Virgin removes fuel surcharges, pressure on Qantas to follow

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

Frustration with forced seat changes

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