V Australia..any clue on delay to first flights

[_kab_]

It's no 380 (better Y seats, better J seats)

Yup! And we're coming back on V so I get to try out the 777 too! Yippee!

 

[_kab_]

Good to see some +ve outcomes although it's a shame that you have to get so pushy :!:

Yes, feeling a little guilty about cracking the whip but there was no nastiness involved (the OH has lovely telephone manner and a very mellifluous voice). Main gripe was that I had called V on 3-4 occassions prior and also once during Qantas' 2-for-1 sale and said I was agreeable to a refund so I could take advantage of the sale since I was adamant they wouldnt have their planes ready...only to be told that they DEFINITELY would. Well, they won't have them and because of the delay I missed out on the sale fare. Im happy with the outcome (of course!).

 

[straitman]

It's no 380 (better Y seats, better J seats)

.... with proven safety and reliability.

 

[JohnK]

It's no 380 (better Y seats, better J seats)

Newer aircraft does not necessarily mean better seats. Classic examples are WHY seating on A340s and 777s on most carriers. Nowhere near the comfort of WHY seats on 747s....

 

[power71]

I was booked on the first Brisbane LAX direct flight on 1st of March, and discovered buried in the Media Release about the specials that those flights have been delayed until April!

It's in the xmas specials media release posted before, can't link it here as i'm a new member.

Notice the last paragraph there:


I haven't received any updated itineraries or any other information from V Australia since the original itinerary emailed when I booked.

Just sat on hold for half an hour to their GCC center today, even the guy I talked to wasn't really aware of the direct BNE LAX delay, I had to direct him to the media release on the web site.

Apparently people who were on direct flights are now on connecting flights through Sydney. I'm not overly impressed with this as it turns a 13 hours trip into an 18 hour trip. Also we should have gotten into LAX at 7am on the Sunday, now we arrive at 4:30pm.

I'm hoping they can give me a refund at this point, though if they can rebook me on another airline that provides direct flights I would be happy with that. I asked if I could get a full refund when I got through to GCC, and they are going to call me back once they find out what penalty rates may apply!

Oh and apparently I was on queue to be phoned by some one at some point. seemed i didn't answer when they rang a few weeks ago so I guess I must go back to the end of the queue.

In a bit of limbo at the moment not overly impressed with the communication at the moment, but they could redeem themself if they give me some viable options here.

I too was booked on a V flight from BNE - LAX on March 29 and only stumbled across the via SYD routing by chance when I was looking at their schedules for the day. I hadn't had any other advice from V so I telephoned their Contact Centre as I too was unhappy my travel time had increased up to 18 hours or more plus arriving at 5pm in the afternoon!

Anyhow, I mentioned that I had arranged connecting flights within the US from LAX in the early afternoon and that the flight change was a significant inconvenience. They subsequently offered to change my flight at no cost. So I'm now flying on 8 April - innagural flight out of BNE (hope they crack some complimentary champagne) at no additional cost....

 

[banjalot]

So.

I was checking my flights again today, and as it happens, I've been moved to a return date of 27 February on VA002 instead of 28th February without any notice from the airline.

So I called them to check what was going on. The flight has been moved to the 27th because at that stage they'd planned on running more frequent flights than 3 times each way per week.

They offered to change my flights free of charge to a later date (which unfortunately conflicts with another trip I've got planned).

Even though I got my airfare quite cheap with VAus, I'm very quickly losing my sense of humour with them. Constant changes without notifcation is very unprofessional.

 

[pauly7]

So.

I was checking my flights again today, and as it happens, I've been moved to a return date of 27 February on VA002 instead of 28th February without any notice from the airline.

So I called them to check what was going on. The flight has been moved to the 27th because at that stage they'd planned on running more frequent flights than 3 times each way per week.

They offered to change my flights free of charge to a later date (which unfortunately conflicts with another trip I've got planned).

Even though I got my airfare quite cheap with VAus, I'm very quickly losing my sense of humour with them. Constant changes without notifcation is very unprofessional.

Annoying for you... sounds a bit Tiger-esque.

Why don't you just say that doesn't work for you and get yourself on a QF service which won't keep moving around?

 

[stryker]

Annoying for you... sounds a bit Tiger-esque.

Why don't you just say that doesn't work for you and get yourself on a QF service which won't keep moving around?

I'm sorry, but why not try UA, NZ or even DL? QF, professional, you're kidding.

 

[straitman]

I'm sorry, but why not try UA, NZ or even DL? QF, professional, you're kidding.

I guess it depends upon your definition of professional.

I'm sure I/we could pick some issues with all of those airlines as well :!:

 

[bigpetesol]

V Australia have been hopeless. I booked my Bris-LAX flights two days after they were released and checked the flight would happen a week from Christmas and was told the strike was over and the flight would go ahead a scheduled. On the strength of that i organised accom and car rental etc for the trip. I rang 4 weeks ago to confirm arrangements only to be told the plane was not arriving until April and I was routed through Sydney. Thats just great!!! NOT We live 5 hours west of Brisbane so deliberately booked direct to avoid stop overs in Sydney and for ease of transport etc. I have had to change bookings and get caretakers for the farm etc... for some people a small change can be a huge inconvenience. Rang them again today and have been re-scheduled again. Very Very unhappy. We were supposed to fly in 3 weeks and they havent bothered to call us. If I hadnt rung them we would have no idea. More changes and more expense. I want to fly on the direct QF flight out of Brisbane on the day I originally nominated so wil be seeking a refund from V. They are the worst airline I have ever dealt with and if they keep this up will be bust in 6 months. Heres hoping.:evil:

 

[trippin_the_rift]

V Australia have been hopeless. I booked my Bris-LAX flights two days after they were released and checked the flight would happen a week from Christmas and was told the strike was over and the flight would go ahead a scheduled. On the strength of that i organised accom and car rental etc for the trip. I rang 4 weeks ago to confirm arrangements only to be told the plane was not arriving until April and I was routed through Sydney. Thats just great!!! NOT We live 5 hours west of Brisbane so deliberately booked direct to avoid stop overs in Sydney and for ease of transport etc. I have had to change bookings and get caretakers for the farm etc... for some people a small change can be a huge inconvenience. Rang them again today and have been re-scheduled again. Very Very unhappy. We were supposed to fly in 3 weeks and they havent bothered to call us. If I hadnt rung them we would have no idea. More changes and more expense. I want to fly on the direct QF flight out of Brisbane on the day I originally nominated so wil be seeking a refund from V. They are the worst airline I have ever dealt with and if they keep this up will be bust in 6 months. Heres hoping.:evil:

I hate to say it but you bought the ticket based on price instead of on value and flexibility.

What date are you travelling?

 

[bigpetesol]

Yep, your right, we booked on price but also thought the new planes would be clean and tidy and the service would be ok considering it was a new airline. It turns out the service is rubbish, the staff are illinformed and the whole thing is a disorganised rabble. We are now considering just getting a refund and not going at all as we can not accommodate further changes and expense. When you book you also expect the plane to take off and land at the time and place you booked - something V seem to have forgotten. Our concern is more changes if we ever manage to get to the USA. V Australia has turned our trip into a nightmare.

Supposed to be travelling 27th Feb and returning out of LAX 25th March. I know Qantas has a direct flight Bris-LAX on both those days - I already checked and we might be able to book with them if V give us the refund.

 

[ANstar]

Supposed to be travelling 27th Feb and returning out of LAX 25th March. I know Qantas has a direct flight Bris-LAX on both those days - I already checked and we might be able to book with them if V give us the refund.

Have you actually asked for a refund yet?

 

[banjalot]

Ask them if they'll re-book you on qantas.

Even though their notification system is almost non-existant, the staff in the call centre are very polite and understanding and will generally try and help you as much as it is within their authority.

 

[ANstar]

Ask them if they'll re-book you on qantas.

given they will be flying ex SYD from this date I doubt they will rebook anyone on services other than their own.

I think the options will be to suck it up and fly via SYD or get a refund. Hence why I asked if the OP had actually asked for a refund yet.

 

[bigpetesol]

I spoke to the call centre again this morning and they wont re-book through Qantas so they are trying to organise a refund but they have to refer it to Guest Services for approval. Imagine that...they have stuffed us around from pillar to post, cost us many hundreds of dollars let alone the agnst... rebooked us 4 times without telling us even once and now they have to see if its ok to refund. They are a disgrace and the skies are better off without them.

 

[file51]

They are a disgrace and the skies are better off without them.

Think about what you just said???

Without them, and other newcomers to the Trans-Pacific market you would have to pay $2500-3000 for the same ticket, unless you wanted to travel on sub-standard aircraft that UA offer (until they upgrade the 747's)

 

[NM]

Apart from the lack of communication about the changes, I don't see that the change to go via SYD is going to make a huge difference.

The VA7 BNE-LAX flight was scheduled for a 10:50am departure, arriving into LAX at 7:00am. Routing via SYD on the same day will see you departing BNE on DJ216 at 10:10am to connect with VA1 departing SYD at 3:00pm and arriving into LAX at 10:00am.

So your arrival time at BNE would actually be similar (around 9am) for both options (and for the QF15 11:05am departure), with the domestic check-in not requiring quite as much lead time. The main difference is arriving 3 hours later into LAX. But unless you have onward connections beyond LAX, its not going to make a huge difference. And do keep in mind that its quite possible for a direct flight to be delayed by 3 hours anyway.

Similarly for the return flight. The direct LAX-BNE flight would have an early am arrival while the routing via SYD will have you getting into BNE around 10:30am (assuming VA2/DJ221). Yes, I would always prefer to go direct rather than route via SYD. But I would not cancel a one-month vacation due to a 3-hour increase in the travel time in each direction.

 

[bigpetesol]

Thanks for that - I know how to do maths. You dont seem to appreciate that some of us dont live in capital cities. We live 5 hours drive west of Brisbane and had originally booked for an evening departure so we could travel to Brisbane on the day. That was changed about 5 minutes after we made the booking. I also have to pay a caretaker for the farm, organise my breeders to be cared for by another person, put the pets into a hostel etc. As I originally stated, for some of us, the most minor changes have a huge impact. We did have specific times we needed to be places in the USA with a very tight timeline but have modified our bookings 3 times already. We travel extensively throughout the world, and have been on just about all the major carriers and I have never struck such incompetence as is evident with V. Even Easyjet were better organised and thats saying something.

 

[ANstar]

We live 5 hours drive west of Brisbane and had originally booked for an evening departure so we could travel to Brisbane on the day. .

I'm pretty sure the direct BNE-LAX was always leaving in the morning to Los Angeles. Sydney was the onyl night time departure EX Aus.