Have Virgin cancelled the 'Fly Ahead' benefit again?

[ozstamps]

Have Virgin cancelled the 'Fly Ahead' benefit again?

I recall they dumped this a year or so back for Platinum but thought it was later re-instated?

Arrived in MEL early than expected from ADL today at 1 pm, and had a 3.00pm flight VA853 already booked to Sydney. Both CHOICE fares.

Asked at Lounge if I could Fly Ahead on the 2pm flight MEL-SYD. Had not checked baggage.

Agent I asked got told by the sourpuss 'KATIE' sitting next to her - who appeared senior.

'We do not do that that anymore'

The agent I was with said - 'he is a Platinum member'.

Sourpuss repeated - 'We do not do that anymore'

Now sitting here in lounge and the '3pm' has blown out to 3.30pm.

I’d be sitting at home before this arrives.

Not Happy Jan.

 

[GrahamBRI]

Still on their website:

Velocity Frequent Flyer | The loyalty program of Virgin Australia

Explore the benefits available to Velocity Platinum members.

www.velocityfrequentflyer.com

 

[jase05]

Still were doing it on the weekend. Had no issues at all

 

[trisreed]

I've had the MEL lounge deny me my Platinum benefits before - in my case, it was > 1 guest - with a very similar response (not sure if it is the same staff member). Sadly, I have found the best solutions is to try another port - never had issues at any of the other lounges except in ADL, which was solved by talking to someone at a gate (picked at random). May be worth a try next time you are in MEL.

 

[Melburnian1]

Have Virgin cancelled the 'Fly Ahead' benefit again?

I recall they dumped this a year or so back for Platinum but thought it was later re-instated?

Arrived in MEL early than expected from ADL today at 1 pm, and had a 3.00pm flight VA853 already booked to Sydney. Both CHOICE fares.

Asked at Lounge if I could Fly Ahead on the 2pm flight MEL-SYD.

Agent I asked got told by the sourpuss 'KATIE' sitting next to her - who appeared senior.

'We do not do that that anymore'

The agent I was with said - 'he is a Platinum member'.

Sourpuss repeated - 'We do not do that anymore'

Now sitting here in lounge and the '3pm' has blown out to 3.30pm.

I’d be sitting at home before this arrives.

Not Happy Jan.

If as the replies indicate, the sourpuss gave incorrect information, she needs to be dobbed in to management.

But this is Australia, and nothing would happen if you complained.

 

[sudoer]

I always call up and do it with Velocity over the phone, using ExpertFlyer for availability.

Last used 3 weeks ago.

 

[ThatMrBlake]

I've had no luck recently even when ringing up. I check expert flyer and find open seats (plenty of them), ring the platinum deck only to be told the flight is sold out. I currently see it as non-existent benefit.

 

[sudoer]

ring the platinum deck only to be told the flight is sold out.

Is the flight available for sale on the website, and roughly how long before departure are we talking?

I'm really surprised at these data points...

 

[ThatMrBlake]

Is the flight available for sale on the website, and roughly how long before departure are we talking?

I'm really surprised at these data points...

2 hours before flight ex Melbourne, still on sale on website and showing seats on expert flyer

 

[ozstamps]

Now there is a cunning idea I never thought of, when standing in a Virgin Lounge trying to get on their next flight using a published Virgin benefit I have used before, with no issues.

Sign up for Expert Flyer at Gawd knows what cost, and then phone Virgin Philippines for 15 mins, and then if somehow they agreed to it, before the flight boarding window closed, then approach sourpuss to print out new boarding passes. Clever stuff.

Anyway, when leaving the lounge 90 mins later today I saw the same sourpuss Katie was still at the desk, deep in an apparently non work, animated conversation with a female colleague.

After glaring at me for daring to interrupt her little chat, I asked her to please CLARIFY her statement for my future information and information - 'We do not do that anymore' . I had no checked baggage, only my laptop bag, and had advised this initially - all I wanted to do is take the earlier flight.

She glibly said that 'operational or weather reasons' might have been at play. I mentioned it was a rain free sunny Thursday and could not see what weather etc had to do with it. Then she said - 'the other flight might have been 100% full'.

I replied that her statement 'We do not do that anymore' was made before anyone had touched a keyboard. She looked like a cornered rat, and the flight was called at that moment, so I left her to her chat. Did not want to miss this already delayed flight, due to this very disagreeable Lounge Dragon.

Thanks for the great Platinum member customer experience, Katie - I got home 90 minutes later than I probably should have.

 

[sudoer]

Sign up for Expert Flyer at Gawd knows what cost

You don't need EF, the Platinum team will also tell you what your options are.

But if you have an EF subscription already (which I would say a fair few Platinums on this forum might) it just helps expedite the conversation.

 

[sudoer]

2 hours before flight ex Melbourne, still on sale on website and showing seats on expert flyer

Possibly because it was under airport control at this point. I'm usually calling 3-6 hours prior - before I've left my hotel/office, but close enough to departure to have a good idea what time I can make it to the airport.

The other situation where I use Fly Ahead via phone is when 4:30-5pm SYD-bound departures are prohibitively expensive. I'll book a cheap flight >8:30pm, then call first thing on the morning of the flight to move to the departure I actually want. Never had an issue doing this and it's pretty rare for flights to be Y0 on the morning of unless it's a Friday and/or there's a major event in Sydney.

 

[travelislife]

Literally did it successfully in the MEL lounge 40 mins ago. Plat booked on MEL-SYD 7:30pm service, asked if any seats available earlier when I arrived at lounge at 6:10pm. Got put on the delayed 6:30pm service no issues at all. Taxiing now. Row 5 with vacant middle seat. I successfully do it every week (except for the 2 weeks immediately after REX demise when planes were full.

 

[travelislife]

I have also done it where I don’t even go to the lounge, I look at the boards once I pass security and just go straight to gate of flight that is departing soonest from MEL-SYD. As long as it is 30min before scheduled departure (I have been unsuccessful when say 20 mins from departure as they are closing boarding in 5 mins) and seats are available I have been successful every time.

 

[travelislife]

Have Virgin cancelled the 'Fly Ahead' benefit again?

I recall they dumped this a year or so back for Platinum but thought it was later re-instated?

Arrived in MEL early than expected from ADL today at 1 pm, and had a 3.00pm flight VA853 already booked to Sydney. Both CHOICE fares.

Asked at Lounge if I could Fly Ahead on the 2pm flight MEL-SYD. Had not checked baggage.

Agent I asked got told by the sourpuss 'KATIE' sitting next to her - who appeared senior.

'We do not do that that anymore'

The agent I was with said - 'he is a Platinum member'.

Sourpuss repeated - 'We do not do that anymore'

Now sitting here in lounge and the '3pm' has blown out to 3.30pm.

I’d be sitting at home before this arrives.

Not Happy Jan.

In this scenario I would have gone direct to gate of flight you wanted to get on and ask the agent at the desk.

 

[hossein_au]

Last Friday called Plat line as I was heading to the airport. I was told there was one seat left but there was a $99 fare difference (I have purchased Choice). Told her thanks but no thanks.

Arrived at the airport, went straight to the lounge and talked with the lady at the counter. The lady asked me to leave it with her to sort out while I enjoyed the lounge. 10-15 minutes later I was called in and a new boarding pass was waiting for me.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Fly forward has been around since 2022 at least (thats when I first started flying VA).

Fly forward has always been possible via phone, and even in the MEL lounge.

Agree the desk staff at MEL aren’t the friendliest, with two exceptions. Never followed up on a really important matter despite promising to do so

 

[SCM]

I have been told by VA staff that it must be done at the check in or luggage counter (ie. pre-lounge) recently - not sure how accurate that is, or perhaps it's only if you have checked luggage.

 

[sudoer]

it's only if you have checked luggage.

This. They won't hunt down your checked bags and retag them onto an earlier flight for you to Fly Ahead.

If you're HLO they'll do it at the lounge no issues.

 

[serfty]

The rules for "Fly Ahead" are published and quite comprehensively at that.

Velocity Frequent Flyer | The loyalty program of Virgin Australia

Explore the benefits available to Velocity Platinum members.

www.velocityfrequentflyer.com

---

• Fly Ahead
  
  
  Request to Fly Ahead to your destination on an earlier flight, subject to seat availability. Fly Ahead requests can be made for you and up to 3 guests on the same booking.
  Available when flying on domestic Virgin Australia Business, Economy Flex or Choice fares where your flight is operated by Virgin Australia. FlyAhead is also available on Virgin Australia Economy and Business Class Reward Seats, and Business Class Upgrades.
  
  Fly Ahead is not available when travelling on Economy Lite fares, or for Group bookings.
  
  
  At the airport
  Requests must be made at least 30 minutes before scheduled departure, while the flight is still open for check-in.
  
  Travelling with carry-on baggage only: Requests can be made at a Virgin Australia check-in kiosk, Priority Check-in counter, in the Virgin Australia Lounge or at the Service Desk (where available).
  
  Travelling with checked baggage: Requests can only be made to a Virgin Australia staff member at the Virgin Australia Priority Check-in counter.
  
  Via the Guest Contact Centre
  Flights between Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne: Platinum members can request to Fly Ahead on an earlier flight departing up to 2 hours prior to their booked flight by contacting the Guest Contact Centre.
  
  All other domestic Flights: Platinum members can also request to Fly Ahead on the flight departing immediately prior to their booked flight by calling the Guest Contact Centre.
  
  Members requesting to Fly Ahead may contact the Guest Contact Centre on the day of travel until 1 hour prior to the departure time of the desired flight.
  
  When Flying Ahead in Business Class, we may not be able to provide you with a Business Class meal.
  
  Fly Ahead is subject to seat availability and this is controlled by Virgin Australia. While an earlier flight may have seats available for sale, these may not be available for Fly Ahead.
  Fly Ahead Terms and Conditions.