Will you still earn/retain Velocity status beyond 2025?

[MEL_Traveller]

True, pay for eco X gets a few handy perks in priority check-in, which heaps better than the standard check-in.
Plus the seat, well row 3 on the revamped design stinks.

Agree much cheaper than the $5k required for gold, which excludes eco X anyway.
Even paying $65 for lounge access for the cough food beats the $5k or fork out the $65 on an upgrade me bid or touch more.

Pfft… they wanted $58 for eco X SYD-MEL the other day. It would have been cheaper to bid for upgrade

 

[MooTime]

Pfft… they wanted $58 for eco X SYD-MEL the other day. It would have been cheaper to bid for upgrade

Pfft.....Yeah bid fails and you get nothing. Up the back with the whatever's.
Not sure how many empty J seats on the mel syd route available for upgrades.

$58 bit steep for short trip, but often eco X has discounts offered.

 

[Brian G]

fair enough, but are you cutting off your nose to spite your face?

Did you call to request VA platinum status even though you hadn’t earned it and they said no? You won’t get that with Qantas either.

you have lifetime Qantas gold, so unless you are wanting to get platinum, if it was me, I wouldn’t pay more for Qantas on the basis of not being able to in platinum with Virgin

And I note you said much the

fair enough, but are you cutting off your nose to spite your face?

Did you call to request VA platinum status even though you hadn’t earned it and they said no? You won’t get that with Qantas either.

you have lifetime Qantas gold, so unless you are wanting to get platinum, if it was me, I wouldn’t pay more for Qantas on the basis of not being able to in platinum with Virgin

And I note you said much the same thing last November.

fair enough, but are you cutting off your nose to spite your face?

Did you call to request VA platinum status even though you hadn’t earned it and they said no? You won’t get that with Qantas either.

you have lifetime Qantas gold, so unless you are wanting to get platinum, if it was me, I wouldn’t pay more for Qantas on the basis of not being able to in platinum with Virgin

And I note you said much the same thing last November.

No ,we are not cutting off our nose to spite our face. I am not going to waste my time with your response other than to say the following. We have simply made an informed decision after backing Virgin for many years and that decision is to walk away from Virgin.

 

[RooFlyer]

We have simply made an informed decision after backing Virgin for many years and that decision is to walk away from Virgin.

I think we’ve all said something like that at some stage.

Thread 'What is the statute of limitations on “never again”?'
What is the statute of limitations on “never again”?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Pfft.....Yeah bid fails and you get nothing. Up the back with the whatever's.
Not sure how many empty J seats on the mel syd route available for upgrades.

$58 bit steep for short trip, but often eco X has discounts offered.

Today’s flight was 3/8 and either a fly forward or upgradee taking the 4th seat. So I suspect eco X would have been questionable value on my flight if someone had paid for it.

I get that you could of course end up with nothing… but $58 for a couple inches extra legroom is steep!

 

[trisreed]

Just lodged a complaint about finding out my seat in J was moved while boarding, from what it appeared so a couple could sit together. I don't mind, but the lack of communication annoyed me - I think it is only fair to ask, and that's been my experience in the past with various airlines, including Virgin.

While the ChatGPT generated response from the Platinum mailbox was very generous and affirming, the response from the customer care team they forwarded it to was effectively "too bad, it happens, deal with it". Thankfully on board, I found the CM in the galley before the meals were 'allocated' as I had dietary preferences and chose the first row to maximise the chance of being asked first (in my many flights in Virgin J, I have never seen the famed 'ask row 2 for orders first' myself).

Remind me again why I should spend even more with this airline so I can continue to be treated poorly? I can have the same treatment with zero status

 

[PERLHR]

Just lodged a complaint about finding out my seat in J was moved while boarding, from what it appeared so a couple could sit together. I don't mind, but the lack of communication annoyed me - I think it is only fair to ask, and that's been my experience in the past with various airlines, including Virgin.

While the ChatGPT generated response from the Platinum mailbox was very generous and affirming, the response from the customer care team they forwarded it to was effectively "too bad, it happens, deal with it". Thankfully on board, I found the CM in the galley before the meals were 'allocated' as I had dietary preferences and chose the first row to maximise the chance of being asked first (in my many flights in Virgin J, I have never seen the famed 'ask row 2 for orders first' myself).

Remind me again why I should spend even more with this airline so I can continue to be treated poorly? I can have the same treatment with zero status

That's unfortunate. I have been asked on a couple of occasions if I would mind moving when on board ..but usually by my fellow pax not CC. i do also tell the CC and as Plat even if I'm in Row 2 get approached first (mostly not always) for meal choice first. Guess it depends on how many plats are in the cabin.

 

[RooFlyer]

Remind me again why I should spend even more with this airline so I can continue to be treated poorly? I can have the same treatment with zero status

That’s rotten and I would be really burned up about it. I’m not a believer in spending anything just to retain status. I just take the trips that suit and let things flow from there.

I'm Plat with Qantas but fly Virgin very frequently domestically, as their pricing and scheduling suits me.

 

[nutwood]

That's unfortunate. I have been asked on a couple of occasions if I would mind moving when on board ..but usually by my fellow pax not CC. i do also tell the CC and as Plat even if I'm in Row 2 get approached first (mostly not always) for meal choice first. Guess it depends on how many plats are in the cabin.

I'm not sure they consider status when choosing where to start offering food? I'm WP but recently have consistently been one of the last asked, regardless of where I'm sitting. Fortunately I've still received the meal I would have chosen if given a selection but I find it quite sad that you can be told, "there's only one option left". They charge a considerable premium for J and all pax should be given the same options. There's only eight seats and two meal options. Couldn't be that hard!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I'm not sure they consider status when choosing where to start offering food? I'm WP but recently have consistently been one of the last asked, regardless of where I'm sitting. Fortunately I've still received the meal I would have chosen if given a selection but I find it quite sad that you can be told, "there's only one option left". They charge a considerable premium for J and all pax should be given the same options. There's only eight seats and two meal options. Couldn't be that hard!

As mentioned above… some CMs purposely ask platinums last because they want to ‘mix things up’ and give non-status passengers a chance to order first.

It is frustrating if there’s only one choice that you want.

Given they don’t automatically cater 8/8, it would be hard to expect double catering to guarantee choice for everyone.

 

[PERLHR]

As mentioned above… some CMs purposely ask platinums last because they want to ‘mix things up’ and give non-status passengers a chance to order first.

It is frustrating if there’s only one choice that you want.

Given they don’t automatically cater 8/8, it would be hard to expect double catering to guarantee choice for everyone.

I think VA could recognise Plats a bit better generally,especially after the earning changes. To that end yes I think they should in biz check and offer dining choice first to plats as a matter of course. Yes however if Plat is travelling with a non member or lower tier, then that individual should also be offered at the same time. Just my thoughts.

 

[nutwood]

As mentioned above… some CMs purposely ask platinums last because they want to ‘mix things up’ and give non-status passengers a chance to order first.

It is frustrating if there’s only one choice that you want.

Given they don’t automatically cater 8/8, it would be hard to expect double catering to guarantee choice for everyone.

I'm looking at flying LST-SYD next week. Flex is $203, Business is $822. For the extra $619 I would have thought they could cater two meals for every booked seat in J?

 

[MooTime]

I'm looking at flying LST-SYD next week. Flex is $203, Business is $822. For the extra $619 I would have thought they could cater two meals for every booked seat in J?

Well that's one example, I've looked thru many route flights to see how flex fares compare to J and always a lot closer then your example.
Still I've seen the flex cost more than the J fare, I thought they fixed this dumb fare costing, was very common prior.

They should have say 6 of each meal to be as close as possible for all J pax to receive their choice.
There only $10 meal cost imo.
Crew eat what's left so no wastage I'd of thought.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Well that's one example, I've looked thru many route flights to see how flex fares compare to J and always a lot closer then your example.
Still I've seen the flex cost more than the J fare, I thought they fixed this dumb fare costing, was very common prior.

They should have say 6 of each meal to be as close as possible for all J pax to receive their choice.
There only $10 meal cost imo.
Crew eat what's left so no wastage I'd of thought.

i reckon $10 would be the total meal cost… PDBs, drinks and the meal and snacks.

Those main dishes retail for about $5-7 at the supermarket, so they’d be getting them at a hefty discount over full retail.

Yes, they should be fully catering, especially when they have delays, cancellations, uogrades and the like.

 

[nutwood]

Well that's one example, I've looked thru many route flights to see how flex fares compare to J and always a lot closer then your example.
Still I've seen the flex cost more than the J fare, I thought they fixed this dumb fare costing, was very common prior.

Check LST-SYD for next Monday (30th). I agree re the pricing though, I occasionally benefit from the companies who will never fly anyone J. Business cabin empty and Flex fares through the roof.
I often wonder how an airline would go if they set some planes up entirely with decent seats, four across instead of six, reasonable leg room and then charged about 50 % more. Fixed price; last seat costs the same as the first seat. No catering, just comfortable transport from A to B.

 

[MooTime]

Check LST-SYD for next Monday (30th). I agree re the pricing though, I occasionally benefit from the companies who will never fly anyone J. Business cabin empty and Flex fares through the roof.
I often wonder how an airline would go if they set some planes up entirely with decent seats, four across instead of six, reasonable leg room and then charged about 50 % more. Fixed price; last seat costs the same as the first seat. No catering, just comfortable transport from A to B.

That's an interesting concept.

Guess if total revenue for the full capacity plane is near on same then why not.

If only QF or VA would introduce say half doz of these planes as an experiment.
Just last minute aircraft changes would be a tough one to handle.

 

[HS-TQE]

That's an interesting concept.

Guess if total revenue for the full capacity plane is near on same then why not.

If only QF or VA would introduce say half doz of these planes as an experiment.
Just last minute aircraft changes would be a tough one to handle.

Australia has tried that through the short-lived OzJet. It didn't last more than 6 months before OzJet exited scheduled all-recliner flights and pivoted into Charter and ACMI. OzJet were folded into the ill-fated Air Australia/Strategic group in 2012.

OzJet - Wikipedia (at least that article is properly referenced and structured despite hosted on the Wikipedia platform).

 

[MooTime]

Australia has tried that through the short-lived OzJet. It didn't last more than 6 months before OzJet exited scheduled all-recliner flights and pivoted into Charter and ACMI. OzJet were folded into the ill-fated Air Australia/Strategic group in 2012.

OzJet - Wikipedia (at least that article is properly referenced and structured despite hosted on the Wikipedia platform).

Yeah ok. I was unaware of this.

Probably better chance of success with a major player with some loyal base.

Anyway just a dream, not reality.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yeah ok. I was unaware of this.

Probably better chance of success with a major player with some loyal base.

Anyway just a dream, not reality.

AA tried it back in the early 2000s with their More Room Throughout Coach (MRTC). 34 inches minimum pitch for every economy seat. You’d *think* it would be a no brainier… but they had to backtrack because it wasn’t as profitable.