I have had enough.... [Offloaded after Flight not called in VA lounge]

[JohnK]

You say Qantas treats you better as a status FF, and this would've never happened with them, so why do you fly with Virgin?

Serious question, sorry if already covered.

Correct that this should never have happened with Qantas as they generally call the number in the QFF profile if you are late for boarding.

Why Virgin? I always used Virgin when Qantas was a little too expensive on some weekends. This time around I used them more than usual. I was status matched Platinum and dropped to Gold and the opportunity arose with some cheap business class and cheap OOL-SYD returns that I would go for Gold again but that was a mistake on my part.

But you were told they did announce it twice. Unless you are an expert in body language going by your 'guilty look', it's your word against theirs. You might be right about the whole thing and your experience is certainly regrettable and I do realise that this can happen to anyone, but you also just simply might not have heard the announcement.

I heard about 29 boarding calls, 3-4 calls of names failed to board, gate change, some delays and did not hear the boarding call for my flight? Twice? If that is the case I am a dope.

I am not an expert in body language but she immediately went on the defensive when I asked her about the status flight and then when she checked and realised I was offloaded she was even further defensive.

The flight was not called. For me delays happen all the time and I think nothing of them. I remember thinking that something was wrong but for some reason did not go to ask at the desk. Yes that is stupidity on my part.

 

[Velocity Frequent Flyer]

There are lots of moving parts to not only get you away flying (on time), but also providing the best service whilst doing that.

Clearly most of you have had good and bad experiences with delayed flights (in the Lounge and terminals), as well as opinions as to how boarding announcements should be made.

I can tell you that we have drafted a project team to look at how flight disruptions are handled and without a doubt, issues such as the examples you have listed in this thread, will be looked at.

We'll be looking for opportunities to engage with you our frequent flyers in the near future as no doubt you all have plenty of ideas and creative, constructive feedback on the issue!

Watch this space.

 

[Ausbt]

I can tell you that we have drafted a project team to look at how flight disruptions are handled...

I'm just gonna throw this out there: you know those beeper devices you get in RSLs and bistros when your Chicken Parma is ready? I like that idea - the lounge Angels/maleAngels (?) hand you one of those as you enter. Beep-de-beep-beep - your flight is ready!

 

[JessicaTam]

I'm just gonna throw this out there: you know those beeper devices you get in RSLs and bistros when your Chicken Parma is ready? I like that idea - the lounge Angels/maleAngels (?) hand you one of those as you enter. Beep-de-beep-beep - your flight is ready!

Noooooo!

Beeping going off every time a flight was called would drive me back out into the land of the lack of status passengers(i.e. outside the lounge).

 

[amaroo]

IMHO it's not that hard to catch a flight - 2-3 Million people do it every day!

 

[oz_mark]

I can tell you that we have drafted a project team to look at how flight disruptions are handled and without a doubt, issues such as the examples you have listed in this thread, will be looked at.

Hopefully good will come out of this. My own experience of IRROPS on VA is that they don't handle them that well.....

 

[bullerdude]

There are lots of moving parts to not only get you away flying (on time), but also providing the best service whilst doing that.

Clearly most of you have had good and bad experiences with delayed flights (in the Lounge and terminals), as well as opinions as to how boarding announcements should be made.

I can tell you that we have drafted a project team to look at how flight disruptions are handled and without a doubt, issues such as the examples you have listed in this thread, will be looked at.

We'll be looking for opportunities to engage with you our frequent flyers in the near future as no doubt you all have plenty of ideas and creative, constructive feedback on the issue!

Watch this space.

Good to hear. Thanks for letting us know.

 

[Pushka]

Or they could just vibrate and not beep?

 

[SeatBackForward]

IMHO it's not that hard to catch a flight - 2-3 Million people do it every day!

Which is the point I was trying to make. Even specifically about that particular flight, did it leave half-empty?

 

[Julesmac]

OMG. You sound very restrained. I would have lost my cool. I've had oneprior experience of a flight where no announcements were made. I kept checking the board and I left the lounge on my own accord becuase I thought it was getting too close to the flight yet no annoucements were made. I got to the gate and I was the last passenger to board!

And exactly the same thing happened to me, quite a change from the way QF do things. Lucky I was walking fast or I'd have been caught between the plane and the airbridge! And I was made to feel it was my mistake!!

 

[dzinh]

I'm just gonna throw this out there: you know those beeper devices you get in RSLs and bistros when your Chicken Parma is ready? I like that idea - the lounge Angels/maleAngels (?) hand you one of those as you enter. Beep-de-beep-beep - your flight is ready!

You could just set a phone alarm 5 minutes before boarding time commences, that will allow you to check the screens for any changes to your flight then make your way down to the gate?

I agree with JessicaTam, I would go insane with the amount of vibrating from those devices going off say every 15 minutes x by how many pax are on the flight.

 

[notzac]

I would much rather no announcements in the lounge whatsoever, with the proviso that there are really accurate flight information boards to keep an eye on (as previously mentioned).

 

[Fruitcake]

I agree with JessicaTam, I would go insane with the amount of vibrating from those devices going off say every 15 minutes x by how many pax are on the flight.

Probably not much more annoying than repeated boarding calls and "your flight is awaiting immediate departure" pages. After experiencing silent airports I'd much rather see all Lounge announcements dropped completely (I don't think the Australian public is ready for a silent airport yet, but the Lounge might be) but to achieve this, status boards must be very accurate.

Personally, at present, I do not trust either the boards or the announcements. I leave the lounge 20 min before scheduled departure.

 

[eastwest101]

You could just set a phone alarm 5 minutes before boarding time commences, that will allow you to check the screens for any changes to your flight then make your way down to the gate?

I agree with JessicaTam, I would go insane with the amount of vibrating from those devices going off say every 15 minutes x by how many pax are on the flight.

Worthy of consideration but I would suggest that the project team look at the current setup and way of doing things and try to improve them first. It seems that the thing that may be missing is up to date and correct information being given to the VA and Lounge staff.

Regarding the Lounge - if everyone scans their BP or Velocity/Lounge card on entry then you also know where a lot of your high value pax are, and if they are the ones holding up an ontime departure then surely an announcement over PA or a txt message/phone call would be a sensible option? As opposed to offloading baggage/passengers with aircraft delays and having to rebook pax. Its a no-brainer with an sms being 10c and an aircraft delay at SYD say $1000 per minute?

Surely there should be some automated process that can actually provide accurate information about the departure status of a flight, at least that way if accurate information is collected then the staff and pax can act on that information. Relying on human beings is OK as long as they stick to the procedure and surely an automatic but compulsary over-ride should kick in when the ground agent starts the boarding proccess, after all, the scaners are boarding pax and the aircraft is being loaded, electronic records are being created during the boarding process so you would think it would be easy to have an automatic over-ride from "go to gate" to "boarding" even if the airports control the information screens.

If I was VA and being charged for airport services such as gates and information displays by the airport owner I would be looking very closely at the airports performance of that part of the contract as well. Its not just VA but the flight information displays at some airports is woeful - could be worth talking to other carriers like JQ QF and TT whom would also be affected and get their assistance on putting pressure on whomever is responsible.

 

[JohnK]

I provided feedback of my experience to Virgin last night.

I received a response this morning from customer relations offering an apology for the disappointing service and have forwarded my detailed feedback for internal review as an official complaint.

I am not sure if it is a standard form letter but I am very impressed with the response received and the promise of looking into the matter further.

That is excellent customer service....

 

[lovestotravel]

So it seems that the VA boards in the lounge are not accurate.

Am I correct in that the QF boards in the lounge are more accurate as they are run by QF ? My thinking is yes as at least the CBR TV's have a reason for late departing flights, with the usual case being "late arriving aircraft"

 

[medhead]

I would say that the numbers of "failure to board" would constitute the minority.

Indeed most of my flights go out with more people than empty seats.

 

[JessicaTam]

I provided feedback of my experience to Virgin last night.

I received a response this morning from customer relations offering an apology for the disappointing service and have forwarded my detailed feedback for internal review as an official complaint.

I am not sure if it is a standard form letter but I am very impressed with the response received and the promise of looking into the matter further.

That is excellent customer service....

Will that keep you with VA, or have they burnt their bridges?

 

[JohnK]

Will that keep you with VA, or have they burnt their bridges?

Bridges have not been burned.

 

[oz_mark]

Bridges have not been burned.

Nuked is probably a more accurate word!