Business Saver - NEW and very attractive pricing

[MichaelD]

Just getting my head around all the new Virgin changes, and noticed a new Business Saver fare class, very well priced indeed ***on some sectors***.

eg

MEL - SYD
Virgin Business Saver $420
Virgin Business $575
Qantas Business (D bucket - cheapest) $656

There seems to be no difference in fare conditions and points/SC earn between VA fares.

PER doesn't fare so well, though as the MEL-PER "saver" fare of $999 is exactly the same as it was before.

It'll be interesting if this fills up the general emptiness that is MEL-SYD business.
Qantas' response will also be interesting.

 

[smit0847]

Perhaps they realise that a lot less than 8 people are willing to pay full-price for J on each flight? My partner was flying J MEL-SYD last Friday evening and he was the only one in J (and he was on a $200 J happy hour fare).

I know it wouldnt be economically feasible but I'd love to see Flexis twice the price of Savers and then Business 3 times the price of Savers (i.e. $99, $199, $299). That would encourage me to occasionally choose J.

So whats the benefit of VA J vs VA J Saver?

 

[Fruitcake]

So whats the benefit of VA J vs VA J Saver?

Domestically, as best I can tell... absolutely nothing.
Domestic Fees and Surcharges | Virgin Australia
Domestic Fare Types | Virgin Australia

However if you needed to make a change to a J Saver there would be a risk that no fares in your original fare class are available, so you might have to pay the difference to get into a higher fare class.

 

[lovestotravel]

Hmmm nice pricing

Be nice if Qantas follows with say $499

 

[anat0l]

Only difference I believe is that the Saver cannot be refunded, i.e. you can have VA credit that is valid for 12 months but you can't refund to original payment method.

Full Business is fully refundable.

Full also earns more points than Saver, but that's obviously because they cost more.

So for most intents and purposes, they are likely the same.

 

[lovestotravel]

Perhaps they realise that a lot less than 8 people are willing to pay full-price for J on each flight? My partner was flying J MEL-SYD last Friday evening and he was the only one in J (and he was on a $200 J happy hour fare).

I know it wouldnt be economically feasible but I'd love to see Flexis twice the price of Savers and then Business 3 times the price of Savers (i.e. $99, $199, $299). That would encourage me to occasionally choose J.

So whats the benefit of VA J vs VA J Saver?

I've said it time and time again VA J doesn't sell on the East Coast

The product is not the best etc etc....

That being said this is far from the peak time for business/J travel...........

 

[Fruitcake]

Only difference I believe is that the Saver cannot be refunded, i.e. you can have VA credit that is valid for 12 months but you can't refund to original payment method.

Oops, very clever of them to leave that out of the comparison matrix. Thanks.

 

[dmw144]

Looks like, unless you were absolutely forced to, no one will buy a seat on a virgin plane that has a stopover - in the past they were similarly priced to direct flight but now, say for darwin, there is a minimum $400 difference in price getting there if you want to go business. Are they shooting themselves in the foot or should we expect to see a LOT of sales on stopover flights to get people to actually use them...

 

[Bundy Bear]

I am not sure whos idea it was to fit business class to an E90.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Allowing modest CPI over the previous 12-18 months versus VAs multiple, higher than CPI fare increases, the J saver seems comparibly priced with the old PE product. I'm sitting here sticking pins in my legs as I type this, but I can see where occasionally I may be tempted to purchase outright a J saver. I did with W from time to time when needed and the product has certainly improved from the W offering.

 

[lobo76]

Looks like, unless you were absolutely forced to, no one will buy a seat on a virgin plane that has a stopover - in the past they were similarly priced to direct flight but now, say for darwin, there is a minimum $400 difference in price getting there if you want to go business. Are they shooting themselves in the foot or should we expect to see a LOT of sales on stopover flights to get people to actually use them...

It could be coincidence but it seems to me like they are trying to get people tu burn points for some reason. The stopover flights are similarly priced for points redemption but massively overpriced for cash, for the next 6 months reward flights get SCs. Sounds to me like they are corralling status run folks into using up some of their points, which I assume appear as a liability on the books somewhere...?

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I am not sure whos idea it was to fit business class to an E90.

Eh? Am I missing something here? I was actually thinking the E90 may become my preferred A/C for J. (subject to completion of the product of course)

 

[anat0l]

According to the "cheat sheet" that was circulated before the Sabre integration, there is also a difference in ticketing window times, viz. 26 hours for the Saver vs. 72 hours for the Full.

I'm not exactly sure what is the significance of such ticketing time differences. For almost all of us who book through the website anyway, ticketing is instantaneous so there is no difference here. Only thing I can think of is that this may affect those who book through agents, i.e. agents can "hold" a seat before releasing it if not ticketed in time. Then again, even many corporations now just use the consumer website (or their agents use the website) to book, so again ticketing is more or less instantaneous.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

It could be coincidence but it seems to me like they are trying to get people tu burn points for some reason. The stopover flights are similarly priced for points redemption but massively overpriced for cash, for the next 6 months reward flights get SCs. Sounds to me like they are corralling status run folks into using up some of their points, which I assume appear as a liability on the books somewhere...?

I was thinking the same thing. I've been hoarding points so I'm assuming I'm not Robinson Crusoe with that. Too much liability that needs to be settled perhaps?

 

[oz_mark]

According to the "cheat sheet" that was circulated before the Sabre integration, there is also a difference in ticketing window times, viz. 26 hours for the Saver vs. 72 hours for the Full.

The fare guid was referenced in this thread: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....elocity/new-fare-structure-13-01-a-45782.html


and a direct link to the pdf is
https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/112531/14d/ig.rsys5.net/responsysimages/content/virginaus/Virgin%20Australia%20Fare%20Type%20Guide%20-%20Australian%20Domestic.pdf

 

[anat0l]

I was thinking the same thing. I've been hoarding points so I'm assuming I'm not Robinson Crusoe with that. To much liability that needs to be settled perhaps?

I always thought it was a bit of both. A bit like your insurance company collecting your premiums - it's all good money for them until you make a claim, then it is a liability (gambling on the size of the claim).

I heard long ago that the value of Velocity points balances are held in a special trust such that if Velocity went under, the value of points is "protected" (i.e. you'd receive something for your loss of points if Velocity happened to go under). That could exacerbate the claim that more points in the system is indeed a liability.

 

[medhead]

Oops, very clever of them to leave that out of the comparison matrix. Thanks.

I thought I saw it in one of the cheat sheets, or something.

 

[smit0847]

According to the "cheat sheet" that was circulated before the Sabre integration, there is also a difference in ticketing window times, viz. 26 hours for the Saver vs. 72 hours for the Full.

I'm not exactly sure what is the significance of such ticketing time differences. For almost all of us who book through the website anyway, ticketing is instantaneous so there is no difference here. Only thing I can think of is that this may affect those who book through agents, i.e. agents can "hold" a seat before releasing it if not ticketed in time. Then again, even many corporations now just use the consumer website (or their agents use the website) to book, so again ticketing is more or less instantaneous.

I said before, I think VA will do one major FF promo each six months (half-price points upgrades from flex was the last 6 months, SCs on reward flights is this six months, perhaps DSC will be next six months?).

VA dont have the luxury of just installing DOM J and sitting back and waiting for people to pay full-price for it. There's the supply but there simply isn't the demand.

So, they need to do whatever they can to fill up the cabins (sales, happy hours, SCs on reward seats, comp upgrades for platinums etc).

The problem with burning VA points is that there aren't THAT many smart ways to do it:

- Y+ and J to LAX have massive fees
- SQ redemptions are hilariously expensive, and NZ redemptions are quite expensive
- VA premium intl short-haul is a mis-matched joke.

Okay, EY J and F and VA Coast-2-Coast are both excellent options to use points but thats fairly limited.

 

[Fruitcake]

I am not sure whos idea it was to fit business class to an E90.

Someone who works at Air Canada, most likely!

 

[lovestotravel]

The problem with burning VA points is that there aren't THAT many smart ways to do it:

- Y+ and J to LAX have massive fees

What's the fees for J on points $800 in taxes ?