liamsal
Member
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2016
- Posts
- 349
- Virgin
- Platinum
So been pondering whether or not to post my experience but decided to do it in the end to get some opinions on what I should do next.
I was booked in LAX - BNE in J VA a few weeks ago and a few hours before the flight whilst I was in the *A lounge, I noticed on the display boards that the flight had been delayed by 8 hours. Went up to the counter in the lounge and the VA agent had no idea about it and made a few calls before confirming it would be delayed due to maintenance. Anyhow I asked the agent if I could be swapped onto the LAX - SYD flight which was also scheduled to leave that night. Agent made the swap and placed me on a connecting flight from SYD - BNE. I noticed other guests were doing the same thing as me and overheard them receiving seats in business class from SYD - BNE. I received my new BP's and went and sat down. I checked the BP's and for some reason my flight from SYD - BNE was in economy. I went back up to the counter and waited in line to query why this flight was in economy. Agent apologised and re-booked however due to everyone wanting to be swapped from the LAX-BNE flight most early morning flights in business had been filled so I now had a 3.5 hr layover in SYD.
Anyhow when boarding the LAX - SYD flight, there was 3 boarding lines - general, premium/silver and business/platinum/gold. I went to the business line along with a few other business class PAX only to be told that the line was not operating (no explanation given) and that we had to join one of the other 2 lines. There was plenty of staff there so it wasn't staffing issues. Ended up waiting about 15 minutes in line to board (first world problems I know).
Overall the service on board the flight from the cabin crew was rather ordinary compared to what I had experienced when I flew J from BNE - LAX a few months prior. It may seem trivial but small touches like introducing herself, addressing us by name, constantly coming up and asking if we wanted drinks/snacks etc were missed. I actually found the FA to be really disinterested and it really reflected poorly on the whole experience. I'm definitely not a DYKWIA but these things really made my experience in J that much more memorable for the flight to LAX from BNE.
Onto the SYD - BNE flight (which was also delayed due to a plastic bag flying into the engine just prior to take off - it really felt like we were never going to get home at this rate) - 6/8 of the PAX in J were originally on the LAX-BNE flight and had swapped onto the SYD flight like I had. Anyhow after take off FA came through the cabin and offered myself and the PAX next to me a drink. I asked for something to eat and was offered a cookie. After the FA took other PAX orders, she came out with my drink and cookie and then started bringing out trays of food for other PAX in J. I thought it was maybe due to me being on a comp J ticket but other people from the delayed LAX-BNE flight received trays of food (fruit, yogurt, a hot pastry or sandwich etc). When the FA had finished bringing out food I queried if I could have something more substantial and was given cheese and crackers.
Arrived in BNE and went to collect bags to find that mine weren't there - waited until the next flight's bags started coming on and realised mine definitely weren't coming. Went and waited in line for 20 minutes only to be told I was in the wrong line and to go wait at a different counter. Waited there for another 10 minutes before being served and was told my bags with MIA. Eventually the lady found they had been loaded onto a later SYD-BNE flight and that they would be arriving in 15 mins. Offered me & my partner who had now parked a compl. snack voucher while we waited and told us she would bring my bags over to me at the cafe when they arrived. Waited about 30 mins before heading back to the counter to be told they hadn't been taken off the plane yet (but others had been as I could see PAX collecting them from the nearby carousel). Eventually my bags arrived and I asked if I could be reimbursed for the parking as my partner had been waiting in the PAX pick up but had to park after my bags went missing. I finally left the airport over an hour after landing.
Sent feedback to VA via the website to receive a pretty basic reply that didn't address any of the issues I had raised (why there was no priority boarding, ordinary service on board and no meal offered on domestic flight). Most of the response was about the baggage missing and how they hoped my next experience was not the same.
I replied and again asked for my issues to actually be addressed - ultimately I wanted to know why business PAX were turned away from priority boarding and not receiving a meal. I received a reply 7 days later saying as my flight was with Delta, they would need to contact them and work out why the service was so ordinary. I replied and once again gave them my flights details from the original correspondence I had sent - which clearly identified both flights as VA operated on VA metal.
Received a reply today which finally address the issues I experience and while it was better than the last one I received, it didn't offer any explanation as to why. They said they would raise the issues with managers etc but that still doesn't make up for my substandard experience. I was offered a 'goodwill' gesture of points which certainly doesn't justify the coughpy experience.
Anyway, my question is whether to keep pressing VA for compensation or to just leave it. I know there are definitely worse experiences out there but my J experience from BNE-LAX was so much better and I really feel disappointed with the overall journey home.
Sorry for the super long post but wanted to detail it all (hopefully I'm not being too much of a w@*k)
I was booked in LAX - BNE in J VA a few weeks ago and a few hours before the flight whilst I was in the *A lounge, I noticed on the display boards that the flight had been delayed by 8 hours. Went up to the counter in the lounge and the VA agent had no idea about it and made a few calls before confirming it would be delayed due to maintenance. Anyhow I asked the agent if I could be swapped onto the LAX - SYD flight which was also scheduled to leave that night. Agent made the swap and placed me on a connecting flight from SYD - BNE. I noticed other guests were doing the same thing as me and overheard them receiving seats in business class from SYD - BNE. I received my new BP's and went and sat down. I checked the BP's and for some reason my flight from SYD - BNE was in economy. I went back up to the counter and waited in line to query why this flight was in economy. Agent apologised and re-booked however due to everyone wanting to be swapped from the LAX-BNE flight most early morning flights in business had been filled so I now had a 3.5 hr layover in SYD.
Anyhow when boarding the LAX - SYD flight, there was 3 boarding lines - general, premium/silver and business/platinum/gold. I went to the business line along with a few other business class PAX only to be told that the line was not operating (no explanation given) and that we had to join one of the other 2 lines. There was plenty of staff there so it wasn't staffing issues. Ended up waiting about 15 minutes in line to board (first world problems I know).
Overall the service on board the flight from the cabin crew was rather ordinary compared to what I had experienced when I flew J from BNE - LAX a few months prior. It may seem trivial but small touches like introducing herself, addressing us by name, constantly coming up and asking if we wanted drinks/snacks etc were missed. I actually found the FA to be really disinterested and it really reflected poorly on the whole experience. I'm definitely not a DYKWIA but these things really made my experience in J that much more memorable for the flight to LAX from BNE.
Onto the SYD - BNE flight (which was also delayed due to a plastic bag flying into the engine just prior to take off - it really felt like we were never going to get home at this rate) - 6/8 of the PAX in J were originally on the LAX-BNE flight and had swapped onto the SYD flight like I had. Anyhow after take off FA came through the cabin and offered myself and the PAX next to me a drink. I asked for something to eat and was offered a cookie. After the FA took other PAX orders, she came out with my drink and cookie and then started bringing out trays of food for other PAX in J. I thought it was maybe due to me being on a comp J ticket but other people from the delayed LAX-BNE flight received trays of food (fruit, yogurt, a hot pastry or sandwich etc). When the FA had finished bringing out food I queried if I could have something more substantial and was given cheese and crackers.
Arrived in BNE and went to collect bags to find that mine weren't there - waited until the next flight's bags started coming on and realised mine definitely weren't coming. Went and waited in line for 20 minutes only to be told I was in the wrong line and to go wait at a different counter. Waited there for another 10 minutes before being served and was told my bags with MIA. Eventually the lady found they had been loaded onto a later SYD-BNE flight and that they would be arriving in 15 mins. Offered me & my partner who had now parked a compl. snack voucher while we waited and told us she would bring my bags over to me at the cafe when they arrived. Waited about 30 mins before heading back to the counter to be told they hadn't been taken off the plane yet (but others had been as I could see PAX collecting them from the nearby carousel). Eventually my bags arrived and I asked if I could be reimbursed for the parking as my partner had been waiting in the PAX pick up but had to park after my bags went missing. I finally left the airport over an hour after landing.
Sent feedback to VA via the website to receive a pretty basic reply that didn't address any of the issues I had raised (why there was no priority boarding, ordinary service on board and no meal offered on domestic flight). Most of the response was about the baggage missing and how they hoped my next experience was not the same.
I replied and again asked for my issues to actually be addressed - ultimately I wanted to know why business PAX were turned away from priority boarding and not receiving a meal. I received a reply 7 days later saying as my flight was with Delta, they would need to contact them and work out why the service was so ordinary. I replied and once again gave them my flights details from the original correspondence I had sent - which clearly identified both flights as VA operated on VA metal.
Received a reply today which finally address the issues I experience and while it was better than the last one I received, it didn't offer any explanation as to why. They said they would raise the issues with managers etc but that still doesn't make up for my substandard experience. I was offered a 'goodwill' gesture of points which certainly doesn't justify the coughpy experience.
Anyway, my question is whether to keep pressing VA for compensation or to just leave it. I know there are definitely worse experiences out there but my J experience from BNE-LAX was so much better and I really feel disappointed with the overall journey home.
Sorry for the super long post but wanted to detail it all (hopefully I'm not being too much of a w@*k)
