Erk To WPerth

[erkpod]

Inspirational Erk, thank you. As well as your adventure - I enjoyed seeing a glimpse of what is one other ide of the fence in VA

Steady

It's not all roses on the VA side but it isn't all bad - there's a lot of good.


I'm having an interesting conversation via Twitter with VA about the attempted charging for soft drink on a Flexi fare on the SYD - OOL, MEL - OOL & OOL - SYD.

I was referred to the Flexi page Domestic Fare Types | Virgin Australia which says

Snacks and beverages included on selected flights.
Additional food and beverages available for purchase onboard.
Tea/Coffee/Water included on all flights.

I then went to the Compare tab which says:

Included (retail food and drink subject to availability)​

This to me contradicts:

Snacks and beverages included on selected flights.
Additional food and beverages available for purchase onboard.
Tea/Coffee/Water included on all flights.

 

[erkpod]

Woohoo! The PER - MEL & the OOL - SYD sectors posted from yesterday so I'm over the line for WP. Waiting for MEL - OOL to post but hopefully that's after my review.

 

[a330j]

Congrats and thanks for the trip report. Enjoy the plat perks. Funny your comment about the Perth railways being like Brisbane, I think QR had a hand in its construction.

 

[erkpod]

Congrats and thanks for the trip report. Enjoy the plat perks. Funny your comment about the Perth railways being like Brisbane, I think QR had a hand in its construction.

At the time Perth was still diesel & possibly going to be shut down altogether, WA had SYD, MEL or BNE systems to look at. Even then, the SYD & MEL systems were seen as old tech in terms of electric trains. The fact that they weren't narrow gauge may have also helped.

The narrow gauge BNE system was the obvious one to look at. Similar climate, not as big as SYD/MEL, both narrow gauge, more modern trains & electric infrastructure. Plus BNE has the advantage of having a good train builder handy who could build a lot of new trains to start the service off.

 

[codash1099]

Who is the character that photobombed all of your pics?

 

[erkpod]

Who is the character that photobombed all of your pics?

I must have a word to that guy.

 

[erkpod]

I agree the entrance is in a strange spot- extremely close to security! I liked the layout of the actual lounge but the food offerings were minimal.

Get used to Row 3 being WP now- it's the best benefit! If you have other future flights booked ring up once WP and change the seating to Row 3.

What was the food like in J? That's the best part of the flight! Any pics of that?!

Forgot to mention the food in J. I had the beef & potato & it was nice. I was originally going to go with the salmon as the safest choice but my delightful FA Maria told me that they could customise the meal somewhat so I went the beef. No pics because we were down to mood lighting. LOL.

 

[Grooba]

Another great report Erk, loved it once again.

However it's probably time to update your flight tracker, pretty sure it's been on 90 flights since your USA shin dig!

Counting down the next 21 days now...

 

[erkpod]

Another great report Erk, loved it once again.

However it's probably time to update your flight tracker, pretty sure it's been on 90 flights since your USA shin dig!

Counting down the next 21 days now...

I'm pretty sure that the flights I've just taken were included already because I originally booked those trips before I flew to the US. It possibly includes the next ones too. But I'll check.

 

[erkpod]

This TR would not be complete without this bit. What follows is one of the reasons I love flying VA & the whole experience.

It started with me remembering this morning around 0700 that I forgot to put the bin out. After doing that, I checked Twitter & then remembered there is something else I should check before going back to bed.

 

[erkpod]

Read from bottom to top for this next one



I did put the bins out before I tweeted about it, just for the record.


The whole interaction that I've had with VA about becoming a WP happened in minutes. I don't just tweet them when things go wrong but if I go on a plane & I think about it, I'll tweet to them. I don't want to be one of those people who only tweet at them (or use AFF for that matter) when things are bad.

I have had a good relationship with them over Twitter for some time. I don't know if the VFF rep here is a part of the same team that does the Twitter or Facebook or how many people are in the social media team - much like I've read there's more than one Red Roo here on AFF. It's like a sporting mascot or Santa - you know there's someone in the suit but you don't want to spoil the illusion.

There's probably a million things going on at VA Towers that are going on this morning that the social media team could be paying attention to. Yesterday, I raised an issue with meal services on Flexis & the confusion in the air via Twitter. I'm confident that is going to be looked at (see earlier). But I'm also glad that whoever was running the VA Twitter account this morning got into the spirit of my celebration (that was mostly for my own amusement) & celebrated with me. They could have ignored me or copied & pasted a response. But they didn't.

I'm realistic enough to know that there are problems in the VA universe - some of which I've experienced first hand, some I haven't. But if I can do something to enhance (oops! wrong word!) my travel experience & others benefit, that's great.

It's part of the reason I fly VA & partners exclusively. I'm totally self funded & as my travel buddy was surprised to find out, I don't fly for work. So I am over the moon to be WP, even though SG is quite acceptable for me. I know I want to remain at least SG if I can't remain WP.

Thanks once again to everyone who has read this & those who contributed. Thank you to everyone here who has contributed to my flying here on AFF - I doubt I would have the knowledge that I have now (and am still learning) without it. I've also had some tough times (for me) since becoming a member here. Some of you I've met & some are avatars & text on a screen. But it's been great & will continue to be great.

 

[Princess Fiona]

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Read from bottom to top for this next one

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I did put the bins out before I tweeted about it, just for the record.


The whole interaction that I've had with VA about becoming a WP happened in minutes. I don't just tweet them when things go wrong but if I go on a plane & I think about it, I'll tweet to them. I don't want to be one of those people who only tweet at them (or use AFF for that matter) when things are bad.

I have had a good relationship with them over Twitter for some time. I don't know if the VFF rep here is a part of the same team that does the Twitter or Facebook or how many people are in the social media team - much like I've read there's more than one Red Roo here on AFF. It's like a sporting mascot or Santa - you know there's someone in the suit but you don't want to spoil the illusion.

There's probably a million things going on at VA Towers that are going on this morning that the social media team could be paying attention to. Yesterday, I raised an issue with meal services on Flexis & the confusion in the air via Twitter. I'm confident that is going to be looked at (see earlier). But I'm also glad that whoever was running the VA Twitter account this morning got into the spirit of my celebration (that was mostly for my own amusement) & celebrated with me. They could have ignored me or copied & pasted a response. But they didn't.

I'm realistic enough to know that there are problems in the VA universe - some of which I've experienced first hand, some I haven't. But if I can do something to enhance (oops! wrong word!) my travel experience & others benefit, that's great.

It's part of the reason I fly VA & partners exclusively. I'm totally self funded & as my travel buddy was surprised to find out, I don't fly for work. So I am over the moon to be WP, even though SG is quite acceptable for me. I know I want to remain at least SG if I can't remain WP.

Thanks once again to everyone who has read this & those who contributed. Thank you to everyone here who has contributed to my flying here on AFF - I doubt I would have the knowledge that I have now (and am still learning) without it. I've also had some tough times (for me) since becoming a member here. Some of you I've met & some are avatars & text on a screen. But it's been great & will continue to be great.

Congratulations

 

[smit0847]

Hi erk

Great TR. I'm interested to know about the overall costs for this status run? What were the flight costs and how many SCs and points did you earn? What are your plans for WP now that you have achieved it? Apart from the 4 comp upgrades and Row 3 I haven't found many WP benefits over SG so happy to drop to SG this year.

 

[erkpod]

Hi erk

Great TR. I'm interested to know about the overall costs for this status run? What were the flight costs and how many SCs and points did you earn? What are your plans for WP now that you have achieved it? Apart from the 4 comp upgrades and Row 3 I haven't found many WP benefits over SG so happy to drop to SG this year.

Here's what I earnt one way (double for return).

At the time of booking, it was about $1200 on Flexis.

I don't know if I want to or will requalify WP in 12 months but I'll give it a shot. The 4 upgrades & row 3 will be the best bits.

The only trip I have planned now is my next trip which takes advantage of the DSC SYD - AUH - SYD plus the other sectors on EY & DL.

 

[TomVexille]

Flounge in AUH would be an advantage I'd think.

 

[erkpod]

Flounge in AUH would be an advantage I'd think.

I haven't looked too much into the AUH Flounge at the moment but I like the idea!

 

[serfty]

I haven't looked too much into the AUH Flounge at the moment but I like the idea!

Saw a lot of it with an six hour delay break to MEL in January. (10pm-4am)

It's not bad when compared with most lounges VA WP get status based access to.

 

[erkpod]

Saw a lot of it with an six hour delay break to MEL in January. (10pm-4am)

It's not bad when compared with most lounges VA WP get status based access to.

Looking forward to trying it out!

 

[trentusjuventus]

Great report Erk, it's so interesting to follow people in almost real-time. Looking forward to your next report already! And congrats on WP!

 

[erkpod]

Another great report Erk, loved it once again.

However it's probably time to update your flight tracker, pretty sure it's been on 90 flights since your USA shin dig!

Counting down the next 21 days now...

I just had a look at the tracker & it had this trip's sectors on there but not some of the later bookings for the next one.


Somewhat scared to reveal that by the end of the next trip YTD (all self funded & not for work):

36 segments
108716 km
6 days 10:10

Airports	23
Carriers	8
Countries	7
Vehicles	16