Having been a Qantas FF for years and a Platinum member for some six years I finally made good on my promise to jump ship. I took advantage of Virgin's offer to recognise my Platinum level and took my $15 000 to $20 000 spend on flights each year away from Qantas. I am away overseas at least once and sometimes twice per month and only rarely travel domestic. Due to my line of work I have to travel economy. My first major irritation was the removal of (free) access to the exit rows, then it was changes to lounge access in Singapore and the variable access to lounges for Jetstar flights. The latter are becoming more common as Qantas pulls out of routes in Asia, for example. There are a number of other irritations that have not helped.
My first experience with Virgin was a domestic flight from Sydney to Brisbane. Even though I had a bargain ticket Virgin got a gold star for my trip home when, as a result of my meeting finishing early, they offered a seat on an earlier flight home when I checked into the lounge to settle in and do some work. I can't recall Qantas ever proactively offering anything similar.
Second flight was a return trip to London on Etihad. No online check-in for a ticket booked through the Virgin site. Nice comfortable plane. Managed to bag an exit row for the Sydney Abu Dhabi leg. No success after that after being bounced from one person to another, first at check-in in Sydney, then the lounge in Abu Dhabi, then the gate at Abu Dhabi. No access to the business lounge at Abu Dhabi and the other lounge is in a different terminal. a comment to Virgin did at least elicit a response that they would look into it. One the way home, despite an agreement from the check-in clerk that I had been allocated an exit row this was not the case. However, the whole exit row on the plane was empty and I managed to bag a seat after two elderly people were allocated seats next to the exit window. great massage in the lounge in London, very relaxing before a long flight.
So, am I better off? The Virgin empire has grown enormously and, especially with Singapore Airlines as a partner the options for me to take advantage of the things I value from a FF program (mainly lounge access) have improved significantly. Status credits rule over points from my perspective! The free upgrades offered by Virgin are attractive. My occasional once per year lucky break on Qantas was too haphazard. My US colleagues have a far better system with their airlines. The lounges aren't as big or sumptuous but for me that's not important. A place to get a shower, wifi access, a quick snack, a quiet place to sit in a comfortable setting and clean toilets are high on my list of desirables.
Qantas has developed a habit of knowing how to tee people off. At the moment its line ball when it comes to comparing Qantas and Virgin but Virgin has the advantage in that I don't have an accumulated list of irritations.
My first experience with Virgin was a domestic flight from Sydney to Brisbane. Even though I had a bargain ticket Virgin got a gold star for my trip home when, as a result of my meeting finishing early, they offered a seat on an earlier flight home when I checked into the lounge to settle in and do some work. I can't recall Qantas ever proactively offering anything similar.
Second flight was a return trip to London on Etihad. No online check-in for a ticket booked through the Virgin site. Nice comfortable plane. Managed to bag an exit row for the Sydney Abu Dhabi leg. No success after that after being bounced from one person to another, first at check-in in Sydney, then the lounge in Abu Dhabi, then the gate at Abu Dhabi. No access to the business lounge at Abu Dhabi and the other lounge is in a different terminal. a comment to Virgin did at least elicit a response that they would look into it. One the way home, despite an agreement from the check-in clerk that I had been allocated an exit row this was not the case. However, the whole exit row on the plane was empty and I managed to bag a seat after two elderly people were allocated seats next to the exit window. great massage in the lounge in London, very relaxing before a long flight.
So, am I better off? The Virgin empire has grown enormously and, especially with Singapore Airlines as a partner the options for me to take advantage of the things I value from a FF program (mainly lounge access) have improved significantly. Status credits rule over points from my perspective! The free upgrades offered by Virgin are attractive. My occasional once per year lucky break on Qantas was too haphazard. My US colleagues have a far better system with their airlines. The lounges aren't as big or sumptuous but for me that's not important. A place to get a shower, wifi access, a quick snack, a quiet place to sit in a comfortable setting and clean toilets are high on my list of desirables.
Qantas has developed a habit of knowing how to tee people off. At the moment its line ball when it comes to comparing Qantas and Virgin but Virgin has the advantage in that I don't have an accumulated list of irritations.
