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

[JohnK]

And I cannot take anymore....

It is quite clear that Virgin does not want me as a customer.

I have been waiting for the 5:10pm SYD-OOL and I have been waiting near the service desk.

No boarding calls were made and the flight status was blank. Time moved to 17:15 and still no boarding call. Time moved to 17:20 and still no boarding call.

All of a sudden I see flight closed. :shock:

I go to service desk and am told the flight is closed. She says the flight was paged twice. It was not paged not even once. She said flight is closed and I have been offloaded. :shock: I asked what about a personal page for me that the flight is going to depart immediately and your bags are going to be offloaded. She started shaking. I asked again. And she was confused and mentioned best I can do is put you on next flight. And then asks if that is what I want?

I have been here for close to 90 minutes and have heard flights called and have heard final calls and have heard individual calls for passengers to board flights. Not one call for me. Wouldn't you page in the lounge a Gold member who has not boarded the flight?

This is extremely disappointing. This is extremely unfair and very amateurish....

 

[grozzy]

Instead of hanging around the desk, checking your watch, why didn't you go to the gate? It is your responsibility to be on time, no one else's.

 

[medhead]

Learning point: the display boards in T2, SYD are not run by the airline and are known to be wrong. I had a very similar thing happen to me, except I asked about the flight and then it was paged. Personal pages were then heard in the main terminal area as I was walking to the gate.

 

[eastwest101]

Were you at the departure gate area in SYD? I assume not the VA Lounge. Which gate?

I have seen some VA departure gates as a bit of a "black hole" in PA coverage before - with little correlation between where the announcements are heard and not heard. Because of the cramped nature of the VA main pier in SYD I often "wait" in the departure gate "next door" to the one where my flight is departing from - but, as I do not trust their PA announcements I try to get a seat within visual range of the actual departure gate so I can see if the masses are moving (or not). The departure gates at the lounge end of T2 (gates 31-34) are too small and VA don't seem to like to spread out their operations out to the newer expanded area at all (gate 41?) so they only have themselves to blame for difficult and slow boarding in SYD.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Poor if there really wasn't any announcement. Might work out in your favour, I'd ask to be routed to BNE instead because of the inconvenience + you missing a pre-arranged car or some such thing.

 

[MH_fan]

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!

 

[Princess Fiona]

This has happened to me twice at MEL and once in BNE. All VA flights (never happened to me on QF) fortunately not off-loaded as had ignored the boards and lounge staff and left the lounge only to hear personal pages for me as I hurried to the gate.
I agree JohnK its not good enough. Whilst I agree that it's the passenger's responsibility to board on time, it's not unreasonable to expect that the Lounge will give an accurate indication of when that is.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Whilst I agree that it's the passenger's responsibility to board on time, its not unreasonable to expect that the Lounge will give an accurate indication of when that is.

Particularly considering on time performance has been sketchy recently.

Although it is the airport doing the boards, the PA calls and pagers are VAs.

 

[tickthelist]

So I'm taking it everyone else got on the plane except for you? I think you need to consider that you are the problem in this case. I get that you are annoyed, exactly the same thing happened to me flying QF some years back, I was furious, however after calming down I figured I needed to take responsibility for being on the plane if everyone managed to get there.

FWIW my habit is to stay in the lounge and go to the service desk in the lounge if the flight is late and ask them to confirm the details, they usually call the gate if unsure and you get reliable info, much more relaxing.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Yup.. stick to Tiger

 

[Jama]

So I'm taking it everyone else got on the plane except for you? I think you need to consider that you are the problem in this case. I get that you are annoyed, exactly the same thing happened to me flying QF some years back, I was furious, however after calming down I figured I needed to take responsibility for being on the plane if everyone managed to get there.

can't disagree, but isn't it supposed to be a benefit of being a status member that you can enjoy the lounge and get a boarding call after the hoards so you're not hanging around on the plane waiting to leave. There is nothing worse than going down to the gate without an announcement only to have it delayed and then you sit there waiting when you should be killing the time in the lounge.

 

[muppet]

Gotta love Virgin Departure Boards, I think they were made at Telstra - "Please be at the gate for boarding of your flight that will occur between 8am and 5:30pm Sunday".

 

[JessicaTam]

Surely it is up to the lounge to make sure announcements are made for flights. Whilst yes, the passenger needs to be mindful of the departure time, if you are in a dedicated airline lounge you would expect the airline to look after its own clients.

 

[tickthelist]

can't disagree, but isn't it supposed to be a benefit of being a status member that you can enjoy the lounge and get a boarding call after the hoards so you're not hanging around on the plane waiting to leave. There is nothing worse than going down to the gate without an announcement only to have it delayed and then you sit there waiting when you should be killing the time in the lounge.

Well said and I quite agree with you, but the poster said he was at the Service Desk not in the lounge. He could have asked in there before heading down. Totally agree that they have let him down, I just don't think it is a reason to leave an airline, write a letter, get some travel $$ and move on.

 

[Pushka]

So, you were in the Lounge and no boarding call. Nor personal call. Do they check the BP when you enter? Like others, there is no point to the Lounge if you have to worry about missing your flight. Not good enough.

 

[dk4]

This is a problem at Virgin, and it is significant, and it effects their best customers.

IMO VA Ground Crew need retraining. Their first line of thought must always be - my best customers often check in at the lounge, online, on their mobile... (and not at a standard check in desk) and my best customers often wait in the lounge (and not at the gate). I think that with this ethos in their minds, it may help them stop forgetting about their best customers when things go awry.

VA Gate Agent mantra should be - The path my best customers use to get from the kerb to the aeroplane's door, is different from other guests. I don't want this aeroplane to leave without my best customer, so where is my best customer right now (and how can I contact them)?

LCC mantra - anyone not at the gate 30 minutes prior to departure, too bad so sad.

 

[amaroo]

Many airlines don't do lounge calls.....EK lounge SIN didn't call our QF6 flight a couple of days ago.

Doesn't make for an enjoyable relaxed experience.

 

[oz_mark]

Gotta love Virgin Departure Boards, I think they were made at Telstra - "Please be at the gate for boarding of your flight that will occur between 8am and 5:30pm Sunday".

My own view is that if you can't rely on the boards, they may as well switch them off.

 

[oz_mark]

Many airlines don't do lounge calls.....EK lounge SIN didn't call our QF6 flight a couple of days ago.

Doesn't make for an enjoyable relaxed experience.

Chairmans Lounges don't do calls!

 

[Pushka]

Chairmans Lounges don't do calls!

Yes but you are told that.

It's actually better to have a non existent service and plan for that, rather than having a service that isn't reliable and you don't know that.