Relationship between DJ/VA, VX & VS

[Casual Class]

Re: Re : Relationship between DJ/VA, VX & VS

A Virgin-only alliance would be wholly uncompetetive with the existing major alliances at this time. There are huge - huge - gaps in the coverage of the existing Virgin-branded airlines when compared to 1W, *A or ST. Huge. Closing those gaps would require literally hundreds of billions of dollars of investment and is not credible in the short to medium term.

But a Virgin alliance could take you to space

 

[pauly7]

VS is such a weak link in the chain though... They've graduated to my no fly list. Old plans, cough IFE and some staff with serious attitude.

DJ/VA stomp all over them.

 

[greenfish]

VS is such a weak link in the chain though... They've graduated to my no fly list. Old plans, cough IFE and some staff with serious attitude.

DJ/VA stomp all over them.

Depends on the VS route though. SYD-HKG-LHR they fly A340-600 - I like them a lot, particularly the J class product. And I'm not sure how much worse they are than their competition on the USA-LON routes. I just don't like the lack of recognition of DJ status on VS.

 

[Justchecking]

The lay consumer seeing the common brand would be very confused to see one in an alliance and the others not or them in different alliances.

I think you sell the average consumer short. The Virgin logo has been attachd to so many things in the past (not to mention failed business ventures) its no longer a brand. Its a logo. Nay, its probably only a bumper sticker in the minds of most consumers. The fact Virgin Australia is more commonly known as DJ is a bit telling. When people think of Virgin + Airlines they think of Atlantic, not DJ\VA and certainly not VX. The only reason why people assert its all one brand on here is through a vain hope that somehow VA are going to build a club house at Sydney International.... If you are under any illusions about how VS view their 'sister airlines', just check out the SCs and points you get from fying with them as a non-VS member.

The smartest thing Branson ever did was realise his logo was worth more than any of his businesses, and leased that out to anyone with the reddies.

 

[Demented Freak]

Virgin Atlantic has its own SC table and the SC earn is at least 50% less than what you earn on V Australia, Etihad, Air NZ, Delta, Virgin America, table.

For example for Premium Economy,
0-750 - VA:30SC VS:15
751-1,500 - VA:45 VS:20
1,501-3,000 - VA:60 VS:20
3,001-5,000 - VA:90 VS:35
5,001-8,000 - VA:120 VS:35
8,001 + - VA:150 VS: 75

Also the tier level bonuses are only available on VA, Etihad.

Their stingyness compared to other airlines irks me greatly given the majority of my overseas travel is to HK, often works out better to travel via KL with MH instead. Hopefully when the codeshare agreement with DJ comes into play we can earn at DJ rates rather than VS rates.

 

[airtraveladdict]

Their stingyness compared to other airlines irks me greatly given the majority of my overseas travel is to HK, often works out better to travel via KL with MH instead. Hopefully when the codeshare agreement with DJ comes into play we can earn at DJ rates rather than VS rates.

I agree, I don't have the funds to fly business, but I also can't stand cattle, so I fly premium mostly. And their award rate on PE is woeful.

VS better step up their game because next year Malaysia Airlines and Cathay Pacific are entering the PE playground and Cathay Pacific is promising all kinds of good stuff (even better than Qantas) for the PE product. And both those airlines are in the One World alliance.

Yes i know no alliance is perfect and VA said they have 26-28% of the traffic going out of Australia, but when you are outside of Australia, the Velocity membership doesn't go far and a FF program is supposed to be global not Australia-centric.

If you fly within European cities (which are not connected by high speed rail) there are no Velocity partners, if you decide to fly within Asia i.e Vietnam to Hong Kong there are no partners, unless you fly via KL/Changhi (Singapore Air SC/miles coming soon). If you want to fly to/within South America, there are no partners.

This year I even considered for the SC/mileage earn rate, to fly to New York from Paris/Frankfurt to go via Abu Dhabi with Etihad because VS only flies out of London and Velocity has no European partner airline which flies to USA (delta codeshares with Air France/Lufthansa but you cant earn SC/miles on those codeshares). But because I didn't want to add 6-10 hours to my trip, I took the train to London and flew VS to New York.

These shortcomings can be solved by joining an alliance, 1World, Star Ally or Skyteam. Preferably the first two.

 

[pauly7]

Depends on the VS route though. SYD-HKG-LHR they fly A340-600 - I like them a lot, particularly the J class product. And I'm not sure how much worse they are than their competition on the USA-LON routes. I just don't like the lack of recognition of DJ status on VS.

Respectfully disagree, that was the plane and route I was referring to in my comment! Fail for me, but if they work for you then good luck

 

[dfcatch]

I dont know why people seem to place so much value in alliances, given the amount of complaints that surface here such as lounge access rights and the fact there is no benefit when it comes to extra baggage? There are obvious advantages but sometimes partnerships mean more to the customer than alliances!

Is there not a uniform *A baggage benefit?

I thought there was - I will check.......

Of course OW doesn't - which is annoying.

But everytime I fly AC I get additional (and free) & Priority based on my *Gold status (NZ).

 

[trooper]

Yes, *A does have a uniform baggage perquisite for elites (well, Gold anyway!)

Extra 20kg under "weight" rules, extra bag under "piece".... very handy sometimes....

I'm Gold through NZ too and have used that benefit on a bunch of *A airlines...

I generally have the most baggage when returning home from the USA (Big surprise there eh?) and have also found both UA and US to be more than happy to check the bags all the way home - on separate tickets. Much appreciated that, but I doubt it is a published benefit!

 

[airtraveladdict]

Is there not a uniform *A baggage benefit?

I thought there was - I will check.......

Of course OW doesn't - which is annoying.

But everytime I fly AC I get additional (and free) & Priority based on my *Gold status (NZ).

Yes Star Ally Gold FFer get an extra 20kg baggage regardless of travel class or 1 extra luggage depending on the airline.

Star Ally Gold FFers also get priority baggage, so your luggage gets unloaded first, not sure if 1World offers that.

1world is good because it grants platinum members access to first class lounges, whereas Star ally, i think the access is limited to business lounges for platinum/gold FFers etc.

 

[greenfish]

Respectfully disagree, that was the plane and route I was referring to in my comment! Fail for me, but if they work for you then good luck

No need to be respectful, I'm interested in your viewpoint. I guess from my view, the oldest A340-600 is only 9 years old - and I mostly fly the route in J on points - and have had a great experience. The IFE is great, service has been good, lounges (particularly Heathrow, with arrival lounge too) have been excellent. Love a quick freshly cooked Eggs Benedict before venturing off to the office in London.

My VS experiences have always been at least the equal if not better than DJ - VX has been fine, and I haven't flown V-Australia.... the silly thing is I won't fly VS in Economy as I get no lounge access - I'm much better off using my QF status to/from Europe when paying. I have less than no interest in flying via Abu Dhabi. I love stopping in HKG or SIN.

On topic, I don't think there will be much confusion for the average Australian flyer, as VS has such a minimal footprint in Oz - only 1 flight a day. But please, please for the FF, give us consistent lounge access, SC earn, points earn etc....