Velocity reward bookings on cancelled VS SYD-HKG

[roby]

Just wondering if there is anyone who were caught up in the cancellation of VS' HKG-SYD service? I have a Velocity reward booking on this route booked before the cancellation announcement. First called VA who said VS would handle this. Then called VS who happily put me on a CX flight on the outbound and QF flight on the return. These flights are both showing as confirmed in VA's Sabre system but the problem is no one knows how to ticket it. VS said it was issued by VA so they can't re issue the ticket but VA said they had no relationship with either CX or QF so they can't either. Basically I am stuck. Anyone has had any luck in situation like this?

 

[smit0847]

I would consider being moved from VS J to CX J to be a significant upgrade!

 

[bullerdude]

Its a VA reward flight so I would be calling the VA Plat line and strong requesting that they deal with the problem, even if that means calling you back when they figure it out.

 

[roby]

Apparently all partner bookings are dealt with in their Manila call centre. Even the Plat line would only be able to transfer me to Manila.

They have told me to wait but there is no timeframe. The last thing I want is they call me back and tell me the only option is refund then I would lose all the precious time looking for alternatives.

 

[roby]

For those interested, VS even though reacommendated me on CX and QF, they must ask VA to reissue the ticket but VA couldn't because they didn't have an agreement with CX. The only option they offered me was a reward seat using their own partners without aditional points. Due to availability, in the end I was offered SYD-BNE-SIN-HKG on EY and SQ with an overnight in SIN and an extra night in HKG. They refused to put me on any revenue class. Had no choice so took the offer. The only consolation is guest relations offered to reimburse accommodation and food and transport in both SIN and HKG. Not being in an alliance can really turn things into nightmares.

 

[Must...Fly!]

When you compare to how QFF deal with disrupts and flight changes, Velocity sure is a muddled mess.

 

[anat0l]

Idiots. Naturally VA are the agent in this case and only they can re-issue the e-tickets. I don't quite see how their unable to normally ticket on CX or QF should affect this, especially if it was a change instigated in the guise of irregular operations / cancellation.

Don't forget that VA use QF at some points in the network in "emergency" situations, like equipment disruptions. I guess some of them may be under airport control which can help, but still.

I hope Virgin Australia and/or VA in general can look into this deficiency (whether it be a staff training and/or system based deficiency), because the situation they put the OP in is unacceptable.

IME if things are OK and honky-dory, the international / Partners call centre does a satisfactory job, but when things get difficult / heated / out of the ordinary, I'm sorry but they are useless.

 

[roby]

Idiots. Naturally VA are the agent in this case and only they can re-issue the e-tickets. I don't quite see how their unable to normally ticket on CX or QF should affect this, especially if it was a change instigated in the guise of irregular operations / cancellation.

Don't forget that VA use QF at some points in the network in "emergency" situations, like equipment disruptions. I guess some of them may be under airport control which can help, but still.

I hope Virgin Australia and/or VA in general can look into this deficiency (whether it be a staff training and/or system based deficiency), because the situation they put the OP in is unacceptable.

IME if things are OK and honky-dory, the international / Partners call centre does a satisfactory job, but when things get difficult / heated / out of the ordinary, I'm sorry but they are useless.

They said that they can put you on QF at the airport when their is airport disuption but in terms of ticketing this is a different ballgame.

The big issue is their international redemption team in Manila operates as if they are a completely separate company. Their Australia call centre has no procedures to either take over or interfere in any way. The only people within the whole company who were willing to help were Guest Relations but unfortunately they don't deal with issues pre flight so they have offered to reimburse $220 for hotel, $50 for food, and taxi fares when I come back from my trip.

Even though I accepted the offer because I can afford a couple of extra days off work, I don't see it would be acceptable for most other travellers when a direct flight became 3 flights with a long stopover. It's even harder to imagine if there was no reward seat available even on EY. I was even thinking to ask them to look at Silkair via Darwin.

 

[Princess Fiona]

That's pretty awful actually IMHO.
A SYD-HKG became a SYD-BNE-SIN-HKG?
I know the mantra on here is why fly direct and all but that's just ridiculous.

 

[smit0847]

That's pretty awful actually IMHO.
A SYD-HKG became a SYD-BNE-SIN-HKG?
I know the mantra on here is why fly direct and all but that's just ridiculous.

I'd be posting this on the Velocity facebook page - if it gains enough traction they may be able to make some magic happen....

 

[bullerdude]

That's pretty awful actually IMHO.
A SYD-HKG became a SYD-BNE-SIN-HKG?
I know the mantra on here is why fly direct and all but that's just ridiculous.

That is ridiculous and poor form by Virgin Australia. I would email the Platinum line and stronly request your email be forwarded to a guest experience coordinator in the office of the CEO - these are the people that seem to have the power to make things happen.

Late last year I was given the ring around by the call centre and the platinum email people (i.e. they both said to contact the other) and after sending a strongly worded but polite email they were able to fix everything. Worth noting this were preflight changes they had to fix.

 

[Velocity Frequent Flyer]

Hi Roby,

I'd like to have a look at your booking to see if there are any other options. Can you please private message me with your booking reference number?

Thanks.

 

[bullerdude]

Hi Roby,

I'd like to have a look at your booking to see if there are any other options. Can you please private message me with your booking reference number?

Thanks.

Thumbs Up

 

[anat0l]

Thumbs Up

Did it have to get to this, though? (Same with when things need to be escalated at Qantas to Red Roo...)

 

[Princess Fiona]

Did it have to get to this, though? (Same with when things need to be escalated at Qantas to Red Roo...)

No it shouldn't have, but it's fantastic that we have the Reps here to escalate.

 

[anat0l]

No it shouldn't have, but it's fantastic that we have the Reps here to escalate.

Fair enough; we sometimes easily take for granted how lucky we are on this forum.

 

[roby]

Hi Roby,

I'd like to have a look at your booking to see if there are any other options. Can you please private message me with your booking reference number?

Thanks.

Hi there, thanks for your effort to try and sort this out. One of the supervisors called me back and left a message (judging by his accent I guess he is based in Manila) and advised me that he has looked at all the options for me and found no availability on Singapore Airlines and he apologised for the inconvenience. End of call. I do not intend to chase it up any further as I have now made plans in SIN and thought I might as well make the most of my night there.

I think now it all comes down to VA not having a procedure to book people on a revenue ticket when there are flight disruptions. Not being in an alliance, VA relies on reward seats on very few Velocity partner airlines which happen to be very stingy in releasing reward seats, namely SQ and NZ particularly in premium cabins. In my case, SQ simply had no Business availability from any of the cities they serve in Australia. Before this contact, your Velocity team had already informed me that they had looked at every possibility and could not find a seat for me and the only option was refund until I suggested EY via SIN. They also could not find a seat on SQ between SIN and HKG until I looked at one of my other Star Alliance accounts which allows me to check reward seat availability so I could read back the flight number for Velocity team to book. I just can't imagine what would happen to a regular traveller who knows very little about routes Velocity partners serve and don't know how to check reward seat availability. As I mentioned I was even ready to ask them to check Silkair via Darwin if EY failed.

My suggestion is VA should look at having a policy to book people on a revenue ticket or see the benefits an alliance (Star Alliance) can bring to customers. At the moment, you can't even issue different airline partners on a single ticket. A redemption ticket should never be considered less confirmed than a revenue ticket and not be protected when there is a disruption.

 

[n7of9]

I just can't imagine what would happen to a regular traveller who knows very little...

they'd probably eat poo and take the refund thinking they had no options