Virgin Australia ‘Platinum’ customer slams airline on TikTok

[Quickstatus]

I'm would rather pay for my own accom and transport there then claim back. That way I get to choose where I go and less likely to be miles away and less chance of the resultant queue to get on bus and then check in. Yes understand some can't afford it)

 

[PERLHR]

Sounds like you need to read the VA conditions of carriage. I’d start with section 12 which is most relevant to the news article.

Conditions of Carriage | Virgin Australia

These Conditions set out the basis on which we provide our services to you and, among other things, seek to make you aware of the unpredictable nature of air travel and the rights you have as a consumer. We recommend you read these Conditions carefully.

www.virginaustralia.com

My favourite is that VA can substitute the travel for another means if required. That means that if VA was fully booked from MEL-SYD and gave you a greyhounds ticket then technically they’re in the right although you also have the rights to ask for a refund. Section 12.5 says they’re also not eligible for any loss so I’m sorry to the person in the news article but by buying a VA ticket he’s agreed that he can’t claim his loss from them.

News flash is that the grass on the QF/JQ side is no greener and go overseas and things can get worse with ULCCs.

Ah but overseas or at least in Europe reg 261 gives good compensation no matter the carrier. Its time Aussie had something similar.

 

[henrus]

Europe reg 261 gives good compensation no matter the carrier

Yes and no… EU261 is great but I’d say the majority of customers have no clue it exists even then you just have to look at flyertalk to see the number of times people are automatically rejected and then after pushing they get it approved.

There also is a thread I think here on AFF of people in debt over claiming EU261 because they used a 3rd party site which then went under. Those who used the site were then chased by the carrier to cover legal fees.

 

[PERLHR]

Yes and no… EU261 is great but I’d say the majority of customers have no clue it exists even then you just have to look at flyertalk to see the number of times people are automatically rejected and then after pushing they get it approved.

There also is a thread I think here on AFF of people in debt over claiming EU261 because they used a 3rd party site which then went under. Those who used the site were then chased by the carrier to cover legal fees.

You could be right but it's quite straight forward. Used it twice with UK carrier easyJet. No issues.

 

[Vic]

Aside from a lawyer not reading the contract there is also the lawyer not reading the compensation policy.
I'm a bit confused by the OP saying it was SYD-MEL. In which case, a hotel might be irrelevant since I'd expect a Sydney based lawyer could just go home for the over night.

But another post said it was the return MEL-SYD.

Unpacking this in a few ways...

Googled his name and this is the 2nd result that comes up in google... "Best Law Firm Sydney"

That's a bold claim, cotton.

 

[Vic]

So I just watched the tikitok via the News corp story.

The hotel was in the middle of nowhere? Well MEL is in the middle of nowhere, so was it the holiday inn at MEL?
He said the hotel was run by "monkeys", racist much?

Signs off with "follow me for more legal tiktok". Yeah a lawyer who doesn't read the conditions of carriage - that'd be the blind leading the blind.

 

[Digicola]

Yes and no… EU261 is great but I’d say the majority of customers have no clue it exists even then you just have to look at flyertalk to see the number of times people are automatically rejected and then after pushing they get it approved.

There also is a thread I think here on AFF of people in debt over claiming EU261 because they used a 3rd party site which then went under. Those who used the site were then chased by the carrier to cover legal fees.

They recently changed legislation so people’s rights are clearly displayed at counters and staff are supposed to proactively explain options. Airlines are on the hook for severe fines for not adhering to these policies.

Flew Air France/KLM during last summer’s meltdown and they were always proactive, I had so many disruptions they compensated me 1600€ cash which pretty much ended up paying for my flights. No overnights so can’t chip in when it comes to accommodation. Money even hit my account within 2 weeks.

Wish we’d have that here, would keep the trio on their heels.

 

[JohnK]

Aside from a lawyer not reading the contract there is also the lawyer not reading the compensation policy.
I'm a bit confused by the OP saying it was SYD-MEL. In which case, a hotel might be irrelevant since I'd expect a Sydney based lawyer could just go home for the over night.

But another post said it was the return MEL-SYD.

Last month VA cancelled the last BNE-SYD for the night after we had boarded.

We live in Brisbane. My car was locked away in off airport car park. Should we have paid $100 each way in taxi, lug all bags around and come back in morning? I don't think so.

VA were offering $200 for hotel but cheapest hotel that weekend in Brisbabe was $400+. They took around 35 people to OOL in coach, stayed at airport hotel and out of OOL next day. We got to OOL after 1:00am.

Airlines have to take greater responsibility for delays/cancellations even if not their doing e.g weather related.

 

[AustSerbKor]

My 10 am flight SYD to BNE was cancelled with the replacement flight being 5 pm. Fortunately, the hotel allowed a late checkout but I'm sure Brisbane Airport parking will severely punish us for leaving almost 7 hours late. Of the last 6 Virgin flights, one was on-time, one was delayed by 20 minutes, 2 by an hour and 1 by 2 hours and today was cancelled. I'm going to Rex.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

My 10 am flight SYD to BNE was cancelled with the replacement flight being 5 pm. Fortunately, the hotel allowed a late checkout but I'm sure Brisbane Airport parking will severely punish us for leaving almost 7 hours late. Of the last 6 Virgin flights, one was on-time, one was delayed by 20 minutes, 2 by an hour and 1 by 2 hours and today was cancelled. I'm going to Rex.

I’ve only had ONE rex flight leave on time!!

The rest were all early!! (only 5 or so minutes… but nice to have on time departures!)

 

[Vic]

Last month VA cancelled the last BNE-SYD for the night after we had boarded.

We live in Brisbane. My car was locked away in off airport car park. Should we have paid $100 each way in taxi, lug all bags around and come back in morning? I don't think so.

VA were offering $200 for hotel but cheapest hotel that weekend in Brisbabe was $400+. They took around 35 people to OOL in coach, stayed at airport hotel and out of OOL next day. We got to OOL after 1:00am.

Airlines have to take greater responsibility for delays/cancellations even if not their doing e.g weather related.

Allegedly you're experienced traveller.

No, you dont pay for a taxi, VA gives you two taxi vouchers. Or you take the $200 for a hotel and use that money to pay for your taxi.

Interesting factoid, not sure why you'd want to make it so hard.

$100 taxi fare? You're not really living in Brisbane then. Logan city, or pine rivers. Not brisbane city.

Edit: and I guess the other point is that if VA offered you something beyond the contract conditions, then I'd say they are taking responsibility. If they did offer you more than what you agreed to in the contract, and you don't like it, well then don't buy the ticket. Don't accept the contract.

 

[JohnK]

Allegedly you're experienced traveller.

No, you dont pay for a taxi, VA gives you two taxi vouchers. Or you take the $200 for a hotel and use that money to pay for your taxi.

Interesting factoid, not sure why you'd want to make it so hard.

$100 taxi fare? You're not really living in Brisbane then. Logan city, or pine rivers. Not brisbane city.

VA doesn't give you money for hotel. You submit a claim with receipts.

We live past Brisbane City when coming from airport.

I'm a very experienced traveller. More experienced than most people I know but that doesn't mean I know everything or that I don't make mistakes but I'll keep pushing to get what I feel I'm owed.

 

[Quickstatus]

Whatever the compo, I think it would be unfair if some passengers get more reimbursement/compensation than others.

Reimbursement/compensation can't be unlimited. The disagreement is mainly the about the upper limit.

 

[lovestotravel]

I stopped and laughed at

“Now, under law they must provide me with a hotel, accommodation, and they must provide me transport. That’s the law. It’s the minimum that they can do,” he continued."

Not a very good lawyer it would seem

 

[Vic]

VA doesn't give you money for hotel. You submit a claim with receipts.

We live past Brisbane City when coming from airport.

I'm a very experienced traveller. More experienced than most people I know but that doesn't mean I know everything or that I don't make mistakes but I'll keep pushing to get what I feel I'm owed.

Well, then claim the costs back. I really don't understand what you're trying to say that's relevant to the topic of a lawyer who falsely claims the contract conditions don't exist.

It was very clear to me that my recent VA flight change by 5 hours meant it was entirely possible for me to claim back any extra costs for airport parking caused by the delay. Luckily, the airport parking did not charge me extra and so I didn't need to claim.

Live past Brisbane city? - Yes, I get that point, A $100 taxi fare from Brisbane airport is extremely unlikely to still be in Brisbane City Council area. It's $93 to Ipswich for example. Ipswich is NOT in Brisbane.

 

[JohnK]

Well, then claim the costs back. I really don't understand what you're trying to say that's relevant to the topic of a lawyer who falsely claims the contract conditions don't exist.

You mentioned that anyone living in the same city as the airport should be able to go home. Not always possible. My car is in Alpha airport parking near Brisbane airport. They are not open 24 hours.

Taxi may not be $100 but it's probably $50-$60. Who cares? I don't want to pay. I refuse to use taxi to/from airport in BNE now I have a car.

It was after 9:00pm when we found out what VA were doing. Go back home in taxi and lug everything upstairs. Then lug everything back downstairs at 2:30am to make 6:00am flight comfortably.

The lawyer may be exaggerating but not everyone exaggerates and some people who do not understand their rights suffer so VA executives can continue to be paid handsomely.

P.S. the pilot must have been extremely close to maximum operating hours and waiting for connecting passengers that were delayed by 30 minutes would have put the pilot over. That's gross mismanagement to be running things that tight.

And did I mention that someone on our cancelled flight had a 6:00am flight the next day from SYD to Japan on another carrier on separate tickets. God they must be stupid for not leaving enough time to get to SYD. I don't know what happened but think they tried to drive down to SYD.

Let's leave it at that as we're not likely to agree on anything.

 

[simmomelb]

You mentioned that anyone living in the same city as the airport should be able to go home. Not always possible. My car is in Alpha airport parking near Brisbane airport. They are not open 24 hours.

Taxi may not be $100 but it's probably $50-$60. Who cares? I don't want to pay. I refuse to use taxi to/from airport in BNE now I have a car.

It was after 9:00pm when we found out what VA were doing. Go back home in taxi and lug everything upstairs. Then lug everything back downstairs at 2:30am to make 6:00am flight comfortably.

Valid points and I thought I might chime in here, for what it is worth.
In my experience, and I think I fly quite a lot, the 2 major airlines, Qantas & Virgin Australia are much the same in what they offer for flight cancellations - ie they won't just hand out cash easily without some effort by passengers, and by law, they don't need to.
Jetstar - good luck getting anything.
I agree that you should not be out of pocket, to a point, with any airline, although there has to be a cap on this to avoid being abused (some will try).
Obviously missing your international flight from a delayed/cancelled domestic flight wouldn't be covered, they never are, unless you've booked both the domestic and international on a single booking.
I certainly wouldn't be booking the last flight out of an airport for the day, for an international flight first thing in the AM at the next airport (that's clearly a risk).
$200 is adequate for most travellers, perhaps in very special circumstances and with proof this could be higher, such as no hotel availability in the area for less than $350 for the night (if you do not live near the departure city), should be fully covered, along with your ride to and from the said hotel.
I feel, however, unless consumer laws are changed here for flight cancellations, the chance of any airline being more generous, is highly unlikely, for obvious reasons.
Airlines only appear generous in Europe as they have been forced by law, to offer much more in compensation.

 

[Vic]

You mentioned that anyone living in the same city as the airport should be able to go home. Not always possible. My car is in Alpha airport parking near Brisbane airport. They are not open 24 hours.

Taxi may not be $100 but it's probably $50-$60. Who cares? I don't want to pay. I refuse to use taxi to/from airport in BNE now I have a car.

What you'll find I said is that someone in their home city does not need a hotel.
You said the taxi was $100 each way. Now that story has changed? Who cares? Well getting the details correct is very important to people trying to draw valid conclusions about the information provided.

We live in Brisbane. My car was locked away in off airport car park. Should we have paid $100 each way in taxi, lug all bags around and come back in morning? I don't think so.

I did not say you should pay. I actually said all you had to do was ask for two taxi vouchers from VA. You don't want to pay for extra cost over $200 for the VA provided hotel. You're not happy with the idea of VA paying for a taxi. I guess the only solution is to sleep on the floor at the airport. I'm reading a whole heap of backflips and twists in this story that only seem to add up to excuses for personal choices.

It's pretty hard to agree with an inconsistent and illogical story.

 

[JohnK]

What you'll find I said is that someone in their home city does not need I did not say you should pay. I actually said all you had to do was ask for two taxi vouchers from VA. You don't want to pay for extra cost over $200 for the VA provided hotel. You're not happy with the idea of VA paying for a taxi. I guess the only solution is to sleep on the floor at the airport. I'm reading a whole heap of backflips and twists in this story that only seem to add up to excuses for personal choices.

It's pretty hard to agree with an inconsistent and illogical story.

Illogical? OK. AFL weekend, hotels in BNE were full. I think backpackers had some rooms. I guessed taxi was $100 each way. I checked taxi app and it's $50-$60 each way.

You think I should be happy to pay $450 for hotel and get $200 back from VA? Who would be happy with that deal? Kind of negates the $360 I paid for the airfares in the first place.

By the way it took a long time for VA to start organising things that night.

Anyway it's over now. I'll have to try and get back from travel insurance for the lost hotel night in SYD and another lost night in Pattaya.

 

[stm1sydney]

It's not confusing at all. Virgin breached its contract with the passenger, causing the passenger loss. Therefore Virgin must compensate those losses. That's a basic principle of contract law in every common law country.

You might want to read the contract. The lawyers from gthe "best law firm in Sydney" didn't either. I, for one, won't be instructing him any time soon.