Virgin Australia Middle Seat Lottery

[ferntree]

Have you ever been on a quality cruise line?

Have you ever heard of humour?

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Its them standing out from the crowd.
Its the wow factor.
Imagine what Rex's FF program will be like, if it ever eventuates.
Its now the start of the 4th quarter in the year, and still no news out of Rex.
If VA can take the oomph out of Rex, they probably have from this one.
Plus not to forget, Bonza is coming, too.
Will VA stand out, probably.
Will it work, probably.
On a 4 quarter equal stepping stone, will VA be ahead of the 3rd and 4th, probably.
QF is putting themselves at a disservice by the way they treat their customers, ie, when AFF members call the outsourced call centre up, no one there takes responsibility, not AJ, not the managers, but at the least JH is ahead by making her voice heard, by being out there.
I think that AJ has a long way to go, to be on the stage of what VA is.
Has QF even advertised on TV of late, ... see.
VA is doing Brand Recognition.

 

[JohnK]

@AIRwin what's the reference to middle seat lottery? I've watched video but may have missed the point.

 

[AIRwin]

@AIRwin what's the reference to middle seat lottery? I've watched video but may have missed the point.

@Mattg's article may help:

Virgin Australia Launches Middle Seat Lottery

Nobody really likes sitting in the dreaded centre seat, but Virgin Australia has launched a fun Middle Seat Lottery to make it a little less terrible.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[JohnK]

Thanks @AIRwin read the test.

So I sit in a middle seat to have a chance to win a one in a lifetime prize?

No thanks. Powerball $160 million this week. I'll spend $50 and I'll have exactly the same chance of winning. Starts with a B and ends in S....

 

[jakeseven7]

Look its a good old tacky gimmick to get some media PR, remember their target market isn't frequent business / corporates / government or premium customers anymore, very clearly

 

[RooFlyer]

As I'm currently migrating myself to Virgin, I love this type of promotion, along with the 'Swicheroo' status promotion. Not that I'd be seen dead in a middle seat (but I am using the status challenge to get to Plat tomorrow) but I like an airline that shows a bit of imagination and, dare I say it, generosity to its passengers, as opposed to the incessant grinding down of amenity by guess-who.

If they hadn't done the middle seat lottery thing, no-one would have noticed, no-one would have complained. But now there are a few who are VERY happy with a cruise, and there will be more who are very happy with some more points, for the usually coughpy experience of sitting in a middle seat. Much better this type of lottery than the expensive daily one that everyone takes with the other mob!

 

[ferntree]

As I'm currently migrating myself to Virgin, I love this type of promotion, along with the 'Swicheroo' status promotion. Not that I'd be seen dead in a middle seat (but I am using the status challenge to get to Plat tomorrow) but I like an airline that shows a bit of imagination and, dare I say it, generosity to its passengers, as opposed to the incessant grinding down of amenity by guess-who.

If they hadn't done the middle seat lottery thing, no-one would have noticed, no-one would have complained. But now there are a few who are VERY happy with a cruise, and there will be more who are very happy with some more points, for the usually coughpy experience of sitting in a middle seat. Much better this type of lottery than the expensive daily one that everyone takes with the other mob!

Congrats on doing the challenge!

To your comments (which generally I'd agree with) I'd just add one thing.

It seems to me a very clever trick to give 10,000 velocity points to everyone else (i.e. not in a middle seat). I'd hazard a guess that a substantial number, possibly the majority, would not have already been Velocity members. In order to get any benefit from the points they'd have to join. That in itself gives them an incentive to keep flying with Virgin.

 

[HeavyElectricity]

Winning the middle seat lottery might not be as low odds as you might think (still wouldn't make me deliberately choose a middle seat, but it's a nice thing if you find yourself there). To be eligible in a given week:

• Sit in a middle seat
• Be over 18
• Be an Australian resident
• Be a velocity member
• Have the Virgin Australia app
• Remember to press the button in the app within 48 hours of the flight
• Not be traveling on staff travel / employees etc

 

[AIRwin]

Winning the middle seat lottery might not be as low odds as you might think (still wouldn't make me deliberately choose a middle seat, but it's a nice thing if you find yourself there).

Travel outside peak periods when the whole row is empty anyway?

 

[Mattg]

Travel outside peak periods when the whole row is empty anyway?

I was thinking that - what's stopping you choosing an empty row at the back of the plane, selecting a B or E seat but then moving to the window after takeoff?

(Of course, this assumes the flight is not full - something that is becoming rarer these days.)

 

[ferntree]

Of course, this assumes the flight is not full - something that is becoming rarer these days.

There, I fear, lies the problem! You could end up heinously trapped!

 

[jase05]

I can see this being a great initiative for families in Y, all you need to do is “nominate“ one of the adults to the middle seat to enter the draw

 

[HS-TQE]

Look its a good old tacky gimmick to get some media PR, remember their target market isn't frequent business / corporates / government or premium customers anymore, very clearly

It's something that the Value Alliance carriers like Scoot and Jeju would clearly do

 

[BAM1748]

Thanks @AIRwin read the test.

So I sit in a middle seat to have a chance to win a one in a lifetime prize?

No thanks. Powerball $160 million this week. I'll spend $50 and I'll have exactly the same chance of winning. Starts with a B and ends in S....

Yes, how many middle seats do they have out there and how many prizes are they offering. Like you not interested in a middle seat.

 

[MattA]

Yes, how many middle seats do they have out there and how many prizes are they offering. Like you not interested in a middle seat.

Well there's 28 3x3 rows in Y on a VA 737, so up to 56 potential entries per flight, multiplied by however many flights they run in a week (it's one prize per week). Obviously not every middle seat will be occupied and not everyone will enter, but still I don't think it's worth sitting in the middle just to enter this competition.

I can see this being a great initiative for families in Y, all you need to do is “nominate“ one of the adults to the middle seat to enter the draw

Ah good call. Have some family Y travel coming up over the summer--we're taking a whole row anyway, so just reassigned myself to the middle seat (with no intention of actually sitting there).

 

[ferntree]

Like you not interested in a middle seat.

Me neither ... but you have to admit that this promo has created a lot of noise and a lot of publicity for Virgin, which I suspect was the main point of the exercise.

 

[dairyfloss]

Can I enter by sitting on the armrest between 1A & 1C for a bit?

 

[AIRwin]

Can I enter by sitting on the armrest between 1A & 1C for a bit?

If it's an A320 or all Economy B737-700

 

[klymen]

I can see this being a great initiative for families in Y, all you need to do is “nominate“ one of the adults to the middle seat to enter the draw

Even better if you happen to be WP and are going to be sitting in EconX with the family anyway. Prizes are pretty niche for a number of the weeks, though, unless you happen to be a raving AFL fan.

Middle Seat Lottery terms and conditions

www.virginaustralia.com