Virgin Removes Free Changes on Economy Choice Fares

Virgin Australia has quietly introduced a $99 fee to change Economy Choice tickets more than 14 days before departure. There was previously no fee for this.

Virgin Australia offers three categories of Economy airfares: Lite, Choice or Flex. Economy Lite fares are the cheapest, but most restrictive. Economy Choice fares are typically around $20 more expensive than Economy Lite and offer greater flexibility. Flex tickets are the most flexible, but are significantly more expensive.

Until 31 August 2023, there was no fee for Virgin Australia customers to change Economy Choice tickets on domestic or international short-haul flights more than 14 days prior to the scheduled departure. Customers could change their flight one time for no fee – only paying any fare difference that may apply.

But on 1 September, as pointed out by samas on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum, Virgin introduced a $99 fee for changes made to Economy Choice bookings more than a fortnight in advance. This is the same fee that applies to changes made closer to the departure time.

If you originally booked your ticket before 1 September 2023, the old rule will continue to apply.

Here’s the new list of change fees on domestic fares, as per the Virgin Australia website:

The website says this in the fine print regarding changes made more than 14 days prior to scheduled departure on Economy Choice tickets:

For bookings made with Virgin Australia prior to 1 September 2023, for domestic and international short haul flights operated by Virgin Australia, the fee will be $0 plus fare difference for the first change a guest makes to their booking, and any subsequent changes will be subject to the fees outlined the table above.

Economy Choice fares are not refundable, but can be converted into a travel credit for a $99 fee.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.