Hi Slats.
I’ve no doubt the childish responses here have affirmed that you made the right decision by working in medicine rather than aviation
Regrettably, I chose the opposite to you and have lifelong regret.
Your situation with VA sounds sh*t. But it’s not abnormal, or isolated to Virgin. All Australian airlines have these problems, and Qantas seem the worst of the lot atm. All Australian airlines are a sh*t show.
No baggage handlers, understaffed engineering, crap communication, joke call centres - and most importantly management who ignore these issues and just walk away with their bonuses.
They really are ignorant to how pissed off people are - but as tech crew, we can’t change it. We don’t control culture, or honesty, or customer service. And most of us who are professional pilots are very embarrassed by it all.
I have a friend who called me last week. She’s had her Japan flights cancelled 5 times in the last 3 years. Each time, she has spent 8 hours on hold trying to rebook with her credit as they refused a refund. Last week, despite saying she desperately wanted to support an Australian carrier, she booked with Air Japan and says she will never travel with an Australian airline again. I asked what would need for her to change that opinion and she said “when I don’t have to spend 40 hours on hold while simultaneously watching a news article on the airline’s CEO buying a new $19m property in Sydney, I’ll think about it.”
Yes it’s bad. And yes it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Most of my colleagues think Australia is closer to a big airline hull loss than its ever been before. The Swiss cheese is lining up. Loading errors. Baggage carts driven into fuselages. Pilots running 2-3 hours late and fatigued every single day because there’s a 20 knot westerly in Sydney or no tug drivers in Melbourne.
If nothing else, I’m glad you were able to attend the funeral and spend time with your family.