Virgin changing us to an EARLIER flight with only 90 minutes notice
 

Virgin is succeeding where the greenies have failed - they are discouraging people from flying.

Ironic for an industry which has requested and received so much taxpayer support the last few years.

Monday 30/5/22, my relatives were returning from SYD to MEL having flown up the Sunday for a Monday morning funeral.
They were booked on VOZ898 departing SYD at 2200, so we had some time together after the funeral.
At 1830, we get an email advising that 898 has been cancelled, and have been moved to VOZ888 departing at 2000. From our location, we could not make that flight which was to start boarding only 1 hour after the email was sent!
We called Virgin, and endured a (predictably) long hold. It was "explained" that the weather in MEL meant flight arrivals late yesterday evening had been cancelled. A quick check of FlightAware showed that was a lie.
We were then told that we could catch a later flight from SYD to Gold Coast, and then a flight from Gold Coast to MEL. So a plane could apparently fly into MEL late last night after all - so long as the plane had warmed up in Queensland before flying to MEL.
We then asked Virgin to transfer us to the 2200 Qantas flight which was still scheduled and showing capacity. "No, we can't do that."
[size=13px]So we had no choice but to paid $600 last minute for 3 seats one-way on the 2200 Qantas flight. If we couldn't make the 2000 flight, Virgin said the only alternative was to stay in SYD last night and return this morning.[/size]

We then discovered that the 2000 VOZ888 had departed SYD at 2200 (at the scheduled time for VOZ898). This seemed curious in light of previous information that Wx had caused the cancellation of VOZ898.

It's impossible to speak with anyone, and you are left on hold with "longer than usual wait times."

Not good enough Virgin. Not nearly good enough.

Sounds like the weather was causing aircraft to run behind schedule.
The 2200 would have been too late for Sydney curfew. So cancelled.
They offered you the only available one left at 2000 scheduled. You couldn’t make it. So they offered you via Gold Coast or the next day. Not sure what you want?

This is a pilot rumour forum. Not a passenger have a whinge forum. Go complain on social media where someone from the company can actually address your concerns.

Yeah, get off here mate, or show us your pilots licence to confirm access where you can then whinge to your hearts content.

That would be good in theory. Unfortunately Virgin have not replied to repeated emails nor phone calls. Nor has Jayne. Hence my post.

You pilots may as well know what your front of house looks like. It sucks.

A quick look at anyone of several product review sites demonstrates this is a wider business failing - not an isolated weather issue.

Replying to above
If they had said the 2200 was cancelled and we were rebooked on the 2000 - which will be running late..... no problem.
However they insisted we be at airport by 1920 for the 2000 - which then departed at 2200.

You would understand the problem if it happened to you.

Businesses that don't understand their customers often become ex-businesses.

Virgin: Been there, done that.

It sounds frustrating, but what can they do better other than answer the phone more quickly? (Which is one of my pet peeves, especially banks...) They can't book you on Qantas, and may not have know the 2000 would depart 2200. Only thing I can see is maybe pay airport hotel for catching the next days flight, I've had that a couple of times on internationals but it's a stretch on domestic.

Clearly you have no idea around the disruptions being caused in SE Australia due to the westerlies. If you were an aviation professional in any capacity, you would. I concur with the others, find a more appropriate platform to air your grievances.

It's not an issue of Wx disruptions. It is about communication.

Anyway as you say I am not a pilot. I am a critical care physician (who devoted significant time on these pages in early 2020 trying to explain what was coming down the pike). I use to be a DAME (that juice wasn't worth the squeeze), and also served with RAAF SR. I have many pilot friends (both QF and VA) with whom I sympathised during a long and uncertain furlough. So I believe I have slightly more than a passing everyday familiarity with aviation operations.

The airline front of house sucks. Don't blame me if it drags you down.

Anyway I'll leave you to it. At least I got more responses in 2 hours here than in 2 weeks from VA "customer service."

80 per cent of my family and close friends’ circle are in health varying in roles from consultants to nursing to OTs and physios. According to your reasoning, I should be able to pass judgement on their professions and workplace without rebuke. Do I? No. Do they on my profession? No.
You sound like a typical boomer senior doctor/consultant/surgeon (which my friends hate) that thinks the world revolves around them. Accept that sh*t happened on the day that wasn’t ideal, and most of all, it wasn’t personal.

One of the long term consequences of Covid has been an increasingly polarised and intolerant society. We are more divided on age, ethnicity, SES, profession.... than previously. Divide and conquer.

Your missing the point or creating a strawman - I'm not sure which.
I accept Wx cancellations if that is what it was
I wasn't passing judgement on a pilots decision to divert, or to reject a runway due to excessive x-wind, or any other operational decision. Never have and never will.
I was saying that it is piss poor for an airline to send an email (which you may not receive) at 1830 advising you that your flight is departing at 2000 instead of 2200. And it is.

Would I expect you to pass judgement on my clinical skills? Not really as you aren't a SME.
Would I expect you to pass judgement if my receptionist was inefficient, rude and dismissive? Sure, as this complaint falls within the purview of the lay public.

One sad legacy about 9/11 is that is has encouraged many (not all) airline personnel to see pax as complainers and potential threats - not paying customers. That attitude is a slippery slope that doesn't end well.

Awwwwwww!!!!!

Poor didums.....!!!!!

why don't you take the bus? I think your more suited for that......
or even better.. go take Jet*

Crikey - cut the guy some slack!

I cant say I blame him - being told to move to a flight two hours earlier with only 90 minutes notice kind of sucks, particularly in Sydney where the travel times can make that sort of change near on impossible.

If it was me who had my flight changed like that I would be a tad annoyed - though I would have angled for them to pay accom for the night.

Calm you arrogance dude.

Pilot or not all he is commenting on is appalling customer service and the really sad news is that the other lot are no better.

Could be wrong, but I suspect that tossbag was taking the piss! But thanks to you and DHdriver for speaking up - I'm of the view that the OP's "whinge" was quite appropriate (although the SLF forum may have been more appropriate) and some of the replies from "professional pilots" were disappointing to this SLF who also has a long-term history with, and interest in, the aviation world.

Many of us had the backs of pilots during periods of nasty treatment by Head Offices - is a bit of respect in return too much to ask?

Edit: Sorry, replying to the post by a_ross84.

Slats, thanks for your post, apologies for those “professional pilots” disrespectfull replies

You're preaching to the choir man! We have to deal with this level of monumental incompetence on a daily basis. We're quite often finishing shifts many hours late, and whilst this doesn't usually impact us financially as directly as it did in your scenario, it's extremely disruptive to our lives and families, which is priceless really.

In a way, I envy passengers like your family who only get screwed over once in a blue moon.

Of course none of this excuses the treatment of your family. I'd be well pissed off in their situation as well.

Apologies for some of the more uncouth replies.

I am sure the OP just needed to vent. It's a pretty poor show by the airline to suddenly shift a booking with little time to rearrange plans.
Do you have access to a financial advise column in a newspaper? Often they can get a much better and faster response than by going through the so-called official channels which appear to be designed to dissuade people from making legitimate claims. Failing that, there's Twitter.

Absolutely a waste of time whinging here. No one at virgin cares and to be honest neither do the pilots who work there.

Look at all the Virgin pilots telling Slats to pull his head in. Fark off. You're a bunch of d!cks. I am a professional pilot which apparently you have to be to comment here. And I travel a lot as pax for my duties. No airline FARKS me around more than VA. It is a **** airline, end of story.

Media today reporting big delays at check in due long weekend. That is totally ops normal for VA. Do self serve check in, then line up for 50 minutes just to do bag drop. What a **** fight. Never differs. So many of my flights get cancelled, QF love to do that too.

Go for your life guys, shoot me down, but I'm with slats -
​​​​****, low cost, bottom shelf, poor excuse for an airline.

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