Qantas' Pain = Virgin's Gain!
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- Опубликовано: 26 сен 2024
- I've been a Qantas Platinum Frequent Flyer for about 15 years and pre-covid would average 40-50 flights a year with them. At the end of September this year my membership year rolls over so by then I need to earn enough Status Credits by flying Qantas to ensure I retain Platinum. Every year retaining Platinum was always my first priority when working out what flights to book.
However, this year, for the first time ever, I have no real motivation or desire to even try to requalify for Platinum status.
Sadly I know I’m not the only one feeling this way and it shows the huge underlying problem Qantas is facing as it’s once loyal customers turn their back on what was a great airline.
But what’s the alternative? Can Virgin Australia really compete? Is Qanta’s Pain really Virgin’s Gain? Is it time to swap sides?
Watch this video and let’s find out. On a recent regular trip from Adelaide to Sydney I flew Virgin Australia to see how they compare. In doing so I know I made reattaining Qantas Platinum even harder for myself. But I did save $300 on the return trip so the decision was a no brainer.
This Virgin Australia flight review covers my Boeing 737 flight from Sydney to Adelaide in economy class. It’s a standard business route flown by both business and leisure travellers day in day out. It competes directly with Qantas flying the same aircraft type so the perfect opportunity to see how they compare.
Thanks for taking the time to watch this video. If you liked it please subscribe and check out my channel where my back catalogue includes flights all over the world in economy through to first class suites. There’s a lot more on the way too.
Happy travels
Dennis
#Qantas #Virgin #flightreview
Qantas has been destroyed by its own greedy hands. Great and helpful staff who unfortunately will be feeling the backlash of disappointed Qantas customers. Virgin has been a better option for myself for years.
I'm glad you posted this video as an unbiased comparison of the two airlines. Cheers for the great and always informative videos.
I switched from Qantas to Ansett in the 90's, and then to Virgin, I like pretty much everything about them. They even saved my points and flight credits when they went into administration and were reborn. My brother used to fly Qantas for business from Perth all over Australia, but like yourself, switched to Virgin years ago when they fiddled with the Frequent Flyer scheme. He has never looked back. Virgin is not run by a show pony.
Beautiful views of the Illawarra! Often considered as Australia’s most beautiful region according to my mate Geoff. And I agree with you. I’m also a big QF fanboy but the lack of competition had enabled QF HQ to stop caring. VA are great but the lack of wide bodies, international routes and alliance membership holds them back too. I’d also worry about their ownership being Bain… I share your pessimism about QF’s future and mirroring of BA… 😢
Hi legend
Virgin are looking at re-listing on the asx by the end of the year
VA has codeshares with other airlines e.g. SQ but I'm not sure how much they've been impacted by the pandemic
Sorry the original video uploaded an hour ago had some technical issues with the audio. So this a reupload. Subscribers with the Notification Bell turned on will think they're seeing double :) sorry.
I just flew from Melbourne to London, stopping midway to Singapore to refuel. I bought first class tickets on qantas for the way back and business class tickets for the way there. Total $16,500. On the way back in FIrst class. Singapore to Sydney the First class seat broke. It wouldn't recline nor move. My compensation from Qantas. 10,000 Qantas points... I can't even fly Melbourne to Sydney on those points. Huge let down.
Update. This was my response from Qantas after posting a complaint at the minimal compensation. - "Dear Andrew
Thank you for your recent correspondence and taking the time to follow up.
We are sorry that you remain unhappy with our response to concerns you raised. We have once again reviewed your case and having considered all the circumstances carefully, we feel that the response was appropriate on this occasion.
While we understand that this is not the response that you had anticipated, we regret that we cannot take any further action. We are sorry that this outcome cannot be more favorable and trust that you will understand our position on this issue.
Thank you again for taking the time to write to us.
Kind Regards
Caroline
Qantas Customer Care Team"
@@wolvwwc That reads like someone is punching you in the face while apologising for doing it. Yeah sorry mate - to pay what you did and have a seat that belongs on a low cost carrier budget flight is mind boggling.
That would be a deal breaker for me. Premium price should equal flawless service.
@@GlasgowCelticBhoy thanks. It certainly has me questioning keeping Gold status...
That’s really awful, the service and the recovery, or lack thereof.
Your lucky. There was an incident a few years ago when a qantas plane broke down in, I think Singapore or Bangkok,can't remember. Anyhow another plane was coming in behind it. A passenger in first class on the second plane got kicked of so as a passenger on the first plane could take his seat. Who was that passenger from the first plane? Alan Joyce. The man has no shame.
Dennis been watching and enjoying your videos for many years now and never felt the need to make a comment. I am a Qantas Platinum One and have been for more than 5 years now and for the last few years have been saying exactly what you have said in this video about Qantas and how they treat their high end Frequent Flyers and all their customers in general, they just simply don’t care. There is honestly no difference in the level of recognition to a Gold Qantas FF verse a Platinum One Qantas FF. I made the choice a year ago to move over to Virgin and loving the change. I will now probably end up as a Platinum FF with both airlines simply only because Virgin don’t offer the international flights I need, but will always use them on domestic routes over Qantas. It’s a sad time as I’ve been a loyal supporter and FF with Qantas for over 40 years, and only those of us that have flown that long really can see and understand how things have changed for the worse, and it still leaves me with a heavy heart that the current leadership of Qantas has turned this once great airline with fabulous staff and employees into what it is today.
This is the type of feedback the Qantas board need to be listening to. Alan Joyce is making a profit now but is rapidly destroying Qantas and in a few years time I expect they will be paying the price of his ruthless and heartless approach to staff and customers.
Definitely agree that Virgin is a much better alternative! Reliable and friendly crew with great services!
I am a Virgin frequent flyer and I love the airline to bits so it’s great to see you give them a go. You were probably better off in the terminal as the lounge in Sydney leaves a lot to be desired. You certainly got the best views where you were!
Hi Dennis - great review. One small input, Ansett actually redeveloped that whole terminal about a year before they closed so one can probably credit them for this - they invested heavily in much of what you see today, although I must say the addition of shops and restaurants since has been credit to Sydney Airport.
Been flying VA for some years now. My last experience with Qantas left me very underwhelmed.
I do hope Qantas can turn around, but Jetstar seem to be the albatross around their neck.
Good video, mate.
perhaps Qantas needs to go into administration for something to change.
Nice one Dennis.
I don't fly Qantas often, but when I do, I'm reminded why I prefer Virgin. Virgin have always been great; friendly and engaging staff and don't seem to take the punter for granted as much as how I'm left feeling after a Qantas experience.
Its the same on international flights. Qantas really need to step up their game if they want to prevent a BA repeat as you fear.
Hi Dennis. I got VA to match my QF platnium status by emailing them. I was outside the recent match promo dates
What a lovely way to start the week - a Dennis Bunnik video! So glad you are back again, I hope all is well!
We swapped to Virgin 2 years ago. We got thoroughly sick of Qantas and its appalling telephone service. We're now very happy Virgin Gold FFs and have had some great business class flights with them.
I am in the process of using up all my Qantas FF points after last three shocking flights on Qantas. After using the points I will look at other airlines other than Qantas. Excellent review Dennis.
Good luck trying to get rid of them :)
Your buddy Jeb Brooks mentioned you a couple of times so I decided to check out your channel. I find it quite interesting and easy to watch. You're doing a great job.
Usual brilliant review Dennis. I have been a loyal VA fan for a long time now. The experience you've described flying with Virgin is not new & they have always been a fantastic airline in my opinion. Looking forward to seeing you in the VA Lounge once you've collected enough points!
Hey Dennis - Am I mistaken or is this video missing the customary hand on the airframe whilst boarding!? I'm with you, also have lost any motivation to worry about maintaining status with Qantas.
I hear you Dennis. I'll still make Lifetime Gold with Qantas through my FIFO work. But for personal flights going forward, I think it's time to fly Virgin. Heck, I'll even give Bonza a try!
Flew Virgin Australia a few weeks ago from MEL to SYD in Business. We picked Business mainly because of the amount of Luggage we had (Flying J to and from the UK for our holiday we had lots of bags). Great short flight, great lounge and significantly cheaper than Qantas
Flew Virgin Hobart to Sydney via Melbourne. Had an exit seat booked right through but getting back on in Melbourne someone grabbed my seat and refused to move. Ready to depart the crew asked if I could sit down the back. After take off they came straight to me with the drinks cart and told me to go crazy on the house. Yes I like Virgin
Dennis, I’m so glad you gave Virgin AU a go. While your service may not have had any glitz or glamour, I hope it has wet your palate and you continue to endeavour into Virgin’s service. I myself had a difficult decision between Qantas and Virgin AU (from an employment aspect). I must say, 6 months in, I think I made the right call with Virgin AU. I hope to see you around at Adelaide Airport and to check you in onto one of our flights.
Happy travels
Since COVID I'm travelling about once per month. Mostly for work, Perth -> Sydney and Perth -> Wellington. So I'm not some big air traveller, but I'm doing enough of it to have some preferences. And my preference within Australia is definitely Virgin. Overall, its just a more "cheerful" experience. Staff don't seem to be as stressed, overall the flights are close to being on time, its less crowded.
And I have scored some cheap business class upgrades through their upgrade "auction". Last flight I got a Sydney to Perth business class upgrade for $250.
My advice if you have regular travel with Virgin ... always bid for an upgrade at the lowest possible price. Sure you miss out a _lot_ of the time but when you do score an upgrade for $250 or $300, its a nice bonus!
Wonderful trip report. Thank you. I hope to fly Virgin when I'm next in Australia.
Sad to hear that QF are going the way of BA. Nice review as usual Dennis, thank you and keep them coming!
I mentioned on your insta I was thinking of jumping because QF just does not cut it anymore. I'm fl JQ a lot and max my fare. Of late, I'm constantly chasing after them to credit my QFF and I'm still chasing after flights from last year! I'm gold now with VA and I didn't even have to try that hard. Just wish their international reach was a lot bigger! That's what's holding me back.
I last flew on Qantas way back before Covid,from Christchurch (NZ) to Brisbane back then the flight/service/food & drink was absolute awesome.,in economy.Have not flown on Qantas since Covid,but have heard too much about Qantas as to put me right off.,sadly its the head CEO attitude that goes against them but the ground and onnboard staff do a awesome job👍
Qantas lost me when we were abused by ground staff at Sydney International-Domestic transfer desk. Our Fijian Air flight was delayed into Sydney so we hurried as fast as we could through customs and the terminal. The staff member was absolutely horrible demanding to know why we were late. I put in a complaint and some weeks later was told our complaint had been forwarded to Canberra Airport for action and we never heard anything again.
Absolutely love your reviews mate! Keep them coming
Kia Ora, Dennis, from a wet and windy Christchurch. I am flying Qantas from Brisbane to Singapore on my way home to the UK in two weeks. I don't know if I'm looking forward to it or not after what you had to say in your great video. I love Virgin Australia after flying them a few times domestic in 2020 just as COVID struck and once last week Mel to Zqn. My all-time is Virgin Atlantic, having flown several different airlines. Their personal attention to guests is extremely good. I don't know about economy as I always fly them Upperclass. For me, they can't be beaten. Fabulous video as usual. Keep up the great reports. I always look forward to watching them.
Thanks Dennis. I'm a Pomm over in WA at the moment catching up with friends from my time working here last century. Just spent a week over in Tasi flying there and back with Virgin and I couldn't agree more with your assessment of their product. Sadly I also have to out my hands up and agree with your take on my national flag carrier. I'll be flying home with SQ!!! Love your work and always look forward to your videos
Great video. I noticed the tray table hadn't been cleaned. Andrew
Just had the pleasure of going through Melbourne on our honeymoon to New Zealand - we now know that airport really well! Flew Virgin Australia back from Queenstown to Melbourne for an overnight layover, overall fine as what seems a budget option but wasn't a patch on the Air New Zealand flight we took for the same route on the outbound flight.
Great flight with them today from Sydney to Adelaide VA424.First flight with virgin in an number of years no issues.The cabin crew were very nice both legs from ADL to Syd and back again.
Great Video Dennis! I will be considering fly with Virgin from Adelaide to Melbourne!
Bravo !!!! Watching it now in my hotel room I’m Melbourne hope to see you soon king
I tried the virgin Switch-A-Roo... earned gold and never would fly again unless there was no other choice.
Great vieo as always, Dennis. and i'm sure many of your viewers would also like seeing your face as much as we do the additional footage :)
I totally agree with you. As soon as Virgin offer another promotion to recognise my status (and points would be great) with Qantas, I will be switching to Virgin. Just using up my Qantas point first, but I had had enough of Qantas. Only our last trip they may 7 mistakes, yet when I made one mistake they charged us over $5000 to rebook the same ticket. They don’t respond to complaints you subject even though they will. I don’t blame the staff, I blame the executives and leadership from the CEO down.
Great and timely review, Dennis! It's a pity you didn't get to enjoy the Virgin Lounge. Let me assure you that it is a much better offering than the Qantas Club (if not also the Qantas Business Lounge). Having abandoned Qantas international many years ago, I have now also given up chasing status with Qantas domestic, and find Virgin a much better option on all levels. Even better now with their tie-ups with Qatar and Singapore Air. Hopefully Velocity points will prove far more usable than Qantas points!
6:07 Free coffee, tea and water on flights is perfectly acceptable.
especially if you save 280
@@cooldood37 Exactly if you can bring your own snacks it would be very similar in terms of experiences. Flying and only drinking tea or coffee is not a problem for me. The price difference more than makes up for it.
Buy something in the terminal.I mean what's buying say a sandwich or muffin from Muffin Break in Adelaide to use an example for a Virgin domestic flight somewhere or some Sushi in Sydney with drink or something from Hungry Jack's in Cairns(food only buy your bottle of drink elsewhere)or whatever Brisbane offers.the price difference VA versus QF in the absence of special meal options can get one decent grub on Virgin.
Am I only one who notices that they ( the crew) don't say thanks for flying qantas, they just say thanks for flying. Anyway I love the way this comment section that's supposed to be praising virgin has deteriorated into a slag fest on qantas. God help qantas if Sir Richard Branson ever gets more involved.
Great review mate! I just recently swapped from being a Qantas fanboy (Platinum pre-covid) to now flying Virgin/SQ exclusively. Just hit VFF Gold and should be Platinum by the end of the year. Qantas has really dropped the ball on service and upper management has created a system where the customer is gouged for money at every turn but nothing is given back and staff can't do anything about it. So far loving everything about VA and SQ although the Flybuys/Velocity programs have a few bugs that you need to keep chasing up points (never had issues getting them but just a pain to chase them up all the time). With more and more people realising Qantas aren't as wonderful as they used to be, it'll be interesting to see what happens moving forward (especially with a new CEO coming in).
Hope to see you on board one of my VA flights soon!
Lachy -CM SYDNEY
I’ve been flying Virgin for the past 8 years ever since a horrible service onboard a Qantas flight from Adelaide to Brisbane. No complaints from Virgin from flying exclusively with them domestically
I WILL NOT CLICK ON EVERY BLOODY LINK. IF YOU CANT TELL US HOW MUCH OF EACH INGREDIENT TO USE, THEN DONT BOTHER WITH THE VIDEOS.
Hi Dennis I’m a Qantas Gold and Virgin silver member. I have had nothing but excellent service from Qantas ground and air staff. The same with the Virgin team as well. The problem with Qantas is the CEO and his senior management. The senior management direction recently (3 years) has been terrible and some directives illegal according to the latest court cases. Without the service of the Qantas hands on team my frequent Flyer membership would be Virgin gold Qantas in the bin. Great service on your part as always.
I'm about to fly Virgin Australia to the Gold Coast on my 51st Birthday. Flying Economy there and flying Business Class back to Sydney
Well as I am a virgin flyer preferred I don’t like flying with Qantas. Which is a real shame. It used to be an excellent flight, but as stated not so much anymore. Virgin is value for money, plus the customer service is above and beyond for me. In all classes. I love their sister companies also. Australia let go of a reputable company in Qantas which is a shame. It always had the highest standards. Plus converting flybuys to frequent flyer is awesome.. great perks and they add up real quick. Thanks for the review and glad you enjoyed it. I love flying virgin airlines.. ❤❤
great video! couldn't help but notice the reunion in the back @ 8:40 haha
$300 savings is good motivation Dennis
No lounge ? But Dennis unare RUclips celebrity !
Great vlog as always sir
Dennis, I laughed at your British Airways comment - you're 100% right; they're shocking! They're let me down on every trip I've taken with them in the last four years. I mean 100% failure. Their management couldn't organise a party in a brewery. Lovely staff though, just let down by appalling management decisions during, and after the pandemic. I'm now one transatlantic flight off gold with Virgin Atlantic. Now they're in Sky Team life is about to get so much easier for me with Virgin, Delta and KLM in the same programme. I've not flown Virgin Australia in more than 10 years as I've not been down under in such a long time. I used them all the time when I worked in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide; and they were always pretty good in my opinion. BTW - their lounge in Adelaide used to be very good if my memory serves me right. Loving your videos - keep up the awesome work. Graeme in the UK with a BA hate relationship.
I'm currently a gold FF with VA doing 3-4 OS trips every yr. My experience with Qantas as only a Bronze member at least domestically has been faultless, & Virgin have been superb as well. Maybe I've been lucky
When a QF Lifetime GOLD Frequent Flyer switches to Virgin, you know it’s a bad situation with Qantas! Shame to see that they’re following the footsteps of the mother monarch (British Airways). Shame that Qantas is slowly turning into the management style of Boeing.
Great review as usual Dennis. We took the hop over to Adelaide back in October on Virgin while visiting family. Due to our Air Canada status we were able to access the Virgin lounge in Sydney. I must say it was good visit after a 15+ hour flight down, lots of seating and plenty of snack and drink choices. Staff at Virgin were very pleasant to deal with. Sadly on leaving Adelaide we did not have time to visit the lounge as security was overwhelmed and slow. Maybe next time we will get to try it.
Always have a good experience with Qantas. Besides I feel as if I’m still in Australia, when on a Qantas aircraft, familiarity makes one feel at home.
Great video Dennis! I especially loved that gorgeous view of downtown Sydney at 0:08 🎉 Wow! I’m so sad to hear that QANTAS 🇦🇺 hasn’t been doing so well in terms of operations and cost (Mainly Domestically)but I am happy to see that Virgin Australia still looks like a pretty great airline and much much nicer than I was expecting to see! 🎉 😃 I especially love the 737 and any 737 I’ve ever flown on has been great! I wish VA the best of luck 🍀 with their recovery Auzzie market! I hope they get back to some international markets soon too as any competition is good especially for us consumers! 😂🎉 When I visit Australia someday I will have to check them out, especially since hopefully soon they will have their new fleet of 737 MAX aircraft! (8,9 & 10 soon)
Also, talking of 737 operators in Australia do you have any trips in the future to try and fly with Bonza? If not, you should definitely try to book a flight on them. I’d love to see a review of that and I’m sure other people would like to see you review Bonza as well. 😊Especially on their B737 MAX 8 as it’s so controversial especially in Australia 🇦🇺
I live in Sydney and worked FIFO 2 -2 in Karratha for 10 years. Started flying with Qantas and got to gold. A couple of years in, work started flying us to work with Virgin who gave us gold right off and home on Qantas so was gold with both. Virgin lounges don't have spirits and I'm a spirits drinker but otherwise quite nice. A couple of years into Virgin, I became aware that Qantas has lifetime gold whereas virgin does not. I asked to be put back onto Qantas for the trip to work and made platinum. Made lifetime gold. Now retired three years, two of which was zombie apocalypse and I've only flown a couple of times since, on Jetstar and Qantas. They were both OK. Planning a trip to Spain this November and will probably go with Emerates to revisit the first class lounge in Dubai (everyone needs to see it at least once in their lifetime) as I'm still a platinum until July 2024. I have 1.5m points to use and when they're all gone, I'll fly with whichever airline looks the best on the day. Lounge access is nice but as you say, if the Qantas fare is way higher than Virgin, the free food and drinks aren't free.
The experience at T2 is much better than T3 in terms of food outlets and overall vibe in my opinion. The only drawbacks are the volume of passengers and baggage screening.
Not enough real gluten free options in the food hall
Can you please review Rex Airlines 737 services.
Great video Dennis. Its about time Qantas was held accountable for the gulf between high prices and bad service. Australians deserve better and Virgin seems to be one good alternative.
It's really interesting what people in the comments say about Qantas. I just had my first Qantas flight from Melbourne to Sydney last week and thought the experience was flawless and miles ahead of what I'm used to in Europe (mainly Lufthansa).
Please review Rex
What happen to the hand on the airframe when boarding??
Great video. On Boxing Day we were at the same terminal in Sydney flying with them to Perth
I made the switch 2 July and haven’t gone back…! Warm staff and a good business class option for the price
My last two Qantas flights were, my last two Qantas flights. Both times a horrible experience, delays, rude staff and an old hostess that didn’t think an ipad was a hand held device and demanded I put it away. She told me it was the same size as the inflight magazine and had to be smaller to be considered hand held. 😂 Never happened to me on any other airline and won’t happen again.
My wife and I are platinum QF, we both left the airline at the start of this year as we were discriminated against without reason.
More details?
Great video, the video quality has gone up a notch!
Are you using the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra?? 😊
Hi Dennis, looking sharp mate. Could you tell me what brand your glasses are please?? Are they Christopher Cloose?
You've finally seen the light! I look forward to seeing you on the planes. And if you see me in the airport and you don't have lounge access yet, let me know and I'll get you in ;)
Glad you came across Dennis. QF senior mgmt are very on the nose I agree. High fares, arrogance, and who wants to do Perth-London in a tin can? When you fly internationally with VA partners it’d be good to see what you think 🎉
I'm amused that they blamed the delay on something that happened in Melbourne. In Sydney they tend to blame anything that goes wrong on poor Melbourne.
You can also buy a lounge membership and once you do get the status just like qantas the hotel offers are great and car here opportunities
I couldn't believe when Alan Joyce, with a big smile on his face, admitted prices on QANTAS were high due to lack of competition. I think the term is gouging. Come on Virgin, bring back those beautiful 777's and A330's and restart international routes. It's the only way QANTAS will pull the finger out. Yes, we can book partner airlines but those not in the know will go the easy option and go QANTAS. Last year I had a return flight from Sydney to Darwin. It cost $2,200 in ECONOMY. No wonder Mr Joyce is filthy rich.
It’ll happen, they need the majority domestic market (they are certainly getting there) and IPO first and then they will think about international. Baby steps first, then they will kill qantas
I flew in economy x in October 2022. Mum and I were in seat row 3. But getting to the loo for her was a no go. Too far to go back and business loo was out. They may have helped if asked. Extra $29 each seat both of us up and back Mel to Syd. Bit rich. The drama of the new disabled loo in Melbourne. getting out after being stuck for two hours the door short circuit. She does not want to fly any more. She's 83. Cheers.
Qantas customer service is appalling compared with Virgin. Virgin cancelled one of my flights and put me on a flight the next day. I was entitled to compensation. By the time I applied to get my money it was less than 2 weeks. I have been trying to get a refund (in fact several) from Qantas since late May 2022! With Qantas as you go through their refunds directory on the phone and you are told 90% of refunds are issued within 1 week. When you talk to customer care agent they say 6 - 8 weeks! You still do not get your money in that 6 - 8 weeks.
Loved Virgin when I was a fifo. Always liked the wee club sandwich served on long flights. 😊
I too have been a QANTAS fanboy my whole life but ever since Covid started, I'm finding it harder to defend them and also justify flying with them. The past year I've had about 8-10 Virgin flights, and only 2 QANTAS flights. Reason is simple, Virgin has just been the best value, and because of this I'm now a silver velocity member, which in turn motivates me even more to keep flying Virgin. It's a shame because I still do love QANTAS but I can't justify their prices for domestic routes, and it's shame how their upper management is running the airline. I hope it can return to the QANTAS we know and love soon. The only thing that I wish Virgin would do, is include complimentary beer/wine on their flights. That is one simple step that would really make me say I love Virgin!
Hi Dennis - long time follower here and that was a great video! Random idea for a video - From Adelaide is it cheaper to do Europe via SE Asia or Middle East - ie cheaper to go with Qatar or Singapore/Malaysia as the stopover route. Cheers
I note that our company pivoted away from OneWorld to Star Alliance as a preferred carrier. I must say that the product is at least on par, and at least you know you have 50k miles to fly to get lounge access rather than having to work out status credits.
I have over 500,000 QFF points but Virgin is my ‘go to’ airline now. Much better value than QF and wouldn’t fly JQ unless it was at a steep discount. Awful systems, limited connectivity to Qantas and poor value.
Safety and reliability are the most important hallmarks of a great airline. No airline should put profits above safety and reliable operations.
Guess what tho Dennis, I’m planning on maintaining my lifetime bronze!
Excellent pitch for VA to do a personalised status match.
Let us know if they come through.
I gave up on QF after flying upper deck on their 747-438s from BNE-LAX and back a few times. I found their service inconsistent. On one flight the service would be great, on the next quite lacklustre. Now I'll only fly VA domestically, Emirates to Europe and Air NZ across the Pacific. Any suggestions for the best airline to Tokyo from Australia?
ANA and its not even close!
Yes, ANA.
These days it's in one's interests to chase low fares and great service, rather than points.
Virgin is so much better than Qantas i will fly them any day over Qantas the cabin crew on virgin are my favourite for domestic flights
Definately time to change to Virgin. We use our status for lounges, transfer flybuys to velocity and fly to Europe on points with Qatar and Singapore through Virgin Velocity. I'm sure novices to you but way better than Qantas in my opinion.
Dennis, you should see the efficiency of Indigo in India.
They have a ramp instead of stairs so you can tow your luggage instead of lifting it which speeds boarding and deboarding.
Plus, all airlines in India raise the middle armrests to speed up boarding.
I flew Virgin for the first time ever on a flight between Brisbane and Perth over xmas and other than the obscene price I had to pay for a small can of coke, I had no problems with the airline.
Excellent review Dennis!
I gave up Qantas 12 months ago...Jetstar as well I now use Virgin and have saved bulk dollars
Been a long time view of your channel Dennis and honestly don’t understand why you never fly Virgin domestically. I routines fly both; averaging 3 domestic flights each week between business and economy, and most of the time it’s hard to justify Qantas. I am Platinum Virgin and about to go Platinum with Qantas next month. Last week from Canberra to Brisbane (one way Business) it was $499 Virgin and $1,800 Qantas.
Just sad you didn’t do a review of the Virgin Australia 777 flights to LA. One of my favorites…
I switched to Virgin a long time ago and have only used Qantas domestically a handful of times(in 2007,2019,2020)in the last 15 to 16 years.being on a crap income means I have to fly to a budget and want something better than a bus or train trip from hell.I have just booked a Adelaide-Sydney with Qantas over but doing Virgin coming home later this year $544 the lot.I could have waited and got it for $460 but was worried I had not at the time locked in any flights for a Christmas Cruise.
Such a pity, you just missed Virgin’s “Switch-A-Roo” promo, where they status matched you! I am now gold with Virgin too, after having met criteria by flying eligible flights in the 3-month window you get before they offer 12-months status match. Amazing.
I used to be a platinum QFF but they screwed me years ago and switched to Virgin. I have been platinum with them for years.
My travel agent booked me as a QF passenger on my emirates flight to Europe first class. Asked QF for some help through their “customer service staff” and got screwed again.
Happy never to fly QF again.
It is a shame as I got on with so many of their frontline staff who were great but the back of house sucks.
I was keying this during the video.
Have to agree with your thoughts on BA too. Another airline I used to fly with a lot, but who are the worst airline to fly.
Another great review. A shame about the delay on your Virgin flight. It appears that it would have been perfect accept for that. I agree with your opinion about Qantas accept I think that it is well and truly stuffed already. It has been going downhill ever since the little 'leprechaun' took over. That being said there are a lot of staff there who try their hardest to do the right thing and make passengers experience better. Oh, and as always a BIG thumbs up.
I also find it strange why qantas completely go into panic mode if you try to photograph the plane when using the back stairs and virgin don't. The terminal at Sydney is probably one of the best in the world. You compared the security lines to QANTAS'S and noted how much quicker it was. This is amazing when you consider this terminal also has REX , Deathstar, and other regional airlines. For avgeeks the ends of the terminal is great for plane spotting. The other BIG thing I find with Virgin over QANTAS is they have plenty of check in staff and not just kiosks. Then again, more staff means a certain CEO will only live in a 20 million dollar mansion at Mosman and not a 100 million dollar one at point piper. Poor baby.
Sounds strange. Is it illegal to take photos of the ramp area?
@@B737900ER Youre meant to be paying attention not playing on your phone. Its a rule at every airport from Sydney through to the tiniest mine airstrip. So presumably comes from CASA.
But most places take it to mean dont scroll tictoc with your headphones on. Its only a few special places where they get pleasure out of yelling at people.
At least that poverty stricken CEO isn't an egotistical show-pony.
In my mind, there is no excuse for any airline to not have exemplary hospitality....whether they be a legacy carrier or low cost carrier. It doesn't cost a thing. Here in the USA, that is exactly what is missing from every last one of our carriers. Our carriers treat customers like cattle or sheep and then wonder why there is an increase in disruptive passengers. I would also like to see regulations in place mandating a minimum seat pitch of 33" and minimum width of 18". I think across the board, many airlines need to flush their senior management and revisit what it is they are trying to accomplish.
Who do you fly between USA and Australia? Given the service issues with US airlines, I almost always choose Qantas. We tried Virgin Australia when they were operating that route and it was terrible. Customer service was extremely rude and unprofessional and they lost our bags on the return Mel-lax. Also, they used smaller planes which were way bumpier and noisier v A380 or 787.
@@marc_aussie I would go with United...they have trended up the most post covid. Delta would be a close second and American...just forget about it, they are not good right now.
the U.K. based Australian full service carrier Virgin Australia could seriously do with a fleet of 22 brand new A350-900 ULR & 18 A350-1000 HGW . . . dedicated to serving international long haul services only . . . . alternatively Virgin Australia can acquire 8 - 11 second hand B777-300 ER (refurbished ex-Emirates & ex-Thai Airways airframe) . . . inspite of the fact that VA phased out (retired) their fleet of 5 B777-300 ER way back in 2015 - 2018 . . .
Unlikely, they have publicly said their strategy is taking over the domestic market. Furthermore, they don’t have the money to do this. They have purchased 737max’s to do routes such as aus to Japan, but they shouldn’t focus on international as they have many partners covering the entire world. Let them take over the Australian market before thinking international
Wow it would be so hard not having your status. Ha ha. But Virgin needs to match life time status and start flying to America again and they should easily beat Qantas. If Joyce was gone and they employed a great CEO Qantas could come back. But flying on the 24th to LA through Sydney on the A380 so fingers crossed no problems. Otherwise Virgin has been easy to use and much better with FF awards so I am sitting on the fence atm.
Honestly a bit shocked when Qantas got rid of their in-house ramp operations and contracted it all out to Swissport system wide. I hope in the future they re-establish ground operations in-house, that being said idk how many people would return. I personally feel that would be a step in the right direction.
Why would they return when they are more than happy with Virgin?
They are rolling out wifi on planes - was on one the aircraft with Wifi on my flight to ADL earlier this year - free for J class pax - was good to use.