Virgin Australia Airlines
reviews and complaints

To Whom it May Concern,

I Matthew David Sproul was flying to Melbourne from the Auckland Airport on the 20th February Wednesday morning at 6:30am. My Flight was VA 164 seat 10a ticket number 7952153594025Y and my Booking Reference was ROQTKH. At around 4:45 at Auckland Airport I encountered an issue with a checkout operator when she said I couldn't take my guitar on board as the flight was full and they didn't have the room in the overhead storage in the cabin. I explained i brought it over from Melbourne with your company in the overhead storage in the cabin. She said she would talk to her supervisor and the supervisor said i couldn't take it on. So i was going to have to pay an extra $120 for it to go in the cargo. Then she weighed my bag and Guitar and said i could have it wrapped together and it could go as one. Which in the end was $20 to wrap it all up and put it on the cargo as one. I was not happy as i had brought it over from Australia. Also the risk of the guitar being damaged was higher and it was an expensive Gibson 12 string guitar which was given to me. Then to add fuel to the fire I get on the plane and find out it wasn't full. I am going to be flying a lot to NZ and around the Pacific so it would be interest to look after me. Other wise I will have to go with another Airline in future travels.

Regards,

Matthew David Sproul.

I have for the past four weeks been trying to retrieve about 700 missing points. I have had to call VA membership only to be on hold or waiting and each call taking well over 30 minutes, meaning I have to schedule time in my day to complete these calls.

I keep getting told that my issue is being escalated but nothing ever transpires from my calls. Service member Rose has informed me she is handling the escalation. Today I get a call saying that Velocity Daily team (whom don't make phone calls to members) that the payment I used on this VD purchase was invalid as it was not a credit card. I have used the same card at the same VD vendor previously which can shown on my account. It seems to me that VA just don't want to hand over 700 points.

I've spent so much time and energy on calling and waiting and being told to wait and that it's being escalated and that I'll get a call back but I don't get a call back then I have to call and then I'm told VD don't make calls they only deal with computer related enquiries. This meaning I have to go through a middle person in order to relay messages when I'm pretty sure these people at VD probably have a telephone next to their computers.

The whole thing is a complete farce. I have only ever used VA and their telephone service is a farce and really lets the ground staff down.

My luggage did not arrive on my international flight, VA104 from Wellington NZ, to Brisbane Australia on Tuesday 22 of January 2019. I waited at the baggage carousel until the conveyer belt stopped and the message was displayed on the digital carousel sign saying "all baggage on carousel ". I waited there for another 5 minutes. I then checked the oversized baggage carousel, it wasn't there either. I then went to virgin baggage services and informed them. Another 20 minutes passed while they got on the radio and checked with everyone. They told me the bag had been left in Wellington, and would arrive the next morning at 8.30 am, and they would deliver it to my address. I left baggage services and went back to both the oversized carousel and the original carousel, my baggage WAS NOT THERE OR ANYWHERE NEAR IT. That was yesterday. This morning I rang virgin baggage services. They said they had located my bag, and were sending it by courier to my address. That was 3 hours ago. It's a 25 minute trip from the airport to my address. I haven't been able to go to work because my clothes and toiletries are in my bag. I am a self employed driver, so my apartment is the only address I have. The only way to receive couriered baggage is for someone to be in the apartment, meaning I haven't been able to go to work today. Baggage services also tried to tell me that the bag had been taken mistakenly by the wrong passenger, and that the bag was eventually discovered, returned, at the baggage carousel. That conflicts with my first conversation with baggage services. AND is a blatant lie because I returned to the carousel after I had been informed by baggage services that it had been left in Wellington. The staff member I spoke to this morning was a liar, was rude and disrespectful as she hung the phone up on me when I was asking what exactly had happened to my bag. I can't begin to convey my level of dissatisfaction that I now have with Virgin baggage services, and Virgin Australia in general. At the very least I deserve an honest explanation as to what happened to my bag, if not compensation for a day's lost wages.

Good Morning

My name is Elizabeth Haythornthwaite, and yesterday I purchased a business class flight from PERTH to Melbourne- Flight VA680

I purchased a business class ticket to enjoy a pain free flight which would accommodate my health needs due to knee injury. I was horrified to find that my seat did not recline, the meal was below average and my bag didn't have priority on it and came out last.
I am very upset, as I work hard and paid top dollar for a business class class experience on a long haul flight. I would appreciate a refund, as if I had been advised on booking the seat, that the flight would offer sub standard seating then I would have not gone on that plane:
Can somebody please contact me to assist in righting this unfair business class experience on [protected]?

Regards

Liz

Booked online which I provided my contact details of mobile number and email address as that's how I received the booking details. Departure flights out of Port Macquarie to Sydney weren't until 540pm. Went to leave the hotel at 9:58AM as we had planned out our day when I received a missed call and called back for the lady to say ‘are you still flying with us today as the check in time closes in 7 mins'
We never received an email, text or call prior to the one this morning to say the flight times have changed basically 7 hours which is absolutely ridiculous! Apparently there was no email for them to contact me which is crap because I had provided it for the confirmation of the booking online.
Their happy to call me 7mins before the checkin town was closing but not for the general flight time changing.
We're lucky we hadn't left earlier because we would've missed the flight and had to rebook another one for the next day as she said there were no more for today which means we would've had to book another nights accommodation!
Very disappointed in the lack of effort and communication about the times as we now have had to miss out on today's plans and just the stress in general about getting there in time!

When we left Melbourne flight delayed over 2hrs and gate changed 3 times from Gate 4 to 19 then gate 3. Now our return flight has no gate number we are left in limbo with an hr to leave. I was under my weight quota and wanted to add an item 3kgs and was charged $130 for my $20 item to be loaded. Absolutely disgusting. We will never ever fly virgin airlines again and I'll share with my 200 Facebook friends and my 5568 Linkedin connections. I hope they will boycott travelling with virgin and encourage their friends.

The damage started when travelling Brisbane -Wellington and worsened on flight wellington- Sydney- Brisbane (our direct flight the day before was cancelled by Virgin Australia) one week later. Phoned airline at airport and also notified the airline manager (Carla Wilson) in Wellington. Advised to put in claim upon return to Australia. Got home over 24 hrs late due to airline delays/ cancellations on 24/12. Had difficulty finding a JP over the Christmas period. Sent the form and attached paperwork off on the 27/12. Received rejection of claim on 3/1. Told I didn't get the claim in on time. What a joke! I followed the advice of the airline staff! And this is just the icing on the cake after our flight cancellations and delays trying to get home in the lead up to Christmas.

I have no obligation to inform any airline that I suffer psychogenic non-epileptic seizures as there is no medication or medical assistance required.
However as a curtesy I do inform airlines that I suffer PNES and I also have a ‘safe to fly certificate' from my GP.
At Sydney airport I produced my letter to the rude Virgin employee service desk outside the airport.
She would not take my GP's letter into account that I am safe to fly and obviously has no idea what PNES even is.
I was held up outside for 15 mins, I had arrived 1 hour early as required and then she came back and told me I had to present to the service desk inside with my letter to get clearance to fly.
If I had of waited in line for the inside service desk I would have missed my flight.
I was flying from Sydney to Adelaide on Wednesday 19 December at 8.40am.
Surely my GP's clearance letter that states I need no assistance in case of a seizure should be enough.
I just ended up checking in online which lead me to get seated at the rear of the plane by the window.
I also have bilateral neuropathy of the feet (no feeling) and with other airlines when I present to fly I am always seated at the front in an aisle as Adelaide Airport has rear entry/exit via stairs which I can not do.
This is the first and last time I will fly with Virgin.
Get your act together.
PNES is triggered from PTSD and any stress or anxiety which I was left with dealing with your rude service desk employee.

Re. Lost luggage VA227132

I flew from Cairns to Christchurch (via Melbourne) on Sumday 18th November and my bag did not arrive in Christchurch. I was without my bag for the full 2 weeks that I was in New Zealand. I was advised that my bag arrived at Christchurch airport on the 22nd November (I was no longer in Christchurch at this point) and it was agreed with Virgin Australia staff via email that my bag would be passed to Singapore Airlines on 1st of December to return with me to the U.K. For some reason this did not happen. I have provided my address in the U.K. for my bag to be sent to and have heard nothing from Virgin Australia staff at Christchurch. I have sent several email and received no reply. At this stage all I want is my property back and don't know what else to do. Please can you help me get my bag back.

My email address is [protected]@yahoo.co.uk and mobile number is [protected].

Clare Dinham

I was very thirsty and i asked for a cup of water but was told to wait for the meal to be served together with water. About 45 mins went by I was still not served meal nor water. If you want to improve your service please serve water at the beginning of the flight before serving meals. This is what many airlines do. I was not given a cup of water even at the time of request. It was a simple request and the stewardess could have easily given me a cup of water instead of letting me wait. Further more the flight was delayed and we have waited and getting really thirsty. Your service would be great if you would just serve water at the beginning of each flight. I was flying from Melbourne to Perth.

22 Ada Place
Ultimo
Sydney
NSW 2007

30/11/18

Complaint regarding flight VA 141 22nd November 2018

I travelled on flight VA 141 Sydney to Auckland on 22nd November 2018 seat number 21C - see attached boarding pass. On the printed ticket it states a departure time of 1000 and an arrival time in Auckland of 1510. I chose this flight so I could achieve a business dinner appointment at 6pm NZ time.

Waiting at the gate prior to boarding passengers were advised that the flight is 30 minutes late and won't be departing till 1045 due to late arrival. We didn't board at 1045. We waited. A further announcement said that the planes interior was overheated and that they had requested a separate air conditioning unit. We waited. We saw the unit arrive. We waited. About 20 minutes later there was a movement to board passengers. After 1130 we closed the cabin door. We taxied out to the runway and stopped! We waited. Then the Captain made an announcement ‘we had a RED light in the cockpit - an engineering issue' and that we would be returning to the gate. We waited. The Captain made another announcement that we would have to wait on the tarmac till a gate became free. We waited. After a lengthy period we started to move back to a gate. We waited. Various announcements were made. We waited. The front cabin door was open and engineering staff, I presume coming and going. We waited. It was getting very hot inside the plane which the crew announced, stating the obvious! We waited. We were brought water. It was a bit like being in jail but without the bread. On your website it states that every 2 hours passengers would be given food vouchers - none arrived. No food or beverages were given out. We weren't allowed to leave the plane even though the cabin door was open. Allowing us to leave the plane, move around and have some free refreshments would have been the smart thing to do in consideration to the welfare of your passengers but no. We waited. It was getting even hotter in the plane around 30 degrees when the cabin staff announced they had requested an air conditioning unit - Wow, that was a bit late. Obviously no planning had been made for the welfare of your passengers. We waited. We waited in crowded conditions, a bit like being a sardine in a hot tin. Some passengers said they were getting concerned about being on a plane that is fully loaded with fuel - a bit like being in a ticking time bomb. We waited. Other irrelevant announcements were made, like ‘we have no updates at the moment'. We waited. Finally it seems that the problem had been fixed as the second pull-back started at 1435. We took off from Sydney at 1500, about the time we should have been arriving in Auckland! During the flight we had some turbulence so the food and beverage service was cut short. We landed in Auckland at 1940 Australian time - being 2140 NZ time. So work it out - four and a half hours late! Only one redeeming feature at the end of the flight was that the head steward said that we needed to complain and gave us the contact details.
And yes, I missed my business appointment and wasted my whole day on your plane - thanks for that.
So what compensation are you going to offer me for this fiasco!
A couple of free food vouchers?
I don't think so...

Yours sincerely

Ian Kingsford-Smith
[protected]

Was about to make a booking via an another associated company. But decided to try get price match thru you since I'm a volicity member([protected]) I was told this couldn't be done even though I had proof a flight price. Please see attached photo of flight times and price it also shows the company that you do price match. Don't hesitate to contact me via email bo.[protected]@hotmail.com.

Kind Regards
Bo Sampson

Wednesday 14th November. I was due to catch flight 0834 departing Sydney to Melbourne at 11 am and arriving 12.35 and leaving Melbourne and due in at Launceston at 2.15 pm. This was cancelled early in the morning I got notification
I left at 2.30 pm from Sydney and arrived Late at 4.15. no apology whatsoever and
nothing to EAT either ! disgusting ! no excuse whatsoever !
Leaving was even worse MUCH worse
I was leaving on Sunday 18th at 3.50pm from Launceston on VA 1371 arrival Melbourne 4.55 The flight left late no person to help direct at Melbourne and a huge rush to try and get to the other side of the airport as we thought gate 5 there were a number of people there was Zero assistance or direction we had to re-go through a packed airport and security checks and when we got to Gate 5 at about 5.30 the assistant was SO
rude ! and the flight had left ! I was then separated from my husband and told we would have to sit separately no apology whatsoever ! we caught a six oclock flight from gate 2 the only person who was polite was Dayne Jefferies who heard from some of us and apologised on your behalf ! Really pathetic for the rest of your staff Virgin Im quite frankly disgusted by the entire fiasco this was supposed to be a pleasant fun trip a miserable time ! I suggest free flights for people those of us who had to endure your shocking service ! Susan Solomon [protected]

On the 7/11/2018 at 4.30am my husband and I checked in for our flight to Perth which left at 6.40am flight VA 713.
The service counter was free from anyone lining up to check in so we decided to go to the counter instead of the self check-in machines.
The woman at the counter asked me sternly "why didn't you use the self check-in machines" to which I replied "I didn't want to".
This woman, who's name is Wendy, then said "well you are lucky it is not busy" and told us "to get use to using the machines" None of the conservation from her was said in a polite way.
I have used the self check-in machines before when the counter has been busy. But Wendy was sitting at the check out counter ready to serve customers and all we got was a bad attitude from her. Her customer service is extremely poor!

I wish to make a complaint this morning in regards to my connecting flight from Melbourne to Hobart today.
I was on the 6.05 am flight VA204 from Adelaide to Melbourne.
When we landed in Melbourne at 7.54am and just before disembarking from the plane, there was an announcement that passengers catching their connecting flight to Hobart please go to the service desk outside the gate.
We were then informed that we were taken off our connecting flight because we wouldn't make it to the gate on time.
We were to board at 7.55am flight VA1316 so still had some time but was informed our luggage had been taken off..
There was no real explanation to why.
The lady at the desk said it could have been a gate change but wasn't sure.
Then offered the next flight at 13.30 VA1324.
There was no other flight available.
That being the case, my major problem is that I have a cooking demonstration in Hobart at lunch today..
I have lost work and wages for an entire day to the value of $700 plus have to confront the client and give them an alternative solution which doesn't seem likely as I leave back for Adelaide on Saturday night and I am stuck in Melbourne for 5 hours and was given a $16 voucher in compansation.
I don't believe this is the proper way to treat a customer.
I hope to hear from someone soon.
Philip Azzarello

I was traveling from Sydney to Melbourne in 12/11/18 3pm flight and checked in with my husband with one suitcase weighing 27kg. Because we had one bag we were charged $70 even though we were technically 21kg under the combined weight of allowed luggage .
We believe this is grossly unfair given the overall weight of luggage in the plane cargo is not affected by this . There is no justified reason to carry two suitcases when I have a disc injury in my lower back and cannot carry a suitcase so my husband manages the carrying of our one combined bag.
The check in lady was extremely unhelpful to the point of rude in telling us about the $70 fee. Our friends that we were traveling received a seat upgrade to business class for no reason when this could have been offered to my husband and I as a way of making amends for charging us a fee for combining our luggage into one suitcase to make it easier for us to manage. I am a physiotherapist and believe this kind of treatment of people with back issues is very unsatisfactory . We were not even given the opportunity to explain why we had only the one suitcase.
If the weight of our one suitcase was grossly over the max 23 kg I would perhaps understand the policy but 4 kg over is not a big weight . The qantas flight on the way up accepted that weight of the suitcase with NO issue and NO fine . As a result of this treatment we would categorically NEVER fly Virgin again due to the unfair charging of $70 for a stupid rule with no apparent basis than to scam more money from unassuming customers . Shame on you Virgin . You have lost two customers .

My wife and I are Velocity FF members. We object to the proposal to honour "veterans" on Virgin Australia flights. This is an American cultural practice, not Australian. Even the term "veteran" is American. The returned service men and women of Australia are honoured in different ways e.g. Anzac Day. The proposal by Virgin Australia is adding to the escalating jingoism of celebrating war, when we should be reflecting soberly on the terrible toll that war brings, not only to defence personnel, who by and large are volunteers, but to the whole of society. If Virgin Australia continues with this proposal we will withdraw our membership and not fly with Virgin Australia.

First complaint made Saturday 9pm. On Saturday 20 th October I was to be on a flight from Canberra to Sydney at 4-05, on arrival at the check out I was advised that the flight would be delayed till 4-40, due to the storms( I advised the attendant that I needed to be in Sydney for a family gathering and concert, that I would take the Murrays coach if this was not going to be possible), they said it should be ok, that there would be an announcement with the departure time. After waiting for 30 minutes, I again went out to the check in counter and was informed that the flight was delayed again, I asked the attendant again was it likely be arriving in Sydney by 8-30pm, they could not confirm, after waiting again, I decided to go again to the check in counter and was now told it be leaving at 8pm, but could not confirm. By this time it was clear that I was not going to make the family gathering( a early Christmas with my mum, who is 85, and family whom have not been together for 5 years). I had missed out on the family Christmas, a concert after, if I had been told that the chances of leaving by 8pm Canberra by plane was unlikely, I would have taken a taxi back to the city to get on the Murray's coach which leaves every hour. There were no ground staff in the departure lounge to speak to, unlike Qantas, where I could speak to them without going back out to the check in and have to go back through security every time. I have paid $155.00 for the air fare, a ticket to the concert plus taxi to and from the airport, these out of pocket expenses are a minimum, missing out on a family Christmas, that no one could put a price on. Please advise how this can resolved.

Regards

Maree van Arkel

I was booked on Virgin Flight VA688 From Perth to Melbourne...
My mind has not been where it should be as my sister is about to pass away from Cancer in the next week or two. I read the E Ticket as the flight leaving at 3.00pm Saturday 13th October... but it was actually 1.00pm.. 13.00pm . Because i had checked in on line i could not change the flight and had to ring a number to be able to do this... i rang before 1.00pm and the assistant said she would un check the flight so i could change it.
I tried to change it and it would not work... I rang again, and the assistant said i could not change the flight now, as it had gone 1.00pm? i argued that it was before one when i tried to change the booking the first time? She told me i would lose my money.
My wife and i have been tagging each other to be with my sister full time, in Melbourne and it is costing a lot of money... I would please request that you refund the $285 that was lost on the original flight, as i had to pay $320 + for your VA694 which left at 5.35pm... We will have to keep flying back and forth until she passes and we do not have unlimited funds as i am on a pension.. Can you please help Garry

I arrived at check in over 2 hours early and requested to purchase an upgrade to business class the customer service agent at check in said I would have to call to purchase an upgrade and checked me in.
I then called the number he provided and they told me I could not purchase an upgrade to business class as I had already checked in!

I am travelling with business and exhibition stand products, it is not easy to then go off load all my baggage and re check in which is what they suggested I do after I have cleared security and waited in line!
When I had already asked at the check in counter to start!
Terrible customer service at check in and on phone.

How ridiculous that I want to give an airline money to buy a better seat and they tell me I can't.
The check in agent said there were 3 seats available yet no one wanted to take my money.

Somehow I think the founder of Virgin Airlines would be rather disappointed in the staff of what is promoted as such a great company.

Poorest service in Industry I have received and I travel world wide every week.

Tanya Savery
[protected]