Virgin Australia Airlines
reviews and complaints

My wife and I travelled to Queenstown on flight VA115 on Friday 08/Nov we were attending a friends wedding and I was the MC and my Wife the maid of Honour, therefore it was important to be there on time to attend the Friday afternoon rehearsals, plus go over the finer details of the day with both the Bride and Groom and the venue manager, we also organised our car hire for the Friday afternoon. The flight from Brisbane was delayed by more than a hour, than after being seated we were informed the Air Con was not working, another hour delay. the pilot attempted to land the plane in Queenstown but due to bad conditions failed on three attempts. about 20 minutes later we were informed that we were now being redirected to Christchurch Airport. On landing in Christchurch we discovered there was very little communication form the Virgin Staff and it seem no one was at all interested in assisting. we were asked to go to a counter on-board and on arrival we found one person who was left to handle the situation. on board the flight were many customers foreign customers who were very confused ? with the lack of communication. finally both myself and another person spoke with the Virgin staff member to organise buses to take us to Queenstown. and yet again it was us not Virgin staff members talking to the many confused persons trying to figure out what was going on. I can't believe an organisation as larger as Virgin does not have better contingency plans in place on the sort of occasions, as I am sure this is not the first time this has happen ? to top it all off we had a bus ride from hell with two bus drivers breaking every rule in the book speeding around corners at breakneck speed that made most of us sick. I would like to know why Virgin could not land in Dunedin Airport as this wold have been a lot closer and would have got us there in time to attend the rehearsals and the very important meeting with the venue manager and Bride and groom. I would like Virgin to respond to my customer complaint which I feel is warranted an ask why I would ever want to fly with them in the future ?

My wife and I we booked on flight VA837 from Melb to Sydney on the 30/10/19 ( my birthday) I booked the flight more than 4 weeks prior to leaving. We were then told we had the wrong seat by a flight attendant. Because it was only around a 1hr flight I accepted the change to another seat. Why would I not want to sit next to my wife after all when I booked it through Flight Centre I allocated the seats together.

While in Sydney we received a message from Virgin. I needed to make contact because our flight VA866 4/10/19 was delayed from Sydney to Melb.
The lady asked me for my flight details. Because we were out having lunch before the flight I did not have my details. Who carries flight details with them anyway?
I gave my name and my wife's name and still had difficultly getting across to the person on the other end. Plus I could only make out bits and pieces on what she was saying. Bloody frustrating. I hung up and decided to ring again once we arrived at our apartment. This time I had our flight details and a different person whom I could communicate with. Hurray. After all the fuss the flight was only delayed by 15mins.
Once on the aircraft one of the hostess suggested I should make a complaint about both issue's. So here they are and hope they get sorted?
Regards, Dave Miles.

Accidentally missed boarding time by 4 minutes. Were just around the corner, heard no last call, no call for us. We're told our bags were already off the plane as it was a connecting flight on business class, Melbourne to Hobart. We then had no alternative but to then pay for 2 new tickets on economy and charged $1500 for a 1 hour twenty minute flight. Asked for discount to no avail, wouldn't even let us into the Virgin lounge to wait the nearly 4 hours before the flight left.
Feeling completely ripped off. Goodbye Virgin airlines for ever.

File Reference : SYDVA75624/04OCT/19/0808GMT. Flight/Date:VA859/04OCT. One brand Ragdoll dark blue 24" hardcase luggage from Melbourne airport to Sydney arrival 5:45pm was missing. There is no update at all and nobody pickup the phone.It caused very inconvenient for us. Please help to expedite asap! I don't expect this kind of services from Virgin Australia airline . No estimation time given, just told me to wait for more than 5hours.

Recovered bags at Sydney Australia international airport to clear customs and recheck bags at the Virgin transfer counter. Our Lipault brown wheel bag was in complete working order. When we arrived in Brisbane and retrieved the from baggage carousel 1, the bag was open and one of the back wheels was completely ripped from the bag along with the entire mechanism leaving several holes. The bag can no longer be moved using the pull handle. We travelled internationally from Canada and due to the damage caused by Virgin Australia's service provider, we will require a replacement bag before returning to Ottawa on 20 Oct 2019. Please contact us to remediate our loss. Thank you, Anne Cowham +61 (0)[protected].

Can you please explain why flights are more expensive when I try to use my velocity membership to redeem flights?

Without using my velocity membership, flights on two specific dates range from 125 to 159 one way

When I go through the "redeem your velocity points on flights" the minimum flight cost for the same flight is 179 one way

EXACTLY THE SAME FLIGHTS!

Melissa Jackson

Hello,

On Tuesday 1 October at approximately 3.35pm the woman manning the Virgin priority (staff) baggage check at Brisbane airport was difficult, rude and patronising to the three people directly in front of me. I'm sorry I didn't get her name as I was being pushed through a busy baggage check area.

The first person was a little slow when we were directed to the priority (staff) baggage check area, and she loudly said 'oh we have new flyer here' or something similar. She was brusque and showed no understanding that we had literally just been directed to this check in less than 15 seconds previously (away from the one for normal customers).

The second person's first language was clearly not english and she exaggerated and slowed down her speech in a comical fashion to 'pretend' to help her understand. She demonstrated no cultural sensitivity what so ever.

The final person in front of me had failed to remove their laptop from the case and again she (loudly, so all people around could here) made a fuss that they didn't know the rules, and must be a 'new flyer'.

As a frequent flyer, someone who has only flown Virgin for 10+ years and member of the virgin lounge I am seriously reviewing my choice of airline. Her treatment of three customers in a row was quite unbelievable to me.

I would like to note the attendant was in no way rude to me, possibly because of the suit I had on, tag on my bag, or because I knew to take my laptop out.

Yours Sincerely

Nick

I was a passenger flying from Gold Coast to Adelaide Thursday September 26 leaving 1215. I was in seat 1 D. When we were asked about our meal choice within half hour of take off 2 other people before me ordered. I wanted a salad I was told by male host who had not introduced himself that they was none left. I was told only a pork noodle dish available which I said I didn't eat pork. He then said he could not even get me any perishables from the economy as they had sold out. I am a regular business class frequent flyer and the first time such bad service. I pay the extra money to have the best. When I got the meal he had taken the pork out which was ok but the cheese was dry on the edges. All I managed to eat was the bread roll some of the cheese and crackers and the dessert.
I thought it important to mention as I am flying back on sat 12 so I hope I don't have the same experience on the way back

On Friday the 13th of September on flight VA91 to Rarotonga, Flight Attendant Christine crashed the food trolley cart into my son's leg. Initially she apologised but then went on to make the following statement;
"but you need to to get your leg out of the way, we are busy here"
Christine didn't even bother to check the red mark she made on his leg or to check that he was okay.

We traveled with some first time fliers & as a school group of 24 & our students were saddened by her behaviour & lack of empathy for what she did.

As a family we are disappointed by this abuse & would like to see some form of compensation.

We just arrived on our flight from Melbourne to cairns flight VA1295, we flew Business Class
We were served our meal, 8 seats 2 occupied by children in business. I was ignored firstly & then when asked what I wld like (last, but that's not the problem) I had no choice but beef curry, & basic sandwiches. I understand 1st world problem but you travel & pay business airfares & you have an expectation.

After meals were served & cleared away we never saw another hostess ( 3 hour flight) no drinks or coffee' were offered, how disappointing, they didn't even collect the rubbish in business prior to landing.

Lazy hostess, then spent their time whining about rosters & holidays during Christmas so we could hear.

We have Traveled many, many times around the world & have never written or had th need to complain however both my husband & I were quite disappointed in the lack of service, not a good look for Virgin. We had a better experience with virgin business going to Tasmania.

The 2 hostess sitting in the front cabin are not a good fit for the airline on today's experience.

Regards
JV

I thought I was happy to have booked on Virgin airlines ...your Australia line to be exact ...it appears I was mistaken.
How dare you not rebook customers before they leave Australia when you KNOW that they will miss their connecting flight...you should at least advise people that they will horribly unconvinced. God knows I paid enough for a business class seat. You don't even provide a suitable lounge to accommodate people who are forced to sit for 8 extra hours and hope that they will actually get a flight.
Good job ruining a holiday.
Guess Facebook and Twitter will get this information to warn other unwitting travelers

When I booked a flight ( Ref No:GGAQWI) I also booked the meet and greet service for my sister who suffers anxiety and has never travelled by herself. I was extremely disappointed to learn that the service was never received. My sister was looking for someone for help, don't offer a service if you are not going to follow through with it! So disappointing! I also have a booking for my elderly mother with the same so called assistance, will this actually happen or do I have to organise something myself?

On the 19/Aug/2019 domestic flight No VA 539 booking reference VHWIFV, I checked in online and I choose 2 exit seats with a cost of 80 AUD and all was confirmed, when I reached to the airport I do baggage tagging and Printed boarding pass, when I reached to the drop baggage disk, Mr Felix Hunter asked me to put the 2 bags on the scale one by one, and keep me waiting for long time, when I asked him if there is any problem? He started to be aggressive and talking on the phone suddenly he say something I cannot hear, then he suddenly changed our seats with out my agreement, and his excuse was that we cannot understand English !
I'm an airplane engineer with an international masters degree accreditation 27 years in aircraft industry. My wife is medical Dr. and we are both very capable . I speak English Arabic and French, my wife speaks English and Arabic.
I speak with Mr Felix Hunter in good behavior but he speaks to us in a humiliating and aggressive way, with a tone of discrimination and racism although I found our seats change again by Mr Felix Hunter at the boarding. Until we fix it with the gate officer .
I hope you take the right action, I want a personal apology from Mr Hunter by phone call on my Australian No [protected] and a refund of my 80 $ since it was your seats choice not mine .

Note : I'll take the legal action through my embassy other ways

Flight cancelled 15 mins before boarding cause pilot timed out. Told to wait in a 2 hour que to book a new flight for the next day. When I approached the original gate boarding desk attendant to explain this what not possible as a single dad with an autistic child, I was told,
"Everybody has problems, just get in [protected]@$king line."
Sick to my stomach!

Hi,

I was on the Cairns to Melbourne 1pm flight yesterday. Our original flight was cancelled & we were put on a later flight which was fine. When we arrived to check in the lady told us that as the flight was full we were sitting apart as we were not a couple because our names weren't the same. We've been together for a long time and have been travelling together since 2006. We booked seats together, we paid for seats together and then to be told at check in that not only do I now not have a significant other because our last names aren't the same and therefore we don't get to sit together? Since when do you have to be married to be recognised as a couple? When did we lose the right to sit together because we choose not to marry? We have a long distance relationship so the little time we do get to spend together we cherish. Three hours on a flight might not seem like a big deal to some but when you get off the flight and have to go our separate ways until Christmas then every second counts. The flight attendants were great, the inflight service was great but the fact that I was not sitting with David wasn't great. I kept a beady eye on all the other couples and people travelling together get on the flight and they all sat together so why were we separated? I know it seems like a pretty pissy thing to have a whinge about but it's important to me and I just wanted you to know that just because there are two different surnames booked it doesn't mean that they are any less of a couple than Mr & Mrs Smith in row 7.

I forgot my Iphone in the flight from Townsville to Brinbaine and despite several calls and emails. nobody cares and I do not get any feedback. As soon as we left the airport I called and to report the forgotten iten and they told me to check again the next day as the airplane was not cleaned yet.. they day after in the airport spoke with several people from VA and nobody was able to help me... the phone is really important for me and I have been trying to get it back since July 17th (the day we landed in Brisbaine).. Please see below the email I sent as soon as left the airport.. please reply to andre.[protected]@uol.com.br or call + [protected].

Hi

As explained by phone my daughter forgot her IPhone in the airplane. We just arrived in the flight VA 378 from Townsville and we will take the flight to Queenstown tomorrow 9:25am. Her name is Gabriela Plaster Kok and she was in the seat 18E.

I do understand that usually the items are returned after 10am, however I will take the VA flight to New Zeland tomorrow morning and will not return to Australia.

I do appreciate your help and woul be great to have it returned before our tomorrow morning flight. We are staying at the Pullman in the airport and will leave to the International Terminal at 7am

Thanks and Regards

André Kok

Flight VA810 from sydney to melbourne 7.15 am Tuesday July 9 2109

I was boarding this flight with 3 friends at 7 am...there was a man boarding immediately ahead of us and also someone behind us i.e. we were not the last to board, though admittedly running a bit late.
We were not seated together. My friends were directed through the front boarding "tunnel", and I was directed to the door leading down the stairs.
Having walked through the OPEN door and got to the base of the stairs, I found the door to the tarmac locked. I went back up the stairs and found the door was now shut, and LOCKED. I again went down to the door leading to the tarmac and checked it: locked. Two of my friends then came through the TOP door and said they had been directed to board from the back of the plane instead. Before I could warn them, the door shut behind them and all 3 of us were then trapped in the locked-off stairwell. We shouted, we hammered on the top door, we kicked the top door to make as much noise as possible. Nobody heard us.
I then started pulling and pushing on the doorhandle in the hope that someone would see the door shaking. No go.
Getting panicky, I then yanked with all my weight on the doorhandle and managed to open the door, which set off an alarm.
Running to the front of the plane to baord and handing over my boarding pass to the hostess, I commented that "Oh my God, we have been trapped inbetween doors in the stairwell and thank goodness we got out. Her reply?
"How are you today?". Really? Nice to know they are genuinely listening.
How could this possibly happen? Surely there are procedures and checks in place and an order in which things like closing doors is supposed to be done.
I am not particulartly claustrophobic, but even I started to get panicky. I can imagine someone having either a full-blown panic attack or even a heart attack in that situation.
I want this explained thankyou : it is really inconceivable how that could have been allowed to happen.
Sincerely,
Libby Stenning Travelling with Amanda Halstead, Penelope Turnbull and Penelope Bligh (the last two also being trapped in the stairwell with me)

Virgin Australia flight VA 0467 08:00 Perth to Brisbane 1st June 2019 - COMPLAINT

My wife, Yvonne Felix (age 78), and I, Charles Blanshard (age 67) were scheduled to fly from Perth to Brisbane on flight VA 467 at 08:00 1st June 2019. We arrived at Perth Domestic airport and checked in on arrival and Yvonne's suitcase was checked into the cargo hold.
07.35 at the boarding gate Yvonne's boarding pass was accepted, when mine was scanned I was told I could not fly the seat had been double booked / over sold the seats available, although the boarding pass supplied earlier did have a seat number allocated, row 12A I believe but the boarding pass was taken off me during the morning. We had never experienced anything like this before and really could not understand it. We were both so shocked we did not know what to do, so we did as we were told. Yvonne was told to board the aircraft because boarding was closing, and I was told to return to ‘check-in' to arrange another flight. We really did not have time to say goodbye to each other, we are a very close couple, both pensioner's. My ticket was booked and paid for in November 2018 via Flight Centre so how on earth can I not have a seat and I had been issued a boarding pass earlier.
I went back to check-in and was then taken to a see a young man (sorry I cannot remember his name) who said he would arrange another flight to Brisbane. He checked the system, there was a direct flight from Perth to Brisbane that evening at 22:00, arriving in Brisbane at 04:30. I said that was not acceptable because Yvonne my wife was on the fight I should have been on landing in Brisbane at 14.30, at this point I was told we should have been offered a later flight together. The young man checked further and said I could fly from Perth to Sydney at 10:45 and then fly from Sydney to Brisbane at 18:00 arriving at 19.30, I accepted this option. This meant Yvonne would be on her own waiting 5+ hours for me and it also meant our plans for the afternoon had to be cancelled.
I said I would like to complain and was told to visit the Virgin Australia website. I was told I could wait 2+ hour's in the Virgin Australia lounge until the flight to Sydney.
Whilst in the Virgin Australia lounge I asked the young lady on reception if she could please arrange for Yvonne to be given access to the Virgin Australia lounge in Brisbane until I arrived so she would be comfortable, she said she would check if that could happen. Just before boarding I was told I needed to contact Yvonne and tell her to talk to a Virgin Australia staff member to show her where the Virgin Australia lounge was so she Yvonne would be allowed in. Of course by this time Yvonne was half way to Brisbane on the aircraft so I could not contact her direct, only text her hoping when she arrived in Brisbane she would see the text and know what to do. Why Yvonne could not have been met in Brisbane and escorted to the Virgin Australia lounge I do not know, this whole problem was NONE of our making.
I boarded the flight to Sydney and arrived on time, I rang Yvonne who said she had seen my message and was in the Virgin Australia lounge, but like myself very upset that we had not flown together, and like myself could not understand way. I had about 1 hour before boarding the flight to Brisbane, arriving on time and at 19.40.
This whole debacle has caused Yvonne and I a great deal of heartache and stress, we are both pensioner's and at our time of life can do without this kind of trauma especially as it was none of our doing, it has left us both very upset. We went over our car parking time and instead of a four plus drive home in daylight, it was dark all the way home, and we arrived at midnight.
I wish to complain most strongly about what happened to us, how can a ticket bought nearly eight months ago and be given a boarding pass and seat number not be honoured, when more than likely most of the tickets on that flight were purchased after mine.
I would like to say the assistant who organised my flight to Sydney then on to Brisbane and the two Virgin Australia lounge assistant's were very understanding and helpful.

Yours faithfully,
C R Blanshard
Tel. [protected]

My partner and I purchased a flight from Melbourne to Vanuatu with virgin and we are extremely disappointed with the service of the on board meal options. We are vegan and vegetarian and we don't get to choose this option for our meal. We have to pay extra on top of the flight price if we want to eat. Virgin should make it clear when purchasing a flight with you that you don't accomodate for people with special meal needs. Its still is an international flight and I've never seen this poor service before. I will never fly with virgin again.

On a flight to from Sydney/Brisbane/Rockhampton QLD Thursday 18th April 2019, one of our suitcases was damaged and a swivel wheel came off, I purchased a new Samsonite suitcase for the return journey on Monday 22 April, upon landing we noticed that the security lock mechanism was damaged now rendering the bag useless. I phoned your appropriate complaint number yesterday and gave all my details including email to commence the paperwork. No emails received as I believe the person on the other end could not understand English and the Supervisor was even less coherent. Last night got on line and submitted a complaint and still no reply. I am now going to offficialy complain to consumer affairs if I have no response in the next 48 hours. surely a confirmation email of phone call could be a polite way to keep me as a Velocity customer otherwise I will be switching to your opposition.
I submitted the receipt for the purchase of the new Samsonite case, flight numbers etc.
Regards
Gabriel Bresolin