to be honest it is getting a bit old...you guys must really luck out with your flights! I have not experienced bad service in the air with Qantas in the last 3 years but hey keep bashing away to what point don't know. There does come a point where it just becomes white noise and is ignored by those who could do something. I never see actual issues but maybe the upcoming vids will show some. I also think people have this very romantic view of what Qantas used to be like which was probably never the case. Virgin on the other hand is fine and have been for the last few years as well. Not great but also I never see anything to really complain about and I fly both airlines quite a lot. I would take either of Australia's domestic airlines over any of the US offerings domestically as there is no comparison.
@@mnewm21, I fly Qantas quite a bit also. Is it just the tall poppy syndrome, or am I missing something. I don’t know anyone that flies Qantas, because they all “prefer” Virgin, but the Qantas flights that I take are always full, or near full. I really think that people like to bash Qantas, but secretly prefer to fly with them.
@@markandkim66 i can directly compare the two as I fly with one or the other every week and to be honest there is not a big enough difference that you would be concerned about domestically. The biggest difference is the hard product like the seats and that is more dependant on the plane. Both airlines 7373s are almost identical but the Qantas a330s if you get one are very nice and so were the Virgin ones but they seem to have pulled them from domestic duty now. For me I am always pleasant and helpful to the staff and they ALWAYS reciprocate. I have found in life this is the way to the best service. Don't demand it but lead by example. If someone is having a not so good day your example can be all they need to have their day turn around and if you make someone feel good they are much more likely to go out of their way to assist you.
Swapped from QF to VA nearly 2 years ago and haven't looked back. VA's partnerships have served me well enough so far and they're much better value for money and I consistently get much better service than with Qantas. Welcome to Australia and glad to see you had a great experience with my favourite Aussie carrier.
As a Sydney based Australian who travels to Asia several times a year, give me SQ, JAL, ANA, Cathay etc any day of the week over Qantas. They used to be fantastic but Alan Joyce wrecked the customer and employee experience in favour of shareholders and his own payslip. Hopefully the new management can eventually turn them around into a great airline once again.
couldn't agree more - unless work pays for it - i don't fly them. That being said, having contacts in the industry, there are signs that things are changing under new leadership
In my experience, Joyce only amplified the existing problems with Qantas - I've used them when I had no other choice for more that 30 years, and have always found it an unpleasant experience, at least for domestic travel. I've spoken to people who worked for them going back to the introduction of jets, and their management has always been arrogant and terrible.
As a flight reviewer myself based in Melbourne, I was very interested to see what you had to say about VA and our domestic flights. I completely get why you were crapping on Qantas, they can make my and many other Australians' blood boil sometimes. But as you said, I still fly them more than any other Australian Airline because of gaining status with Oneworld. Virgin Australia isn't part of an alliance, but it does have quite a range of partners with which you can earn and redeem points with and in some cases use Velocity Gold for lounge access, etc, but it's not the same as having status with a whole alliance. Virgin Australia actually downgraded me once, haven't had it happen on Qantas but I'm not entirely surprised. I have little faith in Qantas anymore when it comes to customer service. It's unfortunate that Rex and Bonza both have ceased 737 operations as they were both great but now it's just VA and Qantas Group. If VA goes bust Australian flyers are somewhat screwed. Love your videos mate keep up the great work! Hope you enjoyed Australia!
As someone who flies overseas a lot I’ve made the decision to side with virgin because of their partnerships. They include Singapore, ANA, Etihad, United & Qatar. That’s some of the best airlines in the world. Once Air NZ comes on board I can’t see a need to join star alliance or similar.
I also recently flew Virgin MEL to BNE on Business Class. The lounge was great with decent food, good booze and very clean toilets. The staff onboard were nothing short of fantastic. I'd say many Virgin customers have realised how bad Qantas is, and avoid Qantas at all costs.
As an Aussie, the only thing we despise more than Qantas, is Qantas’ management. Just an FYI, we don’t think Brisbane is like Las Vegas, we just think the locals are as mental as Las Vegas 😂
Australia needs a Las Vegas If Alice Springs got built up into a glitzy gambling Mecca it would at least have the same climate as Vegas 😂 And unlike Vegas you could have an underground cave casino resort there!
@@coyotelong4349 Australia doesn't need a Las Vegas. We have very serious issues with problem gambling as it is. But underground? You must be thinking of Coober Pedy which is 687 km away from Alice Springs in a different state.
I worked briefly for Qantas. It probably wouldn't surprise you to know that it behaves towards its staff even worse than the way it behaves towards its customers ...
Flying VA now regularly, I have to say they are consistently friendly, punctual and solid. I agree a new alliance would be highly welcome! Thank you for all the background information and can’t wait for the Qantas review 🫣🍿🍹
Welcome to Australia, the best place on Earth ( I am biased born in Vietnam bred in Australia for 45 years ) . Thanks for sharing. By the way you are not crapping Qantas. You are telling the truth about Qantas . They are really crap. My default international airline out of Sydney is Singapore Air.
for a lot of Vietnamese people(My best mate is one)Singapore Airlines is the default option if they can't always get a Seat on Vietnam Airlines from Australia to their home land and return.
Agreed. SQ is almost always the cheapest option for me out of Melbourne and it helps that they have great service and ~5 daily flights for me to choose from.
A couple of points: Domestic bubbles are always available pre-flight on request. There are partner airlines (SQ, Etihad, Qatar, etc) which can be booked through Velocity. We are flying Sydney/London first class on SQ next year this way. Virgin have always had the best service I have ever experienced on any airline anywhere in the world.
Emirates and Qatar hands down. VA service is just as meh as sitting on the phone with their customer service. Virgin Voyages on the other hand, phenomenal phone CS
So refreshing to see content that raises its head above the amenity kit and IFE. 4:26 Kevin please, please, please have this extended conversation, Oz clearly lacks the political will to go there. I haven’t flown Qantas for two years, and as a Melbournite living in the states that can be a freakingly inconvenenient choice. But I am disgusted with the decades of predatory behaviour Qantas AND Virgin Oz have been allowed to get away with. Losing Ansett changed Oz aviation forever, but it barely registered with any of us on September 13, 2001, setting it seems, a pattern of unquestioning acceptance of domestic airlines going under, and there isn’t a Eureka flag in sight.
Kevin, I’ve been so looking forward to viewing your extensive airline knowledge and wisdom being applied to our commercial aviation industry here in Australia…what a great start! Your Qantas experience and views will be very welcome… It would seem that we’re unable at this time to generate much needed competition noting not only REX, moreover, the loss of “Bonza” airlines earlier this year… Keep up your great work and efforts with these informative and relevant vlogs.👏
If the government just released those protectionist reigns for 2 yeas... just 2 years... the industry would literally self heal and thrive. We can only hope.
Great review. I like how you said Brisbane correctly. Qantas is so overpriced. Sadly we have no competition against Qantas but I like Virgin Australia best 😊
Hi, Kevin. Great review as usual. I've flown Virgin Australia a few time sin 2020 and 2023 and I am due to fly them again next year. I have always admired Virgin Group companies for their great customer service easpecially the airlines. Iknow Virgin Australia isn't part of the group but they seem to have kept the ethos of cuatomer service. I would have to be desperate to fly Jetstar in the future due to the way I was treated by them back in 2020 when I had to fly home early. They offered me a voucher that had to be used within 6 months and couldn't be transfered to my brother who lives out there. I also have to say I also enjoyed Qantas for their very good caring and helpful service in business class when I flew with them last year. I've flown economy with them yet but have a flight booked with them next year so I will be able to judge both almost back to back-to-back. Thanks for the video, Kevin🙃😉❤
I agree 100% on all your points about Qantas, Kevin. I would avoid flying with them if I could, but they remain the most convenient option for me when flying to my home country of the Philippines from New Zealand where I currently live. Qantas is only one-stop compared to two if I flew with Air New Zealand (and its Star Alliance partner Singapore Airlines). If another airline offered a one-stop itinerary between Wellington and Manila, I would walk away from Qantas in a heartbeat. They just aren't that good anymore. They should look at Air New Zealand and see how they treat their customers lmao.
Thanks for the review.I took exactly the same journey this month in the evening .Their' service is excellent and their' food is normally very tasty and enjoyable .
Great review. When I fly domestically it's mostly VIrgin. The Federal Government holding out on Virgin during the Pandemic and then giving Qantas 2.7 billion was disgusting. Enjoy the remainder of your flights.
Air North to Dili on an E120 Brasilia!!! p.s loved the vid - and as someone that works in the aus av industry I appreciate you bringing attention to our competition problem...
I give my thanks to sweet baby Jesus that I can avoid Qantas for nearly all my flights, because I mainly fly overseas. And Perth (which is small, but does actually exist) is surprisingly well catered for by international airlines. So Emerites and Singapore it is then...I jumped straight from a BC SIA flight to a Qantas BC once at Changi and noticed skeezy penny pinching all over the place on QF, starting with the much narrower seat.
I think the substative government ownership of Qantas is something that needs to be investigated from a competition standpoint. But that's the government investigating the government, so good luck with that one. That kind of thing only happens if there is a public outcry, and most Aussies don't give a shit or don't know because they don't travel. Australia used to be full of government owned monopolies (Telstra, CSL, AGL...) and Qantas is a legacy of that.
While visiting Australia from the US, I was meant to fly Rex (economy) a few days after its capital routes folded, was looking forward to trying them. I did get rebooked on Virgin for free though. In economy, between Qantas and Virgin there isn't much different other then the price and drinks/snack service.
T3 at MEL is domestic, T2 is international, which is why NAN, DPS, ZQN are there. And on alliances, VA has a pretty good relationship with SQ, QR and EY for lounges, baggage and priority perks.
Sure, but code share agreements don't drive competition when your competitor is in a full alliance. VA needs to reach in bound flyers as well and their code share agreement simply do very little to attract pax.
Great vid as per, the tremendous amount of detail and work in your vids is phenomenal. Particularly love the airport stats on take off. When I worked in Aus, EVERY other customer I had whipped out the qantas amex card and as you mentioned aussies are obsessed with flying out of their own country, specifically to europe. A shame virgin aus don't do long haul
Great to see you on a route only often. I’m a virgin Loyalist as they have great services from Hobart. Qantas and Jetstar will cancel flights at the drop of a hat. Glad you enjoyed your trip.
@@tfft side note, but a white paper is getting handed down this morning to establish a compensation scheme for delayed or cancelled flights in Australia, I think it would bring us closer in line to other jurisdictions, and will act as a big stick for Qantas and their poor behaviour.
Great video! And definitely correct about Qantas. I only fly it when every other choice is expensive including Air NZ (which has its own set of problems) over to Australia and those seats in Qantas are horrible as a tall person too 🤦♀️🤦♀️
I've stopped making domestic fight reviews a while ago so it's refreshing to see one from the perspective of a visitor. I don't hate QF, but i dislike their management's behaviour. The QF apologists will defend them until death, but that's what a healthy discussion is all about. You need the drama involving the for and against. I'm one of those who refuses to pay and fly QF, and yet i have heaps of points accumulated in their program. My everyday life is intertwined into that and points just pile up. I then use them to redeem QF domestic flights, or international ones with their OW partners. VA is well priced for the product you receive. Post 2011 when they transformed from Blue to VA, they never actually turned a profit at all right till COVID struck. That was one of the reasons why the govt did not bail them out. Once you take emotions out, you'll understand why the govt only wanted to save the save-able. That's why only QF got the life line. VA turned a profit for the first time in 2023, so power to them. Enjoyed your perspective! Cheers.
The thing is though, we have no idea how QF and VA would have been performing pre-Covid had they been operating in an open and fair market. Not all, but certainly some of VA's position (literal, fincancial and network-wise) was a direct result of the government preventing VA (and V Australia) from expanding organically- V Australia was limited to 10 flights to the US per week... how many were QF limited to? This isn't even to mention the international carriers which were prevented from entering or expanding in AUS- an ongoing issues- which also inflates QF's profit margin. In the same way that we can't talk about Westjet's profitibility (vs. Air Canada) or Flybondi's (vs. Aerolineas Argentinas)... speaking about the performance of non-QF carriers in Australia has to be within the context of the protection that the government affords to QF. The "Australia only has room for two or three airlines" needs to realistically be ammended to "Australia only has room for one big airline protected by the government, plus one more owned by that same airline, plus one other lil one."
@@tfft you are absolutely right... Kudos for drawing parallels between AU and CA. Large country, small population. I'm all for an open market. But Canberra is hell bent on protecting QF for better or worse, even though they deny it. And for that, the crappy state we find QF in and they have little to no incentive to improve. Why invest in bettering the hard product when we're profitable and customers come to us anyway? The current CEO is here to reverse the brand damage, but my prediction is little will change because she was the CFO under the previous guy aka part of the old guard.
Yeah, frankly I don't think there's really any incentive for them to turn around QF except for a few good media cycles. That said, this posturing rarely works long term. You can only protect an airline for so long until something else shakes up the market. Ask Pan Am lol. Was writing an SQ script the other day and laughed out loud about how it took SQ 9 years to negotiate US authorization as the government tried to prop up Pan Am as the dominant carrier. Aus is simply 40 years behind as far as protectionist policies and reform goes 😅
@@tfft I'm Singapore born and bred. And I moved to Australia a decade ago. Came here to semi retire. While I love the laid back lifestyle, sometimes I tear my hair out at how 3rd world their policies are. Which trickles down to how their aviation sector develops. It's Europe without the cultural pomp.
Thanks again, Kevin. The other lovely thing about VA is their bid to upgrade offer which I manage to get frequently for a ridiculously good price. Ps hope you have the chance to visit us down in Tasmania one day.
As someone who flies overseas a lot I’ve made the decision to side with virgin because of their partnerships. They include Singapore, ANA, Etihad, United & Qatar. That’s some of the best airlines in the world. Once Air NZ comes on board I can’t see a need to join star alliance or similar.
They need an alliance because if they really want to compete with QF they need to attract inbound travelers as well. Those code share agreements are good for Australians, but mean very little in terms of benefits for those outside of those specific orbits.
@@tfft If the reports of QR set to buy a considerable stake in Virgin ends up being the case, it's likely that Qatar will keep Virgin alliance-free under their part-ownership as they will have to work with Bain as their co-owner.
Thanks Kevin. Great review as always. We live in Brisbane. Agree with everything you said on Qantas, and we only fly Virgin (we flew the same route in same seats just on Sunday). You taught me a few things on Govt funding during Covid. So anti-competitive!! If they only realised that healthy competition is good competition, Qantas would have a much better product! Rant over! 😂 Hope you had a great time in Bris!
i'd also add that one important (for me) aspect of business class travel is priority baggage, which i've never seen included in any youtube airline review. it is another area where virgin wins over qantas hands down.
Love your vids, have been watching for some time as my Sunday morning coffee and Flip Flop travel video ritual. So happy to see you in Oz, your MEL > SYD video flew right past my house as you landed!
Rex failed just after it included Perth in its interstate network so Perth is once again an outpost of Southeast Asia - we have more and cheaper flight choices to nearby Bali, Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur than to Australia's eastern states. If you draw a circle with its centre at Perth and its circumference going through Sydney it also goes through Jakarta. "Brisvegas" is a put-down used by jealous denizens of Melbourne and Sydney. You don't hear it much in Perth - we have no reason to feel jealous. 😊
I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing this same product multiple times in the last year or so. I wasn’t surprised to see that you had good things to say about the service on board. I’ve always had good experiences with Virgins cabin crew (and yes Qantas does have some wonderful crew too) but Virgin is more consistent and they have a casual but still professional attitude which I find particularly endearing. Interested to hear about this drama with Qantas out of Adelaide which is my local airport 😬
I can't believe the airline staff member asked if you were flying to Brisvegas. Not sure whether to cringe or be proud of our quirky Australian sense of humour. Oh and btw, most of us have dogs rather than dingoes LOL .
Welcome to Oz, Virgin was lucky to survive covid and is vital to the domestic aviation market here. Qantas is really a behemoth here with deep roots politically, being the default national carrier the government bends over backwards for it. The corporate management over the last decade (led by Alan Joyce) focussed on stripping away costs to boost the bottom line. It sacked and contracted out a lot of staff, especially during covid and it showed with the customer experience dropping year on year. As a result the brand has suffered and Aussie aren't too pleased about it. Decent competition is really the only motivator for them to lift their game, that and People like you Sir shinning a light on their failings and I thank you for that.
Fair review. I do a lot of MCY or BNE - MEL and ADL. My comments- you have the government's blatant pro-Qantas position correct, and crapping on the head of that airline very correct. It's been reinforced with the indifference to the collapses of Bonza and Rex (but Bonza was deeply flawed to begin with...) I'm Platinum Velocity with VOZ. The number of surveys about product and service I've gotten recently suggest VOZ is looking at getting serious. What happens after asking is, well... Their lounges are all pre Covid, actually pre 2015ish decor and need a massage- except for Adelaide which was their upgrade model until the buyout and Quiet Times. On board food needs an upgrade, and if you do several flights you will find their menu very limited across all routes. The Business Class attendants are without exception fantastic- but it's only a 2 X 4 cabin so they've got time And yes, BrisVegas. If you know, you know 😊
I loved your Qantas price calculator! I can’t believe that don’t cross their legs when they rip you off My wife purchases Australian and overseas travel for her company Qantas is banned If some staff insist on a Qantas fare they are told to choose forward booking with Vigin- stay home !
We flew Virgin business in April, paid for by us. We were flying from home in Sydney to Brisbane to get on a cruise to Hawaii the following day. Had to be at the airport fairly early so we were happy to have the lounge to wait in, pretty average but still OK. The flight itself was great and the crew were brilliant. No hesitation from us in flying with them again at all. After our cruise was over we didn't fly back to Sydney with Qantas or Jetstar nor Hawaiian for that matter which has gone down hill a bit. We flew back via Tokyo with Japan Airlines after booking premium economy for both flights from Honolulu to Tokyo and then Tokyo to Sydney overnight. Lounge access for PE but we got a free upgrade to business for the overnight flight. Excellent flights, and the crew were second to nobody.
@@tfft Australia has a proven record that we simply can’t afford 3 major players , too many factors contribute to such a scenario, with Bonza they simply operated the wrong aircraft type for a start, REX have good intentions but on the major capital routes, frequency/timing is basically the key in which they failed to secure prime slots, business travelers are out of the equation and all they could rely on are travelers whom would simply pick them cause of the price. It’s a shame but until an airline has like infinity money to burn we won’t be able to accommodate 3 major players in our market.
More like a bunch of Aussies have a shocking case of tall poppy syndrome. Qantas is an outstanding airline and its flights are always full. Not to mention it has the best trained pilots in the world and thoroughly deserves its unrivalled reputation for safety. Haters gonna hate.
@@jjjddd231The criticism of Qantas has almost always been levelled at their greedy management (cost-cutting, outsourcing, poor customer service policies, etc.) and for the government being complicit in limiting competition by not buying a stake in QF when handing Covid money and declining extra flights to Qatar for no reason, among other reasons. I don’t think anyone is criticising their pilots or their other staff, the vast majority of whom are very competent at their jobs.
@@jjjddd231 Hardly outstaying with all the debacle they had during Covid, the only reason I would choose Qantas over Virgin on a company trip is they have a car superior business class offering on their domestic routes within certain major capital routes, but the price point is hardly justificable, simply because there’s not much competition. As a regular traveller domestically and internationally I don’t see Qantas “outstanding”, if you are talking about Singapore or Emirates then that’s another story
It’s interesting to hear that your experience with Virgin Australia was great. It doesn’t really hold a candle to the Pre-Covid Virgin Australia since all of the new Private Capital company owner bought it and their cost cutting gutted the airline. It’s just a pity that their prices didn’t also lower at all to reflect the shift from mid-service to budget plus.
Virgin Airlines Customer Service has always proven to be excellent for me during the years. I am now disabled and they always go out of their way to make my travelling experience pleasant, from my airport entry at departures to my airport exit at arrivals. Service is what Virgin Airlines is all about.
Nice review as always. VA became my carrier of choice when I decided to defect from QF and their awful management and treatment of customers and employees. I've been a platinum member since 2011 and have no complaints. I fly business class for half the price of QF as you say and although all my flights are for leisure I find it good value. VA isn’t part of an airline alliance. Instead if has some excellent partner airlines to connect flights, earn points and status, use points for flights, etc which I do often. These are - United Airlines. Virgin Atlantic. Singapore Airlines. Etihad Airways. All Nippon Airways. Air Canada. Qatar Airways. Hawaiian Airlines South African Airways, There are also other partner airlines
@@tfft Surprisingly no. I just burned up my remaining QF points with a nice RTW business class trip with One World partners who often weren't much better. My passports have since been given a good workout with VA's far superior airline partners. I really enjoy SQ, QR and NH.
I’ve always found QF cabin crew to be great, just avoid the product for its price and management, an VA is always decent, friendly and cheaper. BTW ‘The Flip Flop Traveller’ is ‘The Thong Traveller’ in Aussie 😅
I really enjoy flying with VA, prices are better than Qantas and staff are friendlier in my experience. I only ever fly Qantas if on a points ticket. And I get lounge access with VA status when flying Qatar to Europe which is great too. Really wish our government would stop the constant love for Qantas and stopping competition that would benefit the consumer 😑
I have flown Qatar to Europe and was impressed.Had to sign up at the time with American Airlines Aadvantage to get points when I went in 2018.I am thankful they are a Velocity partner which is way more useful in Australia.
Interesting video Kevin! I would say Virgin was the main airline in the downfall of Rex because they would match Rex’s cheap fares and since people had velocity status or part of velocity business flyer plus they knew Virgin well, people would choose Virgin over Rex so that’s why Rex has poor load factors and couldn’t make money. Also with Rex gone now it affects Virgin the most because they won’t have to match those cheap fares and would go in line with Qantas even though they have a vastly inferior product and is not a full service carrier so they would become poor value and overpriced. Also I don’t see how VA can join an alliance as they have stakes from SQ, Ethiad and Qatar so all different alliances. And they used to have a okay international fleet with a330’s and 777’s but now they just have 737’s after suffering in Covid so they are limited.
That price matching was easy to do with Bain Capital money at your back haha. But yes, when I was planning it I saw the matching, literally to the dollar on each REX, Virgin route- while QF was always nearly double. As for the alliance, there are certainly ways to navigate that. Bain Capital has expressed that they want to offload their majority share over the coming years. The scales just need to be tipped towards one airline. That said, it wouldn't be worth it if it wasn't a bit messy lol
As an Australian, I feel that Brisvegas has run its course. I prefer Brisbekistan. Kevin, thanks so much for shining the light on the mostly dire service levels of the Australian airline industry. I fly with all 3 major airlines fairly frequently and while Jetstar is clearly the worst, I really hope Virgin attempts to take on Qantas for the number 1 position. Qantas has been assuming we have no choice for far too long. They're a shitty airline and I prefer to start any international travel via Singapore (and SQ) instead.
It's quite sad that Rex has gone into administration. They had great service when I flew with them. Virgin Australia is quite average by comparison. Speaking about Qantas, if you want an upgrade (instead of a downgrade), fly Jetstar instead. More often than not you will get bumped onto a Qantas flight along with the free food and stuff because Jetstar flights more often than not get cancelled for whatever reasons. I know because this frequently happened to me and I ended up flying Qantas involuntarily 😂
I’m rooting for virgin too. I’ve only ever experienced friendly and positive service at Virgin. Yes I’ve experienced cancelled and delayed flights but it’s how virgin deals with these problems that stands out to me. It’s always a positive experience dealing with their team. That is not my experience with QANTAS or Jetstar. After my last negative experience I vowed to never fly with either again. I do travel internationally a couple of times a year and use partner airlines like Singapore Air. While I’d love to see them join an alliance and offer more to compete with QANTAS, I’ll stick with them because they earned my loyalty. Alan Joyce and his team did alot of damage to QANTAS. They used to be a national treasure. Now they’re seen as the mean greedy airline. They have a lot of work to do to recover from that.
As an Australian I can clearly state that QANTAS is the last airline I would fly with overseas. Their fares are outrageous and their inflight service is awful. I had to fly with QANTAS in 2020 but the price difference was staggering - for exactly the same flights and seats (business) between Vladivostok and Brisbane, the price difference between QANTAS and S7 (Siberian Airlines) was over $6,000.00 - I booked through S7!
By the way guys. Lets not forget that Kevin "gave up" his beloved flip-flops just to be sure he got better quality video for his channel. Now THAT is devotion folks!
I am glad the flip-flops are gone. I've seen the way they go in an emergency evacuation down the slides and it is not pretty. I have always encouraged no flip-flops at an airplane. Too easy to lose them if you have to evacuate quickly.
Definitely virgin over QF for domestic in Australia unfortunately for us in New Zealand they only fly out of Queenstown. For Trans tasman air New Zealand. I'm yet to discover the fifth freedom airlines that operate between NZ and Australia. Great review as always 😊
Not too clear about the situation, but, as a Singaporean who lives in Brisbane, Virgin AU seems to be linked or owned partially somewhere along the line in history by Singapore Airlines, they do code share and Virgin Velocity miles can be converted to Singapore Air Krisflyer miles at 1 to 1.55 rate.
Flying weekly Bris - Melb route Virgin do it better than any other airline. I have not flown Qantas for over a year but this week thought id give jetstar another shot and regret my decision, not looking forward to the flight home Monday
As an Australian business traveller for almost 30 years, you only fly QF if you have no other choice. Full stop. Rex business hard product was usually the same as VA business, unless you fluked one of their ex-Silkair 737s which had slightly better seats.
One of those rusted on qantas flyers here - and yes, hoping virgin competes hard. I won’t be shifting though - a combination of inertia, miles and the weird deep cultural connection that comes with it being the only local carrier that’s been around continuously as long as I have.
I get it- but I feel for ya. If they screwed me over twice in as many days on as many itineraries... I can't imagine what it's like to be in a long term relationship with them lol
As a local, Brisvegas' is an unfortunate nickname created by 'someone', as we like to believe we are as 'cool' as Las Vegas, not. My loyalty is with Qantas as their FF program is more beneficial to my circumstances, however we do sometimes fly Virgin and always have a great experience. Unfortunately, Australia simply does not have the population to support 4 mainline carriers. Great video as always Kevin. Looking forward to your Qantas, 'downgraded' video.
Don't take offense to this, I promise the comparisons aren't from me lol. I went full circle with this in another comment. In the US, Brisbane is known to be the Essex (UK) of Australia and Essex is known to be the Jersey Shore of the UK... and the Jersey Shore has Atlantic City which literally is the Las Vegas of the east coast. So perhaps, we can blame all of this on New Jersey 😂
Hmm, a QR interest in Virgin Australia? Is that the same QR has a chunk of IAG (BA, Iberia, Are Lingus)? Also the expansion of Avios as a loyalty programme across IAG, Finnair and QR will mean that pax could possibly redeem Avios over more OneWorld routes
To be clear, Rex has not gone out of business, though they are still in administration. Their core business, being regional services, are still operating as normal, with thanks to the government (might be worth noting this is not the same government that basically abandoned Virgin during Covid). Only their jet based routes have been shut down.
It's only the Qantas snobs and people who fly them and grew up on TAA AND Australian Business Class that might be in the percentage of this is below them.
@@tfftlol sorry yes excited for this set of reviews. I really liked your thoroughness with the Airlines background and the politics of Aussie aviation. Your review reflects everything I've experienced on Virgin Australia to a tee and they really work on service/customer experience. Let's hope they join star alliance and drag Qatar with them! Keep up the great reviews and looking forward to the angry roo reviews!
We deal with the same government treatment in Canada for Air Canada........ their product has improved a lot over the last decade but their mgmt practice questionable and their fleet is stretched thin. On a typical day, you can expect delays for any flight out of YYZ after 4pm.
Bonza almost made it with just four 737’s which Ave 130 pax per flight and increasing. Their backers, a US Investment fund seized the planes for reasons not exactly clear. Anyway, that leaves only Virgin Aus to compete with Qantas.
Nah. Bonza were approached by HVB to do 3 X MEL-HVB route a week.They wanted $750k cash up front non refundable just to look at it, free landing fees, no terminal fees and free "over night parking" (my words) at HVB. I saw the paperwork. JQ got the gig at market $ Either they could not sustain the airfares on offer and knew it, or it was a racket
I only flown Virgin due to their customer service. I’m a large person and I will not go back to Qantas after the way I was treated years ago. Hope Virgin can bounce back to pre-COVID days
While Virgin aren’t in an alliance they do have some pretty decent partnerships. Singapore, etihad, United and Qatar to name a few. I’m va gold and can get into all their lounges, extra baggage, priority boarding and award redemptions.
Yeah, but I still don't think that serves them well enough. For AUS based pax that may work well, but it's not encouraging in bound pax to consider VA since my Skyteam, Oneworld or Star Alliance status won't get me didly with VA lol.
Regarding alliances: it's true Virgin doesn't belong to any alliance but it has deals with United, Air Canada, Singapore Air, Qatar airlines, Emirates, South African Airlines and others: this allows high status loyalty members (Gold and Platinum) to get all the perks of alliance membership (lounge, priority check-in, etc) though not all of them give all perks.
Yes but in order for VA to be able to properly compete with Qantas, they need to attract in bound pax as well. The code share agreements you mentioned definitely do benefit some local fliers but they fall very short of the benefits of a full fledged alliance.
@@tfft Although Virgin when they came out of Bankruptcy stated they're not 'competing' with Qantas, but are a Hybrid Value Carrier (A glorified Low Cost Carrier with a 8 seater J Cabin attached with Domestic Lounges and a FF Program). Basically a huge gap between Y (where the cheapest ticket is carry-on only, like the LCCs/ULCCs) and their Spirit Airlines-like 'Big Front Seat' J recliners.
Thanks for kicking Qantas again
Oh this was just a love tap. Wait for the coming 2 Qantas videos lol
@@tfft tremendous
to be honest it is getting a bit old...you guys must really luck out with your flights! I have not experienced bad service in the air with Qantas in the last 3 years but hey keep bashing away to what point don't know. There does come a point where it just becomes white noise and is ignored by those who could do something. I never see actual issues but maybe the upcoming vids will show some. I also think people have this very romantic view of what Qantas used to be like which was probably never the case. Virgin on the other hand is fine and have been for the last few years as well. Not great but also I never see anything to really complain about and I fly both airlines quite a lot. I would take either of Australia's domestic airlines over any of the US offerings domestically as there is no comparison.
@@mnewm21, I fly Qantas quite a bit also. Is it just the tall poppy syndrome, or am I missing something. I don’t know anyone that flies Qantas, because they all “prefer” Virgin, but the Qantas flights that I take are always full, or near full. I really think that people like to bash Qantas, but secretly prefer to fly with them.
@@markandkim66 i can directly compare the two as I fly with one or the other every week and to be honest there is not a big enough difference that you would be concerned about domestically. The biggest difference is the hard product like the seats and that is more dependant on the plane. Both airlines 7373s are almost identical but the Qantas a330s if you get one are very nice and so were the Virgin ones but they seem to have pulled them from domestic duty now.
For me I am always pleasant and helpful to the staff and they ALWAYS reciprocate. I have found in life this is the way to the best service. Don't demand it but lead by example. If someone is having a not so good day your example can be all they need to have their day turn around and if you make someone feel good they are much more likely to go out of their way to assist you.
The idea of a staff member calling it Brisvegas to you without realising you're not Australian is SO funny to me
I’m a Queenslander and I hate the term find it insulting
Makes me curious though if she thought I was from Brisbane or... not...
Swapped from QF to VA nearly 2 years ago and haven't looked back. VA's partnerships have served me well enough so far and they're much better value for money and I consistently get much better service than with Qantas. Welcome to Australia and glad to see you had a great experience with my favourite Aussie carrier.
And also with REX (RIP!)
As a Sydney based Australian who travels to Asia several times a year, give me SQ, JAL, ANA, Cathay etc any day of the week over Qantas. They used to be fantastic but Alan Joyce wrecked the customer and employee experience in favour of shareholders and his own payslip. Hopefully the new management can eventually turn them around into a great airline once again.
couldn't agree more - unless work pays for it - i don't fly them. That being said, having contacts in the industry, there are signs that things are changing under new leadership
I hope so, but I'd say there's very little incentive at this point for them to do so... Not like they're going to lose market share anytime soon
Sounds similar to lufthansa
In my experience, Joyce only amplified the existing problems with Qantas - I've used them when I had no other choice for more that 30 years, and have always found it an unpleasant experience, at least for domestic travel. I've spoken to people who worked for them going back to the introduction of jets, and their management has always been arrogant and terrible.
As a flight reviewer myself based in Melbourne, I was very interested to see what you had to say about VA and our domestic flights. I completely get why you were crapping on Qantas, they can make my and many other Australians' blood boil sometimes. But as you said, I still fly them more than any other Australian Airline because of gaining status with Oneworld. Virgin Australia isn't part of an alliance, but it does have quite a range of partners with which you can earn and redeem points with and in some cases use Velocity Gold for lounge access, etc, but it's not the same as having status with a whole alliance. Virgin Australia actually downgraded me once, haven't had it happen on Qantas but I'm not entirely surprised. I have little faith in Qantas anymore when it comes to customer service. It's unfortunate that Rex and Bonza both have ceased 737 operations as they were both great but now it's just VA and Qantas Group. If VA goes bust Australian flyers are somewhat screwed. Love your videos mate keep up the great work! Hope you enjoyed Australia!
The downgrade, if for a true op reason, is fine... but downgrading me and then giving me a run around for the refund... that's different lol
@@tfft I didn't get a refund lol
@@tfft I believe VA is/was close with SQ, and that's always a plus. @Aviation763 nice to see you here too!
@@randompersonasdfgh Correct, they still are. Hi!
As someone who flies overseas a lot I’ve made the decision to side with virgin because of their partnerships. They include Singapore, ANA, Etihad, United & Qatar. That’s some of the best airlines in the world. Once Air NZ comes on board I can’t see a need to join star alliance or similar.
I also recently flew Virgin MEL to BNE on Business Class. The lounge was great with decent food, good booze and very clean toilets. The staff onboard were nothing short of fantastic. I'd say many Virgin customers have realised how bad Qantas is, and avoid Qantas at all costs.
Thanks for watching 🩴
As an Aussie, the only thing we despise more than Qantas, is Qantas’ management.
Just an FYI, we don’t think Brisbane is like Las Vegas, we just think the locals are as mental as Las Vegas 😂
Australia needs a Las Vegas
If Alice Springs got built up into a glitzy gambling Mecca it would at least have the same climate as Vegas 😂
And unlike Vegas you could have an underground cave casino resort there!
@@coyotelong4349 Australia doesn't need a Las Vegas. We have very serious issues with problem gambling as it is. But underground? You must be thinking of Coober Pedy which is 687 km away from Alice Springs in a different state.
@@rais1953 Ahhh ok, I was thinking of the underground hotel in Coober Pedy haha
I know Coober Pedy’s in SA, Alice Springs in the NT
@@coyotelong4349 Yep. The majority of Coober Pedy's houses are underground. Very nice too. If you need another room you just dig another room 😄
I shall stay out of the Vegas comments lol
I worked briefly for Qantas. It probably wouldn't surprise you to know that it behaves towards its staff even worse than the way it behaves towards its customers ...
Explains why their staff were so nasty to me lol
that explains the onboard crew attitude.
Flying VA now regularly, I have to say they are consistently friendly, punctual and solid. I agree a new alliance would be highly welcome! Thank you for all the background information and can’t wait for the Qantas review 🫣🍿🍹
Especially now with their new NZ code care announced yesterday, Star Alliance would be such a good fit.
That was a great summary of Virgin and the aviation industry in Australia. Your research Kevin is admirable.
Sadly, it's not that hard to see right through the crap QF is dishing out! lol. but thanks!
Your quirky sense of humour reviews remind me of our own inimitable Paul Stewart.
Well done, subscribed.
He's a subscriber here as well (and me of his...) so perhaps, there is a connection in the air haha.
The addition of airlines’ tail logos at the airport stats is amazing!!!
Always trying to improve. Thanks for watching 🩴
these videos make me stay up later than I should
You should move to Perth. Problem solved ✅
@@tfftin Bangladesh it’s 6pm when you upload, perfect timing for me
move to mojave desert, CA. it's 5:00am there!
The Virgin staff are so much nicer than that other mob :)
Ironic that in my 2nd upcoming Qantas video, I referred to Qantas as the mob boss lol
I came in not expecting the truth as a local knows it about the airline "war" here in Australia... you sir get a subscriber ;)
I promise there are a few 'outsiders' that feel your pain as well lol
Welcome to Australia, the best place on Earth ( I am biased born in Vietnam bred in Australia for 45 years ) . Thanks for sharing. By the way you are not crapping Qantas. You are telling the truth about Qantas . They are really crap. My default international airline out of Sydney is Singapore Air.
Thanks for watching 🩴
My default flying out of Perth is Singapore Air.
for a lot of Vietnamese people(My best mate is one)Singapore Airlines is the default option if they can't always get a Seat on Vietnam Airlines from Australia to their home land and return.
Agreed. SQ is almost always the cheapest option for me out of Melbourne and it helps that they have great service and ~5 daily flights for me to choose from.
A couple of points:
Domestic bubbles are always available pre-flight on request.
There are partner airlines (SQ, Etihad, Qatar, etc) which can be booked through Velocity. We are flying Sydney/London first class on SQ next year this way.
Virgin have always had the best service I have ever experienced on any airline anywhere in the world.
Emirates and Qatar hands down. VA service is just as meh as sitting on the phone with their customer service. Virgin Voyages on the other hand, phenomenal phone CS
You can book them, but being able to book them does nothing to help VA remain competative against QF. They need a full alliance to compete.
So refreshing to see content that raises its head above the amenity kit and IFE. 4:26 Kevin please, please, please have this extended conversation, Oz clearly lacks the political will to go there. I haven’t flown Qantas for two years, and as a Melbournite living in the states that can be a freakingly inconvenenient choice. But I am disgusted with the decades of predatory behaviour Qantas AND Virgin Oz have been allowed to get away with. Losing Ansett changed Oz aviation forever, but it barely registered with any of us on September 13, 2001, setting it seems, a pattern of unquestioning acceptance of domestic airlines going under, and there isn’t a Eureka flag in sight.
It's coming in the next three videos lol
Kevin, I’ve been so looking forward to viewing your extensive airline knowledge and wisdom being applied to our commercial aviation industry here in Australia…what a great start!
Your Qantas experience and views will be very welcome…
It would seem that we’re unable at this time to generate much needed competition noting not only REX, moreover, the loss of “Bonza” airlines earlier this year…
Keep up your great work and efforts with these informative and relevant vlogs.👏
If the government just released those protectionist reigns for 2 yeas... just 2 years... the industry would literally self heal and thrive. We can only hope.
Great review. I like how you said Brisbane correctly. Qantas is so overpriced. Sadly we have no competition against Qantas but I like Virgin Australia best 😊
Haha thank you, I always make sure to say Brisbane correctly bc I know there's no way I can say Melbourne correctly without sounding like a tool 😅
Hi, Kevin. Great review as usual. I've flown Virgin Australia a few time sin 2020 and 2023 and I am due to fly them again next year. I have always admired Virgin Group companies for their great customer service easpecially the airlines. Iknow Virgin Australia isn't part of the group but they seem to have kept the ethos of cuatomer service. I would have to be desperate to fly Jetstar in the future due to the way I was treated by them back in 2020 when I had to fly home early. They offered me a voucher that had to be used within 6 months and couldn't be transfered to my brother who lives out there. I also have to say I also enjoyed Qantas for their very good caring and helpful service in business class when I flew with them last year. I've flown economy with them yet but have a flight booked with them next year so I will be able to judge both almost back to back-to-back. Thanks for the video, Kevin🙃😉❤
Thanks for sharing ✈️
I agree 100% on all your points about Qantas, Kevin. I would avoid flying with them if I could, but they remain the most convenient option for me when flying to my home country of the Philippines from New Zealand where I currently live. Qantas is only one-stop compared to two if I flew with Air New Zealand (and its Star Alliance partner Singapore Airlines).
If another airline offered a one-stop itinerary between Wellington and Manila, I would walk away from Qantas in a heartbeat. They just aren't that good anymore. They should look at Air New Zealand and see how they treat their customers lmao.
I'd agree with the NZ comparisson lol
Thanks for the review.I took exactly the same journey this month in the evening .Their' service is excellent and their' food is normally very tasty and enjoyable .
Thanks for sharing ✈️
Great review. When I fly domestically it's mostly VIrgin. The Federal Government holding out on Virgin during the Pandemic and then giving Qantas 2.7 billion was disgusting. Enjoy the remainder of your flights.
Thanks very much 🙏🏻
Air North to Dili on an E120 Brasilia!!!
p.s loved the vid - and as someone that works in the aus av industry I appreciate you bringing attention to our competition problem...
Correct and thanks!
Great review. I enjoyed it, and yeah, sadly Qantas need some kicking from time to time.
Thanks for watching 🩴
I give my thanks to sweet baby Jesus that I can avoid Qantas for nearly all my flights, because I mainly fly overseas. And Perth (which is small, but does actually exist) is surprisingly well catered for by international airlines. So Emerites and Singapore it is then...I jumped straight from a BC SIA flight to a Qantas BC once at Changi and noticed skeezy penny pinching all over the place on QF, starting with the much narrower seat.
I think the substative government ownership of Qantas is something that needs to be investigated from a competition standpoint. But that's the government investigating the government, so good luck with that one. That kind of thing only happens if there is a public outcry, and most Aussies don't give a shit or don't know because they don't travel. Australia used to be full of government owned monopolies (Telstra, CSL, AGL...) and Qantas is a legacy of that.
Thanks for sharing ✈️
I had a good laugh at your scoring, giving it a point for "not Qantas"! Very funny!
Gotta find the bright side! haha
While visiting Australia from the US, I was meant to fly Rex (economy) a few days after its capital routes folded, was looking forward to trying them.
I did get rebooked on Virgin for free though.
In economy, between Qantas and Virgin there isn't much different other then the price and drinks/snack service.
Thanks for sharing ✈️
T3 at MEL is domestic, T2 is international, which is why NAN, DPS, ZQN are there.
And on alliances, VA has a pretty good relationship with SQ, QR and EY for lounges, baggage and priority perks.
Sure, but code share agreements don't drive competition when your competitor is in a full alliance. VA needs to reach in bound flyers as well and their code share agreement simply do very little to attract pax.
Love the new logo, Kevin.
Thanks very much 🙏🏻
Always until the end and the ads too!
The best!
Great vid as per, the tremendous amount of detail and work in your vids is phenomenal. Particularly love the airport stats on take off. When I worked in Aus, EVERY other customer I had whipped out the qantas amex card and as you mentioned aussies are obsessed with flying out of their own country, specifically to europe. A shame virgin aus don't do long haul
A shame they weren't allowed to fly more than 10 long haul flights per week when they had V Aus.
Great to see you on a route only often. I’m a virgin Loyalist as they have great services from Hobart. Qantas and Jetstar will cancel flights at the drop of a hat. Glad you enjoyed your trip.
Dying to visit Tasmania!
@@tfft the Tasman Hotel is well worth a stay if you ever make it to Hobart. It is stunning and a Marriott bonvoy property.
@@tfft side note, but a white paper is getting handed down this morning to establish a compensation scheme for delayed or cancelled flights in Australia, I think it would bring us closer in line to other jurisdictions, and will act as a big stick for Qantas and their poor behaviour.
Great video! And definitely correct about Qantas. I only fly it when every other choice is expensive including Air NZ (which has its own set of problems) over to Australia and those seats in Qantas are horrible as a tall person too 🤦♀️🤦♀️
Thanks for watching 🩴
I've stopped making domestic fight reviews a while ago so it's refreshing to see one from the perspective of a visitor. I don't hate QF, but i dislike their management's behaviour. The QF apologists will defend them until death, but that's what a healthy discussion is all about. You need the drama involving the for and against.
I'm one of those who refuses to pay and fly QF, and yet i have heaps of points accumulated in their program. My everyday life is intertwined into that and points just pile up. I then use them to redeem QF domestic flights, or international ones with their OW partners.
VA is well priced for the product you receive. Post 2011 when they transformed from Blue to VA, they never actually turned a profit at all right till COVID struck. That was one of the reasons why the govt did not bail them out. Once you take emotions out, you'll understand why the govt only wanted to save the save-able. That's why only QF got the life line.
VA turned a profit for the first time in 2023, so power to them.
Enjoyed your perspective! Cheers.
The thing is though, we have no idea how QF and VA would have been performing pre-Covid had they been operating in an open and fair market. Not all, but certainly some of VA's position (literal, fincancial and network-wise) was a direct result of the government preventing VA (and V Australia) from expanding organically- V Australia was limited to 10 flights to the US per week... how many were QF limited to? This isn't even to mention the international carriers which were prevented from entering or expanding in AUS- an ongoing issues- which also inflates QF's profit margin.
In the same way that we can't talk about Westjet's profitibility (vs. Air Canada) or Flybondi's (vs. Aerolineas Argentinas)... speaking about the performance of non-QF carriers in Australia has to be within the context of the protection that the government affords to QF. The "Australia only has room for two or three airlines" needs to realistically be ammended to "Australia only has room for one big airline protected by the government, plus one more owned by that same airline, plus one other lil one."
@@tfft you are absolutely right... Kudos for drawing parallels between AU and CA. Large country, small population. I'm all for an open market. But Canberra is hell bent on protecting QF for better or worse, even though they deny it. And for that, the crappy state we find QF in and they have little to no incentive to improve. Why invest in bettering the hard product when we're profitable and customers come to us anyway? The current CEO is here to reverse the brand damage, but my prediction is little will change because she was the CFO under the previous guy aka part of the old guard.
Yeah, frankly I don't think there's really any incentive for them to turn around QF except for a few good media cycles. That said, this posturing rarely works long term. You can only protect an airline for so long until something else shakes up the market. Ask Pan Am lol. Was writing an SQ script the other day and laughed out loud about how it took SQ 9 years to negotiate US authorization as the government tried to prop up Pan Am as the dominant carrier. Aus is simply 40 years behind as far as protectionist policies and reform goes 😅
@@tfft I'm Singapore born and bred. And I moved to Australia a decade ago. Came here to semi retire. While I love the laid back lifestyle, sometimes I tear my hair out at how 3rd world their policies are. Which trickles down to how their aviation sector develops. It's Europe without the cultural pomp.
Thanks again, Kevin.
The other lovely thing about VA is their bid to upgrade offer which I manage to get frequently for a ridiculously good price.
Ps hope you have the chance to visit us down in Tasmania one day.
Haha I literally just replied to another comment 2 mins ago that I'm dying to goto Tasmania!
As someone who flies overseas a lot I’ve made the decision to side with virgin because of their partnerships. They include Singapore, ANA, Etihad, United & Qatar. That’s some of the best airlines in the world. Once Air NZ comes on board I can’t see a need to join star alliance or similar.
They need an alliance because if they really want to compete with QF they need to attract inbound travelers as well. Those code share agreements are good for Australians, but mean very little in terms of benefits for those outside of those specific orbits.
@@tfft If the reports of QR set to buy a considerable stake in Virgin ends up being the case, it's likely that Qatar will keep Virgin alliance-free under their part-ownership as they will have to work with Bain as their co-owner.
Thanks for the info + video!
Thanks for watching 🩴
VA should join Star Alliance at this point, given their partnership with Singapore Airlines.
100% Agreed
Thanks Kevin. Great review as always.
We live in Brisbane. Agree with everything you said on Qantas, and we only fly Virgin (we flew the same route in same seats just on Sunday).
You taught me a few things on Govt funding during Covid. So anti-competitive!! If they only realised that healthy competition is good competition, Qantas would have a much better product!
Rant over! 😂 Hope you had a great time in Bris!
Thanks very much for the support ❤️
Really enjoyed your video Kevin and glad you enjoyed the Virgin hospitality - the rest I’m staying out of ☺️
Probably wise. Come check on my after my two Qantas videos come out. The loyalists might have me in an empty cell somewhere 😂
Great video, please also fly royal Brunei airlines someday. They have some of the best crews in the world imo.
Thanks for sharing ✈️
i'd also add that one important (for me) aspect of business class travel is priority baggage, which i've never seen included in any youtube airline review. it is another area where virgin wins over qantas hands down.
Probably becuase most airline content creators will move heaven and earth to not need to check in any baggage lol
Love your vids, have been watching for some time as my Sunday morning coffee and Flip Flop travel video ritual. So happy to see you in Oz, your MEL > SYD video flew right past my house as you landed!
Rex failed just after it included Perth in its interstate network so Perth is once again an outpost of Southeast Asia - we have more and cheaper flight choices to nearby Bali, Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur than to Australia's eastern states. If you draw a circle with its centre at Perth and its circumference going through Sydney it also goes through Jakarta. "Brisvegas" is a put-down used by jealous denizens of Melbourne and Sydney. You don't hear it much in Perth - we have no reason to feel jealous. 😊
It sounds like a Western Australia train lobby conspiracy theory (kidding) haha.
I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing this same product multiple times in the last year or so. I wasn’t surprised to see that you had good things to say about the service on board. I’ve always had good experiences with Virgins cabin crew (and yes Qantas does have some wonderful crew too) but Virgin is more consistent and they have a casual but still professional attitude which I find particularly endearing. Interested to hear about this drama with Qantas out of Adelaide which is my local airport 😬
Where are Qantas hiding those crew? I couldn't find any lol
I can't believe the airline staff member asked if you were flying to Brisvegas. Not sure whether to cringe or be proud of our quirky Australian sense of humour. Oh and btw, most of us have dogs rather than dingoes LOL .
Sure, but dingo is so much more fun to say!
Fantastic new report! 👍🏻✈
Thanks very much 🙏🏻
@@tfft Welcome my friend.
Welcome to Oz, Virgin was lucky to survive covid and is vital to the domestic aviation market here. Qantas is really a behemoth here with deep roots politically, being the default national carrier the government bends over backwards for it. The corporate management over the last decade (led by Alan Joyce) focussed on stripping away costs to boost the bottom line. It sacked and contracted out a lot of staff, especially during covid and it showed with the customer experience dropping year on year. As a result the brand has suffered and Aussie aren't too pleased about it. Decent competition is really the only motivator for them to lift their game, that and People like you Sir shinning a light on their failings and I thank you for that.
Thanks for sharing ✈️
Fair review. I do a lot of MCY or BNE - MEL and ADL. My comments- you have the government's blatant pro-Qantas position correct, and crapping on the head of that airline very correct. It's been reinforced with the indifference to the collapses of Bonza and Rex (but Bonza was deeply flawed to begin with...)
I'm Platinum Velocity with VOZ. The number of surveys about product and service I've gotten recently suggest VOZ is looking at getting serious. What happens after asking is, well...
Their lounges are all pre Covid, actually pre 2015ish decor and need a massage- except for Adelaide which was their upgrade model until the buyout and Quiet Times. On board food needs an upgrade, and if you do several flights you will find their menu very limited across all routes. The Business Class attendants are without exception fantastic- but it's only a 2 X 4 cabin so they've got time
And yes, BrisVegas. If you know, you know 😊
All of those surveys sounds like the American in them coming out haha.
I loved your Qantas price calculator!
I can’t believe that don’t cross their legs when they rip you off
My wife purchases Australian and overseas travel for her company
Qantas is banned
If some staff insist on a Qantas fare they are told to choose forward booking with Vigin- stay home !
Thanks for sharing ✈️
I've just come across your channel but id like to say its quiet enjoyable. You speak the truth! Qantas screws you twice over.
Appreciate that!
Qantas charges premium and give you something close to a budget airline experience.
If you're lucky lol
We flew Virgin business in April, paid for by us. We were flying from home in Sydney to Brisbane to get on a cruise to Hawaii the following day. Had to be at the airport fairly early so we were happy to have the lounge to wait in, pretty average but still OK. The flight itself was great and the crew were brilliant. No hesitation from us in flying with them again at all. After our cruise was over we didn't fly back to Sydney with Qantas or Jetstar nor Hawaiian for that matter which has gone down hill a bit. We flew back via Tokyo with Japan Airlines after booking premium economy for both flights from Honolulu to Tokyo and then Tokyo to Sydney overnight. Lounge access for PE but we got a free upgrade to business for the overnight flight. Excellent flights, and the crew were second to nobody.
Thanks for sharing ✈️
love your reviews :)
Thanks very much 🙏🏻
I fly on Qantas a lot - when the company pays for those flights 😂 Otherwise its Virgin for me. Plus, we Aussies love the underdogs🎉
Apparantly not enough to keep them in business 😅
@@tfft Australia has a proven record that we simply can’t afford 3 major players , too many factors contribute to such a scenario, with Bonza they simply operated the wrong aircraft type for a start, REX have good intentions but on the major capital routes, frequency/timing is basically the key in which they failed to secure prime slots, business travelers are out of the equation and all they could rely on are travelers whom would simply pick them cause of the price. It’s a shame but until an airline has like infinity money to burn we won’t be able to accommodate 3 major players in our market.
More like a bunch of Aussies have a shocking case of tall poppy syndrome. Qantas is an outstanding airline and its flights are always full. Not to mention it has the best trained pilots in the world and thoroughly deserves its unrivalled reputation for safety. Haters gonna hate.
@@jjjddd231The criticism of Qantas has almost always been levelled at their greedy management (cost-cutting, outsourcing, poor customer service policies, etc.) and for the government being complicit in limiting competition by not buying a stake in QF when handing Covid money and declining extra flights to Qatar for no reason, among other reasons.
I don’t think anyone is criticising their pilots or their other staff, the vast majority of whom are very competent at their jobs.
@@jjjddd231 Hardly outstaying with all the debacle they had during Covid, the only reason I would choose Qantas over Virgin on a company trip is they have a car superior business class offering on their domestic routes within certain major capital routes, but the price point is hardly justificable, simply because there’s not much competition. As a regular traveller domestically and internationally I don’t see Qantas “outstanding”, if you are talking about Singapore or Emirates then that’s another story
It’s interesting to hear that your experience with Virgin Australia was great. It doesn’t really hold a candle to the Pre-Covid Virgin Australia since all of the new Private Capital company owner bought it and their cost cutting gutted the airline.
It’s just a pity that their prices didn’t also lower at all to reflect the shift from mid-service to budget plus.
Thanks for sharing ✈️
Virgin Airlines Customer Service has always proven to be excellent for me during the years. I am now disabled and they always go out of their way to make my travelling experience pleasant, from my airport entry at departures to my airport exit at arrivals. Service is what Virgin Airlines is all about.
All around pleasant is a great way to describe VA.
Voted best Cabin Crew 5 years running
As a proud 🇦🇺I’m scared to watch 😣
Scared to watch a wonderful Virgin flight? Don't worry, my 'bad' videos these days always have red or yellow backgrounds lol
Nice review as always. VA became my carrier of choice when I decided to defect from QF and their awful management and treatment of customers and employees. I've been a platinum member since 2011 and have no complaints. I fly business class for half the price of QF as you say and although all my flights are for leisure I find it good value.
VA isn’t part of an airline alliance. Instead if has some excellent partner airlines to connect flights, earn points and status, use points for flights, etc which I do often.
These are -
United Airlines.
Virgin Atlantic.
Singapore Airlines.
Etihad Airways.
All Nippon Airways.
Air Canada.
Qatar Airways.
Hawaiian Airlines
South African Airways,
There are also other partner airlines
Did you need to turn in your passport when you defected from QF? 😅
@@tfft Surprisingly no. I just burned up my remaining QF points with a nice RTW business class trip with One World partners who often weren't much better. My passports have since been given a good workout with VA's far superior airline partners. I really enjoy SQ, QR and NH.
I’ve always found QF cabin crew to be great, just avoid the product for its price and management, an VA is always decent, friendly and cheaper. BTW ‘The Flip Flop Traveller’ is ‘The Thong Traveller’ in Aussie 😅
Luckily I'm not in Aussie lol
I really enjoy flying with VA, prices are better than Qantas and staff are friendlier in my experience. I only ever fly Qantas if on a points ticket. And I get lounge access with VA status when flying Qatar to Europe which is great too. Really wish our government would stop the constant love for Qantas and stopping competition that would benefit the consumer 😑
I have flown Qatar to Europe and was impressed.Had to sign up at the time with American Airlines Aadvantage to get points when I went in 2018.I am thankful they are a Velocity partner which is way more useful in Australia.
Thanks for sharing ✈️
Interesting video Kevin! I would say Virgin was the main airline in the downfall of Rex because they would match Rex’s cheap fares and since people had velocity status or part of velocity business flyer plus they knew Virgin well, people would choose Virgin over Rex so that’s why Rex has poor load factors and couldn’t make money. Also with Rex gone now it affects Virgin the most because they won’t have to match those cheap fares and would go in line with Qantas even though they have a vastly inferior product and is not a full service carrier so they would become poor value and overpriced. Also I don’t see how VA can join an alliance as they have stakes from SQ, Ethiad and Qatar so all different alliances. And they used to have a okay international fleet with a330’s and 777’s but now they just have 737’s after suffering in Covid so they are limited.
I have never agreed more with everything in a comment in my life! Nicely said.
That price matching was easy to do with Bain Capital money at your back haha. But yes, when I was planning it I saw the matching, literally to the dollar on each REX, Virgin route- while QF was always nearly double.
As for the alliance, there are certainly ways to navigate that. Bain Capital has expressed that they want to offload their majority share over the coming years. The scales just need to be tipped towards one airline. That said, it wouldn't be worth it if it wasn't a bit messy lol
I thought Virgin and SIA code share these days. BTW you would have flown over my house as you headed to Brisbane Kevin!
Yah they do, but a code share is a far cry from being a member of an alliance lol
I'm an Aussie who travels extensively and have never flown Qantas due to the cost. But I do own Qantas shares lol
I always have respect for a pragmatist haha.
As an Australian, I feel that Brisvegas has run its course. I prefer Brisbekistan.
Kevin, thanks so much for shining the light on the mostly dire service levels of the Australian airline industry. I fly with all 3 major airlines fairly frequently and while Jetstar is clearly the worst, I really hope Virgin attempts to take on Qantas for the number 1 position. Qantas has been assuming we have no choice for far too long. They're a shitty airline and I prefer to start any international travel via Singapore (and SQ) instead.
Having traveled quite a bit in Uzbekistan, I honestly cannot imagine how that applies... BUT, I will admit it's much more fun to say than Brisvegas.
It's quite sad that Rex has gone into administration. They had great service when I flew with them. Virgin Australia is quite average by comparison.
Speaking about Qantas, if you want an upgrade (instead of a downgrade), fly Jetstar instead. More often than not you will get bumped onto a Qantas flight along with the free food and stuff because Jetstar flights more often than not get cancelled for whatever reasons. I know because this frequently happened to me and I ended up flying Qantas involuntarily 😂
Yeah, as you'll see in my next trip report, I loved my Rex experience.
I’m rooting for virgin too. I’ve only ever experienced friendly and positive service at Virgin. Yes I’ve experienced cancelled and delayed flights but it’s how virgin deals with these problems that stands out to me. It’s always a positive experience dealing with their team. That is not my experience with QANTAS or Jetstar. After my last negative experience I vowed to never fly with either again.
I do travel internationally a couple of times a year and use partner airlines like Singapore Air. While I’d love to see them join an alliance and offer more to compete with QANTAS, I’ll stick with them because they earned my loyalty.
Alan Joyce and his team did alot of damage to QANTAS. They used to be a national treasure. Now they’re seen as the mean greedy airline. They have a lot of work to do to recover from that.
Thanks for watching 🩴
As an Australian I can clearly state that QANTAS is the last airline I would fly with overseas. Their fares are outrageous and their inflight service is awful. I had to fly with QANTAS in 2020 but the price difference was staggering - for exactly the same flights and seats (business) between Vladivostok and Brisbane, the price difference between QANTAS and S7 (Siberian Airlines) was over $6,000.00 - I booked through S7!
Thanks for sharing ✈️
By the way guys. Lets not forget that Kevin "gave up" his beloved flip-flops just to be sure he got better quality video for his channel. Now THAT is devotion folks!
I am glad the flip-flops are gone. I've seen the way they go in an emergency evacuation down the slides and it is not pretty. I have always encouraged no flip-flops at an airplane. Too easy to lose them if you have to evacuate quickly.
That’s a gross overstatement lol. I did not ‘give up’ flip flops. I don’t wear them when actively filming. The other 88% of my life, I do.
Definitely virgin over QF for domestic in Australia unfortunately for us in New Zealand they only fly out of Queenstown. For Trans tasman air New Zealand. I'm yet to discover the fifth freedom airlines that operate between NZ and Australia. Great review as always 😊
Perhaps things will now change with the new NZ partnership.
Not too clear about the situation, but, as a Singaporean who lives in Brisbane, Virgin AU seems to be linked or owned partially somewhere along the line in history by Singapore Airlines, they do code share and Virgin Velocity miles can be converted to Singapore Air Krisflyer miles at 1 to 1.55 rate.
Yes prior to Covid, Singapore Airlines, Etihad, Air NZ and HNA Group all had 10-25% holdings.
Thanks for outlining what a bucket load of nasty Qantas is. I live in Sydney, and I love flying Virgin Australia.
Oh, I'm not done haha
Bravo FFT
Thanks very much 🙏🏻
I think I guessed the upcoming video at the end after a process of elimination.
"On Airnorth to Dili on an E120 Brasilia".
I hope I'm right!
Correct!
Flying weekly Bris - Melb route Virgin do it better than any other airline. I have not flown Qantas for over a year but this week thought id give jetstar another shot and regret my decision, not looking forward to the flight home Monday
Thanks for watching 🩴
As an Australian business traveller for almost 30 years, you only fly QF if you have no other choice. Full stop. Rex business hard product was usually the same as VA business, unless you fluked one of their ex-Silkair 737s which had slightly better seats.
I got their ex-Samoa/El Al 737 and the legroom was insane (in a good way).
Voted Australia's best Cabin Crew 5 yrs in a row
Not doubting that... but I mean... best of 3? lol
I really wish that Virgin flew more routes to NZ besides Queenstown which is full of Aussies anyway as they are a great airline
Well your wish may come true with the new agreement they just announced with ANZ lol
One of those rusted on qantas flyers here - and yes, hoping virgin competes hard.
I won’t be shifting though - a combination of inertia, miles and the weird deep cultural connection that comes with it being the only local carrier that’s been around continuously as long as I have.
I get it- but I feel for ya. If they screwed me over twice in as many days on as many itineraries... I can't imagine what it's like to be in a long term relationship with them lol
As a local, Brisvegas' is an unfortunate nickname created by 'someone', as we like to believe we are as 'cool' as Las Vegas, not. My loyalty is with Qantas as their FF program is more beneficial to my circumstances, however we do sometimes fly Virgin and always have a great experience. Unfortunately, Australia simply does not have the population to support 4 mainline carriers. Great video as always Kevin. Looking forward to your Qantas, 'downgraded' video.
Don't take offense to this, I promise the comparisons aren't from me lol. I went full circle with this in another comment. In the US, Brisbane is known to be the Essex (UK) of Australia and Essex is known to be the Jersey Shore of the UK... and the Jersey Shore has Atlantic City which literally is the Las Vegas of the east coast. So perhaps, we can blame all of this on New Jersey 😂
i’d only take CI,EVA,air NZ,JetStar and VA😂
Thanks for watching 🩴
Hmm, a QR interest in Virgin Australia? Is that the same QR has a chunk of IAG (BA, Iberia, Are Lingus)? Also the expansion of Avios as a loyalty programme across IAG, Finnair and QR will mean that pax could possibly redeem Avios over more OneWorld routes
Sure is, I don't know of any other QRs lol
When I Fly domestic, always VIrgin. When flying International, anyone but Qantas.
.
Sounds like a winning combo. If only... Virigin Australia had an international network and alliance haha.
same here.
I am pretty appalled at the customer service of Virgin Australia but the funniest part must be BrisVegas. You look so much like an Aussie 😂.
The shorts help lol
To be clear, Rex has not gone out of business, though they are still in administration. Their core business, being regional services, are still operating as normal, with thanks to the government (might be worth noting this is not the same government that basically abandoned Virgin during Covid). Only their jet based routes have been shut down.
Thanks for sharing ✈️
It's only the Qantas snobs and people who fly them and grew up on TAA AND Australian Business Class that might be in the percentage of this is below them.
Thanks for watching 🩴
IT FINALLY HAPPENING!!!!!!!
Umm... what's happening? do you need to see a doctor?
@@tfftI think they meant start of the new series
@@tfftlol sorry yes excited for this set of reviews. I really liked your thoroughness with the Airlines background and the politics of Aussie aviation. Your review reflects everything I've experienced on Virgin Australia to a tee and they really work on service/customer experience. Let's hope they join star alliance and drag Qatar with them! Keep up the great reviews and looking forward to the angry roo reviews!
Used to fly rex, so sad to see them go. A vrigin flyer now
We deal with the same government treatment in Canada for Air Canada........ their product has improved a lot over the last decade but their mgmt practice questionable and their fleet is stretched thin. On a typical day, you can expect delays for any flight out of YYZ after 4pm.
Yupp, Aus, Canada and Argentina are the three airline protectionist golden children haha.
As an Aussie i don`t know why some call it BrisVegas, as it is not the entertainment capital and looks nothing like Las Vegas.
Thanks for watching 🩴
Bonza almost made it with just four 737’s which Ave 130 pax per flight and increasing. Their backers, a US Investment fund seized the planes for reasons not exactly clear. Anyway, that leaves only Virgin Aus to compete with Qantas.
Nah. Bonza were approached by HVB to do 3 X MEL-HVB route a week.They wanted $750k cash up front non refundable just to look at it, free landing fees, no terminal fees and free "over night parking" (my words) at HVB. I saw the paperwork. JQ got the gig at market $
Either they could not sustain the airfares on offer and knew it, or it was a racket
Interesting to know
Trouble with Rex was they didn't offer enough flights on the main Syd Mel route therefore missing out on the premium business traveller.
I only flown Virgin due to their customer service. I’m a large person and I will not go back to Qantas after the way I was treated years ago. Hope Virgin can bounce back to pre-COVID days
Thanks for sharing ✈️
While Virgin aren’t in an alliance they do have some pretty decent partnerships. Singapore, etihad, United and Qatar to name a few.
I’m va gold and can get into all their lounges, extra baggage, priority boarding and award redemptions.
Yeah, but I still don't think that serves them well enough. For AUS based pax that may work well, but it's not encouraging in bound pax to consider VA since my Skyteam, Oneworld or Star Alliance status won't get me didly with VA lol.
@@tfft ye true good point. Serves Aus market well, nothing for intl passengers.
We need competition in Australia, shame Bonza and Rex are gone .. prices will go sky high again 🙄🙄🙄
They certainly will
As an Australian, our flight choices to certain places SUCK! We simply have no other options 🤬
And that's why the prices are so high. Such a crappy situation.
"It's not Qantas" as a pro lol 👍
Wait for all of my suggested new marketing slogans for Qantas coming up in those two videos lol
Regarding alliances: it's true Virgin doesn't belong to any alliance but it has deals with United, Air Canada, Singapore Air, Qatar airlines, Emirates, South African Airlines and others: this allows high status loyalty members (Gold and Platinum) to get all the perks of alliance membership (lounge, priority check-in, etc) though not all of them give all perks.
Yes but in order for VA to be able to properly compete with Qantas, they need to attract in bound pax as well. The code share agreements you mentioned definitely do benefit some local fliers but they fall very short of the benefits of a full fledged alliance.
@@tfft Although Virgin when they came out of Bankruptcy stated they're not 'competing' with Qantas, but are a Hybrid Value Carrier (A glorified Low Cost Carrier with a 8 seater J Cabin attached with Domestic Lounges and a FF Program). Basically a huge gap between Y (where the cheapest ticket is carry-on only, like the LCCs/ULCCs) and their Spirit Airlines-like 'Big Front Seat' J recliners.
Wish Air NZ could do domestic flights also to compete
Well with their new partnership with NZ, maybe they will... kinda
They've tried via Ansett. Failed massively.