02/01/2024
Open letter to Virgin Australia.
What a total shambles at Melbourne Airport. Today
And of course, any excuse to cancel flights and upset hundreds of tired travellers.
Every flight from 430pm to Sydney has been either delayed or delayed then cancelled.
630pm flight had several clients booked in business class. You sent a message to monitor flights due to staff shortages in Air Traffic, that chestnut again, so we did all day. At 430pm the 630pm had a departure time on schedule, with an arrival time of 2047. Obviously flight was going to be delayed.
But you made everyone check in and at 530pm announce that the flight has been delayed to 830pm.
What a surprise.
Blame the weather. At 8pm as passengers were heading to the departure gate, you cancelled the flight. Nobody at the gate to help, no staff anywhere to be seen. Clients stranded just wanting to get home.
To add insult to injury, a message via sms, no real apology for wasting every passengers time, with a link to see options.
Your customer service is a disgrace.
Your airport staff morale is non existent, very obviously they are disgruntled.
Qantas, REX and Jetstar operated, not Virgin.
Worst airline in Australia 2023 by a large distance, and you still haven't learned anything.
Since August 2023,I have travelled to Sydney every week, 18 return trips in total.
Just one flight out of 36 has been on time. Most have been up to 2 hours late. 9 cancelled. Sending me sms messages at 4am to advise my 830am flight is cancelled and I am now booked for the 630am flight may work in some foreign world, it doesn't in mine.
I have supported Virgin Australia professionally and personally since the relaunch, as it was the Morrison government's most disgracefully low act to support the Crippled Wallaby and let every other airline fall by the wayside, yes we all know about Chairman's lounge lurks and perks to curry favour in the hallowed (sic) corridors of power, and the poisonous leprechauns more than sickening TAX PAYER PAID BONUSES, but enough is enough.
DEAR ACCC - it's about time you introduced severe penalties to stop the ongoing appalling treatment of CUSTOMERS , and stop the airlines treating them with total disdain.
740 client trips have been affected in the last 2 months. An average of $50 per person in parking overstay penalties, an average of 90 minutes per person per trip LOST due to these practices. Blamed on the weather, ATC staff shortages, employee sickness, any damned excuse they can get away with, then expecting Travel Agents to rebook customers for NIL remuneration, because they don't have the resources to manage their own mess!
I have yet to speak to any customer of ours that has a good word for Virgin Australia or Qantas. And we look after thousands.
And give REX the ability to compete by forcing Virgin and Qantas to hand back any airport slot that is cancelled 3 times in one year.
Maybe then we will start to get a world class system again instead of this Liberal backed duopoly of arrogance.
A total disgrace
