As a long-time Platinum FF and now Qantas Lifetime Gold member I’ve been rusted-on to the airline for almost 20 years – mostly through work travel. In recent times that’s changed, and while I’ll still happily fly Qantas, I’ll usually choose Virgin nowadays.
There’s no single reason as to why, but small things add up. To hook me in, last year Virgin had a status-match promotion – where I could get short-term Velocity Gold to match my Qantas Lifetime Gold. It forced me to fly Virgin for a few months and I was fortunate enough during the promotional period to earn enough credits to qualify for full Velocity Gold – so I now enjoy equal status no matter who I fly with. It makes a big difference when choosing a carrier – and I have the comfort of knowing I can retain my Qantas status whether I fly with them or not.
Virgin have caught up ground to Qantas as far as domestic lounges are concerned (at least for lower-tiered frequent fliers), helped by Qantas kicking an own-goal at my home port, Tullamarine. A few years back Qantas changed the lounge configuration in Melbourne to give the Business lounge the entire airside frontage. As a result, the Qantas Club was robbed of any natural daylight – it now overlooks the check-in area. For me this was a huge step backwards and I much prefer the Velocity lounge in T3. Virgin will also let me use a lounge on arrival, something Qantas doesn’t offer Gold members.
Qantas does have a trick up its sleeve as far as seat allocation is concerned. Virgin restricts the exit rows and the first two rows of economy to Economy X. You have to pay extra to sit in those seats, regardless of status. While also charging for exit row seating, Qantas on the other hand will open those seats up free of charge to Gold members within 24 hours of departure. Restrictions also get lifted on the front row of economy at the same time. It’s first in best dressed but if you check in online 24 hours out from departure it’s possible to secure an extra legroom seat on a QF flight without paying any extra. Of course the benefit with Virgin is once you’ve paid you’re guaranteed that seat, whereas with Qantas it’s pot luck, but I can usually get the seat I want on Qantas without forking out.
Finally though, Qantas has the Jetstar issue. I often fly to smaller airports – Newcastle and Coolangatta being two of them. Rather than Qantas vs Virgin I’m often presented with the choice of Jetstar vs Virgin, and it’s no contest. Virgin wins out every time. Jetstar naturally couldn’t give two hoots about my Qantas status. "Thankyou sir, welcome to Jetstar, and here’s your middle seat in row 28. Sorry, the Qantas Club is closed as there are no more QF depatures today. Please go sit in the packed terminal". The only way I’ll step onto a Jetstar flight these days is if I bought it myself dirt cheap with points, but even then I’ll think twice. Jetstar has given Qantas the flexibility to replace QF services with JQ flights on certain routes, at the same time giving Virgin the space to offer a better product to those markets. And as I board my on-time VA flight in Hobart while all the JQ passengers sit staring at the "delayed departure" messages on the departures board, I know I've made a good choice.
Interesting post. I generally choose Virgin over Qantas for many of the same reasons. It’s much better value-for-money, and I don’t use the “on arrival” lounge access all that often, but it’s great to have as an option for a quick meal, coffee or break before leaving the airport.
One tip: when I was Velocity Gold (I’m Platinum now), I noticed that more often than not, when I checked in, there were plenty of exit row seats free (the EconomyX rows at the front are the ones that are most in demand). So I started politely asking the staff at the check in counters whether they’d like me to help out in an exit row. Probably 90% of the time, they were able to give me a seat in the exit row for free. So if you ask nicely at the airport, as a VA Gold, I’m sure you’ll get given an exit row seat more often than not.
As a long-time Platinum FF and now Qantas Lifetime Gold member I’ve been rusted-on to the airline for almost 20 years – mostly through work travel. In recent times that’s changed, and while I’ll still happily fly Qantas, I’ll usually choose Virgin nowadays.
There’s no single reason as to why, but small things add up. To hook me in, last year Virgin had a status-match promotion – where I could get short-term Velocity Gold to match my Qantas Lifetime Gold. It forced me to fly Virgin for a few months and I was fortunate enough during the promotional period to earn enough credits to qualify for full Velocity Gold – so I now enjoy equal status no matter who I fly with. It makes a big difference when choosing a carrier – and I have the comfort of knowing I can retain my Qantas status whether I fly with them or not.
Virgin have caught up ground to Qantas as far as domestic lounges are concerned (at least for lower-tiered frequent fliers), helped by Qantas kicking an own-goal at my home port, Tullamarine. A few years back Qantas changed the lounge configuration in Melbourne to give the Business lounge the entire airside frontage. As a result, the Qantas Club was robbed of any natural daylight – it now overlooks the check-in area. For me this was a huge step backwards and I much prefer the Velocity lounge in T3. Virgin will also let me use a lounge on arrival, something Qantas doesn’t offer Gold members.
Qantas does have a trick up its sleeve as far as seat allocation is concerned. Virgin restricts the exit rows and the first two rows of economy to Economy X. You have to pay extra to sit in those seats, regardless of status. While also charging for exit row seating, Qantas on the other hand will open those seats up free of charge to Gold members within 24 hours of departure. Restrictions also get lifted on the front row of economy at the same time. It’s first in best dressed but if you check in online 24 hours out from departure it’s possible to secure an extra legroom seat on a QF flight without paying any extra. Of course the benefit with Virgin is once you’ve paid you’re guaranteed that seat, whereas with Qantas it’s pot luck, but I can usually get the seat I want on Qantas without forking out.
Finally though, Qantas has the Jetstar issue. I often fly to smaller airports – Newcastle and Coolangatta being two of them. Rather than Qantas vs Virgin I’m often presented with the choice of Jetstar vs Virgin, and it’s no contest. Virgin wins out every time. Jetstar naturally couldn’t give two hoots about my Qantas status. "Thankyou sir, welcome to Jetstar, and here’s your middle seat in row 28. Sorry, the Qantas Club is closed as there are no more QF depatures today. Please go sit in the packed terminal". The only way I’ll step onto a Jetstar flight these days is if I bought it myself dirt cheap with points, but even then I’ll think twice. Jetstar has given Qantas the flexibility to replace QF services with JQ flights on certain routes, at the same time giving Virgin the space to offer a better product to those markets. And as I board my on-time VA flight in Hobart while all the JQ passengers sit staring at the "delayed departure" messages on the departures board, I know I've made a good choice.
Actually re the seat selection on VA, Platinums can select Economy X for free.
"Just wish they'd take the lead and install some lie-flat seats for trans-con flights"
Huh? They did take the lead and install lie flat seats on Transcon. How do you think we got those seats on VA then QF followed the lead. It didn't work for them. They went broke. The only reason we have those seats on QF now is because VA did "take the lead" and QF had to follow.
Last editedby hakkinen5 at Apr 15, 2023, 02:59 PM.
If you live in one of the seven places nationally that Virgin actually have a lounge and don’t want to stray too far from the capital cities too often and don’t want to travel internationally direct with the airline and don’t care too much about lifetime status then I guess Virgin would be worth considering.
"Just wish they'd take the lead and install some lie-flat seats for trans-con flights"
Huh? They did take the lead and install lie flat seats on Transcon. How do you think we got those seats on VA then QF followed the lead. It didn't work for them. They went broke. The only reason we have those seats on QF now is because VA did "take the lead" and QF had to follow.
Last editedby hakkinen5 at Apr 15, 2023, 02:59 PM.
I meant for narrow body planes like many leading airlines in the world already do.
Also I’m fairly certain putting lie flat seats on a plane didn’t make them go broke lol, that’s not what happened.
Just completed travel USA, UK, Perth.....soon France, Virgin, Qatar, United and Singapore works very well. Just wish they allowed ticketing from outside Australia to keep Platinum as I've moved overseas for a while.
There must be a large group of Qantas Life Gold now mostly flying on their own budget. I expect that most are now shopping between QF and VA for the best deal. I get good value out of VA's Happy Hour specials, but for other bookings QF can be cheaper. What I would like Qantas to do is provide options on their online search to not show Jetstar flights and to not show overnight flights. I won't do either, so seeing those as the cheapest PER-SYD flights and then having to look for the next cheapest doesn't help me to book Qantas,
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Why I now choose Virgin over Qantas
enzso
enzso
Member since 29 Mar 2017
Total posts 1
As a long-time Platinum FF and now Qantas Lifetime Gold member I’ve been rusted-on to the airline for almost 20 years – mostly through work travel. In recent times that’s changed, and while I’ll still happily fly Qantas, I’ll usually choose Virgin nowadays.
There’s no single reason as to why, but small things add up. To hook me in, last year Virgin had a status-match promotion – where I could get short-term Velocity Gold to match my Qantas Lifetime Gold. It forced me to fly Virgin for a few months and I was fortunate enough during the promotional period to earn enough credits to qualify for full Velocity Gold – so I now enjoy equal status no matter who I fly with. It makes a big difference when choosing a carrier – and I have the comfort of knowing I can retain my Qantas status whether I fly with them or not.
Virgin have caught up ground to Qantas as far as domestic lounges are concerned (at least for lower-tiered frequent fliers), helped by Qantas kicking an own-goal at my home port, Tullamarine. A few years back Qantas changed the lounge configuration in Melbourne to give the Business lounge the entire airside frontage. As a result, the Qantas Club was robbed of any natural daylight – it now overlooks the check-in area. For me this was a huge step backwards and I much prefer the Velocity lounge in T3. Virgin will also let me use a lounge on arrival, something Qantas doesn’t offer Gold members.
Qantas does have a trick up its sleeve as far as seat allocation is concerned. Virgin restricts the exit rows and the first two rows of economy to Economy X. You have to pay extra to sit in those seats, regardless of status. While also charging for exit row seating, Qantas on the other hand will open those seats up free of charge to Gold members within 24 hours of departure. Restrictions also get lifted on the front row of economy at the same time. It’s first in best dressed but if you check in online 24 hours out from departure it’s possible to secure an extra legroom seat on a QF flight without paying any extra. Of course the benefit with Virgin is once you’ve paid you’re guaranteed that seat, whereas with Qantas it’s pot luck, but I can usually get the seat I want on Qantas without forking out.
Finally though, Qantas has the Jetstar issue. I often fly to smaller airports – Newcastle and Coolangatta being two of them. Rather than Qantas vs Virgin I’m often presented with the choice of Jetstar vs Virgin, and it’s no contest. Virgin wins out every time. Jetstar naturally couldn’t give two hoots about my Qantas status. "Thankyou sir, welcome to Jetstar, and here’s your middle seat in row 28. Sorry, the Qantas Club is closed as there are no more QF depatures today. Please go sit in the packed terminal". The only way I’ll step onto a Jetstar flight these days is if I bought it myself dirt cheap with points, but even then I’ll think twice. Jetstar has given Qantas the flexibility to replace QF services with JQ flights on certain routes, at the same time giving Virgin the space to offer a better product to those markets. And as I board my on-time VA flight in Hobart while all the JQ passengers sit staring at the "delayed departure" messages on the departures board, I know I've made a good choice.
dm12
dm12
Member since 08 Feb 2018
Total posts 200
Agreed. I'm happy to pay extra to lock in the Economy X, rather than pay extra anyway for pot-luck
Just wish they'd take the lead and install some lie-flat seats for trans-con flights.
pungpui
pungpui
Member since 22 May 2011
Total posts 22
That's why some call it 'Deathstar' ;)
Sibelius
Sibelius
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 06 Aug 2017
Total posts 181
Interesting post. I generally choose Virgin over Qantas for many of the same reasons. It’s much better value-for-money, and I don’t use the “on arrival” lounge access all that often, but it’s great to have as an option for a quick meal, coffee or break before leaving the airport.
One tip: when I was Velocity Gold (I’m Platinum now), I noticed that more often than not, when I checked in, there were plenty of exit row seats free (the EconomyX rows at the front are the ones that are most in demand). So I started politely asking the staff at the check in counters whether they’d like me to help out in an exit row. Probably 90% of the time, they were able to give me a seat in the exit row for free. So if you ask nicely at the airport, as a VA Gold, I’m sure you’ll get given an exit row seat more often than not.
guesswho2000
guesswho2000
Member since 27 Mar 2019
Total posts 8
Originally Posted by enzso
As a long-time Platinum FF and now Qantas Lifetime Gold member I’ve been rusted-on to the airline for almost 20 years – mostly through work travel. In recent times that’s changed, and while I’ll still happily fly Qantas, I’ll usually choose Virgin nowadays.
There’s no single reason as to why, but small things add up. To hook me in, last year Virgin had a status-match promotion – where I could get short-term Velocity Gold to match my Qantas Lifetime Gold. It forced me to fly Virgin for a few months and I was fortunate enough during the promotional period to earn enough credits to qualify for full Velocity Gold – so I now enjoy equal status no matter who I fly with. It makes a big difference when choosing a carrier – and I have the comfort of knowing I can retain my Qantas status whether I fly with them or not.
Virgin have caught up ground to Qantas as far as domestic lounges are concerned (at least for lower-tiered frequent fliers), helped by Qantas kicking an own-goal at my home port, Tullamarine. A few years back Qantas changed the lounge configuration in Melbourne to give the Business lounge the entire airside frontage. As a result, the Qantas Club was robbed of any natural daylight – it now overlooks the check-in area. For me this was a huge step backwards and I much prefer the Velocity lounge in T3. Virgin will also let me use a lounge on arrival, something Qantas doesn’t offer Gold members.
Qantas does have a trick up its sleeve as far as seat allocation is concerned. Virgin restricts the exit rows and the first two rows of economy to Economy X. You have to pay extra to sit in those seats, regardless of status. While also charging for exit row seating, Qantas on the other hand will open those seats up free of charge to Gold members within 24 hours of departure. Restrictions also get lifted on the front row of economy at the same time. It’s first in best dressed but if you check in online 24 hours out from departure it’s possible to secure an extra legroom seat on a QF flight without paying any extra. Of course the benefit with Virgin is once you’ve paid you’re guaranteed that seat, whereas with Qantas it’s pot luck, but I can usually get the seat I want on Qantas without forking out.
Finally though, Qantas has the Jetstar issue. I often fly to smaller airports – Newcastle and Coolangatta being two of them. Rather than Qantas vs Virgin I’m often presented with the choice of Jetstar vs Virgin, and it’s no contest. Virgin wins out every time. Jetstar naturally couldn’t give two hoots about my Qantas status. "Thankyou sir, welcome to Jetstar, and here’s your middle seat in row 28. Sorry, the Qantas Club is closed as there are no more QF depatures today. Please go sit in the packed terminal". The only way I’ll step onto a Jetstar flight these days is if I bought it myself dirt cheap with points, but even then I’ll think twice. Jetstar has given Qantas the flexibility to replace QF services with JQ flights on certain routes, at the same time giving Virgin the space to offer a better product to those markets. And as I board my on-time VA flight in Hobart while all the JQ passengers sit staring at the "delayed departure" messages on the departures board, I know I've made a good choice.
hakkinen5
hakkinen5
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 20 Aug 2014
Total posts 195
Huh? They did take the lead and install lie flat seats on Transcon. How do you think we got those seats on VA then QF followed the lead. It didn't work for them. They went broke. The only reason we have those seats on QF now is because VA did "take the lead" and QF had to follow.
GBRGB
GBRGB
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 21 Jan 2014
Total posts 292
If you live in one of the seven places nationally that Virgin actually have a lounge and don’t want to stray too far from the capital cities too often and don’t want to travel internationally direct with the airline and don’t care too much about lifetime status then I guess Virgin would be worth considering.
dm12
dm12
Member since 08 Feb 2018
Total posts 200
Originally Posted by hakkinen5
Huh? They did take the lead and install lie flat seats on Transcon. How do you think we got those seats on VA then QF followed the lead. It didn't work for them. They went broke. The only reason we have those seats on QF now is because VA did "take the lead" and QF had to follow.
Also I’m fairly certain putting lie flat seats on a plane didn’t make them go broke lol, that’s not what happened.
Hobart Flyer
Hobart Flyer
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 11 Jun 2018
Total posts 3
I'm Qantas Platinum and Life Time Gold and have happily gone to the dark side, good on you Virgin what a great airline
Firstworldissues
Firstworldissues
Member since 02 Mar 2019
Total posts 15
Just completed travel USA, UK, Perth.....soon France, Virgin, Qatar, United and Singapore works very well. Just wish they allowed ticketing from outside Australia to keep Platinum as I've moved overseas for a while.
GregXL
GregXL
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 26 May 2014
Total posts 320
There must be a large group of Qantas Life Gold now mostly flying on their own budget. I expect that most are now shopping between QF and VA for the best deal. I get good value out of VA's Happy Hour specials, but for other bookings QF can be cheaper. What I would like Qantas to do is provide options on their online search to not show Jetstar flights and to not show overnight flights. I won't do either, so seeing those as the cheapest PER-SYD flights and then having to look for the next cheapest doesn't help me to book Qantas,