Virgin Australia Velocity - Partner Benefits? Flying on Etihad

Hi,

I'm a recent addition to Velocity, through the status match program. I have Gold status.

I have flights booked on Ethiad SYD-DUB twice this year and I'm wondering a few things:

1. What, if anything, can I expect in terms of benefits for having Velocity Gold. I *think* I get baggage allowance, priority lines and lounge access, but I wanted to make sure. Is there priority boarding or anything available?

2. With that in mind and the fact I'll most likely be making this flight 1-2 times a year, as well as 1 US flight and several domestic AU flights, is it worth staying with Velocity or putting the miles towards the Ethiad guest program?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

ekys

1. What, if anything, can I expect in terms of benefits for having Velocity Gold. I *think* I get baggage allowance, priority lines and lounge access, but I wanted to make sure. Is there priority boarding or anything available?

Yes you geed priority lines and lounge access. In my experience there is no priority boarding but i did manage to get very good seats in EY Y - i am not sure if this had anything to do with my Velocity status.

2. With that in mind and the fact I'll most likely be making this flight 1-2 times a year, as well as 1 US flight and several domestic AU flights, is it worth staying with Velocity or putting the miles towards the Ethiad guest program?

I can't really comment on this. If you are travelling in Y the big advantage is you can use EY points to upgrade. Beyond that i'm not too sure.

Thank you! :)

Thats a great help !

You can call up EY and select your Y seats in advance as a VA gold.

EY had priority boarding for F, J and Gold > FFers. No mention of partners, but I would assume yes.

On my last 4 sectors on EY (including non SYD sectors strange) they announced their partnership with Virgin Australia and described it as "Australia's largest airline" which I found odd... I don't believe that's true.

On my last 4 sectors on EY (including non SYD sectors strange) they announced their partnership with Virgin Australia and described it as "Australia's largest airline" which I found odd... I don't believe that's true.

No they're not. :)

They VA partnership must be very important to EY if they are mentioning it on every flight. Wonder if that will be replaced with AB now that EY bought such a huge stake.

I found the EY flights very hot and the cabin crew OK but on a lightly loaded LHR-AUH they had run out of white wine in Y half way through the meal, which was not great. Contrast this with the AUD-SYD sector (also lightly loaded) where I was offered an onboard upgrade to PE as a VA G (this was before the plat tier existed so is probably the last I will experience for a while).

The worst thing about connecting through AUH is the lounge situation. EY offer their silver members lounge access as well as gold, and when the business lounge became too crowded, EY banished their silvers and their and VA's golds to the Al Reem lounge which is a much lower standard of lounge in the wrong part of the terminal for Australia-non Middle East connects (a 10min walk and security away from the area where Europe/US flights depart).

What EY should have done is used the Al Reem lounge for their silvers, let their and partner golds use the business lounge and, their and partner platinum/upper tier use the first class lounge. Instead all VA golds/platinums have to use a substandard lounge - and it is really worse than any other lounge I have been in, and very overcrowded.

As a result of the lack of PE right through, substandard lounge at AUH, catering/heat issues on EY, and the 2 month delay for points to post, I have not booked on VA/EY from Australia to UK since my first flight last year - and have stuck with SQ (slightly better lounge at SIN, much better food and service onboard, though lack of priority boarding for *G) or BA (not so good food onboard, but great lounges at BKK and SIN) for my Australia-UK flights in the meantime. It is a real shame VA do not fly right through SYD-LHR as they would do it really well.

I found the EY flights very hot and the cabin crew OK but on a lightly loaded LHR-AUH they had run out of white wine in Y half way through the meal, which was not great. Contrast this with the AUD-SYD sector (also lightly loaded) where I was offered an onboard upgrade to PE as a VA G (this was before the plat tier existed so is probably the last I will experience for a while).

The worst thing about connecting through AUH is the lounge situation. EY offer their silver members lounge access as well as gold, and when the business lounge became too crowded, EY banished their silvers and their and VA's golds to the Al Reem lounge which is a much lower standard of lounge in the wrong part of the terminal for Australia-non Middle East connects (a 10min walk and security away from the area where Europe/US flights depart).

What EY should have done is used the Al Reem lounge for their silvers, let their and partner golds use the business lounge and, their and partner platinum/upper tier use the first class lounge. Instead all VA golds/platinums have to use a substandard lounge - and it is really worse than any other lounge I have been in, and very overcrowded.

As a result of the lack of PE right through, substandard lounge at AUH, catering/heat issues on EY, and the 2 month delay for points to post, I have not booked on VA/EY from Australia to UK since my first flight last year - and have stuck with SQ (slightly better lounge at SIN, much better food and service onboard, though lack of priority boarding for *G) or BA (not so good food onboard, but great lounges at BKK and SIN) for my Australia-UK flights in the meantime. It is a real shame VA do not fly right through SYD-LHR as they would do it really well.

i am now dreading my 2 EY legs later in the year after reading this....ATH to AUH and then AUH to KUL.
I did know they changed the lounge aspect, but still didn't expect it to be so lousy

Maybe it has improved, but it was one of the few business lounges where I felt uneasy leaving my bag when I went to get food. Slow wifi, no power points, crowded, over-lit - but it does have a shower and a toilet.

If your EY service has not improved from mine, then I think you should raise this with VA - there is no point in the long term them having a partnership with another airline if the service is not commensurate. I get the feeling EY look after their J pax very well - certainly the EY J lounge (which you can use ex-LHR as a VA gold travelling in Y) and the EY J lounge at AUH (which I used on my first flight as the new rules had not been implemented) were very good, and maybe they don't run out of white wine in J...

I think if you compare VA's partners SQ, EY, DL and NZ, they are all at different places, and the services offered are different each kind,, but on Australia-Europe. earning VA points and SC you now have the choice of EY or SQ (and possibly NZ via US). In my experience, on SQ you get much better service and food in Y than on EY and the lounge at the half-way point is better, though not perfect.

I think the least VA could do is negotiate for their golds and platinum members to use the J lounge at AUH rather than Al Reem, and I think there is a product alignment issue with EY not offering PE (and VA not offering F). I would prefer that VA fly right through to Europe - hopefully this will happen at some point soon.

I definitely thought the Al Reem lounge was a step down from the old J lounge it's nowhere near the "worse than any other lounge I have been in". It's fairly typical of Priority Pass style lounges (and better than many of them) and it does have all the basics. I agree they should do something to improve it.

The good news is that in the medium term AUH are building a massive new terminal complex (effectively a new airport from the passenger point of view) that will open next year. I hope and expect the lounge situation will improve dramatically then.

Just a few reflections from a BKK AUH ORD trip on EY.

Never any mention of VA status. I asked one cabin manager and she knew very little about it. I'm not sure if it's on the manifest.

Tried to get into the F lounge at AUH, no luck - I asked very nicely and the lounge attendant let me down gently! She did admit there is some confusion.

Points posted in two days and double SCs to boot.

Having made the return trip, I can agree with a lot of the comments made here, especially by wyvern.

SYD was a doddle. The EY desks didn't open til bang on 12.30 (2.5 hours before boarding) which was a bit of a pain, but got they gave an express path for security and I know the ANZ lounge from my *Gold days. They accepted my VAGold for priority boarding too.

Flight was too warm before take off. They board very early, usually while refueling and can't use the A/C while doing this, as such pre-boarding is a bit of a downer as you sit there melting.

Service and Y cabin was good, far, far, far better than I am used to on UA, though I'm not sure they're as good as ANZ. The space in the Y cabin was better than UA E+ but I honestly thought their EBox selection was a bit small.

AUH is a bloody nightmare. I thought O'Hare was bad!!!? The Al Reem lounge situation is crazy to the level of pointless. I did manage to get through the express security line between T1 and T3 on my outbound trip but on the way back? There was a line all the way back to the passageway that the Al Reem lounge is on and they weren't allowing Gold member to use the express line (only business and first).

The boarding situation in AUH is also plainly stupid. They shuttle you into an area after you show your boarding pass and from that staging area it is a free for all to board the flight. They "kinda" try and get passengers with kids and business on board first, but again, no call for Golds. They are undervaluing their own Elite program, never mind VA's.

On the plus side, Dublin was a great experience too. Their lounge is fantastic and the new terminal is nice, although again, boarding was a bit messy.

I've another flight booked in June, but I kinda wish I'd booked through SQ or Emiriates just to compare. Also, it's a real shame we can't upgrade international flights as I'll finish the year as platinum and I really have no desire to fly anymore than I already do.

I am planning to fly with etihad from Syd to Brussels. I am VA gold.
Woud they accept my VA gold card in their partner lounge in BRU?
Also, it seems better to book flight through Etihad code than VA as the cheaper Eco booking flight codes give 100% miles rather than 50% at VA. Do I miss something?

Just a few reflections from a BKK AUH ORD trip on EY.

Never any mention of VA status. I asked one cabin manager and she knew very little about it. I'm not sure if it's on the manifest.

Tried to get into the F lounge at AUH, no luck - I asked very nicely and the lounge attendant let me down gently! She did admit there is some confusion.

Points posted in two days and double SCs to boot.

Were you flying F or J?

I am planning to fly with etihad from Syd to Brussels. I am VA gold.
Woud they accept my VA gold card in their partner lounge in BRU?
Also, it seems better to book flight through Etihad code than VA as the cheaper Eco booking flight codes give 100% miles rather than 50% at VA. Do I miss something?

No you're not missing anything, book EY fares for better earn (EY does not have the differentiation in earn rate like VA has).

The one thing with booking on the EY code - be sure that the fare actually earns with VA - there are one or two that earn nothing. Currently speaking, the EY whY fare classes that earn 1 point / mile with VA are:

Y, B, H, K, M, Q, L, V, U, E

Flew LHR-AUH-SYD and back again in Y recently - tempted by the VA points bonus as a gold that is not available on SQ, but again the experience was a bit of a mixed bag.

- Not possible to pre-select bulkhead seats (I can do this well in advance in BA for free as a OWS, and on SQ for a reasonable fee). At the airport it was possible to get moved to a bulkhead on checkin for the first sectors from LHR and SYD but not on the ex-AUH sectors, and asking at AUH you feel that VA status matters for nothing with EY staff.

- No fast track security at LHR (but express path going in and out at SYD).

- No recognition as a VA gold from EY cabin crew.

- Lounge at LHR T4 is really good, more like a 1st class lounge than business, food is really good.

- Al Reem lounge awful again (not enough seats, dirty, old food and drinks all over the place, staff hassling other customers for sleeping, not enough tables and not enough power sockets).

- Coming back I tried the Al Dhabi lounge at AUH (you need Proirity Pass or another scheme) - what a difference. Lots of tables with power sockets, better drink and food range, really attentive staff - a proper premium lounge experience. Still the wrong side of the airport for most international departures.

- I agree with ekys' comments regarding boarding chaos at AUH. Due to location of lounge I ended up leaving too early and then spent 15mins in a holding pen of a lounge. Preboarding was announced both times for first, business and families (all in one go) - I boarded then anyway, but there was no announcement for golds (thought it was signed).

- Coming back into LHR on an after midnight departure there was no bar service - drinks had to be requested.

- Temperature on the planes seemed to have been turned down as was not as bad as previously.

One sector SYS-AUH was a VA plane and what a difference. However, the VA planes have no power sockets in Y, not even the front cabin, making the airline less attractive for those of us who need to travel in T and work.

If I fly UK-AUS and need top up my velocity points again, I would book SQ next time. And given EY's recent decision to halve the miles on discount Y fares, I think I will be sticking to SQ or OneWorld on LHR-SYD for the time being.

Oh - and the points/SCs for my outward flight have still not posted, over 1 month after flying.