Expedia and Virgin Australia - DO NOT TRY
Jan 7, 2015, 7:53 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
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Expedia and Virgin Australia - DO NOT TRY
Expedia's linkage to Virgin Australia is so poor that it should not be used. I booked a Virgin Australia flight via Expedia. Expedia does NOT show the fare class so there is no way to see the baggage charges. It turns out that it was a special class with no baggage allowance. I learned this when I was charged double the normal baggage fee of $A35 because I did it at the airport. When I tried to pay ahead of time for the return trip, Virgin said only Expedia can do that and Expedia says they cannot. My conclusion is that Expedia should not be selling tickets on Virgin Australia. Had I booked Qantas on the Qantas site, I would have paid a little more and saved $140 per person in baggage fees.
Jan 8, 2015, 9:39 am
#2
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Dallas, TX
Programs: Expedia CEx, Travelocity CEx, Travelocity Gnomads
Posts: 10
Hi ncearl,
Sorry you had such a bad experience booking Virgin Australia. Can you PM me your itinerary number and email address associated with your account so that I can look into this further for you?
Happy to take a look at our site and work with our eCommerce managers to make sure that other customers don't have the same experience.
On a side note, we have some projects in the pipeline to clarify baggage inclusion. It's actually ranked 2nd in terms of importance on our current Customer Experience Top 10 List!
Thanks and look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Safe Travels,
MG
Sorry you had such a bad experience booking Virgin Australia. Can you PM me your itinerary number and email address associated with your account so that I can look into this further for you?
Happy to take a look at our site and work with our eCommerce managers to make sure that other customers don't have the same experience.
On a side note, we have some projects in the pipeline to clarify baggage inclusion. It's actually ranked 2nd in terms of importance on our current Customer Experience Top 10 List!
Thanks and look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Safe Travels,
MG
Feb 22, 2015, 4:27 pm
#3
Join Date: May 2013
Programs: Aeroplan, BONVOY GOLD
Posts: 313
I'd like to know how to go about booking via Expedia for Virgin Australia as well. The system online/app sucks because the link to additional baggage fees is so generic. There are fare types that I will book and others I will not, to avoid these baggage fees.
Is there a way to book online and know the fare type or is calling to book the only way?
Is there a way to book online and know the fare type or is calling to book the only way?
Feb 22, 2015, 7:36 pm
#4
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: IAD
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I'd like to know how to go about booking via Expedia for Virgin Australia as well. The system online/app sucks because the link to additional baggage fees is so generic. There are fare types that I will book and others I will not, to avoid these baggage fees.
Is there a way to book online and know the fare type or is calling to book the only way?
Is there a way to book online and know the fare type or is calling to book the only way?
Feb 23, 2015, 12:29 am
#5
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Feb 23, 2015, 6:57 pm
#6
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Feb 24, 2015, 3:48 am
#7
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Feb 28, 2015, 12:51 pm
#8
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 3
Expedia's linkage to Virgin Australia is so poor that it should not be used. I booked a Virgin Australia flight via Expedia. Expedia does NOT show the fare class so there is no way to see the baggage charges. It turns out that it was a special class with no baggage allowance. I learned this when I was charged double the normal baggage fee of $A35 because I did it at the airport. When I tried to pay ahead of time for the return trip, Virgin said only Expedia can do that and Expedia says they cannot. My conclusion is that Expedia should not be selling tickets on Virgin Australia. Had I booked Qantas on the Qantas site, I would have paid a little more and saved $140 per person in baggage fees.
I'm glad I called Virgin before leaving so that I was aware. As you mention, it's a small outlay for the next class directly through Virgin and when trying to pay in advance through Expedia they wouldn't do it. Even tried cancelling\changing but would've worked out more expensive.
I complained and was explicitly told that I would recieve a call back from management\complaints department. Guess what, I never did!
We've booked a lot through Expedia in the past and always been happy but no more!
Last edited by gfcflyer; Feb 28, 2015 at 12:55 pm Reason: Add to text
Mar 1, 2015, 7:01 am
#9
Join Date: May 2013
Programs: Aeroplan, BONVOY GOLD
Posts: 313
Well I ended up booking via Expedia, after seeing they do show the class codes, and comparing them with Virgin Australia's codes, confirmed that they are Saver Economy (NOT lite) so they should include 1 checked bag.
Hope it all works out
Hope it all works out
Mar 7, 2015, 12:42 am
#13
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Note that some Virgin Australia operated flights can be booked through Delta.
Mar 24, 2015, 4:21 am
#14
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: London, UK
Posts: 222
Did those that fell into this little hole get resolution from Expedia? Having fallen into it myself yesterday, I now have a support call with Expedia open to investigate but it would be useful to know how they have resolved in the past as VA tell me the super saver fares cannot have baggage added retrospectively. I wish I had seen this thread before booking of course as there is nowhere on the Expedia booking process that tells you they are quoting a baggage free fare. To me, "no info" does not mean "NO BAGGAGE".