youvesaiditall

My apologies if this should be posted in the Delta Forum, but thought I would try my luck here.

I will be booking travel from BNE to SYD and then onward to MEL. With that, I was speaking to a VA ticketing agent yesterday, and they were unsure if I would:
A. get any baggage allowance and
B. be granted any lounge access in BNE and SYD.

We were looking to book Saver Lite fares. Thank you in advance for your help!

serfty

Yes (but only with same day international travel) to the lounge access, not sure about Baggage.

youvesaiditall

Thanks. A second call to VA confirmed the lounge access as well. A second call also found another agent that had no clue on what bags I would be allowed to bring aboard or check without charge. I might just say forget it and book the traditional saver fares for the baggage allowance.

serfty

I found this link: PARTNER AIRLINE ELITE BENEFITS

"Extra Baggage" is not listed as a Medallion benefit when travelling on Virgin Australia.

As a contrast it is for some other partners such as KLM.

Also, that indicates lounge access needs to be same day as international travel. I apologise for wrong information.

ashill

Though Delta has never listed lounge access in conjunction with a VA domestic flight as a Medallion benefit, VA has always granted it to me without batting an eye.

immiLawyer

http://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en...lta-air-lines/

Expand the two marks for Lounge Access and Baggage.

youvesaiditall

Perhaps I am missing it, but it does not make any mention of what the allowances are for DL Medallion members as far as I can tell.

It does provide clarity on the lounge situation--thank you for that!

ashill

That's because there is no written status-based baggage allowance on VA for DL elites. Some here have reported success, but I've never counted on it. I'd plan to be treated as Velocity Red for baggage purposes and see the allowance chart. Also remember that, although the upfare from Saver Lite (no bags) to Saver (1 bag) is typically $10-$15 at ticket purchase, the first additional bag is $35 if purchased after ticketing but before the airport and $70 at the airport.

If you do check a bag, they priority tag it for DL Golds. However, my experience with VA is that priority tags don't matter much domestically because all bags often beat me to the baggage claim, and if they don't, typical wait is less than 5 minutes.

Also note that any baggage allowance would apply to the elite member only: unlike on US airlines, extra baggage allowances for VA elites on VA do not translate to others on the same reservation.

youvesaiditall

Thank you very much--extremely helpful!

Coathanger

Did you have to show them a physical card or was having the SkyMiles number in the reservation sufficient?

ashill

I normally have the physical card and they normally ask for it, so I've never done the test. Paper VA boarding passes do list Delta status. (For me, a Delta Platinum, they say "Partner Gold", ie the equivalent of VA Gold.) I suspect you'd be fine without the physical card, but it's certainly smooth with the card.

Coathanger

Thanks for the info ashill. Reassuring to know that Partner Gold shows up on the boarding pass itself for DL Plats.

youvesaiditall

So I finished my travels on VA and thought I would report back. When we ultimately booked our ticket that agent said I would be granted a free bag as a gold (and that my friend would be granted one as well as Silver). When we arrived at the airport, we simply let the check in agent know what we were told, and he allowed for the free bags. (He would have charged us otherwise).

We had zero issues at all using the lounge as a gold with a guest. I found the overall experience with VA to be quite pleasant, and certainly more enjoyable than what I am accustomed to on DL.

NWA_Junkie

Question: do velocity members baggage allowance apply to other non status members in the same reservation?

ashill

Same answer here as in the other thread: No.