Flight information

[geoffw]

I was on a flight on Friday. The flight attendants were going through their pre flight safety information- the stuff you're not really taking any notice of.

Quite deadpan, the announcement continued. "There are smoking detectors in the toilets...

"Anybody caught smoking will be asked to leave the aircraft".

 

[astroboy]

Please step outside sir.........

 

[Lissy]

Sounds like a Virgin Blue flight... The jokes are certainly a point of difference between airlines! I think on my last flight we were told that anyone found smoking would have to sit on the wing for the remainder of the flight.

 

[geoffw]

It was a Virgin Blue flight- but if it's a regular feature, it's certainly not on all flights.

It may be something they just pop in to ensure that people listen to the spiel the next time around.

 

[likewow]

The last Virgin Blue flight i was on just before we were landing in Sydney when the announcer announces the time, weather etc...he made a lot of jokes but one i remember went something like this:

"We will be landing in Sydney at approximately 7.45 pm and your baggage will arrive at about 10.30 pm after mistakenly being sent to Darwin."

Lots of whispering and then silence in the plane.....then after about a minute he announces that he has been informed he is wrong, that was the previous flight and this one was ok....lots of relief...etc.......funny guy

 

[Jacque]

At least Virgin staff have a sense of humour

I'm sure if they inserted a few funny lines into their safety talks, no one would notice. After all, we've all heard it so often, you kind of zone off after a while...... not that's it's unimportant (of course!!)

Virgin also at least have flexibility and actually try to get everyone on board even if it means latecomers running just before the doors shut. Not like Jetstar, who have no flexibility at all. We checked in at 6.06pm for a 6.30pm flight last week (yes I realise we were late but it was actually the fault of the long term carpark bus- another long story!) , only to be told the flight had closed- no exceptions! Fares immediately forfeited as well.
Needless to say we won't be flying Jetstar again

 

[Ali G]

Our most recent Virgin Blue Flight Attendant sang 50's songs into the PA and conducted mid flight stretches that were almost like aerobics! She also imitated our Aussie accents (she was a Kiwi).

Funny to see the reactions of the people on the plane. Some people thought it was great/humourous/entertaining etc, others looked quite unimpressed! Ah, go back to Qantas I say! Virgin have always been excellent to fly with, IMHO.

 

[ChrisOs]

On a recent Virgin Blue flight, the senior cabin steward said something along the lines of "Virgin Blue are very proud to have some of the highest rated cabin crew in the world...... Unfortunately, none of them are able to be with us today, so instead you have Joe, Mary and Sam."

It got a bit of a laugh and almost erased the memory of us landing nearly 45 minutes late

Chris.

 

[Garry K]

I flew Virgin for first time a couple of weeks ago and thought it was great...young cheerful attendants. And luggage out in a flash at Brisbane.
Flew Qantas back to Melb. The pilot said we would arrive 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Great. Arived, and waited , and waited for luggage..about 30 minutes. An announcement was made "sorry for the delay folks, but as your plane arrived early our baggage handlers were not available".
What??
An absurd outcome. Ok if you had no luggage, but for most of us, frustration.


Garryk

 

[Baloo]

While preparing to land on my last Virgin flight the Chief Cabin Steward informed everyone that no one was to levae their seats until the plane came to a complete stop. Anyone who leaves their seat before then will be required to stay back and help clean the aircraft.

Lots of chuckles all round but very effective. No one moved until the Steward gave her permission.

 

[kissfan]

Hi all.
Reading this thread brings back memories of the movie"Flying High". Thank god we dont have to inflate the pilots. Something for Virgin to think about.

Regards
Marty

 

[geoffw]

Reading this thread brings back memories of the movie"Flying High". Thank god we dont have to inflate the pilots. Something for Virgin to think about.

They wouldn't have to be called "Virgin" then.

Hooker Airlines perhaps?

 

[Lissy]

Virgin also at least have flexibility and actually try to get everyone on board even if it means latecomers running just before the doors shut. Not like Jetstar, who have no flexibility at all. We checked in at 6.06pm for a 6.30pm flight last week (yes I realise we were late but it was actually the fault of the long term carpark bus- another long story!) , only to be told the flight had closed- no exceptions! Fares immediately forfeited as well.
Needless to say we won't be flying Jetstar again

You're kidding - you were still there 24 minutes before the plane departed and they wouldn't take you? I'd call arriving at 6.29pm late, not 6.06pm.

 

[Sim]

Felicity, Jetstar's policies when booking tickets are made very very clear ... flights close 30 minutes before the flight departs - they are being very strict on this (with good reason I say).

 

[Jacque]

Felicity, Jetstar's policies when booking tickets are made very very clear ... flights close 30 minutes before the flight departs - they are being very strict on this (with good reason I say).

Well, if there is a good reason, I'd like to hear it. After all, what's good enough for the other airlines......

And if you want to hear the whole story, well here goes:

Planning to park in the long term carpark, and knowing that they run a 15 mins departure service, Steve and I arrived at the long term carpark entrance at exactly 5.40pm to board the 5.45pm bus, only to see it leaving as we got there! Thinking it may have been the 5.30pm one running late, we parked and raced to the bus stop, as we saw another bus coming around. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the International Terminal bus
Having to then wait until the 6pm bus came then made us subsequently late for the flight.
When we explained this to the very unfriendly Jetstar manager, she told us that "it happens sometimes and we can't control that". In other words, bad luck! Interesting thing was that our flight still had FINAL CALL on the board until 6.20pm. When we pointed this out to her, in a matter of desperation (and we were nice about it) she said that it didn't mean anything, as the captain already had the numbers on board at 6.01pm and so it meant we couldn't board. No exceptions.

So, the moral of the story is, for me, never to fly with them again. If the other airlines can accommodate you in circumstances like this, then I don't see why Jetstar can't! Cheap fares doesn't have to go hand in hand with rigidity.

 

[Sim]

From the Jetstar website ... Check in:

To help us get you to your destination on time we must get your flight away on schedule. To do this we will close check in 30 minutes prior to departure. We recommend that you arrive a minimum of 1 hour before your scheduled departure time to ensure you don't miss your flight. Check in will open 2 hours before your flight is scheduled to depart.

Passengers who arrive after check-in has closed will not be able to board the flight and will lose their seat – no refund or free transfer is available and you will be required to book and pay for a new ticket if you wish to travel.

You were being optimistic arriving at 6:00pm (5:45pm bus), I'm afraid to say.

You can't really compare to the other airlines ... this is a separate airline and are free to set their own policies ... you implicitly agree to these policies by booking a ticket with them.

... and you are more than welcome to pay more for a ticket and fly with someone else !

Some quotes from a SMH article on the subject ...Jetstar gets off the ground on time

Mr Joyce said Jetstar's time management policies guaranteed the airline remained highly competitive and could continue to offer low everyday fares.

"This is because delayed flights, even by a few minutes, cost airlines serious money and push up the collective price of a ticket - something such procedures seek to avoid," Mr Joyce said.

... and for the record, I will never fly Jetstar if I can avoid it (not enough schedule flexibility, seat pitch too small, don't earn FF miles, etc) !

 

[Peter 14.7]

Thats a terrible story Jacque. Did you get a refund?

I always fly Virgin and just picked my mother up. Iy was 20 min late as an entire family booked on could not proeeed due to afamily emergency. Hence their luggage had to be removed.

I wonder if Jetstar would have cared?

Peter 147

 

[Jacque]

Trust you to have all the links on hand, Sim

Interesting then to compare a rival airline's info site. Nice to know that, though they state 30 mins prior to departure, at least there is some leeway as they state they are "unable to guarantee"...... perhaps a caveat for those late honeymooners? Hehe


http://www.virginblue.com.au/helpInfo/travelInfo/atTheAirport/?section=Check In Info

 

[Jacque]

Thats a terrible story Jacque. Did you get a refund?

I always fly Virgin and just picked my mother up. Iy was 20 min late as an entire family booked on could not proeeed due to afamily emergency. Hence their luggage had to be removed.

I wonder if Jetstar would have cared?

Peter 147

No refund
Fares forfeited. Jetstar, naturally, retain the right to run a tight ship (with no flexibility). I'll give them that- they do!!
I did notice, when Steve and I forked out another $520 to get to Brissy the same night (one on Virgin, one on Qantas) that Virgin staff were very helpful (girl at the desk even let us use her phone to book on Qantas!) and they did seem to allow late checkins - several calls for individuals were made as we were about to board, and, yes, we still left on time. Good one Virgin

I like Richard Branson anyway- his book was awesome!

 

[geoffw]

Not like Jetstar, who have no flexibility at all. We checked in at 6.06pm for a 6.30pm flight last week (yes I realise we were late but it was actually the fault of the long term carpark bus- another long story!) , only to be told the flight had closed- no exceptions! Fares immediately forfeited as well.

OTOH, if the airline is late, who cares? I flew to Melbourne last year to attend a funeral. The Virgin filght was going to be 21/2 hours late- I would have missed the funeral completely. There was no refund possible- I just had to wear the cost of buying another flight courtesy of Rex- who were very helpful, and who got me on board with only 20 minutes to flight time. Unfortunately, it was the last week of their Canberra Melbourne flights.