Gold and Platinum Velocity frequent flyers have long been able to asked to Fly Ahead, if the arrive at the airport early. While a good offer, it has required you to be at the airport.
Now, Virgin Australia will be allowing Platinum members to request a Fly Ahead over the phone. While similar to the existing ‘at airport’ Fly Ahead, there are some slightly different rules.
Fly Ahead
The way Fly Ahead has worked until now has been this: if you arrive at the airport for your booked flight with plent of time to spare, you have been able to request to move to an earlier flight at no charge.
The wrinkle has been that you had to be at the airport. But what if you knew you could arrive early? Until now, there was not much you could do about it. With the new process, you will be able to call to find out if you can move,
Over the Phone
Platinum members will be able to call the Guest Contact Centre (GCC) to request a Fly Ahead. Under the rules of the program, it can only be made for Virgin Australa domestic services that have been ticketed by Virgin Australia (i.e. 795 ticket stock).
There are a few other rules that are specific to Over the Phone Fly Ahead:
- Requests must be made at least 60 minutes before the scheduled departure time of the desired flight.
- On Triangle routes (from/to SYD/MEL/BNE) Platinum Members may request to fly on a service up to 2 hours prior to their booked flight.
- On non-Triangle routes, Platinum Members may only request to fly on the service prior to their booked flight (one flight earlier and on the same route)
The other rules generally match the same rules as when the request is made in the lounge.
- Routing changes are not permitted, and you cannot Fly Ahead at mid-way point of a connecting journey.
- Fly Ahead requests are not available to travelling on group bookings, Getaway Fares or bookings in S, M or T fare classes.
In the Lounge
Plartinum and Gold members can request Fly Ahead on arrival at the airport. This request can either be made in the lounge, or at a kiosk that supports Fly Ahead. A request can be made for the member and up to three companions on the same ticket.
If there is a seat is still available in the same class as your original booking you can be moved forward, free-of-charge.
There are some restrictions though. You can only request a Fly Ahead for your next onward flight, and you cant’ change the routing. While this obviously mean you can’t change the origin and destination of your journey, if you have a connection, you must stick with the connection. In addition, if you do have a connection, you may not be able to catch on earlier connecting flight.
Things to Note
When you arrange to Fly Ahead, you may not have a good selection of seats to choose from. You may find that you cannot get a seat in your preferred aisle or window seat.
When you arrange an earlier flight at the airport, catering is not assured. While this may not matter much in the case of the Economy snack, it may be more of an issue in Business. Even in business, it is likely something will be provided, although there may be
