Virgin wants premium customers but treats you worse than Jetstar

Worse than Jetstar

I had the same experience as described in the “Musical chairs” letter from David Lewis but with Virgin Australia. We had paid extra to be at the front of the plane for the whole family, but when we arrived at the airport the seats had been changed. They could not give a reason, but unlike Qantas in David’s letter they didn’t return us to our original seats. Nor did they refund the money for the seats either until I contacted customer support. I’m not sure if there is any other industry where they charge you for a service, don’t provide it and then make you go through barriers to get a refund, which seems an easy way of pocketing the money. Virgin wants to attract premium customers, but it treats you worse than Jetstar.
Gaurav Singh, Tenerife, Qld

LETTER OF THE WEEK

True brew

A wonderful letter by Penny Repse on the “Melbourne Coffee” sign in Ghent, Belgium. But it doesn’t end there. There’s also a cafe named “Melbourne” in Valparaiso, Chile with the interior walls featuring Flinders Street Station (platforms, trams and iconic clocks), Luna Park and a Marine Parade Road sign to Brighton or Port Melbourne. There are even more Aussie initiatives overseas including New York City’s Little Collins, Dresden’s Ayers Rock Cafe, Prague’s Koala Bar and in Bolivia, La Paz’s Higher Ground Cafe (with Vegemite), Valletta’s Boomerang Lounge, Dhaka’s Aussie Shop, and best of all, the Kangaroo Island clock in a Cesky Krumlov hotel.
Bruce Parr, Hawthorn Vic

Snap, crackle, pop

Following a recent visit to an airport terminal, I was again left wondering: do airlines care if their terminal announcements are understandable, or do they just aim for gibberish noise to prove they’re on the job? Every time I’m in a terminal, I struggle to understand those announcements over the PA, some supposedly, from what I can grasp, that are even classed as “urgent”. Two tips for the staff: bellowing doesn’t help and speaking slowly is effective. If you really want us to understand what you’re saying, that is. Isn’t good microphone technique a usual part of training?
Bruno Yvanovich, Weston Creek, ACT

Lord of the rings

An unexpected downside of the new Qantas route through Auckland is the black hole of their lost property office there. I left my Kindle on the plane on the first leg. From Melbourne, I tried unsuccessfully to contact that office by telephone eight times over the next week, each time reaching a recorded message to leave a message (and I also emailed). I also emailed Qantas frequent flyer details and was told that the item was found with an item number provided to contact the Auckland office. I tried again several times, once more never getting through or a response. And apparently even if you miraculously can make contact, the only way you can retrieve an item is to come in person to their Auckland office.
Lyn Yates, Fitzroy, Vic

Pursed lips

Like Lee Tulloch in Venice, I was pickpocketed in Italy. It occurred in an elevator at Rome’s Termini Station. I never felt a thing and was lucky to have only €40 in my purse and nothing else. But I learnt that, when something seems weird, it means you are being set up because the pickpockets work in gangs. They put their hand into a bag to find a wallet to pull out so in future, I won’t take out a purse or wallet but rather have loose notes in a zip pocket of a bag that faces my body. I also now never leave my mobile on a table because it won’t last two minutes.
Stacey Vickery, Ryde, NSW

Signed, sealed, delivered

After reading about the changes regarding UK passports, we had to apply for new ones. Due to the length of time since they had expired, we had to apply as if they were new passports. We filled in the application online, had a photo taken at the local post office which we uploaded and then posted off to the UK all the original documents requested (birth certificates, marriage certificate and expired passport, plus copies of Australian passports and copies of the required pages from our guarantors) on January 19. We received the new passports, via DHL, on February 1 and all the enclosed documents arrived back a few days later. Amazing.
Vanessa Lewer, Frenchs Forest, NSW

Disco bawl

Regarding Lee Tulloch’s recent column about noisy hotels, in the Caribbean in April 2023 we stayed at a hotel where at 11pm the disco 150 metres down the street, amped up. The base reverberated through our bodies. Hearts threatened arrhythmia. This continued until 3am. The following day, I visited the disco to ask if they could turn the volume down. The manager replied, “we have a licence”. The hotel moved us furthest away from the adjacent disco and avoided the worst of the following night. Upon checkout, the receptionist offered a full two-day refund. I countered for one night as a win-win for both parties.
Lindsay May, Lane Cove, NSW

What a drag

Lee Tulloch, not all hotel events are unwelcome. My husband and I were staying in a hotel in Amsterdam. We got two days notice of a male gay fancy dress party taking place on an outside courtyard, overlooking a canal. It was timed for 3pm to midnight. We were on the second floor, so the view was mind-blowing. The costumes were sensational, and the music was low volume. We went past the entrance on our way out for dinner. I was invited to join them (my husband was not) because they liked my mauve blouse. I politely declined, removed the big arm from around my shoulders and took a different route back after dinner. The party finished dead on midnight.
Judith English, Hornsby Heights, NSW

Petrel head

Lord Howe Island’s Mount Gower is a tough walk, as Andrew Bain wrote, but it is unique. Jack Shick, the fifth-generation Lord Howe Islander mentioned in the article, led us in 1996. At the top he called “woody, woody” and the wood hens ran to greet us. Out on the lookout we sat for lunch and Jack called out “woop, woop” and in swooped magnificent providence petrels to sit on our laps. Definitely a unique day walk.
Ainslie Morris, South Durras, NSW

Tip of the week: Dutch treats

On our 2024 visit to the Netherlands we too considered Utrecht as an alternative to Amsterdam but decided against it because of costs of repeated train travel and the fact that we wanted to see and explore new Amsterdam sights. Booking through Expedia we found Amsterdam’s Nova Apartments on Nicolaas Maesstraat, just off the main tram route from Centraal Station and close to the Rijkmuseum and the Concertbergouw, where we saw a good production of Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. Vondelpark was close, a good supermarket across the road and a range of eating places along Van Baelerstraat. But the best aspect was the Amsterdam Zuid neighbourhood, just down the street. This was non-touristy, quiet, had interesting shops and better bars and restaurants. Being off the touristy areas and close to the main tram tracks was a pleasure.
Tony Sullivan, Islington, NSW

Ratings game

We recently flew Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong to Sydney and, nearing the end of the flight, a steward approached asking if we would undertake the in-flight survey. In the moments it took me to agree, the steward opened the screen, completed the survey on my behalf, and was gone. I suspect that “my” survey responses about the flight were exemplary in every area (which they weren’t). Two weeks ago, I wrote to Cathay, to raise my concerns; no response. The moral of the story, don’t be swayed by airline ratings alone.
Stephen Grieve, Griffith, ACT

Wring cycle

While travelling we need clean clothes. To avoid exorbitantly priced hotel laundry services try local launderettes which can provide lots of fun and new travel experiences including opportunities to explore places off the beaten track, meet locals and contribute to the local small business economy. London, Paris, Florence, Rome, Vienna, Penzance, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Sydney and Mildura are just some of the places where we have used launderettes. We have eaten fabulous local lunches at nearby cafes, enjoyed coffee breaks and had a wine tasting while ‘in transit’ to do our laundry. And the laundry staff (yes many do have staff) often direct us to other authentic local cafes and tourist attractions. Laundry is part of life and travel, so make the most of it on your next trip.
Mary Hoffmann, Richmond, Vic

Village people

You could add Verona to your cover story list of Italy favourites where the ancient Verona Arena was the scene of the Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony and also the scene of one of our world highlights, some time ago, the open air site of a wonderful performance of La Boheme. There were upwards of a hundred cast on stage for the village scenes.
David Wakeley, North Ryde, NSW

Delayed response

We arrived with plenty of time to check in our luggage for our delayed Jetstar flight. Imagine our surprise when we were told that we were supposed to be there 40 minutes before the original scheduled flight to check in our bag, even though this was never communicated to us. We were told that we had to go on a later flight if we wanted to take our luggage. Of course, we had to pay $175 each to transfer to one. Jetstar has never provided us with written evidence of this policy nor a refund, so beware.
Susan McGrath, Croydon, NSW

Volting ambitions I

In response to Kerrie Wehbe’s “Power trips” letter regarding Goulburn, NSW, there are (and have been) several fast chargers that are a definite improvement on the RSL chargers and suitable for her MG. Try charging at KFC or the service station at 53 Sydney Rd, Goulburn. I find the Plugshare and Chargefox apps invaluable for finding working fast chargers.
Alice Mantel, Concord West, NSW

Volting ambitions II

Drive a Tesla across the Nullarbor? Gadzooks, no. It was a Kia EV6. Only one of the 24 charges during the 4000km drive between Melbourne and Perth happened at a Tesla site, and using that site was optional. So a Nullarbor crossing is definitely not dependent on using Tesla charging sites. Tesla operates 130 of Australia’s 4000 public charging sites. Most Tesla sites also suit non-Teslas, but about 40 of Tesla’s sites have old, early software which doesn’t suit non-Teslas. So most charging sites around Australia suit non-Teslas.
Richard Gould, West Melbourne, Vic

The Letter of the Week writer wins three Hardie Grant travel books. See hardiegrant.com

The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three Lonely Planet travel books. See shop.lonelyplanet.com