Comments on: Four Airlines In One Day: Virgin Blue http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2009/11/four-airlines-in-one-day-virgin-blue/ tips and downloads to help you at work and play Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:10:02 +1100 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Hannah http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2009/11/four-airlines-in-one-day-virgin-blue/comment-page-1/#comment-18871 Hannah Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:40:55 +0000 http://www.lifehacker.com.au/?p=346775#comment-18871 $30 for a shower? You've got to be kidding. $30 for a shower? You’ve got to be kidding.

]]> By: Robert http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2009/11/four-airlines-in-one-day-virgin-blue/comment-page-1/#comment-18750 Robert Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:48:16 +0000 http://www.lifehacker.com.au/?p=346775#comment-18750 I am a pretty big Virgin fan (but also gold on Qantas). In my travels, Virgin has a much better record at running on time and I like the way they are generally more efficient than Qantas. Two things particularly stand out: - The boarding scanning process is much faster than Qantas (especially since Qantas "upgraded" to 2D barcodes which are slower than their previous readers). Hand held scanners (used by Virgin) and simple bar codes make all the difference! - Boarding at front and rear on a 737 is a very good idea. There is only one isle and it gets blocked quickly on Qantas, so I love that Virgin gets people on and off at both ends, I believe this really helps their turn around time, and on time running. Recently I have been lucky to use the Virgin lounge thrice (Syd and Melb), the biggest advantage is that it is much much less busy than the Qantas lounge so you have lots of space, and the coffee was pretty good! I didn't try have a shower though :) The only problem I have experienced with Virgin that is worth mentioning is that in Sydney they have a bad habit of changing the departure gate of flights, but the electronic boards do not get updated. This means people get lost and confused (especially non english speaking tourists). They blame this on the airport terminal operator and it seems to have improved (screens are updated faster now). Thanks for the review of all airlines! ps: I also have the vodafone 3G service (ExpressCard version) and find it great at airports and in the city, but in even dense suburbs the performance drops off from time to time. I am a pretty big Virgin fan (but also gold on Qantas). In my travels, Virgin has a much better record at running on time and I like the way they are generally more efficient than Qantas. Two things particularly stand out:

- The boarding scanning process is much faster than Qantas (especially since Qantas “upgraded” to 2D barcodes which are slower than their previous readers). Hand held scanners (used by Virgin) and simple bar codes make all the difference!

- Boarding at front and rear on a 737 is a very good idea. There is only one isle and it gets blocked quickly on Qantas, so I love that Virgin gets people on and off at both ends, I believe this really helps their turn around time, and on time running.

Recently I have been lucky to use the Virgin lounge thrice (Syd and Melb), the biggest advantage is that it is much much less busy than the Qantas lounge so you have lots of space, and the coffee was pretty good! I didn’t try have a shower though :)

The only problem I have experienced with Virgin that is worth mentioning is that in Sydney they have a bad habit of changing the departure gate of flights, but the electronic boards do not get updated. This means people get lost and confused (especially non english speaking tourists). They blame this on the airport terminal operator and it seems to have improved (screens are updated faster now).

Thanks for the review of all airlines!

ps: I also have the vodafone 3G service (ExpressCard version) and find it great at airports and in the city, but in even dense suburbs the performance drops off from time to time.

]]> By: Phil http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2009/11/four-airlines-in-one-day-virgin-blue/comment-page-1/#comment-18736 Phil Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:30:13 +0000 http://www.lifehacker.com.au/?p=346775#comment-18736 I think they got rid of the joke announcements a long, long time ago. No more "and a whistle for attracting sharks". I think they got rid of the joke announcements a long, long time ago. No more “and a whistle for attracting sharks”.

]]> By: Malcolm Groves http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2009/11/four-airlines-in-one-day-virgin-blue/comment-page-1/#comment-18732 Malcolm Groves Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:44:47 +0000 http://www.lifehacker.com.au/?p=346775#comment-18732 Oh, I didn't say anything about it being smart :-) I did wonder when you announced this, whether anyone at the airlines would be listening. Oh, I didn’t say anything about it being smart :-)

I did wonder when you announced this, whether anyone at the airlines would be listening.

]]> By: Angus Kidman http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2009/11/four-airlines-in-one-day-virgin-blue/comment-page-1/#comment-18725 Angus Kidman Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:07:20 +0000 http://www.lifehacker.com.au/?p=346775#comment-18725 That occurred to me for half an ego-filled second, but setting my booking so that I couldn't actually check myself in seems a really stupid way to do it! That occurred to me for half an ego-filled second, but setting my booking so that I couldn’t actually check myself in seems a really stupid way to do it!

]]> By: Malcolm Groves http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2009/11/four-airlines-in-one-day-virgin-blue/comment-page-1/#comment-18724 Malcolm Groves Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:00:52 +0000 http://www.lifehacker.com.au/?p=346775#comment-18724 re: Meet and Greet, perhaps they know what you're doing today and thought they'd ingratiate themselves? re: Meet and Greet, perhaps they know what you’re doing today and thought they’d ingratiate themselves?

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