Thank goodness - the old one was a disaster when I was there in June.
Iāll be test driving it in late September for Melbourne Marathon weekend.
Really? I thought it was alright.
Maybe I was there at a bad time, lunch time on a Friday, even though it wasnāt school holidays or a long weekend.
I couldnāt get a seat anywhere in the 2 hours I was there, people were sitting on the floor everywhere. I thought I was in a 3rd world country airport.
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Since when do virgin charge you for checking bags?
Donāt most airlines have different fare types these days?
If you just have carry on baggage then its the cheapest fare. If you check in a bag then you pay more. If you want to choose a specific seat like aisle or exit row then you pay more again. If you want flexibility with changes to flight times, then you pay more for that too.
Itās been about 6 months since I have flown with virgin but I have never been given the option to add baggage. It has always been included. I just wasnāt aware this changed.
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I donāt know whether itās new with Virgin but it has been something Iāve noticed with many airlines I had flown pre-pandemic. Sometimes it was really confusing trying to compare flights from different airlines because they all had different fees for different options.
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Jetstar charge extra for checked in baggage,if you only have carry on luggage fare is $20 less.Thatās why when ever Iāve traveled on a Jetstar flight people try to bring luggage on board that is too large to fit into the overhead lockers 
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I just booked a return flight to Cairns today from Sydney. Thereās no way I was booking with Jetstar despite the $120 saving. I paid more for Qantas. I know their track record has been terrible of late but still far better than Jetstar.
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And Qantas own Jetstar ,theyāre the cheaper option
Yeah I have always been aware of this with jetstar. Itās just something you know when booking with them.
Absolutely. If you can afford/choose to book Qantas why would anyone want to book Jetstar?
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Flew both last week. The only things QF had going for it was the cloth non slimline seat, Jetstar has the typical el cheapo thin leather uncomfortable seat. Also less bogan passengers around me on QF. Jetstar bag popped out instantly, QF had me waiting about 20 mins. QF was an hour late, Jetstar 15 mins late. Thatās a lottery though however as we all know. I actually prefer the Buy on Board Jetstar menu for the longer hikes, vs what QF gave me which was a drink and some nutty bar. I certainly donāt pick QF for its refreshments. Virgin also, a whole range of menu options you can buy.
I only went Jetstar as it was a redemption and was 5000 points cheaper with luggage still included, outside of that I do prefer Virgin, with a whole new fleet of 737s about to arrive will be good to sample the new product.
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I havenāt travelled with Qantas since about 2003 ,when I travelled to Cairns from Brisbane that year.Jetstar werenāt around then
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Funny thing was the aircraft I flew on last week was 20 years old and the same one I flew on in 2002 from Melbourne to Brisbane, I know cause itās rego is the same as my name initials. It was showing its age I will say. Time to upgrade the fleet.
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Iāve travelled on the same Jetstar aircraft twice now,8 years apart,this aircraft now has new livery for the āLight Yearā movie
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I think this is from the changes with Virgin almost going bust.
Wouldnāt know given Iāve been Platinum Velocity Member for a number of years, which gives me 3 checked bags on all but the cheapest fare.
On another note, have had to get a little fancy regarding FF accumulation for the Auckland trip at the end of October. Flying Air New Zealand for the international legs, but when booking directly via their site I found I couldnāt link either Virgin or Qantas Frequent Flyer accounts, and so Iāve resorted to earning Singapore Airlines Kris Flyer Miles, which is a concern that Iām actually a member given Iāve flown them literally three times in my life. Hopefully Iāll be able to convert to Virgin Points post flight but Iām not sure how long this will take.