[jbarb]

7 months ago I booked a flight for my friend and I from LAX to Brisbane Australia on Virgin Australia. My friend was hesitant because they were a new airline. I talked him into it. I regret that decision. Our flight was booked for November 7th with a return flight on November 22. I went to check my flight into to find out that the airline had canceled our booked flight without contacting me to confirm or inform. They did rebook us on a flight that was totally unacceptable as it would cause us to miss our international connections out of Brisbane and then also causing us to miss our domestic connections on the way home.

I called the airline and they said that there was nothing that could be done about it. That they are not responsible for making connections and that they are not responsible for change fees, accomodations due to the cancelation of flights. In fact the customer service rep told me that they were not responsible for anything.

He said that I if wanted to call back in two days and talk to a supervisor that I might be able to change my flights with out a fee but on promises.

I called back two days later and was told the same thing. The took absolutely no responsibility for any inconvenience for the cancelation of our flights. He did however rebook us on a flight a day earlier. I suggested that he give us an upgrade for the inconvenience and the additional costs that were incurred by change fees on the other airlines and having to stay in hotels two additonal days to be able to make the connections work.

He again said that they were not responsible for anything. Then he said that I could either make it work or not it was up to me.

I told him that I fly internationally several times a year and that I had never exeprienced such poor customer service. That I would certainly consider that before I ever flew on Virgin Australia again. His repsonse was " well that is your choice isn't it!?

Anyone considering booking a flight with Virgin Australia should make sure that they can afford to have their flights cancled or changed with no notice or notification. After researching complaints agianst this airline, this seems to be a common occurance with them.