Virgin Australia Reviews 

My daughter was flying Perth to Sydney via Adelaide. The flight from Adelaide was 2 hours delaided and before getting to sydney it was diverted to Melbourne due to poor weather. When they landed in Melbourne they were handed the letter below and the passangers were told to find their own way to Sydney. After an hour or so some pasangers were given an alternative fly. By then it was almost midnight and all these people were stranded without accomodation and most with flights over 24 hours later. From Perth I (mum) looked and called everywhere to look for accomodation and we couldn't find anything. My daughter and the rest of the passangers were kicked off the airport and are now waiting outside. Stranded!! Where is the *Duty of care*!!! #virginaustralia.

If you are buying from Expedia, although you pay the same price for the tickets as per Virgin website, the seat allocation is pretty poor as they block off most of the seats. So when the companies make and squeeze money out of your pocket, they don’t care for customer care and will provide a shitty service while benefiting every scent out of your hard earned money. Why didn’t they clearly state the differences and conditions. And if the money changed is the same, why not provide equal service.

I have been a loyal Virgin flyer many years. Today I had to cancel a flight because of minor surgery that is to take place the day after my intended flight.

I was going to change my one way flight to a return flight to another city and called the B2B line to cancel the original ticket.

The original price was $313.00 (BNE/DWN) that was fares of $172.92, taxes $66.08 & Extras - I bought upgraded seat for $74.00

Fare cancelled and was offered $130 total credit.
The $74 for the upgraded seat is not refundable. Forget that the booking is 5 months out and will definitely be resold - the rules are the extras are not refundable.

This is criminal.

I was offered by a lovely young man (he was only following the rules) a one off credit for the seat.

AND I can only have credit not a refund.

So Virgin has my money for months in advance, charges $109 cancellation fee (Feb cancellation for a July seat) and I have to use the credit and within 12 months.

I will use the credit but it will be the last time I use Virgin Airlines.

If the flight had been next week or even in the next month I could have accepted that but this was a July booking. A $109 cancelation fee and the extras not being refunded is beyond unacceptable.

Virgin needs to train their airport staff. Arrogance pompous, repulsive as one wouldn't want to reproach those recently spoken to. Please train your people Virgin, we know airport job is tough but surely a bit of smile, clam attitude, clear communication should be your way and barking attitude displays immaturity and doesn't help anyone.

Firstly, I decided to contact Virgin Australia to discuss issues with recent return flights to Brisbane. As Virgins representative responded with minimal care factor, Ive decided to provide my rating.
13/02/26 flight delayed without reason & eventually advised we were waiting on cabin crew from another flight. The delay impacted my journey as I was relying on pick up for an event. On board, staff advised there was limited food/snacks as they had no time to reload. I paid extra for an up front seat as I have a medical condition
I was refused access to the front toilet from row 5 & advised to use the rear toilet.
My seat had also been re allocated by virgin due to children with special needs.
Whilst I can sympathise, no consideration was given to my health issues & well being & I was forced to spend the flight with my seat being jolted forward constantly causing me incredible pain.
Staff approached to ask if I required any food or drink, to be advised that the plane had no time to restock & so only limited items were available.
This occurred on both flights, to & from Brisbane with even lengthier departure from Brisbane which greatly impacted my travel.
Considering Virgin sends surveys, they have no interest in rectifying misgivings.
Worst customer service & support I’ve experienced.

Virgin consistently strives to make mistakes and not improve. I have taken over 15 virgin flights these past twelve months. None have departed on time (always 30-60+ minutes late). Today was the last straw. Two flights cancelled due to “operational requirements”. I contacted the airline on the way to the airport and their support is not open until 4 am AEST despite contacting after this time stipulated. I repetitively tried to contact until I gave up at 5:40 am AEST. Desk advised due to bad weather in Sydney. I called my friends and they said it’s “perfect” today. Qantas or Jetstar have not cancelled any flights. Don’t even get me started on their lounge. Horrible food and feels like a day care center.

⭐ 1 Star

Elderly Heart Patient Denied Boarding Despite Valid Visa

On 21 January 2026, my 67-year-old mother-in-law was denied boarding on a Virgin Australia flight from Sydney to Queenstown despite holding a valid New Zealand tourist visa.

At check-in, it was clearly communicated that she held a valid visa. However, staff focused on an ETA requirement, which does not apply to Indian passport holders who already hold a valid NZ visa. The interaction felt rushed and no meaningful escalation was offered.

Virgin later claimed we arrived “approximately two minutes before check-in closing.” This does not reflect our experience. We were at the counter around 7:50am — approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes before scheduled boarding — and other members of our party were processed during that time.

The impact was severe. My mother-in-law is a heart patient and her essential medication was in checked luggage. The distress caused was significant, and my wife and children were left in tears at the very start of our holiday.

Despite escalating the matter formally, the airline has denied responsibility, relying solely on internal reports.

This experience was deeply disappointing, particularly in the way an elderly, medically vulnerable passenger was treated.

You’ll never get a refund from Virgin..
so be careful if something happens that makes it impossible to travel.
You’ve lost your money

Mv family and I are very disappointed that we did not have any space to put our cabin bags on the overhead compartment because some people chose to put their cabin bags, handbags and duty fee bags in the compartment. The cabin crew comes along taking our bags stating we will handle them but you will need to pick them from the carousel. This is absolutely not acceptable. While other passengers are enjoying, we suffer. This is ridiculous

Overhead compartments are for 7kg luggage, the other bags should be stored under the seats, This needs to be revised by the airline

My flight from Hobart to Sydney was canceled due to an engine malfunction. I’m not talking about a minor delay. There were police and firefighters on the tarmac, and we were kept stuck inside the plane while it was investigated. All the passengers (who didn't live in Tasminia) were then stranded in Tasmania overnight with zero assistance.

Virgin Australia provided no hotel, no food voucher, no refund, and no real guidance. Hobart Airport closes at night (as many Australian airports do), leaving us to fend for ourselves. Their taxi voucher app didn’t work, no taxis would accept it, and we had no choice but to pay out of pocket for accommodation and transportation.

Because of this cancellation, I missed my connecting international flight to New Zealand. Despite repeatedly explaining that this was entirely caused by their aircraft malfunction, Virgin Australia was unwilling and frankly rude about covering any of those losses.

I filed for reimbursement in mid-November. After TWO MONTHS, I finally received a response saying they would only reimburse hotel, part of food, and nothing else. Not the Uber costs (because their vouchers failed), not additional food (have they looked at how expensive airport food is $30 doesn't cover 3 meals) not my missed international flight, and not even a refund for the original Hobart–Sydney ticket.

Clearly Virgin don't care about their customers. Worst customer service I've ever experienced. Staff are cold, abrupt, and policies are designed to extract as much money as possible. Service delivered with zero concern for children.

Virgin Australia:
Flight delayed by 1.5 hours

Faulty light so couldn't sleep through a six hour flight

Almost ran out of food, and because the flight was so delayed we couldn't eat breakfast beforehand so extra hungry

The in flight entertainment has a 25% chance of success

And the cherry on top?

They forgot our ####ing bags that contained all of our stuff.

AND TO MAKE IT THEIR FAULT FURTHER **WE WERE ON THE SAME PLANE AS BEFORE**

how do you get a flight delayed if it is already there?

-82 stars 🌟

Should have come to Trust pilot first - hadn't realised the brand had fallen so low. First time using Virgin Australia. Used their website to book a trip. Realised I had booked the wrong time on one leg of flight. Tried to change it, could not do it on line and then got no help from person on phone. Then tried to cancel online within the 24 time frame, kept on saying come back later. The 24 hours elapsed. The airline told me they had no authority to cancel! Finally was able to cancel on line but had to pay large penalty.

Was booked to fly from Cairns to Brisbane, where I was booked to fly international the same day. When I proceeded to the check in counter I was asked for my visa to enter the Philippines. A visa is not required to holiday in the Philippines so I informed them of this and I was only flying to Brisbane and then Brisbane to Philippines with PAL. The girl at the counter was on a power trip and would not allow me to board without a visa, which caused me to miss my connection to Manila. I was then forced to purchase another fight from Cairns to Manila later in the day, with Qantas at double the price. Qantas staff even went down to the Virgin desk and told them they had made a massive mistake but to no avail. Qantas couldn't have been more helpful and professional, and low and behold no visa required to board their flight or to pass through immigration in Manila. Over the past few months I have been fighting Virgin for a refund, but unfortunately their last response was that they find that they made the right decision and I'm the one that was wrong for not having a visa. I am now considering legal action for the unfair and unprofessional behavior of this pathetic airline. Will never go anywhere near this company again.

At this point, Virgin Australia is clearly trying very hard to sink to a level below Jetstar. A 6 hour international flight and no complimentary meal nor drink. The selection of "food" & "snacks" is so basic & overpriced. On our return flight to Sydney via Gold Coast we learnt that our luggage would not be sent through to Sydney but that we would have to disembark, get our luggage & drop it off at the Virgin drop off point. First & last time we will fly with this p.... poor excuse of a wannabe cheapskate airline

I would opt for no stars if possible . What an appalling airline . Firstly I have supported this airline prior to its demise then following . Of late I have endured flight cancelation after flight cancelation . Various conflicting causes were provided . The final causes usually ensures the airline is not responsible ie “ operational reasons” mostly ! To make matters worse they offer no alternative options to ensure you make the destination as per the ticket . Again excuse after excuse , the last experience I was informed all flights following my cancelled flight were full ( 8 flights ) so I would need to find accomodation at my cost .This airline should be exposed for what it is . It employs a”no care policy “instigated by the current CEO Dave Emerson . The lounge staff stated over and over how embarrassed they are over this unacceptable treatment . Given this atrocious treatment of customers I am back to Qantas and loving it . Airlines such as QR and SQ are being denigrated by their association with this Mickey Mouse operation.

I missed my flight due to a traffic incident. Of course, the airline couldn't do anything about that. Since I had already checked in, I wanted to be fair and let them know that I wouldn't make it. They offered me a flight the next morning for AU$302. The same flight was available on Skyscanner for AU$170. Very accommodating.

Never book again, they always have flight issues. After waiting 3hrs at the airport the flight got cancelled. Total Waste of time.

If there was 0 star, I would have given 0 star.

Great service received.
The experience on my most recent flight was exceptional, I couldn't fault it. The cabin crew were amazing, particularly Joshua, the cabin manager. We were travelling due to a family emergency and the staff couldn't do enough for us to make our journey as seamless as possible.
I acknowledge that others have had bad experiences with Virgin, but based on this one, I would fly with them again.

Absolutely abysmal customer support. Unable to pay online with a UK credit card due to some obscure payment error. Called up and customer support barely understands English and needs to double check every single letter, eating up all my roaming credit. Awful just awful experience, stay away from these guys, your time is worth more.