Virgin Australia has launched its Itinerary Change Claim Program (Program) for eligible guests who have been charged an incorrect amount for ticket changes made from 21 April 2020 to 31 March 2025.
What happened
We recently became aware of some issues in the way a number of bookings were being repriced when guests requested itinerary changes. In response, we immediately launched an internal investigation to understand what happened, the impact on our guests and took a number of actions to prevent this from occurring in the future.
We sincerely apologise to those guests impacted and are proactively communicating with all impacted guests to process their refunds.
This issue involves approximately 0.1 percent of all bookings processed from 21 April 2020 to 31 March 2025 and the average refund amount is $55 per guest (including GST).
What have we done
At Virgin Australia, we want to do the right thing and that means acknowledging when we don’t get things right and fixing it.
We have worked to:
Fix specific technical issues in the relevant systems; and
Complete a wide review of the relevant processes across the business and implement formal governance to support the ongoing management of our Booking and Ticketing Policy.
This work is complete, and it is our priority to communicate as soon as possible to all guests entitled to a refund and process their payments. To help expedite this process for our guests, we have engaged specialists at Deloitte Australia (Deloitte).
What happens next
If you are eligible for a refund, you will receive an email from Virgin Australia, followed by communications from Deloitte on behalf of Virgin Australia via SMS and email. They will advise you as to what you need to do to claim your refund.
The Program will be open for eligible guests to submit a claim for 12 months. Once Deloitte has processed and confirmed your claim, they will let you know when you can expect to receive your refund payment from Virgin Australia.
Once the Program closes, any amounts that guests elect not to claim will be donated to charity.
Virgin Australia is proactively communicating with all impacted guests, however, if you did not receive an email or SMS and believe you may be eligible, please register through the Program Portal hosted by Deloitte available through the link below. Deloitte will then use this information to verify your eligibility.
To find out more about Virgin Australia’s Itinerary Change Claim Program please visit the Program Portal found here: www.VAClaims.deloitte.com.au.
In addition to this, the dedicated support team at Deloitte stand ready to speak with you if you need further assistance or if you are having any difficulties accessing the Program Portal. Simply send a message via the Portal page or contact Deloitte at 1800 343 136. Deloitte’s operators are online between 9am and 5pm (AEST) Monday to Friday excluding Victorian Public Holidays.
FAQs
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How do I know if I am eligible to make a claim?
Virgin Australia has contact details for all eligible guests and has proactively communicated via email with those guests. If you are eligible, you will have received an email from Virgin Australia and an email and SMS from Deloitte on behalf of Virgin Australia.
This relates only to some itinerary changes made from 21 April 2020 to 31 March 2025 via Virgin Australia’s website, Guest Contact Centre or business booking platforms and involves approximately 0.1 percent of all bookings processed during that time.
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I didn’t receive an email, but believe I am still eligible. What should I do?
Virgin Australia has contact details for all eligible guests and has proactively communicated via email with those guests. If you are eligible, you will have received an email from Virgin Australia and an email and SMS from Deloitte on behalf of Virgin Australia.
If you did not receive an email or SMS and believe you may be eligible, please register through the Program Portal available here www.VAClaims.deloitte.com.au. Deloitte and Virgin Australia will then use this information to verify your eligibility.
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How long do I have to make a claim?
Eligible guests have 12 months to submit their claim. Once the Program closes, any amounts that guests elect not to claim will be donated to charity.
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Who is Deloitte?
Deloitte Australia (Deloitte) are specialists we have engaged to help make this process as easy and fast as possible for impacted guests. If you are eligible for a refund you will receive communication from Deloitte via email or SMS outlining what you need to do next to submit your claim.
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What happened?
We have policies that determine when and how we reprice a guest’s booking when they make a change to their itinerary. We have found that in some instances, the guest’s booking has been repriced in a way that does not align with our policy and, we are refunding impacted guests for that amount.
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What has Virgin Australia done to fix the issue?
As soon as we became aware, we stood up a dedicated team to investigate the issue, fix the problem and proactively communicate with those guests impacted.
We have worked to:
Fix specific technical issues in the relevant systems; and
Complete a wide review of the relevant processes across the business and implement formal governance to support the ongoing management of our Booking and Ticketing Policy.
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Does the refund amount include GST?
Yes.
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Where can I get more information?
To find out more about Virgin Australia’s Itinerary Change Claim Program, please visit the Program Portal hosted by Deloitte found here www.VAClaims.deloitte.com.au.