This was posted 5 months 1 day ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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Free Equivalent Virgin Australia Flight for Passengers with Rex Tickets @ Virgin Australia

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Free Equivalent Virgin Australia Flight for Passengers with Rex Tickets @ Virgin AustraliaAffiliate
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Cashback
beatthatflight on 30/07/2024 - 23:42 newsroom.virginaustralia.com (1354 clicks)
Last edited 31/07/2024 - 09:26
This post contains affiliate links. OzBargain might earn commissions when you click through and make purchases. Please see this page for more information.

Impacted Rex customers will be supported with rebooking on an equivalent Virgin Australia service free of charge. Customers will need to contact Virgin Australia before 14 August 2024 to take up this offer.

Rex customers with imminent travel in the next 48 hours should contact the Virgin Australia Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89. Those travelling outside 48 hours should visit the Virgin Australia website to complete a rebooking form.

Overlapping routes are:

  • Sydney to Brisbane, Melbourne, Gold Coast, and Adelaide
  • Melbourne to Brisbane, Hobart, Perth, Canberra, Gold Coast, and Adelaide
  • Adelaide to Brisbane, Perth
  • Brisbane to Cairns

Qantas has also offered the same, as has Jetstar

Travel Airfare Domestic Flight

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closed Comments

  • Owgasm on 30/07/2024 - 23:45
    +4

    Called, they couldn’t find my Rex booking on their system. Said to submit through website…. Flights in less than 24hrs…

  • sunnyc on 30/07/2024 - 23:46
    +66

    Very sad to see, rather fly rex over qantas anyday

    • Corgsta on 31/07/2024 - 06:27
      +9

      Yeah I’m sure yesterday was high spirits in the Qantas exec meeting rooms and boardroom. And Virgin. I’m borderline wanting to neg this deal since it’s (I’m sure there’s a word for this) Virgin acting like it’s helping but it’s loving this. But I’m sure it’ll be useful for some.

      I’ve flown Rex before and they are really great. Unfortunately I can’t use them for work (regularly go between MEL-CBR), since they only fly out at around 12-1pm either way. Locked out of mourning and evening slots by Virgin and Qantas.

        • Wildesy on 31/07/2024 - 09:10
          +27

          He didn’t say that, he said that he regularly flies to CBR. He also said he’s now in mourning for Rex, so don’t hassle him during this difficult time.

      • SimAus007 on 31/07/2024 - 08:56
        +2

        All airlines are helping in taking Rex customers, Virgin, Jetstar and Qantas. Of course, they all do it to look good, they don't just give away free seats without any benefit, that's marketing 101.
        Ultimately, there has to be something in it for the other airline, and in this case, that is to look good. Is that a bad thing? :)

  • BlackorRed on 30/07/2024 - 23:52
    +5

    what happens to all budget airlines? first Bonza, now Rex…haizz

    • beatthatflight on 30/07/2024 - 23:57
      +11

      Tiger too :/

        • FuRyZ on 31/07/2024 - 10:58
          +2

          Ironically, I did fly Tiger once to a wedding. All my other friends flew Jetstar/Qantas. Tiger was the only one that arrived on time.

          Everyone has good and bad experiences with airlines. But for the price, I expected very little and got pretty good service from Tiger. I would have forgiven a delay because the flight was damn cheap.

          The price you pay should equal the service you expect to receive. As the saying goes… you get what you pay for.

          When you fly a super budget airline, you roll the dice. Meanwhile, if airlines like Qantas are going to charge as much as they do, then they have to meet a certain standard of service. Which they fail to do, almost all the time.

    • liam2040 on 31/07/2024 - 03:23
      +9

      It's a very long list. From the early 90s onwards the chances of going defunct as an airline in Australia became almost a certainty.
      Skywest, Air Australia, OzJet, Australian Airlines, Ansett, Compass to name some more memorable ones.

    • DingoBilly on 31/07/2024 - 08:25
      +2

      It's such an insanely hard market to crack.

      In order to be competitive you have to be really cut throat, but then you get a really bad reputation as nickel and diming customers and having a shit customer experience.

      Ultimately it probably just comes down to the Australian market being too small as well. Ryanair can succeed in Europe because there's so many people and countries, as well as cheaper airports to use. In Aus you hit practical limits pretty quick.

      • BargainKen on 31/07/2024 - 16:04

        you need deeper pockets than Qantas, and Qantas got some deep pockets.

    • skinny on 31/07/2024 - 17:00

      is Jetstar next.. king of delay and cancellations

  • David74 on 30/07/2024 - 23:54
    +7

    My flight is within 36 hours. Called Virgin 30 times but have not yet managed to speak with someone before being call being terminated.

    • SimAus007 on 31/07/2024 - 08:59
      +4

      I'm sure they are getting bombarded with call loads. You also have Jetstar and Qantas now. So just try one of the 3 to get to your destination on time and good luck :)

  • Onemoredeal on 30/07/2024 - 23:58
    +13

    My flight is Thursday night and they found my booking and rebooked me same times both ways … very happy!! On hold for 1hr worth it

  • lachlantula on 31/07/2024 - 00:02
    +2

    this is such a miserable situation but thanks op, submitted form

  • FrugalFrella on 31/07/2024 - 00:08
    +3

    Called and rebooked. Took about an hour on-hold but they got us on another flight at a similar time.

    Spelled the name wrong for one of the passengers though so guess I'll have to call back later to fix that :/

    • Anon257 on 31/07/2024 - 00:24

      Were you gonna fly in the next 48 hours? They told me to call back later

      • FrugalFrella on 31/07/2024 - 01:02
        +2

        Yeah flying tomorrow night so they got me booked in over the phone

    • b0b0 on 31/07/2024 - 09:10
      +2

      Does name matter for domestic flights? (I never get checked)

      • FrugalFrella on 31/07/2024 - 09:19

        Honestly no clue. Rex did check our drivers license on the way here, but I don't recall being checked in the past for other airlines

      • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 31/07/2024 - 17:34

        Not once at the airport. No one checks. Rules are changing in ~2026 however.

    • Grannular on 31/07/2024 - 09:22
      +2

      Don't worry. No ID is checked for domestic flights, so doesn't matter if names are wrong.

  • Arian10daddy on 31/07/2024 - 00:24
    +1

    My mum's flight from Mel to Adelaide was to be tomorrow (technically today since it's post 12am, lol) morning. Saw the email arrive in my mailbox at 10:38pm. Been trying to call the virgin call centre since then to no avail. The automated message is like "blah blah blah" and hang up. Filled the form and will await response. Obviously mum's not flying tomorrow morning, but hopefully she gets to fly soon enough. Big bummer though!

  • life is suffering on 31/07/2024 - 00:30
    +4

    What the f all these sales and promotions a month before and now this . Jesus

    • Rail Rider95 on 31/07/2024 - 07:58

      I was looking at their sale prices only on Sunday. Worked out a dollar or two cheaper than Virgin's sale price, but thankfully I prioritised the better timeslot available with Virgin.
      I don't know how they were having a sale in the midst of going under.

      • life is suffering on 31/07/2024 - 09:39
        +1

        Probably should be investigated. The common man like us and ground staff suffer as always

      • Ghost47 on 31/07/2024 - 14:00
        +1

        I don't know how they were having a sale in the midst of going under.

        Sheer stupidity most likely.

  • umoddbro on 31/07/2024 - 00:34
    +1

    Free flight upgrade I guess…

    • life is suffering on 31/07/2024 - 00:45
      +1

      Lmao I guess .

    • Bakstar on 31/07/2024 - 02:23
      +12

      Flown both Rex and Virgin recently. I think Rex is probably above Virgin these days ever since the reboot.

      • Nillionaire on 31/07/2024 - 06:05
        +1

        Their web design certainly isn't

  • Webbo on 31/07/2024 - 01:42

    If I booked my REX flights through Amex travel, would that cause any problems? Virgin likely to help?

    • jeppetto367 on 31/07/2024 - 08:53

      VA should still help, shouldn't matter who you booked through as long as you have a Rex PNR (6 digit booking number).

  • mickyb80 on 31/07/2024 - 01:54
    +15

    Sadly, this is the current and immediate future of any such airline in AU.
    Take a look at history, once again, repeating itself. Same story over and over and over…

    Break down costs, fuel, wet leasing, maintance, remoteness of AU, the high airport fees in most ports, the list goes on and on here.
    Sadly, AU is not like the US, or high populated countries. The Big 2 have a monopoloy on the goldern triangle and without government assistance and a serious review, things will keep heading down this path.

    Rex was lucky to have been spun off and be the surviving portion of what was Ansett's regional carriers (Hazelton/Kendell) and running a majority single craft (SAAB 340) was a great concept for parts, maintance, running, budgetting etc.

    Will be interesting to see how things turn. Perhaps the government will bail these guys out this time, unlike the previous decisions with fallen airlines. I'd imagine its more likely this time around, considering the mininal and otherwise single carrier (Qantaslink) on most of the routes.

    Considering Virgin didnt/still hasnt floated (again). Maybe, nore returned to many of its regional routes from the pre-v1 fall, could this be a time for VA to take over and return to more regional routes?

    I could go one for ages here, but no point. Be interesting to see what is next on the table…

    Hope everyone can get their flights sorted!
    Lucky the regional legs are still flying (if im not mistaken).

    • Corgsta on 31/07/2024 - 06:31
      +4

      Thanks, that was informative. I’m hoping the govt step in on this. There needs to be an intervention on competition here, especially in the golden triangle like you said.

      • mickyb80 on 31/07/2024 - 22:56
        +1

        The majority of the countries population lives within a 750km distance from the East coast (heading west). e.g. up and down the East coast.
        Outside of that gutter (if we call it such), the country is simply lacking in connectivity.
        A country like the US, while similar in size to AU (8.1xmill sq km v 7.6xmill sq km) has many cities that are spread all over the country.

        NYC on one side, LA on the other, Chicago, Phili, Dallas, Huston, and and and…
        We have Sydney, Melb and then Brisbane (not forgetting Perth and Adelaide, but lets be honest, how many flights are there and actual flight movements needed from Sydney and Melb etc. the demand simply isnt there).

        The rest are sub 700k populations and even then, from memory we only have the GC at 680k odd. Everything else is less that 500k even…

        You have Wagga at 65k odd, Albury/Wodonga at near 100k.

        For most regional ports, this is why Rex continued flying the SAAB 340 from Hazelton and Kendell - it just made sense.
        Virgin dumped the E160/180 jets for ATR's, even stopped the route after the first administration round.
        QL continues to jump around with Dash 8's.

        I'd imagine with the current situation, the Gov and Administrators might look to see if its viable for VA to take over Rex's regional legs, or promote that Rex continues to fly (as they are) those regional flights.
        Either way, without such, all that will be left for more will be QL. This wont stand the comp test.

        Even if Rex maintain independance, I'd personally like to see Rex carries a partnership with Virgin. This would aid the airline dramatically (both) i'd think, at least on paper and principal.
        Bring Rex on as a member with Velocity as Ansett did with Hazelton and Kendell back in the day and away they go.

        I vagually recall Rex and Virgin had a coshare on flights when Rex first took flight. My memory now days isn't great, but I even feel like I was on a few flights back in the very early days and Kendell/Ansett livery being present, while transferring to a Virgin flight after (co-shared).

        With the changing of VA's CEO guard immediant also, a bit of a change would be good timing. Perhaps, even seeing VA pickup some bigger birds once again and flying back to some of its previous international ports like LA.

        Maybe even a bigger dream would be to have Rex be rebranded as Ansett!
        Yes… I'm THAT OLD!

    • life is suffering on 31/07/2024 - 09:41

      Will fast trains help ?

      • mickyb80 on 31/07/2024 - 22:55

        Fast trains helping Airlines?
        aaahhh - no…

        Obviously, a fast train would mean, bums on train seats rather in the air.
        It would help travellers with more affordable travel I'd expect, however, if i was to look at reviewing this concept, i'd ask for figures of current 'travel users'. I'd imagine the cost of a 'fast train' v's the cost would still remain illogical, hence, still not backed and actioned by any AU government to date.

    • Ghost47 on 31/07/2024 - 14:01

      or high populated countries

      Give the government a few years, we’ll get there. After all it was projected our population would hit 27m in 2040 or something and we’re already there. They’ll import as many people as they can to keep their big business mates happy.

  • Owgasm on 31/07/2024 - 06:32

    120min wait time at 6am this morning if anyone was curious.
    Hope they jump on the online submissions asap.

    • Owgasm on 31/07/2024 - 07:59
      +2

      1hr40min the end.

      Rebooking as I post this.
      Thankful!

  • Daddy Chill on 31/07/2024 - 06:33

    I thought Qantas owned REX

    • HamBoi69 on 31/07/2024 - 06:58
      +9

      Pfftttt they wish. Qantas' answer is Qantaslink.

    • SimAus007 on 31/07/2024 - 09:02
      +2

      Nope, Rex is their competition on regional routes, which looks to be remaining (hopefully).

  • fitzy87 on 31/07/2024 - 07:24
    +1

    Flights in two weeks so done the form. Thanks OP , so does virgin just take the hot with free seats hoping people will use them later and become a returning customer over Qantas ?

    • Onemoredeal on 31/07/2024 - 07:40

      Considering Rex aren’t offering refunds and continuing to trade regionally while in administration I rekon there might be an element of cost sharing.

      • NopeNopeNope on 31/07/2024 - 10:14

        Administration is funny. Rex the company you see right now today doesn't HAVE to offer refunds.

        Sort of what has happened is rex as a company is now frozen yesterday with all the people that owe them money and all the people that are owed money is now paused. All of the people who are owed money go into buckets, off memory, people who have directly secured assets against their loan are first, then its staff, then its unsecured loans (of which customers fall under now), then owners.

        There is a new company run by the administrators who get use of the brand and assets but as of today they take on any new debts. So if there is a plane in the sky today the administrators are paying for the pilot, fuel, lease, etc… the idea is that these administrators keep the lights on to preserve as much value as possible.

        In an ideal world they find someone who wants to buy the whole thing, will pay enough so that the people who are owed money are happy enough, e.g. taking 50c per dollar you are owed and there still being a business to continue trading with might be better than getting 75c per dollar if everything was sold. Basically everyone is owed money sort of votes with weighting applied to how much and which rank they hold on the different deals as there might be people wanting to buy it whole, people wanting to buy parts, or just straight up liquidation.

        Conceptually it is good as it tries to get the best outcome as agreed by the most people who are owed money from the whole thing, however it does kinda suck when you are holding a 'rex' airline ticket, being told to try your luck with marketing of another airline while they are still taking cash for new seats on the part of the business that was profitable. Also the administrators take a HUUUUGEEEE chunk of cash from the new entity, the new entity which typically is very 'cash' risk as all of the sudden a lot of stuff they are holding today the bill is now locked in an old company.

        I think it is an interesting play by Virgin marketing wise, trying to help rebuild their reputation having just gone through administration themselves. I had a holiday booked with rex for my family and my sisters family about $4k worth, i have filled out the virgin form and lodged a credit card charge back and will see if i can get rebooked or my money back, i have some basic domestic travel insurance via my CC as my next call.

    • life is suffering on 04/08/2024 - 02:00

      Did you fill the form twice ?

    • boomramada on 31/07/2024 - 08:14
      +4

      Ozb community announcement for people who don't know, so they can save some money :)

    • AircraftFreight on 31/07/2024 - 08:43
      +8

      Well having to fork out $800+ for new last minute tickets or use this deal post and know how to transfer your ticket and pay $0.00

      • b0b0 on 31/07/2024 - 09:12
        +2

        Exactly this. I think people like himself who are not affected won’t understand

  • Lolitsjoel on 31/07/2024 - 08:54
    -2

    Was so pleased to have booked my tickets last Thursday. At least went paypal so started the process for refund.

    Virgin don't appear to offer Bris - Sydney for some reason

    • SimAus007 on 31/07/2024 - 09:43
      +1

      Virgin definitely offer BNE - SYD (Brisbane - Sydney), I've done that route with them many times and it's one of their most popular routes. Usually flights every hour, depending on the time of the day.

    • trarob on 31/07/2024 - 09:48

      Good to know. I literally booked the tickets on Monday night and next day this happens. Will process refund with my cc company.

      • SimAus007 on 31/07/2024 - 09:52

        I doubt your credit card company will refund you as all routes are covered with replacement flights as agreed officially between Rex administrators EY and Virgin, including Brisbane - Sydney (if that is your route?).
        All the card companies (& banks) are well informed of this from the administrators (publicly available information).
        Rex also hasn't closed down, it is still in business under voluntary administration and can be contacted by customers and card issuers to verify further.

        • dyziplen on 31/07/2024 - 10:24

          OP booked a flight, Rex went under, Virgin maybe offering replacement flights, but its not automatic and not 1:1 for the exact same flight and tiimings, you have to call and hope.

          CC chargeback it is.

          • SimAus007 on 31/07/2024 - 10:29

            @dyziplen: Rex has not gone under, perhaps you need to learn what voluntary administration means.
            Card companies don't just automatically give chargebacks, I am not sure if you've done that before but they do try to contact the vendor (Rex is contactable), to confirm the details, if you refused to take an equivalent option, that's on you.
            In this case, you have the option of Virgin, Qantas and Jetstar at no charge, so you will get a flight at the same time or within a few minutes of it (usually an even better flight time given the number of flights they have).

            • dyziplen on 31/07/2024 - 10:33

              @SimAus007:

              In this case, you have the option of Virgin, Qantas and Jetstar at no charge, so you will get a flight at the same time or within a few minutes of it.

              If they are automatically booking it for you, maybe.

              THEY ARE NOT BOOKING IT FOR YOU.

              • SimAus007 on 31/07/2024 - 10:34

                @dyziplen: Because YOU have a choice, you can select the flight and airline that works best for you, of course, it's not automatic, do you think they are going to assume what flight number & airline you want? They also cannot share your personal information with another airline unless it's in the conditions of sale, this falls under the privacy act, therefore you need to provide your details to get this done LoL

                • dyziplen on 31/07/2024 - 10:37

                  @SimAus007: Your contract is with Rex, Rex is no longer in the position to offer that service.

                  End of story.

                  • SimAus007 on 31/07/2024 - 10:38

                    @dyziplen: Read how the Privacy Act works, this is basic law most of us learn in school, end of story.

                    • dyziplen on 31/07/2024 - 10:47

                      @SimAus007: You do realise that airlines rebook people onto other airlines all the time right?

                      This happens all the time when flights gets cancelled and there are no other alternative offered by the airline, and you only deal with the airline that you booked with.

                      • SimAus007 on 31/07/2024 - 10:56

                        @dyziplen: They don't automatically book them and divulge your information without speaking with you first, this is a must under the Australian Privacy Act. I work in the industry.
                        The last thing Rex needs right now is someone suing them for this. No professionally run organisation will do this as they have their own legal team advising them of what they can/can't do under the act.
                        The only way around this is if they clearly state this in writing in their CoC (Conditions of Carriage) at the time of sale/ticketing… https://www.rex.com.au/FlightInfo/COC.aspx

                        • dyziplen on 31/07/2024 - 11:13
                          +1

                          @SimAus007: You still don't get it do you. Yours sales contract is with Rex. Rex need to provide the services as agreed. Otherwise you can start a charge back.

                          If Rex says the flights are now offered by Virgin, then they need to contact the customer and offer an alternative.

                          Not, oh hey, call Virgin, be put on hold for an hour, and hope you might be able to get something that suits. What if the customer has a flight today and don't have the time to be put on hold?

                          • nwa on 31/07/2024 - 12:12

                            @dyziplen: Yes, it don't matter where the airline is contactable or not. The simple fact of the matter is whatever you have purchased cannot be supplied by the provider. No different to buying someone online and it hasn't been shipped.

                            • SimAus007 on 31/07/2024 - 12:24

                              @nwa: That is not correct, it is very different to buying goods and simply not receiving them.
                              It depends on the conditions of your bank, as they (Rex in this case) can offer you alternative solutions, they are allowed to do this under AFCA law, see here…

                              "The merchant made an offer I do not want to accept – can I raise a chargeback?
                              You may be able to raise a chargeback if the merchant does not provide a refund but offers you an alternative you do not want to accept (such as a credit voucher or rescheduled booking). It will depend on:

                              • the terms and conditions of your original purchase
                              • the rules of the credit card scheme which apply to your card
                              • relevant government regulations.

                              You should contact your bank (or credit union) to check whether a chargeback is available in your circumstances. You will need to provide details about the transaction you want to charge back and why you do not want to accept any alternative solution the merchant has proposed.
                              This information will be shared with the merchant’s bank."

                              Under FAQ's https://www.afca.org.au/about-afca/publications/factsheet-ch…

                          • SimAus007 on 31/07/2024 - 14:49

                            @dyziplen: Then you'll need to argue with your bank that Rex's alternative offer was not an acceptable solution and prove that you tried to work with the solution offered (and state why it was not acceptable) - they (the bank) may or may not agree with you, but your bank will contact Rex to see what the solution was and the bank will disclose this to you during your call with them and ask if you agree to them contacting Rex on your behalf, to establish what was offered.
                            See my post above with factual details from AFCA who set these laws and banks' individual rules on chargebacks.
                            Ultimately, the bank does not have to refund you if Rex is providing an alternate solution (and no, it doesn't need to be Rex themselves), but that decision is up to your bank, as Rex offering an alternative solution can be seen as acceptable, under the law.
                            End of story LoL

          • Eeples on 31/07/2024 - 19:01
            +1

            @dyziplen: You think your bank is going to become a creditor in your place?

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 31/07/2024 - 09:02
    +2

    Just put the online application in hopefully hear from them soon

  • tomb11 on 31/07/2024 - 09:07

    Can anyone confirm if Melbourne to Sydney (return) flights are included?
    Only Sydney to Melbourne is listed?

    • SimAus007 on 31/07/2024 - 09:48

      Yes, it's both ways, 100%. All Rex 737 jet routes are covered. This is noted officially in the EY publication this morning.

  • Herotype on 31/07/2024 - 09:09
    +4

    Called last night when i got the text, got hung up on after midnight. Called this morning at 5am, got through after 1.5 hours.

    Got rebooked on similar flights, flying out tonight.

  • mulimulix on 31/07/2024 - 10:14

    Supposed to be flying Rex tomorrow, the Virgin number it says to call just hangs up on me every time I've tried last night and this morning. Now I just tried going through as a velocity customer, got through to someone and he's transferred me. Now been on hold for 30 minutes. Don't know how you're supposed to get through at all if you don't do it that way.

    • Lolitsjoel on 31/07/2024 - 10:30

      Give Qantas or Jetstar a try, they’re now offering

      • mulimulix on 31/07/2024 - 10:50

        Finally got through to virgin and got it done. Only way was going through as a velocity customer rather than the way you're supposed to but was only on hold for about 35 minutes compared to 1-2 hours most people on here were.

  • FuRyZ on 31/07/2024 - 11:03

    Really surprised that Virgin even made this offer for free flights. Thumbs up in my books.

    But I think their phone lines are about to be annihilated. Good luck everyone affected.

    • Wampus on 31/07/2024 - 11:59

      Politicans, air industry insiders and just general punters are all pointing the finger at Virgin and Qantas (again) for making this happen so Virgin trying to sound magnanimous is a PR exercise

      • ANoobishFellow on 31/07/2024 - 13:20

        Yeah Virgin are classic scumlords.

  • Eeples on 31/07/2024 - 11:51

    That's interesting I received a virgin 'offer' from Rex last night and my route is SYD->OOL. (September, 2024)

    I have checked plenty of capacity and can get fights within 10min of my scheduled Rex flights. I should get luggage too, I think?

    I booked return. Does anyone know if I need to put in two forms for each of the flights?

    Thanks.

    • Eeples on 06/08/2024 - 13:13

      Got reticketed by Virgin for my flights. Lite fare, so no luggage.

      Got good similar time flights both ways.

      Virgin will received good PR from me.

  • frforreal on 31/07/2024 - 11:54
    +4

    So disappointing, I loved flying with Rex and would have picked them over any other airline. I had an issue with one of my bookings and had to speak to their one of their customer reps, onshore based, little wait time and more than flexible with my circumstances. What a shame.

    • Froot Loops on 31/07/2024 - 12:39

      Mascot based in Sydney. Not a good day to be a local.

    • boomramada on 31/07/2024 - 15:37
      +1

      onshore based

      There you are, how they going to compete with Virgin/Qantas

  • chrig on 31/07/2024 - 13:02
    +3

    These people were great to fly with and had a very generous rewards program which of course is now useless

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