Comparison

Virgin Australia vs SkyBus

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Virgin Australia

Your essential travel companion for managing flights. Book trips, select seats, check in, and track your luggage. Access your boarding pass and flight updates directly from your lock screen.

Highlights
  • Search and book trips
  • Manage trip details
  • Select seats
  • Check in for flights
  • Track luggage
  • View boarding pass
  • Flight updates
Features
Read full description

The Virgin Australia app is your perfect travel companion. Check into your flight, view your boarding pass, watch movies, and track your bags all from your phone. Use the Virgin Australia app to: • Search and book trips, Search and book your next holiday or business trip with a few taps. • Manage trips with ease, You can select a seat, amend your trip details and check in for domestic flights. • Track whatever you pack, Get updates on the whereabouts of your bags when travelling. • Use Journey Tracker, View flight updates and grab your boarding pass from your lock screen. We're working on so much more to make your next trip with Virgin Australia even more wonderful. Love our app? Leave us a rating on the app store. Any questions or feedback? Reach out using the App feedback form on the More screen.

About

SkyBus

This app simplifies airport bus transfers with easy ticket purchasing, journey planning, and digital ticket access. It offers user accounts for faster checkouts and exclusive deals, along with real-time departure information and notifications for service updates.

Highlights
  • User accounts for faster purchasing
  • Easy ticket buying
  • Journey planning and stop finder
  • Digital ticket wallet
  • Departure timetables and journey times
  • Push notifications for updates and offers
Features
Read full description

SkyBus has been providing fast, convenient and affordable Airport bus transfers for over 40 years, servicing Airports in Australia. Travelling on SkyBus just got easier with the official SkyBus App. The SkyBus App is the perfect travel companion for your next SkyBus journey, with everything you need right at your fingertips. Features include: USER ACCOUNTS - Create an account and enjoy faster purchasing, exclusive offers and access to your tickets from any device. BUY TICKETS - With the SkyBus App we're excited to provide the fastest and easiest way to buy a SkyBus ticket. PLAN YOUR JOURNEY - Find your nearest SkyBus stop using your location, landmark or address. View your journey in the app or open directions to each stop in your preferred maps app. - View upcoming departures as well as timetables for your chosen day and time of travel. See estimated journey times for your trip. TICKET WALLET - Fast access to tickets with your e-ticket sent instantly to the SkyBus ticket wallet. No more searching for ticket emails or holding onto paper tickets. Access your tickets when offline. - View the status of your ticket including the number of trips remaining for multi-use tickets. Used and expired tickets will automatically move to the archive tab of the wallet to help keep it tidy. - 'Buy again' with a single tap directly from your wallet. - Manage bookings from your e-ticket. NOTIFICATIONS - Stay up to date with SkyBus news, service announcements and offers with our app notifications. Select which notifications you want to receive directly within the app. -------------------- Location and notification services are required for some SkyBus app features. Internet connectivity required for purchases. We would love to hear your feedback, email app@skybus.com.au

Screenshots

Virgin Australia4 screens
SkyBus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Virgin Australia at 4.8 against SkyBus's 1.0. Virgin Australia also leads on review sentiment (41% vs 12%) and ratings volume (1.5K vs 1). SkyBus's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Virgin Australia holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Virgin Australia has 1.5K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 41% of Virgin Australia's written reviews are positive against 12% of SkyBus's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Virgin Australia ships an update fortnightly, SkyBus monthly. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Virgin Australia versus SkyBus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVirgin AustraliaSkyBus
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews41.0% of reviews — better12.3% of reviews
Number of ratings1.5K — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size461 MB78 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LIMITEDSkyBus

Customer experience

Virgin Australia

All ratings1,456 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral1.6%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews415 reviews
Positive41.0%
Neutral5.5%
Negative53.5%

SkyBus

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews57 reviews
Positive12.3%
Neutral17.5%
Negative70.2%

Bugs and requests

Virgin Australia

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Screen freezes when trying to upgrade or amend booking
  • Flight notifications show wrong timezone
  • Inability to check in through app
  • Seat selection issues
  • Booking issues
Show 1 more
  • Login failures

Requested features

4 requests
  • Liquid Glass support for modern design
  • Integrate hotel and car bookings
  • Show state credit points in app
  • Dark mode option

SkyBus

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Virgin Australia

No in-app purchases

None

SkyBus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Virgin Australia free?
Virgin Australia is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SkyBus free?
SkyBus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Virgin Australia or SkyBus?
Virgin Australia is rated higher. Virgin Australia averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while SkyBus averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Virgin Australia or SkyBus have ads?
Virgin Australia shows ads; SkyBus does not.
Which is updated more often, Virgin Australia or SkyBus?
Virgin Australia ships an update fortnightly, and SkyBus monthly. Most recently, Virgin Australia was updated on October 29, 2026 and SkyBus on October 29, 2026.

Other comparisons