Virgin Australia vs Universal Hikes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Search and book trips
- Manage trip details
- Select seats
- Check in for flights
- Track luggage
- View boarding pass
- Flight updates
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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.
Universal Hikes
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All of your self-guided walking holiday itinerary information including gps trails, accommodations, meals, transfers and more.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Universal Hikes at none against Virgin Australia's shown. Virgin Australia's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Virgin Australia ships an update fortnightly, Universal Hikes every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Virgin Australia | Universal Hikes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.5K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 40.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 16.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 461 MB | 171 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED | EASY-MOUNTAIN |
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
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- 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
Universal Hikes
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Virgin Australia
No in-app purchases
Universal Hikes
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Virgin Australia free?
Is Universal Hikes free?
Do Virgin Australia or Universal Hikes have ads?
Which is updated more often, Virgin Australia or Universal Hikes?
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