Virgin America Elevate - relatively poor MCS experience

I had a couple flights last month. One was good, (okay, the online system was poor and wouldn't let me upgrade to MCS online (and yet managed to CHARGE MY CREDIT CARD 10 TIMES!) and required a 1 hour and 20 on hold to upgrade. But, the RETURN trip was worse. After calling in at 17:00 FLL time (24 hours prior to flight time), I managed to get through to the call center (online didn't work AGAIN) and got an agent. I could barely HEAR them, something was wrong with their microphone, even when they called me back it didn't work (but I could hear the IVR prompts just fine) They took my info, credit card, etc and booked seats in MCS for upgrade. But it never took, it didn't show in the reservation and I had to call back. Nope, nothing was done by the previous agent.. So, they did it again, but the seats I had selected were not available. Of course since I HAD chosen them but it hadn't booked it, they were somehow gone. So, booked it AGAIN and paid with same credit card. Then, later that day the SEATS were again available that I wanted, but I couldn't CHANGE them online, just error, error, error. So, called in again, got seats changed, fine.

Flight issues: One pays for MCS to get certain benefits. Leg room, pre boarding, first bag free, FREE FOOD, FREE DRINKS, FREE MOVIES. But, on this flight the food selection was almost non-existent. when I got onboard there were FOUR items in the meals category all of no appeal. NO SANDWICHES, nothing. There were NO NUTS, NO COOKIES, NO CHEESE PLATE, only chips and popcorn, etc. Later, a bag of nuts showed up so I ordered it. But then, they were gone again so my wife couldn't order any. It makes me think that if one is flying MCS they should just order EVERYTHING THEY CAN UPON BOARDING, and then just throw it away if they don't eat it. that isn't good for anyone, least of which is WASTE, but if you are SELLING FREE FOOD as a benefit in the MCS package then FOOD and food choices need to be available. By 2 hours into the flight there was next to nothing. I don't feel this is a good value and I paid for and expected to be able to order a dinner sandwich and some quality items, but couldn't.

MOVIES DIDN'T WORK. The movies didn't work on the flight, only DISH TV worked on the flight which was free for everyone. I paid for MCS in order to watch 2-3 movies on a SIX hour flight and couldn't do any of that and in this respect, as with the food issue, I find it a bit of a rip off. I PAID for a service that I expected that included various elements of DELIVERY and several of those elements were NOT DELIVERED. Something really should be done to compensate the MCS PAYING passenger in my opinion when so many elements of the paid service are not available. I brought it up to the FA, who said they had no control over any of these issues. Which I understand of course but still it would seem that some process to annotate or compensate should be put in place.

BROKEN HEADPHONE JACK. The headphone jack in my seat, 8E was broken. It wouldn't work with the onboard headphones, my ipod headphones or my other headphones. In order to get it to work at all one had to HOLD the plug the entire time. I told it to the onboard flight assistant, Peppermint?, and she said they HAD had problems with some of the seats. this is NOT acceptable. especially when one is paying for MCS and expecting to get audio, video, free movies, free on demand TV, etc.

I understand that things break, and service and maintenance of an aircraft requires it to be taken out of service for a period. But, for the seats for someone who is paying 125$ per leg to upgrade and get into these seats and features, they should certainly function properly.

At the moment, I really feel that we paid for a service that many of whice were not delivered and I'm trying to figure out whom to contact to request a refund for some amount of the MCS upcharge for this leg of the flights.

Have you contacted VX with your issues? I agree that what you underwent is unacceptable. As indicated in previous threads, the online upgrade system is not functional, and others have also had to wait for long periods (I am included).

My first thought is to simply contest some part or all of the upgrade charge on your credit card. That might force VX to respond if you cannot get satisfaction from their customer service.

This is sad to hear, but VX continues to shoot itself in the foot and appears to be in steady decline.

Why are half the words in capital letters here? I agree with you that these issues are a problem, so let VX know about it, but cut down what you wrote here by about 50%.

this is not YELLING for me, the caps are to HIGHLIGHT and EMPHASIZE which issues/elements were problematic and not get lost in the other dialogue.

Got it - like I said I think you have very valid concerns, I just think you should basically share with them only the factual/capitalized parts and not the dialogue.

Well, it's now been several weeks with no reply from the company to my emails and snail mail to the headquarters. Bummer,

fwiw I was unable to change a seat recently in MCS via the web. I called them and they took care of it pretty quickly. It sounds like they are having lots of web issues.

Well, it's now been several weeks with no reply from the company to my emails and snail mail to the headquarters. Bummer,

well, maybe someone is watching? A day after this last post, I got a response to my email (still no snail mail response) with a statement that of course this isn't the service level that they expect to deliver and a 50$ credit to each of our "travel bank" accounts, which is hopefully, just a usable amount towards a future ticket. Beggars can't be choosers, but I figured an actual refund of one of the MCS charges would have been more appropriate but I guess it is good to see A) a response and B) something I most likely will use now that COdbaUA is being run into the ground!

I had a couple flights last month. One was good, (okay, the online system was poor and wouldn't let me upgrade to MCS online (and yet managed to CHARGE MY CREDIT CARD 10 TIMES!) and required a 1 hour and 20 on hold to upgrade. But, the RETURN trip was worse. After calling in at 17:00 FLL time (24 hours prior to flight time), I managed to get through to the call center (online didn't work AGAIN) and got an agent. I could barely HEAR them, something was wrong with their microphone, even when they called me back it didn't work (but I could hear the IVR prompts just fine) They took my info, credit card, etc and booked seats in MCS for upgrade. But it never took, it didn't show in the reservation and I had to call back. Nope, nothing was done by the previous agent.. So, they did it again, but the seats I had selected were not available. Of course since I HAD chosen them but it hadn't booked it, they were somehow gone. So, booked it AGAIN and paid with same credit card. Then, later that day the SEATS were again available that I wanted, but I couldn't CHANGE them online, just error, error, error. So, called in again, got seats changed, fine.

Flight issues: One pays for MCS to get certain benefits. Leg room, pre boarding, first bag free, FREE FOOD, FREE DRINKS, FREE MOVIES. But, on this flight the food selection was almost non-existent. when I got onboard there were FOUR items in the meals category all of no appeal. NO SANDWICHES, nothing. There were NO NUTS, NO COOKIES, NO CHEESE PLATE, only chips and popcorn, etc. Later, a bag of nuts showed up so I ordered it. But then, they were gone again so my wife couldn't order any. It makes me think that if one is flying MCS they should just order EVERYTHING THEY CAN UPON BOARDING, and then just throw it away if they don't eat it. that isn't good for anyone, least of which is WASTE, but if you are SELLING FREE FOOD as a benefit in the MCS package then FOOD and food choices need to be available. By 2 hours into the flight there was next to nothing. I don't feel this is a good value and I paid for and expected to be able to order a dinner sandwich and some quality items, but couldn't.

MOVIES DIDN'T WORK. The movies didn't work on the flight, only DISH TV worked on the flight which was free for everyone. I paid for MCS in order to watch 2-3 movies on a SIX hour flight and couldn't do any of that and in this respect, as with the food issue, I find it a bit of a rip off. I PAID for a service that I expected that included various elements of DELIVERY and several of those elements were NOT DELIVERED. Something really should be done to compensate the MCS PAYING passenger in my opinion when so many elements of the paid service are not available. I brought it up to the FA, who said they had no control over any of these issues. Which I understand of course but still it would seem that some process to annotate or compensate should be put in place.

BROKEN HEADPHONE JACK. The headphone jack in my seat, 8E was broken. It wouldn't work with the onboard headphones, my ipod headphones or my other headphones. In order to get it to work at all one had to HOLD the plug the entire time. I told it to the onboard flight assistant, Peppermint?, and she said they HAD had problems with some of the seats. this is NOT acceptable. especially when one is paying for MCS and expecting to get audio, video, free movies, free on demand TV, etc.

I understand that things break, and service and maintenance of an aircraft requires it to be taken out of service for a period. But, for the seats for someone who is paying 125$ per leg to upgrade and get into these seats and features, they should certainly function properly.

At the moment, I really feel that we paid for a service that many of whice were not delivered and I'm trying to figure out whom to contact to request a refund for some amount of the MCS upcharge for this leg of the flights.


Wow, I'm very sorry that you had a bad experience. If you were flying out of FLL, please note that if something broke (such as the headset plug or inop movies) on the inbound flight, there is no team in FLL (due to the small size of our operation there) to fix it for the outbound leg. That is always frustrating for us as crew when something like that happens inconveniencing our guests. I hope our airline was able to finally resolve this for you.

Also, I always tell my MCS guests to order early to get their first choices for food, as the supply is limited. Sorry that we didn't have much for you to eat. If I had been working, I would have offered you all food first during the initial service. I have also offered MCS guests leftover FC food when available in these circumstances.

I hope you fly us again!

Wow, I'm very sorry that you had a bad experience. If you were flying out of FLL, please note that if something broke (such as the headset plug or inop movies) on the inbound flight, there is no team in FLL (due to the small size of our operation there) to fix it for the outbound leg. That is always frustrating for us as crew when something like that happens inconveniencing our guests. I hope our airline was able to finally resolve this for you.

Also, I always tell my MCS guests to order early to get their first choices for food, as the supply is limited. Sorry that we didn't have much for you to eat. If I had been working, I would have offered you all food first during the initial service. I have also offered MCS guests leftover FC food when available in these circumstances.

I hope you fly us again!

Very nice to see VX team members around these parts. ^ Welcome to FT!

Also, I always tell my MCS guests to order early to get their first choices for food, as the supply is limited. Sorry that we didn't have much for you to eat. If I had been working, I would have offered you all food first during the initial service. I have also offered MCS guests leftover FC food when available in these circumstances.

I hope you fly us again!

I appreciate your response. I have, however, experienced the same situation regarding lack of food choices on more than one occasion. If VX has limited supplies, then your procedure of advising MCS passengers first should be SOP for all flight crews. I have also noted that, although the website says MCS overhead space is dedicated, I have been forced to stow my carry-ons in the seat in front of me. When mentioned to the flight crew on one occasion, the response was "first come, first served". I continue to fly VX with the hope that these problems will be fixed.

I appreciate your response. I have, however, experienced the same situation regarding lack of food choices on more than one occasion. If VX has limited supplies, then your procedure of advising MCS passengers first should be SOP for all flight crews. I have also noted that, although the website says MCS overhead space is dedicated, I have been forced to stow my carry-ons in the seat in front of me. When mentioned to the flight crew on one occasion, the response was "first come, first served". I continue to fly VX with the hope that these problems will be fixed.


Thanks for your continued business!!

Lately, it seems like we are undercatered for the flight and/or the guests in MCS order most of the food first leaving nothing for the MC guests (and a lot of upset guests) or we are overcatered and throw away tons of food. It's not a perfect science, I guess. Our catering department does monitor the ordering history from each flight segment so they can cater our flights accordingly. Sorry you've been having a problem with it.

For the dedicated MCS overhead space, we shut those bin sections before boarding to deter the other guests from using that space. However, more times than not, the MC guests open it and put their belongings in it. But if you board first, I don't see how it would be a problem as there would be no other guests onboard to use the space. That's why we offer early boarding for FC and MCS guests, allowing you to have plenty of space over your seat section for storage.

I'm not making excuses for your concerns. I'm just explaining it from the flight attendant point of view.

Hope to see you onboard!

Thanks for your input. I'm looking forward to my upcoming April and June MCS trips. I hate "ordering like a pig" right after takeoff, but on 4 to 6 hour flights, if that's what I have to do, so be it :)

Are these problems common on the SFO-IAD redeye leg? We're looking at purchasing MCS at full price as we're not going to be connected and able to do the upgrade online/over the phone, and I don't want to risk it sold out at the counter upon check-in. But if there's a good chance we won't be getting half of what we're paying for (food, movies, working seats), then I hesitate to pull the trigger and would rather plan on bringing my own snacks/load up the laptop. Especially as we're paying a huge upfront price FOR these perks.

Thanks for your continued business!!

Lately, it seems like we are undercatered for the flight and/or the guests in MCS order most of the food first leaving nothing for the MC guests (and a lot of upset guests) or we are overcatered and throw away tons of food. It's not a perfect science, I guess. Our catering department does monitor the ordering history from each flight segment so they can cater our flights accordingly. Sorry you've been having a problem with it.

For the dedicated MCS overhead space, we shut those bin sections before boarding to deter the other guests from using that space. However, more times than not, the MC guests open it and put their belongings in it. But if you board first, I don't see how it would be a problem as there would be no other guests onboard to use the space. That's why we offer early boarding for FC and MCS guests, allowing you to have plenty of space over your seat section for storage.

I'm not making excuses for your concerns. I'm just explaining it from the flight attendant point of view.

Hope to see you onboard!

Thank you for your response! It's nice to know you are watching.^ Sometimes, because of work timing, I can't always be there to board first, although I try. The overhead space issue is not unique to VX, so I just consider it a part of flying these days. I've very often seen passengers on all airlines, including VX, put their carry-on's in the front part of the cabin and move to their seats in the back. But I think if an MCS passenger boards, and there is no room in the overhead, some accommodation should be made. Again, I do appreciate your answer.

I think the OP has very valid points, but it is also critical to remember that VX's fleet is entirely made up of A319 and A320 aircraft with small galleys that simply cannot accommodate that much food. Also, First Class guests can request anything from the MC/MCS snack and meal selections so depending on the flight, there may be even less food available if F guests request items or if MC guests purchase many of these.

It all comes down to luck. For instance, on my VX morning flight between FLL and LAX in F, I was surprised that both breakfast and lunch/dinner selections were available from the MC/MCS menu even at 3 hours into the flight whereas on the return flight, SFO - FLL, there was almost nothing left after 2 hours.

I think the OP has very valid points, but it is also critical to remember that VX's fleet is entirely made up of A319 and A320 aircraft with small galleys that simply cannot accommodate that much food. Also, First Class guests can request anything from the MC/MCS snack and meal selections so depending on the flight, there may be even less food available if F guests request items or if MC guests purchase many of these.



It is also critical to remember that the airline chooses to place whatever galleys/storage/ovens, etc, that it desires on the aircraft, no matter how large or small.

VX wants to board as much food as it can sell (plus that which it has to provide to the MCS) without any spoilage. Perhaps they need to up the shelf stable inventory, without reducing the "fresh" inventory, to make sure there is what to eat throughout the flights. If VX saw it was losing $xxx+ revenue per segment on transcons because of "running out of food," I'm sure they'd find a place for it.

Another thing critical to remember is that VX is the only carrier flying US domestic routes with on-demand dining in Y (MC). So for example, someone or many customers in MC could be purchasing food multiple times during a transcon flight, thus depleting food availability to MCS customers. Also mentioned above that on-demand dining is also tapped into by F customers, outside of their own menu.

Lately, it seems like we are undercatered for the flight and/or the guests in MCS order most of the food first leaving nothing for the MC guests (and a lot of upset guests) or we are overcatered and throw away tons of food. It's not a perfect science, I guess. Our catering department does monitor the ordering history from each flight segment so they can cater our flights accordingly. Sorry you've been having a problem with it.there is a difference i've noticed between seeing menu items run out mid-flight, and never being there in the first place.

i often fly IAD-LAX, and have the fortune of an employer who pays to put me in MCS (mainly because it's refundable and it usually doesn't cost much more than MCR). i check the menu at the first chance available, because if there is something particularly desirable i will order it early to eat later. i can understand breakfast items not being available on afternoon/evening flights, but what i can't understand is the randomness of other meal or snack items not being available because they were never loaded on the plane in the first place.

perhaps virgin tracks what flights i'm on, and makes sure not to load the jelly bellies anymore, after one flight last year where i ordered 5 bags.

But I think if an MCS passenger boards, and there is no room in the overhead, some accommodation should be made.

My thoughts exactly. MCS/F pax should be able to board at their leisure and have carry-on space available regardless of when they board. I realize this can be a challenge for cabin crew. But with such weak loyalty benefits, VX really needs to focus their SOPs on going the full mile for premium class pax, who are in some form all paying to be there (through premium fares, upgrade fees, or dollar-based eleVAte redemptions). Same goes with respect to food availability. Without these benefits, the product value is rather weakened.

there is a difference i've noticed between seeing menu items run out mid-flight, and never being there in the first place.

i often fly IAD-LAX, and have the fortune of an employer who pays to put me in MCS (mainly because it's refundable and it usually doesn't cost much more than MCR). i check the menu at the first chance available, because if there is something particularly desirable i will order it early to eat later. i can understand breakfast items not being available on afternoon/evening flights, but what i can't understand is the randomness of other meal or snack items not being available because they were never loaded on the plane in the first place.

perhaps virgin tracks what flights i'm on, and makes sure not to load the jelly bellies anymore, after one flight last year where i ordered 5 bags.

You ate five bags of jelly beans on a flight?!?!?!?!? VX should indeed be tracking you and your weight. :D

Another thing critical to remember is that VX is the only carrier flying US domestic routes with on-demand dining in Y (MC). So for example, someone or many customers in MC could be purchasing food multiple times during a transcon flight, thus depleting food availability to MCS customers. Also mentioned above that on-demand dining is also tapped into by F customers, outside of their own menu.

Perhaps you are unfamiliar with Spirit Airlines on-demand Cup-O-Noodles offered to customers during the flight.

Perhaps you are unfamiliar with Spirit Airlines on-demand Cup-O-Noodles offered to customers during the flight.

Yes, I am unfamiliar with such a service. Do tell. Does Spirit have on-demand Cup-O-Noodles via IFE like VX, or is it done manually by a pax asking the FA? Does Spirit charge 20 USD for such a service or do they hand it out like peanuts for free as they do on WN? :p

We had a bad experience in November, JFK-LAX. Online upgrade was not working, so we spent hours trying to upgrade by phone, only to be hung up on. I finally called at 4:30am the day of our flight and upgraded after 2 hours on the phone. Couldn't do online checkin, and was ridiculed by the desk agent for calling in to upgrade. RED kept resetting so you couldn't watch a movie. They had food and beverages, but would ignore our orders. My bag never came out at LAX, and it was jammed in the back, so I had to get it fixed (I have Eagle Creek luggage, and live near the HQ, so I didn't bother with a claim). I have called and can never get through to Guest Care (always on long hold, disconnected), and emailed to no avail. I am still trying to get through. So frustrating!!!!