Raindeer

Boarded a VX flight from LAS to SFO on Monday (Feb 11) on the 8:55 pm flight. I bought a 1st Class seat, and I was very excited to try out all the amenities. Unfortunately, there was no opportunity to do so. As I boarded, I was told that, as the plane was new, the plane's electrical system hadn't been fitted out. No IFE, no seat recline, no massage, no working power ports, nothing. I was handed a voucher for $25. When I complained that I had paid way more than $25 over coach to experience 1st, I was treated in a rude and snarley fashion. So, no premium experience as the brand has promised, and poor service. I don't believe I will be flying them again....

SFO 1K

There is one A319 operating currently that does not have any installed systems. It should be going in soon to be outfitted. You may want to contact their Guest Care team by calling 877 FLY VIRGIN and asking for "Guest Care" to see if there's anything else they can do for you.

AAMillionaire

I would definitely call and ask for some form of compensation or refund. Even though it's a pretty short flight, I would hope that VX would do something to make you happy so you'll try them again. My 3 flights with them (one in First) were all great, so I hope you try them again.

Raindeer

I did call and talk to guest care. At first they were pretty adamant that all they'd do is stand by the $25 voucher offer. Then, after telling them it just wasn't good enough, they called back and offered a $50 voucher. Big whoop. Coach was $44, 1st was $199. For a non-functioning seat and expereince, and for the snarley attitude, I deserve at least the differential between the two fares, and, at this point, likely more if I am to fly them again.

Given the loads I saw on this flight, I'm not so sure they'll be around for too long.... Bad loads + bad RASM = bad news....

SFO 1K

End of day Monday night flight loads between Vegas and San Francisco hardly is reflective of overall loads for a carrier.

Raindeer

You may be right, but promising one thing and delivering another is bad business. The experience was worse than Southwest, and I avoid that carrier as well.

SFO 1K

Just curious - were you offered the snack in First? Complimentary liquor? In other words, was the plane catered? I appreciate that you wanted a better experience than you got, but you bought transportation, not IFE. Ultimately you were flown on your ticketed journey. What if this were an IFE equipped plane and the entire system had gone down on the previous flight. Would you have felt differently than having no IFE installed in the aircraft at all?

Raindeer

Had I bought a Coach ticket, then you would have a point. But I bought a First Class ticket. The VX website spends a lot of time detailing how differentiated the IFE and Seat are. When you pay for a First Class seat, and it doesn't recline, that is terrible. If all I can expect from First Class is transportation, why bother with paying over 4x the price of coach. I am not some upgrader. I am someone who regularly purchases First Class tickets. If VX wants to behave in this fashion, then fine, so be it. I will happily take my dollars elsewhere.

The sad thing is that this experience negatively tarnishes the Virgin brand, and I am now hestitant to fly Virgin Atlantic again knowing that this is how Virgin takes care of its customers.

rjque

I'm with the OP on this. VX heavily promotes its IFE and other features as differentiating it from the other carriers. Flying a plane that doesn't feature what was promised and then offering a pittance of a voucher in response makes VX look no different than the competition on this route. Moreover, no airline that promotes its IFE and massage seat as much as VX does should ever fall back on the old line of "you bought and received transportation between X and Y." WN offers transportation between X and Y. VX is selling transportation plus a decent experience.

nermaljcat

How much would it have cost if you flew UA? $199 first class is still cheap. I'm guessing you still saved money?

That said, they should at least let you know there will be no IFE before the flight. They market Red etc as part of their product, which is what their customers expect. You were let down and a voucher for 12.5% of the purchase price doesn't really cut it. I'm a big fan of VX, but I'm disappointed on how they handled this.

If there is (at least) one A319 that is not fitted, does that mean that this occurs on a regular basis? That's not good.

Raindeer

As was explained to me, this particular A319 will fly without the goodies in working order until it is sent in to be retrofitted. So, this is actually worse than the IFE and seat functionality just being broken on a given flight. Management is KNOWINGLY sending out a plane, day in and day out, which does not live up to their brand promise. So, yes, at some point, this plane will be in working order. However, I suspect that as they get more plane deliveries from Airbus, there will be other planes in the system that have yet to be fully fitted out with the proper goodies, so you may end up being stuck on an unfitted jet.

Instead of sending this plane out and disappointing customers, they should scale back their schedule until they have the proper equipment in supply.

Oh, and I would have preferred spending more on UA to get a seat that actually worked than the $199 on a seat that didn't recline. I am most frustrated by the principle and the nonchalant attitude of those at VX I have spoken to about my experience. I feel like I was taken advantage of, and that is unacceptable.

aviators99

Sounds like a very bad experience, and I agree that you were not made whole again.

Did you investigate the possibility of getting a full refund on the ticket before you departed? I recall another similar situation on this forum in which that was an option. If it was, you could have taken that and then bought a coach ticket and that would have solved the problem.

nermaljcat

IMHO, I'd prefer to fly Virgin without the IFE than UA (even if it costs more). I've had a lot of bad flights on UA (I'm a 1P) and I don't like the way they treat their passengers. They seem to have the attitude that it is your privilege to fly with them. Just my opinion though, everyone is entitled to their own (unless it disagrees with mine :-D).

SFO 1K

It seems like the OP is more concerned about the recline of his/her seat than the IFE. Surely you've had inop/non-reclining seats on other carriers before, no?

Raindeer

To answer some questions/comments:

I discovered the extent of the problem only after I was onboard. We were told, as we boarded, of the IFE problem. The fact that all the seats were completely inoperable was only apparant once we were seated. Had I known prior to boarding, I would have happily downgraded.

The attitude onboard, once I complained about the problem (including to the supervisor on duty for LAS who came onboard) was that, if I don't like it, tough. Very snarley and offensive.

And, if this was a one off thing (I am EXP on AA, so I do know a thing or two about flying), like it was just my seat having a problem, then I would have just chalked it up to bad luck (or, in fact, just moved to another seat, seeing that only one other seat in 1st was occupied.) However, when Virgin KNOWINGLY flies an aircraft that lacks their basic brand standard, and doesn't think there is anything wrong with that, this is absolutely poor management. Great companies own up to their mistakes and make customers who they've wronged whole. Virgin America has shown their colors, and greatness does not seem to be in their DNA. Given the way they handle customer issues, I suspect that, over time, JetBlue will eat their lunch. And, having been ripped off by Virgin, I, for one, will applaud it.

SFO 1K, seeing that you are very defensive of them, please continue flying them. You seem to get a lot out of them. I, for one, see them as no different than the rest, and we will have to agree to disagree.