nermaljcat

Standard comp seems to be a $25 voucher for F. Clubhouse is $30-40... they may go for it =]


If Red is really important to you:

You are on an F ticket, so you could change to a later flight without paying a change fee (just any difference in fare). Perhaps they may even wave any fare difference if you tell them how important Red is to your experience?

scott in rwc

In the Subj line of the email it referenced my "upcoming flight on Monday June 30th". The body of the email looked like a form response, however.

bofc

I was on a JFK - SFO flight earlier this week and was talking to the FA about this particular plane. She rolled her eyes and said they all can't wait until it's gone - and VX planned to have it completely upgraded later this summer. Not sure what that means (or if it's accurate).

BTW, this was my first VX flight. Fantastic! ^^If I was the CEO at one of the old line carriers I'd be very afraid.

articos

That is accurate, as has been reported earlier in the thread. It's slotted to get outfitted late in the summer as the season winds down a bit and they have an opportunity to get it outfitted between deliveries. Although I don't know what we'll talk about here without it.

Speaking of - there seem to be a couple names that are sticking: "Nemesis" "Dark One" "The Dark Horse" and I'm seeing a couple others...should probably pick the favorites in the next few weeks to send them on before it goes in.

aviators99

At VX they call it "The Dark Horse". I still like "Ted"

articos

Meant to go back and add Horse, then got sidetracked and forgot. Added. That's my favorite, I think. Ted... :snicker:

scott in rwc

OK. I decided to switch from VX 1773 to an earlier flight (VX 1764) rather than pay F fare and fly without the perks (other than free booze). I called VX to see about the switch . . . . that only took 20 minutes, most of which was on hold while the very polite agent had to clear things with her supervisor. Score VX minus 1. They switched the flight at no charge even though the fare was higher because of the timing of the switch. Now, VX is back to even.^

Everything was fine during the boarding process, including the offer of a beverage when I sat down. At this point, I give VX +1 overall.

Next came the safety instructions we've all heard many, many times. In coach, they play a video that all can see on their seatback screens. In F, you're not allowed to pull up your video screen during taxi, so a FA is supposed to display everything. I was very surprised to see that FA act disinterested, and act like what she was doing was unimportant and barely necessary; most of the time she was chatting with another FA. MINUS 2 FOR VX.

The balance of the flight was pleasant and all of RED worked fine (to the extent it is operational). Given that the FAs were interested in only two of the 8 first class passengers, I'll call this even.

The flight from SFO-LAS overall was +1 to VX, but roundtrip, I was disappointed. The ticketing personnel were hilarious, efficient and very friendly.

At SFO I asked to swap the $25 voucher I was to receive for the original return flight on Dark Vader for a pass to the VA club, but they wouldn't do it, claiming the VA and VX aren't affiliated. Riiiiight. To visit the club, I would have had to pay $40 for a one-visit pass -- not worth it to me, though a friend says the food in the club is superb.

SFO 1K

Um, they are not affiliated, what part of that don't you understand?

Do you think Virgin Megastore and Virgin Mobile are part of Virgin America too?

rjque

Can you pay $40 to Virgin Megastore and get a pass to the Virgin Atlantic lounge? Because I'm pretty sure you can pay $40 to Virgin America and get that pass.

nermaljcat

That is true. But isn't the $25 voucher like cash to VX? The $40 for the clubhouse pass is (pre or post) purchased by VX and sold at check-in. If the OP were to give the $25 voucher to VX, then there is only a $15 balance that can be absorbed by VX or paid by the OP.

This is assuming that VX's system is setup to allow for it.


@:-) Hey I just thought of something... VX should sell clubhouse passes in bulk (eg. 10 x $30) or sell an annual pass. Does VS already do this?

SFO 1K

This just reminds me of why I'm not posting on here as much anymore. People are just not willing to accept the truth. It's more fun to make up stories and make the airline out to be the bad guy.

nermaljcat

So they did swap it for no fare difference ^. VX seem to understand the value of good customer service.

rjque

Did someone make up the fact that one can buy a Virgin Atlantic club pass at the VX counter? It certainly seems reasonable to me that most people would associate Virgin America as being related to all the other Virgin brands. In fact, I'm sure the owners of the Virgin trademark (and VX management) specifically intended for that to happen.

dw

Another ^ for VX is that all of their reservations agents are based in the United States. A point of comparison: I have no status on Delta and had to call DL Reservations today regarding a schedule change to an itinerary. Got an agent in India, who had no idea what I wanted ("Please confirm the schedule change so I can regain the ability to make changes online"), hung up, called again and got India again. The simple request was taken care of the second time, though it felt like I was pulling teeth.

While I agree that transactions with VX Reservations over the phone often do seem to take a little longer than expected, the agents have always been friendly and accommodating, and I consider this a big plus for VX.

SFO 1K

Yes, you can buy a VS pass at the VX counter. But that money goes to VS. VX HQ was able to negotiate lounge access at SFO with the VS Clubhouse staff. They haven't been able to do the same at other VS Clubhouses yet.

The two are separate firms - entirely.

And no, the $25 Credit File you get for the dark plane isn't hard currency like the $40 Clubhouse pass so you can't just pay $15 to make up the difference. That $25 credit file comes from a completely different set of books inside VX.