Not a great Upper Class experience last night
Jul 8, 2013, 11:26 pm
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Edinburgh & Oxford
Programs: BD Gold BA Gold HiltonHonors Diamond AA Gold Virgin Silver
Posts: 63
A reply from Virgin, below, received early this morning...
Do Virgin staff read this board or was it just coincidence?
Dear Mr ..... .......
Thank you for contacting us.
Your feedback has been logged into our system and your file reference number is 14620xx .
We will get back to you, at this email address, within the next 14 days. If your email contact details change please let us know so that we can update our records.
Thank you for your patience while waiting for our reply.
Kind regards
Virgin Atlantic
Customer Relations
______________________________________
Do Virgin staff read this board or was it just coincidence?
Dear Mr ..... .......
Thank you for contacting us.
Your feedback has been logged into our system and your file reference number is 14620xx .
We will get back to you, at this email address, within the next 14 days. If your email contact details change please let us know so that we can update our records.
Thank you for your patience while waiting for our reply.
Kind regards
Virgin Atlantic
Customer Relations
______________________________________
Jul 12, 2013, 5:27 am
#17
Formerly known as I_Hate_US_Airways
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Just South Of North
Programs: My Loyalty Programs? I now VOTE with my wallet!!!
Posts: 2,568
No, Not So Much...
It SEEMS that when most people starting flying VA, they were in LOVE with the services & amenities. Now they seem to scream & complain like a teen age girl at a Justin Beiber concert!
Maybe VA was ONCE a great airline, but why spend my $ when there are much better airlines "crossing the pond"???
Maybe VA was ONCE a great airline, but why spend my $ when there are much better airlines "crossing the pond"???
Jul 12, 2013, 7:11 am
#18
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Heathrow
Programs: A variety of Platinums, Golds, Silvers and other fancy metals.
Posts: 1,985
They are the only airline who I've not suffered delays with.
They are also the only airline who I've not had luggage disappear with.
Customer Services always answer in a few mins, no matter what time they call.
Good availability on reward seats.
Add to this that when I took a voluntary bump at LAX the not only put me on the next flight the next day, but also put me and Mrs S up in a 5 star hotel, with all meals paid for and 2 return flights to a destination of our choice - these were particularly useful when planning our honeymoon.
I'll always check Virgin's prices first before looking at other airlines.
Jul 13, 2013, 12:39 am
#19
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 45
It SEEMS that when most people starting flying VA, they were in LOVE with the services & amenities. Now they seem to scream & complain like a teen age girl at a Justin Beiber concert!
Maybe VA was ONCE a great airline, but why spend my $ when there are much better airlines "crossing the pond"???
Maybe VA was ONCE a great airline, but why spend my $ when there are much better airlines "crossing the pond"???
It's a forum, people moan...it's what they do!
(P.S. I love Virgin, great product & always fly them where possible.)
Jul 26, 2013, 6:24 am
#20
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Edinburgh & Oxford
Programs: BD Gold BA Gold HiltonHonors Diamond AA Gold Virgin Silver
Posts: 63
Progress at last...
After Virgin promising to get back to me in 14 days, they didn't.
So I posted a gentle reminder on their Facebook page yesterday, which seems to have had the desired result.
I got an apologetic email from them and 8,000 miles credited to my account.
So, how can I best use my 14,000 miles that I now have?
Ernst
So I posted a gentle reminder on their Facebook page yesterday, which seems to have had the desired result.
I got an apologetic email from them and 8,000 miles credited to my account.
So, how can I best use my 14,000 miles that I now have?
Ernst
Jul 26, 2013, 9:57 am
#21
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: London N3
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; VS Lifetime Gold
Posts: 222
Interesting debating point, maybe one worthy of its own thread.
My personal view is that this is by no means unique to VS, I think other FT boards have the same issues - Amex being a classic example. To read the posts there I often wonder why people stick with the brand.
I do think that people are more likely use the internet to report a negative experience than a positive one - whether this is with a view to shaming the airline into offering compensation, or making them (and others) aware of their shortcomings, who knows?
Slightly at a tangent, If you think it is bad here, have a read of the VS Facebook pages! The majority of people on here are seasoned travellers and accept that fare rules, delays and occasional bad experiences are an unwelcome fact of life for regular fliers. On Facebook however there are more people who have saved for a once a year trip and when it doesn't all go swimmingly, they really let the airline know about it. For example I have lost count of the number of threads there are from people who have booked a trip for a family or party, then one person can't go - the fact that they can't just change a name on a ticket is incomprehensible and very poor customer service! Just one example. But, at least VS allow critical posts to be posted (and remain) on their pages (unlike another British Airline
)
I have had my fair share of moans and niggles at VS over the years (don't get me started on fuel surcharges on reward tickets), but still believe that pound for pound, they are at least as good as other transatlantic carriers. However, I still moan at them because I don't like the fact that they are the thing that have become - an okay airline. I want more!
When I first flew with them in 1984, they were different, they were innovative and made other airlines copy them. I am not so sure this is still the case any more. I know people at Crawley read airline discussion sites - I just hope they take the constructive, evidenced criticism on board, and do something about it. The opening post in this thread is a classic example of something that needs fixing, and could be done easily with a bit of advice / re-training.
The simple fact remains though, in the big picture they have had to make cost savings in order to stay in business - have they cut too far? That is the debate for me.
I think in the past 12 months with the re-furbed LGW fleet, the other new a/c and improvements to in-flight catering, they are starting to move up the pack again. They are not perfect by a long chalk, but I am not sure there is much greener grass out there, whichever fence you hop over. I hope their improvement continues.
Nick
My personal view is that this is by no means unique to VS, I think other FT boards have the same issues - Amex being a classic example. To read the posts there I often wonder why people stick with the brand.
I do think that people are more likely use the internet to report a negative experience than a positive one - whether this is with a view to shaming the airline into offering compensation, or making them (and others) aware of their shortcomings, who knows?
Slightly at a tangent, If you think it is bad here, have a read of the VS Facebook pages! The majority of people on here are seasoned travellers and accept that fare rules, delays and occasional bad experiences are an unwelcome fact of life for regular fliers. On Facebook however there are more people who have saved for a once a year trip and when it doesn't all go swimmingly, they really let the airline know about it. For example I have lost count of the number of threads there are from people who have booked a trip for a family or party, then one person can't go - the fact that they can't just change a name on a ticket is incomprehensible and very poor customer service! Just one example. But, at least VS allow critical posts to be posted (and remain) on their pages (unlike another British Airline
)I have had my fair share of moans and niggles at VS over the years (don't get me started on fuel surcharges on reward tickets), but still believe that pound for pound, they are at least as good as other transatlantic carriers. However, I still moan at them because I don't like the fact that they are the thing that have become - an okay airline. I want more!
When I first flew with them in 1984, they were different, they were innovative and made other airlines copy them. I am not so sure this is still the case any more. I know people at Crawley read airline discussion sites - I just hope they take the constructive, evidenced criticism on board, and do something about it. The opening post in this thread is a classic example of something that needs fixing, and could be done easily with a bit of advice / re-training.
The simple fact remains though, in the big picture they have had to make cost savings in order to stay in business - have they cut too far? That is the debate for me.
I think in the past 12 months with the re-furbed LGW fleet, the other new a/c and improvements to in-flight catering, they are starting to move up the pack again. They are not perfect by a long chalk, but I am not sure there is much greener grass out there, whichever fence you hop over. I hope their improvement continues.
Nick
When (rarely) I've had cause to complain, the FC Gold line team has restored my confidence in their determination to retain my loyalty within seconds of answering the phone - by giving me a name and extension number, by looking for an original solution (eg to a redemption problem) and by trying to resolve matters immediately rather than passing the buck.
Only one other airline comes close to VS when it comes to valuing their customers - but unfortunately they only fly to/from HKG!!