Virgin Atlantic (VS) Flying Club points redemptions on ANA (NH) - Master thread
Jan 31, 2023, 5:45 pm
#286
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Aurora, CO
Programs: Statusless and proud
Posts: 7,582
Jan 31, 2023, 8:12 pm
#287
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Canada
Programs: Alaska,AC,Avios,
Posts: 330
On phone with virgin, I see tickets available on united and AC , NH160(HND-JFK) but rep is saying she cant even find that flight number let alone availability , anyone know what I can do here , dont want to loose this ticket.
DP- it took really long but she had to call ANA , system wasn't working as expected
DP- it took really long but she had to call ANA , system wasn't working as expected
Now I'm scared this might all be waste if they don't get government approval, does virgin just cancel flights or attempt to find another booking in same class if original booking is cancelled?
Jan 31, 2023, 8:15 pm
#288
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Tokyo
Posts: 1,635
angra I was able to see F availability on AC and UA both for 3 consecutive days and since it was available on AC I was certain that virgin rep. will also see those seat but guess not, in fact she said she can't even find NH160 flight let alone reward seats, after reading comments here it makes sense , I was changing my ticket from NRT-ORD to HND-JFK if that helps , not sure why they don't try calling all the time. This system is so archaic anyway. All I did was asked her to request her supervisor to also try , maybe they have better access? she went on hold for 30 mins and told me that she had called ANA and changed my booking.
Now I'm scared this might all be waste if they don't get government approval, does virgin just cancel flights or attempt to find another booking in same class if original booking is cancelled?
Now I'm scared this might all be waste if they don't get government approval, does virgin just cancel flights or attempt to find another booking in same class if original booking is cancelled?
Jan 31, 2023, 8:16 pm
#289
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Canada
Programs: Alaska,AC,Avios,
Posts: 330
Jan 31, 2023, 9:42 pm
#291
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 42
It may be that someone broke protocol for tdot_guy and pulled some strings. I remember previously reading of at least one case of this happening during COVID when some routes simply disappeared. Not cancelled, just removed entirely from the system. Regardless, at this point one isn't going to be able to get VS to book this flight pair until it's in their system, which is too bad because after 24 hours of repeated calls and gambling that they'd get their act together, the seat I wanted to book is now gone.
Regarding government approval, while nothing is certain in life, this isn't something I would worry about. Whether it's the official reason VS can't book I cannot say. It's a bit fishy considering the other partners can book. Still, it is true that NH does not yet have full approval. If you look up the flight from ANA it notes that the flight is pending regulatory approval. I remember seeing flights initially listed in this manner when they changed a bunch of routes from NRT to HND for the olympics.
Jan 31, 2023, 9:53 pm
#292
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Canada
Programs: Alaska,AC,Avios,
Posts: 330
I chatted with a manager this afternoon (EST) about this issue. NH159/160 is not showing up in their system. They are well aware of it at this point. He insisted that they have no way to request a seat from NH for a flight that is not showing up in their system (even if the flight and seat are showing as available with other partners).
It may be that someone broke protocol for tdot_guy and pulled some strings. I remember previously reading of at least one case of this happening during COVID when some routes simply disappeared. Not cancelled, just removed entirely from the system. Regardless, at this point one isn't going to be able to get VS to book this flight pair until it's in their system, which is too bad because after 24 hours of repeated calls and gambling that they'd get their act together, the seat I wanted to book is now gone.
Regarding government approval, while nothing is certain in life, this isn't something I would worry about. Whether it's the official reason VS can't book I cannot say. It's a bit fishy considering the other partners can book. Still, it is true that NH does not yet have full approval. If you look up the flight from ANA it notes that the flight is pending regulatory approval. I remember seeing flights initially listed in this manner when they changed a bunch of routes from NRT to HND for the olympics.
It may be that someone broke protocol for tdot_guy and pulled some strings. I remember previously reading of at least one case of this happening during COVID when some routes simply disappeared. Not cancelled, just removed entirely from the system. Regardless, at this point one isn't going to be able to get VS to book this flight pair until it's in their system, which is too bad because after 24 hours of repeated calls and gambling that they'd get their act together, the seat I wanted to book is now gone.
Regarding government approval, while nothing is certain in life, this isn't something I would worry about. Whether it's the official reason VS can't book I cannot say. It's a bit fishy considering the other partners can book. Still, it is true that NH does not yet have full approval. If you look up the flight from ANA it notes that the flight is pending regulatory approval. I remember seeing flights initially listed in this manner when they changed a bunch of routes from NRT to HND for the olympics.
Feb 1, 2023, 6:11 am
#293
Join Date: Feb 2023
Posts: 5
Computer says no
I'm not sure how someone here managed to book one of these flights. I'm not aware of any colleagues who were successful in booking these flights.
As I'm sure you all know we can't check to see live availability for ANA flights - we need to request availability for specific flights for a specific cabin and the number of passengers etc.
Then we refresh the booking and it either says it is available or it's not.
When we search for that route in our system to see these flight times and other info, these flights don't even appear.
When we request the availability for these specific flights it throws us an error as the flight is not available or even listed as a flight that is operating.
I'm not sure why others can book it with other airlines but that's the reason why you can't book with us. Maybe we're just waiting for the government approval before we start selling these flights but this issue has been escalated.
As I'm sure you all know we can't check to see live availability for ANA flights - we need to request availability for specific flights for a specific cabin and the number of passengers etc.
Then we refresh the booking and it either says it is available or it's not.
When we search for that route in our system to see these flight times and other info, these flights don't even appear.
When we request the availability for these specific flights it throws us an error as the flight is not available or even listed as a flight that is operating.
I'm not sure why others can book it with other airlines but that's the reason why you can't book with us. Maybe we're just waiting for the government approval before we start selling these flights but this issue has been escalated.
Feb 1, 2023, 6:33 am
#295
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: TXL
Programs: US, LH, HH
Posts: 728
I'm not sure how someone here managed to book one of these flights. I'm not aware of any colleagues who were successful in booking these flights.
[...]
I'm not sure why others can book it with other airlines but that's the reason why you can't book with us. Maybe we're just waiting for the government approval before we start selling these flights but this issue has been escalated.
[...]
I'm not sure why others can book it with other airlines but that's the reason why you can't book with us. Maybe we're just waiting for the government approval before we start selling these flights but this issue has been escalated.
I find it very unlikely this has anything to do with the route approval. If ANA is allowing to book it, why would Virgin second guess it? There have been other routes in the past that were still pending approval and this issue has never came up. (Granted, I don't recall that new routes are a particular problem either)
I would put my money on some syncing issue with the apparently outdated system that Virgin is using to access ANA.
Maybe the work around is something like Virgin creates a booking and some ANA staff member added the segment, which Virgin then was able to ticket. That obviously wouldn't scale well if many people want to do it. The unicorn here seems to be that some staff members are able to talk to ANA, meanwhile most deny that this is possible at all. While I could understand why this isn't practical in this situation, its really bad when ANA cancels flights and one is suddenly stuck without a flight.
Feb 1, 2023, 6:42 am
#297
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 119
Wow! You seem to be an employee with Virgin can I ask a question regarding a booking.
1) I have a round trip booked. Lets say I only want to cancel half of my trip would this require canceling the whole ticket and hoping the availability immediately goes back into the pool of flights VS can book?
2) if I have a F booked but I want to downgrade to a J seat is that possible without canceling my entire ticket and redoing?
Feb 1, 2023, 6:46 am
#298
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Smyrna, GA, USA
Programs: DL FO 1MM
Posts: 1,761
Welcome to FlyerTalk! Thanks for coming and giving us an inside view. Everything you said is consistent with what's been said here. Aside from the guy that hung up on me when I said I was trying to book a ticket with miles, every VS phone agent I've spoken with has been super friendly and competent. Be careful not to self-dox, and please enjoy being a part of the community here!
Feb 1, 2023, 6:57 am
#299
Join Date: Feb 2023
Posts: 5
Wow! You seem to be an employee with Virgin can I ask a question regarding a booking.
1) I have a round trip booked. Lets say I only want to cancel half of my trip would this require canceling the whole ticket and hoping the availability immediately goes back into the pool of flights VS can book?
2) if I have a F booked but I want to downgrade to a J seat is that possible without canceling my entire ticket and redoing?
1) I have a round trip booked. Lets say I only want to cancel half of my trip would this require canceling the whole ticket and hoping the availability immediately goes back into the pool of flights VS can book?
2) if I have a F booked but I want to downgrade to a J seat is that possible without canceling my entire ticket and redoing?
Flight availability does not always come back straight away so I definitely don't recommend canceling and rebooking.
Yes - just like above we'd just reprice the booking and refund the difference in points and taxes - the difference in taxes would not be refunded if the outbound flight has been flown. At least that applies to VS reward bookings, I believe it applies to ANA too but I'm not 100% on that one.