Virgin Atlantic to charge for economy seat allocation starting 1st April 2014
Dec 16, 2013, 2:39 am
#1
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Virgin Atlantic to charge for economy seat allocation starting 1st April 2014
From the VS website..
Title of thread changed by mod with OP's permission for clarity - word 'Economy' inserted - Nottingham Nick
Changes to the way you choose your seats in advance
Between 18 December 2013 and 30 January 2014 you will only be able to assign seats for flights departing on or before 01 March 2104. For most flights between 01 February 2014 until 31 May 2014 seats will be available to select 30 days before departure and from 01 June seats will be available from time of booking. Seats can be assigned through Manage Flights which is available up to 24 hours before departure.
• From 01 April 2014, customers flying between London Gatwick and Las Vegas will be able to pay to choose seats up to 336 days in advance. If you’re travelling to or from Tokyo you’ll also be able to choose seats 336 days in advance, free of charge.
• From 01 April 2014 exit row and extra legroom seats will be available to choose and buy from the online seat map up to 336 days in advance, on all routes.
• From 01 May 2014 customers flying to our Africa, Asia, Caribbean and Australian destinations will be able to pay to choose seats up to 336 days in advance.
• From 01 June 2014 customers flying on all routes will be able to pay to choose their seats up to 336 days in advance.
Please note: If you already have a seat selected for a flight that departs either before or after 01 April 2014 you will be able to keep it.
How much will advanced seat assignment cost?
The cost to assign a seat will be from £25 per person per flight (£50 per round trip) on Virgin Atlantic long haul flights. This is with the exception of our Tokyo route which will remain free of charge. There is no charge on Virgin Atlantic Little Red UK domestic flights.
Please note: For now you won’t be able to pay to choose your seat using Miles or Miles plus money, but we hope to be able to offer you this soon.
Between 18 December 2013 and 30 January 2014 you will only be able to assign seats for flights departing on or before 01 March 2104. For most flights between 01 February 2014 until 31 May 2014 seats will be available to select 30 days before departure and from 01 June seats will be available from time of booking. Seats can be assigned through Manage Flights which is available up to 24 hours before departure.
• From 01 April 2014, customers flying between London Gatwick and Las Vegas will be able to pay to choose seats up to 336 days in advance. If you’re travelling to or from Tokyo you’ll also be able to choose seats 336 days in advance, free of charge.
• From 01 April 2014 exit row and extra legroom seats will be available to choose and buy from the online seat map up to 336 days in advance, on all routes.
• From 01 May 2014 customers flying to our Africa, Asia, Caribbean and Australian destinations will be able to pay to choose seats up to 336 days in advance.
• From 01 June 2014 customers flying on all routes will be able to pay to choose their seats up to 336 days in advance.
Please note: If you already have a seat selected for a flight that departs either before or after 01 April 2014 you will be able to keep it.
How much will advanced seat assignment cost?
The cost to assign a seat will be from £25 per person per flight (£50 per round trip) on Virgin Atlantic long haul flights. This is with the exception of our Tokyo route which will remain free of charge. There is no charge on Virgin Atlantic Little Red UK domestic flights.
Please note: For now you won’t be able to pay to choose your seat using Miles or Miles plus money, but we hope to be able to offer you this soon.
Title of thread changed by mod with OP's permission for clarity - word 'Economy' inserted - Nottingham Nick
Last edited by Nottingham Nick; Dec 18, 2013 at 9:12 am Reason: title changed by mod with OP's permission
Dec 16, 2013, 9:37 am
#5
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Dec 16, 2013, 11:00 am
#7
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So what exactly the money for ticket buys ? A place in queue ? -- I know some low low cost carriers do that but I still think this is outrageous charge which should be part of fare you are paying --
Flying in Economy is more or less like cattle class --
Flying in Economy is more or less like cattle class --
Dec 16, 2013, 11:33 am
#8
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A ticket buys a seat on the plane, you just don't know which one in advance. I'm surprised that they haven't done it sooner, considering that their main competition (BA) has been doing this for quite some time. BA also charges for seat assignment in biz except for full fare, but does exempt many elites.
Dec 16, 2013, 1:56 pm
#9
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I am willing to bet that the reason they haven't done it earlier is because their IT department could not organize a social event in a brewing establishment. Even now it looks like a dog's dinner.
Dec 16, 2013, 5:42 pm
#13
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I am surprised at this. Whilst I can understand it for flying to LAS, but for routes where they are competing against the likes of Emirates, Etihad etc? Think about it, if you price up LON - SYD (as example) and its more or less the same price as one of the middle eastern airlines, who are you going to book with? Will be interesting to how, if at all, it affects their bookings.
Dec 16, 2013, 6:22 pm
#14
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whilst the current system leads to complaints (just read the VS face book page prior to this weekend) I really do think this new system will just cause more aggravation and it will be more intense because people have paid for it.
Some issues I can think of
1. V Holidays have a special allocation of seats in the bubble of the 747. Is this still the case and if so do V Holidays clients have to pay the extra?
2. Currently VS only allows 60% of seats for pre-request with the remainder open from OLCI. Will this still be the case because that will just cause resentment because someone may very well get a better seat because they just waited until OLCI opens.
3. Is the system sophisticated enough to prevent people trying to keep a seat in the middle free? So a couple pays for A and C obviously hoping that no one else will choose B giving them extra space.
4. I hope VS realise the hypocrisy of their complaints that APD puts prices up for people going on their holidays yet are prepared to charge people an extra £50 to book seats both ways.
I think VS have got this very badly wrong and they will regret the harm it does to their reputation. The phased introduction is already causing complaints and confusion (just see the FB page and some of the questions being asked there)
One of the things that distinguised VS from BA was that seats were free to request in advance (it used to be on booking until they changed it down to 90 days) no matter your status. That difference has now gone.
Some issues I can think of
1. V Holidays have a special allocation of seats in the bubble of the 747. Is this still the case and if so do V Holidays clients have to pay the extra?
2. Currently VS only allows 60% of seats for pre-request with the remainder open from OLCI. Will this still be the case because that will just cause resentment because someone may very well get a better seat because they just waited until OLCI opens.
3. Is the system sophisticated enough to prevent people trying to keep a seat in the middle free? So a couple pays for A and C obviously hoping that no one else will choose B giving them extra space.
4. I hope VS realise the hypocrisy of their complaints that APD puts prices up for people going on their holidays yet are prepared to charge people an extra £50 to book seats both ways.
I think VS have got this very badly wrong and they will regret the harm it does to their reputation. The phased introduction is already causing complaints and confusion (just see the FB page and some of the questions being asked there)
One of the things that distinguised VS from BA was that seats were free to request in advance (it used to be on booking until they changed it down to 90 days) no matter your status. That difference has now gone.
Dec 16, 2013, 6:24 pm
#15
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