Virgin Atlantic Seat booking charge from 17 November 2014

[Elise79]

It looks like VA have at last sorted their paid seat booking issue and as of 17 November 2014 if you are traveling in Economy you will have to pay if you want to reserve your seats in advance.

I like that they are not charging for PE & Upper.

Full details can be found Here

 

[wilma-bride]

So, Tracy, do you read that to be that if you are flying PE or UC that you can select your seat up to 336 days in advance without having to pay the fee? Presumably that would go into effect on 18th November also? We are flying PE home from LAX on 17th May and funnily enough I was just trying to work out what dates we would be able to pre-book our seats (and they definitely hadn't changed it this morning so you must be really on the ball). So, for outbound, we should be able to book at 72 hours prior (red FC members) but for our PE return flight, we should be able to book our seats on 18th November

 

[scoobydooby]

PE seeming a better deal now. Glad we went with it again.

 

[catherine]

I presume, if we've already booked our flight for next year before this came into effect we won't be expected to pay!

 

[wilma-bride]

I presume, if we've already booked our flight for next year before this came into effect we won't be expected to pay!

Sadly, I don't think that is the case Catherine. Because VA have been saying it is coming for a while now, the only exemptions from the fee are as listed on the link that Tracy posted above.

 

[Elise79]

So, Tracy, do you read that to be that if you are flying PE or UC that you can select your seat up to 336 days in advance without having to pay the fee? Presumably that would go into effect on 18th November also? We are flying PE home from LAX on 17th May and funnily enough I was just trying to work out what dates we would be able to pre-book our seats (and they definitely hadn't changed it this morning so you must be really on the ball). So, for outbound, we should be able to book at 72 hours prior (red FC members) but for our PE return flight, we should be able to book our seats on 18th November

I think it will be 18th November for all PE flights - I will be trying for our flights next August then.

 

[catherine]

Sadly, I don't think that is the case Catherine. Because VA have been saying it is coming for a while now, the only exemptions from the fee are as listed on the link that Tracy posted above.

Before I booked the fly drive I looked on the Virgin web site to see if there was any info about having to pay to pre-book seats and there was no mention of anything possible being changed, so if they try and charge me I will be fighting it all the way! To be honest if it wasn't for the fact that I come on here I wouldn't know anything about it!

 

[wilma-bride]

Before I booked the fly drive I looked on the Virgin web site to see if there was any info about having to pay to pre-book seats and there was no mention of anything possible being changed, so if they try and charge me I will be fighting it all the way! To be honest if it wasn't for the fact that I come on here I wouldn't know anything about it!

I hate to say it but that info was definitely there. For months now (if not more than a year), the website has made it clear that the charging for pre-booked seats is coming but that, until it was in place, everybody could book 60 days in advance for free. You can try fighting it but I wouldn't hold out much hope for you.

 

[pickers1982]

Before I booked the fly drive I looked on the Virgin web site to see if there was any info about having to pay to pre-book seats and there was no mention of anything possible being changed, so if they try and charge me I will be fighting it all the way! To be honest if it wasn't for the fact that I come on here I wouldn't know anything about it!

Pretty sure they re well covered on this one. It's be about for ages they ve just not actually started charging before

 

[Kath2003]

So to clarify, for our dates, VA want £1400 for an economy ticket, PLUS another £50 to choose the seat?

Given that VA are the worst airline we have used in the last decade, I'm going to go with...no.

 

[scoobydooby]

What time on November 18th will this open up?

 

[tinkerpea]

I wonder if they will actually do it on said date!
I mean we was told back in January that it was going into effect in June,I was really surprised when I booked last month that it wasn't in effect,
I expected the change! I'm going to pre book my seats,normally I'm not bothered but if it's just us 2 ( which I'm still thinking on) lol then I'll want to try for the twos at the back of the plane.

 

[Elise79]

Before I booked the fly drive I looked on the Virgin web site to see if there was any info about having to pay to pre-book seats and there was no mention of anything possible being changed, so if they try and charge me I will be fighting it all the way! To be honest if it wasn't for the fact that I come on here I wouldn't know anything about it!

I hate to say it but that info was definitely there. For months now (if not more than a year), the website has made it clear that the charging for pre-booked seats is coming but that, until it was in place, everybody could book 60 days in advance for free. You can try fighting it but I wouldn't hold out much hope for you.

Like Joh says the info has been out there for a long while now as this is just delayed implementation of the policy as the system wasn't ready for the previous launch. When they first announced the change there was a cut off for bookings made pre-December 2013 however since they bookings are now all out of the system everyone will have to pay if they don't meet one of the other exemptions.

So to clarify, for our dates, VA want £1400 for an economy ticket, PLUS another £50 to choose the seat?
Given that VA are the worst airline we have used in the last decade, I'm going to go with...no.

Better than BA! They charge even the premium passengers and extra per-seat compared to E!

What time on November 18th will this open up?

Probably 8am going on current trends however I fully expect their website to be down most of the day

 

[DisFanJen]

So, do we know if this will apply to people who have already reserved seats?

I fly on the 28th so have already chosen my seats but will those choices be wiped with me having to pay to get them back?

Edit: ok, please ignore me. Just read the full article and saw that I'm OK.

 

[crabbie1]

My friend has booked her seats flying on the 29/12/2015 and they have told her she does NOT have to pay for her seats. The girl said flights already booked will not incur a charge. Im not paying an extra £200 to book seats. We booked flights in september to travel may so we will see.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[mickeyforpresident]

My friend has booked her seats flying on the 29/12/2015 and they have told her she does NOT have to pay for her seats. The girl said flights already booked will not incur a charge. Im not paying an extra £200 to book seats. We booked flights in september to travel may so we will see. Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Hmmmm. This is confusing and has me slightly scared. So, I've booked my flights for July 15, will I not incur a charge and still not be able to book until 60 days but those who are still to book can pay and reserve before me.... Have I made myself clear?

 

[Elise79]

My friend has booked her seats flying on the 29/12/2015 and they have told her she does NOT have to pay for her seats. The girl said flights already booked will not incur a charge. Im not paying an extra £200 to book seats. We booked flights in september to travel may so we will see. Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

If you have booked seats by the 17th November 2014 and travel by 16 January 2015 you won't pay - if you are travelling after 16th January 2015 then you will have to pay to pre-book seats.

 

[Elise79]

Hmmmm. This is confusing and has me slightly scared. So, I've booked my flights for July 15, will I not incur a charge and still not be able to book until 60 days but those who are still to book can pay and reserve before me.... Have I made myself clear?

You can book seats from 18 November but if you are in Economy you will have to pay.

If you a red flying club member you can book free 72 hours in advance otherwise it's free at online check in.

 

[wilma-bride]

My friend has booked her seats flying on the 29/12/2015 and they have told her she does NOT have to pay for her seats. The girl said flights already booked will not incur a charge. Im not paying an extra £200 to book seats. We booked flights in september to travel may so we will see.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

People who have not booked seats by 18th November WILL have to pay if they want to pre-book seats. VA has made that fairly clear over the last few months. Your friend was misinformed. It doesn't matter when you booked, Virgin have been saying for months that this is coming and it has been talked about on the boards several times over the last year or so.

 

[wilma-bride]

Hmmmm. This is confusing and has me slightly scared. So, I've booked my flights for July 15, will I not incur a charge and still not be able to book until 60 days but those who are still to book can pay and reserve before me.... Have I made myself clear?

If you are flying in July 15 then on 18th November you will have the option to a) pre-book seats and pay the £25 per person each way or b) choose seats for free at online check in 24 hours before flight.

Being able to book 60 days in advance was a temporary measure put in place while the pre-booking system was being finalised.

As Tracy says above, if you are a red or silver flying club member you will be able to book seats slightly earlier (72 hours for red, 14 days for silver). And, yes, people who pay will be able to reserve their seats before you if you choose not to pay.