Virgin delayed 4 and 1/2 hours

[PoppyAnna]

Well it could have been worse, you copuld have been delayed 24 hours as the TCD passengers, or 39 hours like the Flyglobespan passengers.

Yeah, but I didn't pay flyglobespan prices!!!

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Yeah, but I didn't pay flyglobespan prices!!!

Exactly

 

[martina857]

Yeah, but I didn't pay flyglobespan prices!!!

I was just reading the last few posts and was was going to post that it would not be SO BAD if the flights were a decent price, but they are not. This level of service is unacceptable for a sheduled, high cost airline !! In fact bluntly they are RUBBISH compared to the competition.

M

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I was just reading the last few posts and was was going to post that it would not be SO BAD if the flights were a decent price, but they are not. This level of service is unacceptable for a sheduled, high cost airline !! In fact bluntly they are RUBBISH compared to the competition.

M

Hang on Martina. I think you are letting your biaise against Virgin atlantic colour your reasoning.
Which competition?? BA? Continental? American?

A decent price? I have been costing up some prices for a friend of mine and they are coming out CHEAPER than TCD!

So much for high cost.

As for rubbish, they are the most used airline to Florida (and to many other destinations) with excellent service. I have NEVER had a poor service from them.

 

[Red-Snapper]

Those of you mentioning deteriorating customer service, duplicate or wrong invoices and foreign call centres - are you actually referring to VA or VH - cause it sounds to me like VH - which this thread is not about ?

I recently flew VA to Vegas and back. 3 hour delay going which to me seemed at least in part due to a rather relaxed atitude of the ground staff in getting us onto the plane, bag search etc.

I do wonder if the increased security has led them to not worry about late departures.

Anyway, on the way back I asked the check-in clerk if the VA044 flight was on time - she replied "Yes - amazing - it makes a change for this flight" !!

So they obviously have some long standing issue with the Las Vegas flight that regularly causes a knock-on with the VS015.

 

[homerdog]

You can't always blame the airlines either - last month my Virgin flight from NY pushed back twenty minutes ahead of schedule and the captain announced that we should be in the air early, only for ATC to keep us hanging around at the end of the runway for 45 minutes...

 

[XAVIER]

VS027 has been arriving early in Orlando recently....but today it was over two hours late getting airborne from Gatwick!

It had better get itself sorted out before we fly on it in July!

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

VS027 has been arriving early in Orlando recently....but today it was over two hours late getting airborne from Gatwick!

It had better get itself sorted out before we fly on it in July!

Bioth the incoming VS28 and VS44 flights were 30 mins late arriving at Gatwick and this has a knock on effect.
Add to this late passengers/inventory discrepancies/minor maintenance and you get these sort of delays.
It was 48 mins late yesterday.

But aircraft are not things that run like clockwork. Sometimes they are early, sometimes late. Every airline is the same, even the German ones

 

[martina857]

Hang on Martina. I think you are letting your biaise against Virgin atlantic colour your reasoning.
Which competition?? BA? Continental? American?

I am not bias against Virgin at all, I just think they are crap and getting crapper )

M

 

[aaronandterri]

VS027 has been arriving early in Orlando recently....but today it was over two hours late getting airborne from Gatwick!

It had better get itself sorted out before we fly on it in July!

Noooo....please dont say this we fly monday, my ds will not handle a delay(nightmare ....)

Hope everythings ok by monday (please lots of pixie dust)

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I am not bias against Virgin at all, I just think they are crap and getting crapper )

M

That's quite a strong statement Martina.
How are they "crap" and how are they getting "Crappier"??
In your first post you state you have only used them once, so what is your statement based upon?

 

[martina857]

Speak as you find Obi, speak as you find.

M

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Speak as you find Obi, speak as you find.

M

I always try Martina, I always try, but I am genuinly interested as to why you think the way you do on this matter

 

[Red-Snapper]

I'm guessing martina has an axe to grind, and grind it she will

However I agree - to base such strong comments on only 1 experience is rather strange.
I wonder what the reaction would be to a whole day lost with one of the budgets ?

nuff said i tink

 

[Laurafoster]

I agree ive had one AWFUL experience with TCD and whilst i wouldnt be so keen to travel with them in the future i certainly wouldnt rule it out totally as each and every airline has good and bad! Its the way they deal with the bad that counts.

 

[martina857]

I always try Martina, I always try, but I am genuinly interested as to why you think the way you do on this matter

Because I am angry with them Obi but also
because I hate shoddy service which is what Virgin Atlantic are providing right now. My delay was not an isolated incident. I also think that the level of service is not that good with them either compared to certainly the US airlines. The planes are old, the seats narrow and I think that the prices are way to much for economy class booked anything less than 10 months in advance. Their customer service leaves a lot to be desired also.

I'm guessing martina has an axe to grind, and grind it she will

However I agree - to base such strong comments on only 1 experience is rather strange.
I wonder what the reaction would be to a whole day lost with one of the budgets ?

nuff said i tink

To right I have ;-) Although alas strange I am not

BUT.... I have flown all the budgets apart from 1 (see below) to Florida LOTS of times, worst delay was 1 hour due to fog (Thomas Cook), the level of service I had on all of those flights was not that much different to Virgin, apart of course from First Choice that were miles better than them. At this juncture I would like to point out I have never nor never would be silly enough to book a TCD flight, 10 minutes research in my opinion would put off even the most positive people. I actually prefer flying into Sanford as well, if I had a choice it would Continental into Sanford for me

M

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Because I am angry with them Obi but also
because I hate shoddy service which is what Virgin Atlantic are providing right now. My delay was not an isolated incident. I also think that the level of service is not that good with them either compared to certainly the US airlines. The planes are old, the seats narrow and I think that the prices are way to much for economy class booked anything less than 10 months in advance. Their customer service leaves a lot to be desired also.



To right I have ;-) Although alas strange I am not

BUT.... I have flown all the budgets apart from 1 (see below) to Florida LOTS of times, worst delay was 1 hour due to fog (Thomas Cook), the level of service I had on all of those flights was not that much different to Virgin, apart of course from First Choice that were miles better than them. At this juncture I would like to point out I have never nor never would be silly enough to book a TCD flight, 10 minutes research in my opinion would put off even the most positive people. I actually prefer flying into Sanford as well, if I had a choice it would Continental into Sanford for me

M

Well, interesting view Martina.
Your main unhappyness seems to be that you were late in taking off and you base your major concern on that.
Well, you only need to look at all the airlines and none of them have a 100% on time take off level. 4.5 hours was a long wait but unusual. 1-2 hours can be the norm dependant upon a lot of things at an airport as large as Gatwick.

First choice, only choice from Gatwick is a Thursday take off, against daily flights from virgin, BA and the others. So if you want to fly any other day forget it with them. Easy to be on time with a single flight per week, but even they have their off flights, they are only showing 88% on a single flight to Sanford per week.

The level of servie I have found with my many flights, both personal and on buisness is second to none, much, much better than the American airlines who pale in comparison to Virgin. You mention Continental, I am a One Pass member with them and they are OK, but not to the standard of Virgin, plus they codeshere many flights on VS metal!

This age nonsense, is precisley that, nonsense. the aircraft are not old, the Gatwick/Manchester 7474's are the youngest in the fleet of 747's, besides with aircraft it is the amount of takeoffs and landings that count, not the birthdate.
They are younger aircraft than Britsh airways and American and Continental. They have the youngest fleet compared to any of the scheduled airlines.
The prices are comparible to BA and other scheduled airlines, and I, checking many times a year, find them to be always cheaper than American airlines, the ONLY time I have found cheaper American airlines prices was once with Continental on a code share with Virgin!
The other reason prices are higher is I would imagine, that when you want to fly so do many other people and the cheaper prices have gone. If not they would not be the largest European airline flying into Florida daily.

Seating width and pitch. FCA do not make theirs available to the public, so difficult to say what their is actually.
American: Width 17.2" Pitch 32"
Continental W 17.9" P 32"
Delta: W 18" P 31-32"
Northwest W 17.2 P 31-32"
British airways W 17.5" P 31.0"
Virgin W 17.5" P32"

so again, not narrowl seats compared to the other airlines are they?

The economy service is probably their worst area, and they themselves know it needs to be worked upon and thats what they are in the process of doing. The gatwick aircraft will have new seating and economy service in 2008 after the buisness routes at heathrow are done in this year.

Finally Sanford. Well this has been the cause of many debates on here and that is down to personal choice. My personal choice 9is MCO with all the facilities it has compared to sanford that, when you have a major delay there is nothing to do, or to eat, is a long journey when you have just arrived and the choice of car hire services is poor. It is a reginal airport set up for charter airlines, compared to MCO which is a proper internal/international airport with many routes.
If a major airline (why would they, or why havent they??) went from Sanford, it would physically not be able to cope.

 

[wicket2005]

Interesting post Obi. Another Jericho fan I see. (Excellent series)

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Todays flights are a mixed bag.

Gatwick to Orlando:

Virgin Atlantic VS27 took off 2 mins late at 10:47 est arr 15:03
Virgin Atlantic VS15 delayed as usual 105 mins est dep 14:30 with est arr 18:50
British Airways BA2037 took off 40 mins late, est arr 15:29 9 mins late

Gatwick to Sanford:

Monarch ZB329 took off on time est arr 14:33 10 mins late
My Travel VZ67 took off 4 mins EARLY! est arr time 21 mins late
TCD XLA122 On last call, so 25 mins late ATM

Manchester to Orlando:

Virgin Atlantic VS75 took off 12 mins late at 10:37 est arr 14:48
Virgin Atlantic VS73 scheduled for on time departure at 13:30

Manchester to Sanford:

First Choice DP118 took off 25 mins late at 09:50, est arr 15:02 88 mins late. (Martina??? )
Thomas Cook TCX473K est dep 12:05 no data (normally means big delay)
TCD XLA130 est dep 13:30 No data

Glasgow to Sanford:

My Travel VZ65 took off 20 mins late est arr 14:32
Globespan 725 est dep 18:45

Interesting mix eh?

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Interesting post Obi. Another Jericho fan I see. (Excellent series)

It's been blooming well cancelled!!