Virgin delayed 4 and 1/2 hours

[jen_uk]

Ive flown with Virgin numerous times and have never thought their planes lookded old or tired. Whenever I book check the prices for loads of companies and Virgin are always either the cheapest or only a very small amount more. I have also never really had any problems with their customer service.

 

[martina857]

I am not to stubborn to realise that there will be a lot of "happy campers" who are perfectly pleased with their Virgin flights and good luck to all of you and to Virgin and especially their marketing dept I am just pointing out that I was not happy and that there are better options out there.

M

 

[wicket2005]

I am just pointing out that I was not happy and that there are better options out there.

M

I know where to come to find a good value flight to Orlando then, sounds like you do a lot of research before you book your flights.

I have only ever travelled by economy chartered flights and to be honest I have always been perfectly happy, to me it is just a way to get from a to b. I am travelling scheduled economy for the first time, with Virgin, this year so it will be interesting to see how they compare.

 

[UKDEB]

If I'd had the kind of delay you experienced with Virgin, I may well have made the same decision never to use them again. What I wouldn't do, though, is patronise other people by telling them that my one experience makes me better equipped to judge how they compare. Your posts suggest that you are somehow better informed and that everyone who has had a good experience (or in many cases, numerous good experiences) is being duped and doesn't 'get it' in the same way that you do.

This really all boils down to the fact that you've been particularly unlucky with your one experience of Virgin and exceedingly lucky with every other airline you've ever flown with. By all means vent your frustration here and most of us will empathise. Please don't state your opinion, though, as if it were fact.

 

[martina857]

My posts were not meant to be patronising and if they came across that way then I apologise wholeheartedly ! However I do find your post patronising !

You asked for like for like and I gave it to you, it is FACT that I have wanted to fly Virgin since as long as I can remember but ALWAYS have found better value, which "facts" in your opinion am I stating that are not such ?

M

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

And your view is interesting too Obi, albeit wrong

My main points are that Virgin VS15 and not so often VS27 are becoming increasingly more prone to delays than the other airlines, to my knowledge (and I really do not check timings like you do) since April 12th there has been a +4 hour delay on 15 on at least 6 occasions. Also that the service on the US airlines is better than Virgin both of these are true.

Sorry Martine I cannot agree (surprise! )
VS 15 has been over 4 hours delayed only 3 times from 12/04/07 to 18/08/07, 16/04 (6 hours), 19/04 (5 hours) and 12/05 (4hrs 45 mins) all of these and the majority of the other over 1 hour dalays are all due to the late inbcoming VS44 from las Vegas.
VS15 (true, the least on time flight of the Virgin Orlando flights, mainly because of the Las Vegas connection) has the follwoing from 12 april to 18 may:
Early 3%
On time from gate 59%
Late up to two hours 3%
Over two hours 35%
Total on time/early departure based on 37 flights 65%

The other flights:
VS27
Early 5%
On time 84%
Late by up to 2 hours 5%
Late by over two hours 5%
Total on time of 37 flights: 89%

VS16 is
early 54% (All flights from orlando are normally early due to tailwinds)
On time 11%
Late +/- 2 hours 14%
Late +2 hours 22%
Total on time 65%

VS28
Early 57%
On time 32%
Late up to 2 hours 3%
late over 2 hours 8%
total 37 flights on time 89%

so, no I refute the argument there. 28 flights a week, compared to First Choice one flight on a Thursday "take it or go with someone else" Airlines (I have yet to get their figures but I will,)

On top of that Virgin customer service stinks ! Thats a fact too for the people that have experienced it, a simple search of these boards will back it up.

No, the majority of complaints about Customer Service are to do with Virgin Holidays, a seperate compamy to Virgin Atlantic Airways.

As for the planes themselves, well maybe that is open to personal interpretation so in MY view the planes appear old and cramped, you can state the measurements all you like but unfortunately I did not have a tape measure with me when I flew, I just know I found the Virgin 747 uncomfortable compared to say the A380 or the 777 on other more favourable airlines.

The measurements are not mine, but the Air industries own measurements, used on many web sites, to save you taking your tape measure.

I cannot belive that you can say a Airbus is less cramped! They are lower ceilinged, squashed out aircraft and considerably noisier than the 747!
They are a horrible range of aircraft. Even Virgin use them I am sorry to say

Sandford or MCO well there is a dilemma, after 12 hours of travel with small children do I want to be out of the airport in 25 minutes and on the road or do I want to spend up to 2 hours walking for miles carrying children that are exhausted, dropping my bags back on a conveyor after I have waited to pick them up and do it all over again, wait for an age in a car hire queue and looking at your post ... go shopping. For me thats a no-brainer !

12 hours of travel?? Not if you go direct it isn't! its a maximum of 9 hours, normally 8 hours, with no 8 hours across the pond, two to four hours stuck at an airport and then two hours down to Florida. No wonder your children are tired!
As for walking miles for tow hours in MCO, thats just nonsense. The longest i have ever had to wait to get from the aircraft to the car hire was 1 hour and that was down to a thunderstorm which came through and the bags could not be off loaded. Its normally 30-40 mins at the most, and I will be at my villa in Kissimmee long before you would be off the I4 from Sanford.

when you Charter is delayed at Sanford on the way home, what have you there to keep you occupied? That was mu comment about shopping and food retailers!

As for car hire queues, with such a poor choice at Sanford, with only the driver allowed in the booking area, there are many comments on these forums about having to wait a ,ong time for a car at Sanford

As for the prices that really is nonsense, I have been looking today for our Sept trip, American Airlines £395 per person, Virgin £650 per person on my family of 4 I would SAVE £1000 not an insignificant amount of money !

Obi we will have to agree to disagree, you like them I (on my one occasion of using them) did not.

M

Sept this year? talk about leaving it to the last minute!

Again, you are not looking at like for like, but direct and indirect.
FCA with only one flight a week is also not a like for like with Virgin, BA giving you a 7 day choice and direct.
You pay the premium NOT to spend "12 hours with tired children" as you seem to do to save a few bob

We will disagree, but nicely I hope

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I am not to stubborn to realise that there will be a lot of "happy campers" who are perfectly pleased with their Virgin flights and good luck to all of you and to Virgin and especially their marketing dept I am just pointing out that I was not happy and that there are better options out there.

M

Martine,
There are also a lot of happy people who fly TCD and Globespan
and other Charter airlines, plus happy campers who go Indirect for 12 hours plus

You have now brought in a new comment, the Virgin marketing department????
What is your beef with them??

You still have not really explained (apart from a 4 hour delay and seats which feel smaller than they are) what is your problem with Virgins service?

 

[martina857]

We will disagree, but nicely I hope

Definitely

I will also give Virgin 1 more go based on your argument if I get them cheaper than elsewhere.

I have enjoyed crossing swords with you but I feel we have taken the discussion as far as we can so I will now honourably bow out

M

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Definitely

I will also give Virgin 1 more go based on your argument if I get them cheaper than elsewhere.

I have enjoyed crossing swords with you but I feel we have taken the discussion as far as we can so I will now honourably bow out

M

Okaydokay Martina

 

[UKDEB]

which "facts" in your opinion am I stating that are not such?

I can tell you now, Continental, US airways, American, First choice, Brittania and Monarch are MILES better !

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.

In fact bluntly they are RUBBISH compared to the competition.

The planes are old, the seats narrow

And your view is interesting too Obi, albeit wrong

Also that the service on the US airlines is better than Virgin both of these are true.

Virgin customer service stinks !

As for the prices that really is nonsense

All these comments are opinion dressed up as facts.

I object to having words put in my mouth. You told me:

You are right Deb, indirect flights do not suit everyone but the end result is the same

I didn't say that. I said that American Airlines doesn't fly direct, non-stop from the UK to Orlando.

And:

You asked for like for like and I gave it to you

I really didn't. And you didn't. The only like for like comparison is Virgin Atlantic and BA who are both scheduled airlines operating direct, non-stop daily services from the UK to MCO. Anything else does not qualify as like for like.

 

[grahamsgirl]

Hi guys
I would just like to say in VA defence, the first time we flew with them in Sept 2002 there was a 3 hours delay we were suppose to leave at 10.25am on VS075 from Manchester, we were told when we checked in there would be a possible delay. Fair enough we thought nothing we could do.
They made an announcement at the gate stating the flight would be delayed until 13.25pm and that if we could bear with them they would be issuing refreshment vouchers within the next half an hour. The attendants brought out the Kid Packs and gave them to all children waiting.
As a family of 4 we got £40.00 worth of vouchers that we bought some refreshments with, but didn't get to use them all up, then when we got on the plane each seat had a letter on it apologising for the delay and offering a 10% discount on next flight with VA. We used the discount the following year , and have flown with VA each time and have always been pleased.
I do appreciate times may have changed but we were really impressd how they handled the situation.

 

[sammyteach]

What an interesting debate. Shall i pitch in and hijack the thread to talk about Globespan......... No perhaps thats not a good idea after all my therapist says i need to learn to let go

 

[MorningGlory]

I dont want to end up jinxing myself before we go, but for a first experience I am very happy so far with VH.

They gave us an unbeatable price for our holiday (waaaaaaaaay below what anyone else could do it for) during one of their sales.

Their customer service is criticised alot on here (and with good reason no doubt) but I have nothing but praise for them. Until I booked this holiday, I had never received a call pre-holiday from my on-site rep. I did with Virgin!

As I have never flown in a jumbo before, I dont doubt it will be as pleasant as a 9 hour flight can be. I wouldn't fancy it in a cramped charter plane. 5 hours to Turkey was enough for me.