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#933840 by horburyflyer
28 Mar 2017, 05:37
With SFO and BOS starting this week from MAN and JFK following in May....some disappointing news after what will be such a strong summer for VS at MAN for Winter 17/18.

- SFO and BOS end 30th September instead of 30th October - think some of us saw that coming with changes to flights booked during October already taking place.

- ATL drops to x 4 weekly from 1st November (x 3 weekly some weeks)

- JFK remains served by VS instead of a return to DL for the winter but operates x 3 weekly (x 4 weekly some weeks as aircraft shared with ATL)

- MCO operates at 8 weekly, with no Monday flight but 2 flights on Fri/Sat

- BGI stays at x 2 weekly (Mon/Thu)

- LAS finishes on 26th October instead of continuing into November like it did last year.

Jon
#933841 by David
28 Mar 2017, 08:33
Hi Jon,

Quite a bit of shuffling going on.

Its a shame this info wasn't available as clearly on the VS website (along with the other "part time" flights - GLA-MCO etc)

It usually just has an asterix with a "seasonal flight" but doesn't exactly tell you what seasonal is !

David
#933845 by gumshoe
28 Mar 2017, 09:37
A shame but I can't say I'm surprised. VS were brave but I fear overly optimistic by expanding so aggressively at MAN this summer, given the inevitable fall in demand for TATL travel in the face of the weak pound.

I'm not convinced that non-daily flights to JFK, ATL, SFO and BOS are sustainable. Not a problem for holiday flights but these are prime business routes and business travellers need convenience and frequency so most will probably prefer to connect via LHR where there's a much bigger choice of flights.
#933850 by VS075
28 Mar 2017, 11:20
gumshoe wrote:A shame but I can't say I'm surprised. VS were brave but I fear overly optimistic by expanding so aggressively at MAN this summer, given the inevitable fall in demand for TATL travel in the face of the weak pound.

I'm not convinced that non-daily flights to JFK, ATL, SFO and BOS are sustainable. Not a problem for holiday flights but these are prime business routes and business travellers need convenience and frequency so most will probably prefer to connect via LHR where there's a much bigger choice of flights.


It's not just the weak pound. There's also the fact that on all of the more recent USA routes bar ATL, VS are up against Thomas Cook who have established themselves on the BOS and JFK routes for longer than VS and, from having quickly searched a few fares in the past, are sometimes coming out cheaper.

I wouldn't say VS were brave as the decisions to launch these routes were made before the referendum result was known about, however the reductions in frequencies is something I feared and I hope it doesn't result in further cutbacks.

I agree though that certain routes are going to be handicapped by virtue of their seasonal/non-daily nature.

The MCO and BGI winter schedules seem par for the course given what VS have done in previous years.

Typical though that as soon as it started to look like that MAN was finally getting somewhere with having a decent portfolio of US routes, the proverbial rug has been pulled from under the feet.
#933851 by matt.hibb
28 Mar 2017, 11:22
A shame indeed. Bad on a personal level for me too. I fly VS/DL via ATL or LAS regularly, usually out on a Sunday and back on a Thurs/Fri, so this winter schedule doesn't look good for me at all. JFK and MCO are options, but the connecting flight is significantly longer from these, making it a pain. Immigration can be much worse at JFK/MCO as well in my experience.
#933861 by SNOMO
28 Mar 2017, 17:01
Thank goodness we return on the SFO>MAN on the 24thSeptember instead of early October as orginally planned. I will check even more often now just to make sure nothing else changes !
#933880 by Katcool
28 Mar 2017, 21:24
I received an email yesterday to say that our Man-Atl flight in December had been moved to a day later. We're on a shorter trip than normal to Orlando this time and a wonderful man in the flying club has transfered us to the direct Man-Mco flight. An email has gone to Crawley for excellent customer service.

We like the Atlanta flight - we're on this at the weekend and will be sad to see this reduced.
#933912 by VS075
29 Mar 2017, 12:31
Out of interest, have any reasons been cited for the JFK/ATL frequency reductions? I'm assuming forward bookings or loadings from last year (no doubt attributable to the poor £/$ rate) have contributed towards this?

I had a quick look at prices for return MAN-JFK flights in mid to late-Nov/early-Dec and the prices for Economy are coming out at average £1,200 return. :-O That is, frankly, obscene! I can pay similar prices on Virgin Holidays for the same flights plus 4 nights room-only at a half-decent hotel in Manhattan.
#933916 by Sealink
29 Mar 2017, 13:40
There are also several reports now saying Trump is in fact having an effect on UK holidaymakers.
#934087 by Seyre1972
04 Apr 2017, 16:24
Hi - where can I find out any information re the MAN-JFK flights changes to the schedule ?

We're booked to fly out Friday 20th Oct, return the Wednesday 25th (land 26th) as a 50th birthday surprise for my wife - dates worked around half term - so any change could be a showstopper for us ... :blush:

Appreciate any pointers/links I can follow up
With

Regards


Steve
#934088 by gumshoe
04 Apr 2017, 17:02
Your flights are still within the summer timetable so you should be fine. But check Manage My Booking if you need reassurance - if you have been moved it'll say so there.

The reduction to the MAN-JFK schedule doesn't kick in until the winter timetable which starts on Oct 29.
#934091 by Seyre1972
04 Apr 2017, 18:27
Hi gumshoe - many thanks - did exactly that when I got home .... phew all appears ok :-D

The UC flights on those dates from Manchester worked out about 3/5ths the price of flying out of Heathrow - so will be driving up the night before (from Kent)

Off-topic

Horburyflyer - keep on meaning to ask - is that Horbury, Wakefield ? As I grew up the other side in Stanley. But now lived down here for longer than I ever did (moved down here when I was 18)

Cheers,

Steve
#934105 by Florida White
05 Apr 2017, 01:02
So glad I saw this thread. Had booked MCO-ATL then ATL to MAN in November and when I checked my booking my flight to Atlanta was ok but my flight to Manchester was a day earlier so I would have got to the airport in Atlanta and had no flight. They brought forward the Manchester but even though I booked together omitted the earlier one. Great service with reservations though but I have to fly back 3 days later via JFK but think I can handle an extended holiday. Very lucky though. Thanks Jon for highlighting this you've saved me what could have been a big issue.
#936155 by Nick1389
23 Jun 2017, 10:58
ColOrd wrote:Has there been any confirmation about the MAN-SFO/BOS being reinstated for Summer 2018?

would like to know also
#936162 by Joshl257
23 Jun 2017, 11:53
That might explain why I have been struggling to book flights to Tampa in December. I use the VS109 to ATL the most as we have a family home in Tampa. Used it for many years when it was Delta. I find it hard to believe that the ATL flight is struggling as the vast majority of passengers are connecting on to Delta domestic flights. I think VS have a aircraft shortage of some kind because didn't Delta help them out over easter holidays with aircraft swop. Plus VS announced the Heathrow Barbados route that starts in December 2 times a week. Cannot help but feel that those two things are linked. Would love to know everyone's thoughts.
#939131 by VS075
16 Oct 2017, 12:53
Just bumping this thread...

There's a thread over on a.net about DL temporarily taking over one of VS' LHR-JFK-LHR turns and someone had posted on there that the ATL/JFK reductions this winter is attributable to needing A330's to free up 787's in order to resolve the engine issues, a few of which has reared its ugly head lately.

Does anyone know if it was always planned to use this winter to sort out the 787 engine issues at the expense of frequencies elsewhere by reshuffling a/c and whether we can expect frequencies on MAN-ATL/JFK to revert to a more frequent pattern next winter? Or is it definitely down to a downturn in demand?

I may well have an interest in this because we are toying with the idea of maybe going to New York next December. When I did a similar trip in Dec 2015, it worked well having daily MAN-JFK flights with DL as it gave us the flexibility to pick the best combo of flights that offered the cheapest fare. With AA pulling MAN-JFK, Thomas Cook normally reducing frequencies in the winter, Jet2's EWR flights being on limited dates with planes featuring cabins that are fine for short-haul but not long-haul and the only other option being United to EWR (assuming that still runs in 12 months time given their recent track record of cutting routes to regional UK airports), it would be good to have the luxury of more frequent flights again.
#939135 by Sealink
16 Oct 2017, 17:27
Nick1389 wrote:
ColOrd wrote:Has there been any confirmation about the MAN-SFO/BOS being reinstated for Summer 2018?

would like to know also


MAN-BOS is on sale for Summer '18
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