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#936967 by rbk
28 Jul 2017, 15:02
Greetings.

JFK-MAN return

posted as some of this info might be useful to others

JFK-MAN seat 1A

the FA couldn't figure out how to turn the cabin lights above 1A off, for the first 3 1/2 hrs of a 5 hr night flight. not the personal light, the cabin light. the rest of the cabin was dark. there were no other available seats.

finally, and after my repeated insistence that this was not "just broken", someone realized it was in the programming for "crew rest seat lighting" and 2 taps on the bulkhead control touch screen and the lights were off. but too late to get much sleep.

landing at MAN, no jetway. ... remote stand only. havent seen this TATL for years. FA hold back other PAX to let UC pax off first. However, it ends there. UC pax wait in the bus as it sits on the tarmac and fills to the gills with all other pax. no VA supervison at all, so people shove to get on the bus. last on first off, so UC pax now behind everyone else. UC ends at the plane door, evidently.

MAN-JFK seat 1K

self printed UC BP. HBO . denied access to security fastrack at MAN because no sticker from check in. told to get to the back of the coach class line or go back downstairs to the check in to get a sticker. then denied priority boarding by VA at the gate, because I haven't checked in at the desk first... BP reprinted

so what's the point of a fastrack/priority self print boarding pass, and checking in online?

VA gate agents rude " its your fault, you should have checked in at the desk" "I checked in online"

some of the plane toilet fixtures themselves were literally held together with masking tape. that's just appalling.

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no fastrack arrival at JFK

enough has been written about the lousy UC seats in the 33 config.

CC were good both ways. These issues are systemic, not circumstantial

Hope some of this info helps others
#937073 by gumshoe
31 Jul 2017, 12:28
Cabin lights & state of aircraft - not good. You should complain.

No jetway at MAN - it happens, at all airports and on all airlines. VS never provide a separate UC bus unfortunately. Is it really a big deal though?

Issues at security and the gate - I suspect this happened because even if travelling HBO you have to stop by a desk so they can do a document check and confirm you're allowed into the US. This is a CBP requirement and applies to all international flights to the US.

Fast track arrival at JFK - no-one gets that, on any airline, at any US airport, unless they've paid for Global Entry. That's also a CBP policy and not the airline's fault. At least there are lots of machines at T4 - the BA terminal (T7) has very few and the queue can be horrendous.
#937076 by CommanderB
31 Jul 2017, 13:58
This does indeed sound sub-par and does not accurately reflect the usual UC experience. So please do complain.

In terms of fast track at JFK, as mentioned - nobody gets that. However Global Entry is well worth the investment if you are a regular traveler. Immigration goes from potentially hours to 90 seconds.
#937087 by rbk
31 Jul 2017, 16:38
gumshoe wrote:
No jetway at MAN - it happens, at all airports and on all airlines. VS never provide a separate UC bus unfortunately. Is it really a big deal though?

Denial of fast-track security at MAN - again, not good if due to human error at check in. You should have been allowed priority boarding if you're in UC, sticker or no sticker. Again, complain.

.


thanks for the replies.

is it a big deal? UC is at least 5 x $ of coach. VS boast limo service and even special arrivals for UC passengers [lhr]. IME, they dump you in a bus, to wait on the tarmac, to be last off after coach class pax. And then after youve waited in line behnd coach class, then they put you in a limo?

it's an easy fix. first bus UC only. its what you pay for. there are already multiple buses to unload the plane.

human error? no, systemic "error". no fastrack security/priority boarding for anyone HBO, and online check-in with either mobile or self print BP. so HBO, do not print your/get mobile BP . you must go to check in, in order to use fastrack.

is it a big deal? UC is supposed to be the very best experience VS can offer, in the air and at the airport.
#937088 by Kraken
31 Jul 2017, 17:58
To the OP - to be honest, you missed out on nothing with no Fastrack at Manchester Security - the normal line is faster 99% of the time. (MAN airport merge all the special assistance passengers & families at the front of the line).

As above, cabin lights & state of the toilets should be complained about. To have a gaffer-tape "fix" in place in any cabin is not good. Flying Club have credited me with miles in the past when the armrest on my UC seat would not lock-down with the seat in lie-flat mode, thus affecting my sleep. A light on above your seat for a good few hours should fall into the same ballpark in theory. (Although knowing the way VS is now, they will helpfully point out the eye-shade in the amenity kit).

Lack of a jet-bridge at MAN was doubtless not planned. The days of Virgin going for remote stands at MAN deliberately to avoid something like 50p/passenger on the handling charge are thankfully over. You have to remember the design of MAN T2 is poor - a wide body aircraft will take out 2 contact gates as they were built way too close together. So depending on the mix of narrow-bodied / wide-bodied aircraft on the ground at the time, a contact gate may simply have been unavailable. Was your flight notably early / delayed into MAN? (As I am sure that MAN airport would aim to schedule a contact gate to be available if at all possible - does not account for other late departures blocking gates though).
#937091 by gumshoe
31 Jul 2017, 19:14
rbk wrote:[IME, they dump you in a bus, to wait on the tarmac, to be last off after coach class pax. it's an easy fix. first bus UC only. its what you pay for. there are already multiple buses to unload the plane.


So wait by the door of the bus, then you'll be first off.

A separate UC bus wouldn't really be feasible as, although VS gives priority boarding to UC passengers, its policy (at LGW & LHR certainly, don't know about MAN) is to call flights in the lounge AFTER everyone else has boarded, to maximise quality lounge time and minimise wasted time on board.

rbk wrote:no fastrack security/priority boarding for anyone HBO, and online check-in with either mobile or self print BP. so HBO, do not print your/get mobile BP . you must go to check in, in order to use fastrack.


As i said in my edited post, that is a US government requirement for all international flights. They insist that the airline confirms you're eligible for entry to the US before you board, so even if you're flying HBO you must stop by a check-in desk for a document check. There, you'll be given the fast-track security sticker the MAN airport authorities seem to require.
#937094 by rbk
31 Jul 2017, 19:22
Kraken wrote:To the OP - to be honest, you missed out on nothing with no Fastrack at Manchester Security - the normal line is faster 99% of the time. (MAN airport merge all the special assistance passengers & families at the front of the line).

.


thanks for the reply

well unfortunately it "delayed" me significantly-- fastrack line was empty, long line in regular, and they were being very finicky--. they even swabbed my chapstick for explosive residue.

I have gone through T3 security for BA/AA many times and there isn't much difference fastrack/regular there, but at T2, it was all thompson holiday pax, carrying all sorts on board...

I arrived at MAN at 11.30am. flight was 1.40pm dep and I only had time for a cup of coffee in the "lounge-- all 300sf of it" before boarding was called at 12.25pm. so prob 45 mins in security instead of fastrack. even that early, we still pushed back 30 or so minutes late.

and just to make things even more fun, there was nearly a fistfight in UC as we taxied at JFK, between two male UC pax who had been "overserved" for 6hrs....

the more bellicose/drunk one then had a go at me for "weaving" in front of him on the ramp, as we headed towards immigration.

well, it's true, one of us was weaving...
#937095 by rbk
31 Jul 2017, 19:39
gumshoe wrote:
rbk wrote:[IME, they dump you in a bus, to wait on the tarmac, to be last off after coach class pax. it's an easy fix. first bus UC only. its what you pay for. there are already multiple buses to unload the plane.


So wait by the door of the bus, then you'll be first off.

A separate UC bus wouldn't really be feasible as, although VS gives priority boarding to UC passengers, its policy (at LGW & LHR certainly, don't know about MAN) is to call flights in the lounge AFTER everyone else has boarded, to maximise quality lounge time and minimise wasted time on board.

rbk wrote:no fastrack security/priority boarding for anyone HBO, and online check-in with either mobile or self print BP. so HBO, do not print your/get mobile BP . you must go to check in, in order to use fastrack.


As i said in my edited post, that is a US government requirement for all international flights. They insist that the airline confirms you're eligible for entry to the US before you board, so even if you're flying HBO you must stop by a check-in desk for a document check. There, you'll be given the fast-track security sticker the MAN airport authorities seem to require.


I really wish you would read before you type, please.

you said "don't know about MAN" then please stop

Bus on arrival, not departure, so none of that is at all relevant. Moreover, If I had ESP I wouldn't waste it on VS bus protocol at MAN

my point is why have online check in and self print "PRIORITY" BP, if you still need to check in to get fastrack security. As I said, I posted this info to help others in the same situation

What I didnt understand was why this had not happened before with BA/AA

How VS differs is that they do not have a VS lounge with VS staff. its all 3rd party. VS lounge at JFK did check my docs with self print BP HBO.

With the exact same process on BA/AA, my docs are checked by the BA/AA lounge staff. on entry [and T2 recognize/can read "PRIORITY" on the BP.

Even though Escape require a BP to enter, there are no VS staff there.

please do not "contribute" anymore to this thread.

Thanks
#937100 by Neil
31 Jul 2017, 20:24
rbk wrote:
please do not "contribute" anymore to this thread.

Thanks


This site is a friendly, open place for any of our members to contribute to. It certainly is not up to another member to dictate who can and cannot comment on any thread.

We find it is usually best as a new member to interact in a positive way with our very knowledgable and helpful regular users, it will benefit you in the long run.

Thanks
Neil
#937101 by gumshoe
31 Jul 2017, 20:33
Thank you Neil.

OP - I'm trying to help you, as a VS regular and a long-time V-Flyer. I won't be told not to contribute to this forum, especially by someone who's never posted before.

BA and AA clearly serve your needs better. I suggest you stick with them.
#937104 by Kraken
31 Jul 2017, 23:22
rbk wrote:Even though Escape require a BP to enter, there are no VS staff there.
Thanks


Wrong. Certainly some of the earlier VS flights (typically the VS75, 73 & 109) for sure see a VS rep in the Escape lounge. This is almost certainly without fail a VS MAN based cabin crew member who is pregnant, so is grounded from flying.

On all my last 4 visits to the Escape Lounge at MAN I've been greeted by the VS staff member there & been given a VS Upper Class card to put on my table. On the last two visits, they have also explained that you just need to show your boarding pass at the food order point to get anything off the breakfast food menu for free.
#937106 by honey lamb
01 Aug 2017, 00:34
OK, my 2c worth - and with thanks to my fellow Moderator for pointing out that no-one can dictate who can or cannot reply to a post. He stepped in just as I was about to do so.

I'm not going into the niceties of the service in MAN as my only experience of that airport is to and from Cork (and many generations ago before most of you were born, to LHR)

With regard to the remote stand issue, airlines have absolutely no control over that nor about the buses that take the passengers from the aircraft to the terminal or vice versa regardless of the class you fly in. The only experience of it being otherwise was in Dubai where the majority of airlines is Emirates and they had dedicated buses for first class and business class passengers. It didn't stop me from missing my onward flight though! I've been parked on remote stands in LHR with both VS and BA when travelling in UC, Club World and BA First and while we have been disembarked first, we have had to wait until the bus was full before we drove off. A bus isn't going to go with the limited number of UC passengers - we have a planet to save. I just stayed by the door and in any case in most airports, you have to do some power walking to get to Immigration before the mob and you're still not guaranteed that you'll be first through. On one occasion there was one person before me in the line in LAS who waited until SIX members of her family came through from Economy! there was nothing I could do but suck it up!

Oh, and if you don't want any hassle in going through JFK because there's no fast track, consider using Dublin or Shannon which have Pre-Clearance.
#937119 by sunny23uk
01 Aug 2017, 09:12
We recently flew through MAN, and on our return from SFO, we also parked at a remote stand. However, work has recently started on the expansion on T2 and they seem to have lost some of the gates due to the building work, so it looks like there's will be occasions where a remote stand will be used. They certainly haven't been used for a long time by Virgin, but I suspect many airlines will be doing this while the work is underway.
#937122 by Smid
01 Aug 2017, 09:34
Kraken wrote:On all my last 4 visits to the Escape Lounge at MAN I've been greeted by the VS staff member there & been given a VS Upper Class card to put on my table. On the last two visits, they have also explained that you just need to show your boarding pass at the food order point to get anything off the breakfast food menu for free.


Being told breakfast food was free would have been nice when I went through... Still, they feed you on the plane I suppose...
#937131 by rbk
01 Aug 2017, 12:21
sorry, not wrong.

In fact;

the main escape lounge was full, and we were escorted to a very, very small second lounge, down a corridor, where there were no VS staff present. [I asked to inform VS of the lack of fastrack issue]

there were 2 escape reps at the desk who just checked my BP.

as far as I could see, there was no food order point in the small lounge, just some items out on a counter.


Kraken wrote:
rbk wrote:Even though Escape require a BP to enter, there are no VS staff there.
Thanks


Wrong. Certainly some of the earlier VS flights (typically the VS75, 73 & 109) for sure see a VS rep in the Escape lounge. This is almost certainly without fail a VS MAN based cabin crew member who is pregnant, so is grounded from flying.

On all my last 4 visits to the Escape Lounge at MAN I've been greeted by the VS staff member there & been given a VS Upper Class card to put on my table. On the last two visits, they have also explained that you just need to show your boarding pass at the food order point to get anything off the breakfast food menu for free.
Last edited by rbk on 01 Aug 2017, 12:41, edited 1 time in total.
#937132 by rbk
01 Aug 2017, 12:26
Indeed,

so the "does it matter" "its your fault" and willfully underinformed comments were unwelcome, negative and unhelpful, as the topic is meant to help/inform others who might find themselves in the same situation.

I looked for an "ignore user" function but could not find one


Neil wrote:
rbk wrote:
please do not "contribute" anymore to this thread.

Thanks


This site is a friendly, open place for any of our members to contribute to. It certainly is not up to another member to dictate who can and cannot comment on any thread.

We find it is usually best as a new member to interact in a positive way with our very knowledgable and helpful regular users, it will benefit you in the long run.

Thanks
Neil
#937134 by rbk
01 Aug 2017, 12:32
wow, Ive seen you do this in other threads too.

you say yourself "you don't know about MAN"

your posts are not positive or welcoming. I suggest you take a stepback and ask why you do post here so very very often.

as you must surely know, BA/AA will stop flying this route in September

gumshoe wrote:Thank you Neil.

OP - I'm trying to help you, as a VS regular and a long-time V-Flyer. I won't be told not to contribute to this forum, especially by someone who's never posted before.

BA and AA clearly serve your needs better. I suggest you stick with them.
#937136 by TimCrawley
01 Aug 2017, 12:54
+1 to Neil's comment

This site is a friendly, open place for any of our members to contribute to. It certainly is not up to another member to dictate who can and cannot comment on any thread.

We find it is usually best as a new member to interact in a positive way with our very knowledgable and helpful regular users, it will benefit you in the long run.

Thanks
Neil


For our new contributor rbk (the OP) I did find the original post informative and useful, as I'm sure others did too, while being a bit less happy about the tone of some of the later remarks in the thread the OP posted.

So, as Neil already said, this is a friendly forum (without mentioning other forums by name that are less friendly) so IMHO although a few friendly digs or a bit of banter are fair enough it's not in the spirit of the forum to go as far as the OP has done in some of the later remarks .... or maybe the OP has a legitimate issue with private detectives that needs airing in a separate thread? :-)
#937137 by rbk
01 Aug 2017, 13:04
I am responding to the negative, unwelcoming posts in kind.

do you think for other long time lurkers who are thinking of first time posting, that this will encourage or discourage them?

I didn't come here to ask how to get compensation, but to pass on info/experiences that might prove useful to others, and which I could not find here by searching.

just because you have a post count in the thousands, does not make you an oracle-- demonstrably.

TimCrawley wrote:+1 to Neil's comment

This site is a friendly, open place for any of our members to contribute to. It certainly is not up to another member to dictate who can and cannot comment on any thread.

We find it is usually best as a new member to interact in a positive way with our very knowledgable and helpful regular users, it will benefit you in the long run.

Thanks
Neil


For our new contributor rbk (the OP) I did find his original post informative and useful, as I'm sure others did too, while being a bit less happy about the tone of some of the later remarks in the thread the OP posted.

So, as Neil already said, this is a friendly forum (without mentioning other forums by name that are less friendly) so INHO although a few friendly digs or a bit of banter are fair enough it's not in the spirit of the forum to go as far as the OP has done in some of the later remarks .... or maybe the OP has a legitimate issue with private detectives that needs airing in a separate thread? :-)
#937138 by TimCrawley
01 Aug 2017, 13:13
To quote one of the OP's earlier friendly remarks

I really wish you would read before you type, please.


I don't quite follow the latest remarks to my post where the Op says

just because you have a post count in the thousands, does not make you an oracle-- demonstrably.


when clearly I have only 300 posts (well 301 now, I guess).

Possibly time to close the thread?
#937139 by honey lamb
01 Aug 2017, 13:51
Right, that's it! I'm locking this thread as it's getting out of hand.
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