VS43 becoming unreliable?

Hi guys, I'm flying to Vegas in just over 2 weeks and starting to worry about VS43. I've been checking through the Virgin App aswell as another plane app and can't help but notice in the last 2 weeks VS43 has only departed ontime 3 times!
The average delay is 45mins but 3 flights have left more than 2 hours late. Precious holiday time could be lost Is Virgin losing its way or are the 747's starting to struggle with their work load?

[Nottingham Nick]

A couple of points to make here.
Firstly - check the arrival time in LAS rather than the departure times. Planes often take off a bit late, but make the time up on the journey.
Secondly, I don't mean to be rude, but is an hour or two really worth getting worked up over? Delays are a fact of life in any form of public transport (and in your own vehicle on the road for that matter). They aren't pleasant, but neither are they the end of the world - unless you have a tight connection.
I believe that there is no point getting upset about the little things, that are out of your control. When you are on holiday, you may as well just shrug your shoulders, and have another beer. 8D

Nick

Totally agree with Nick, getting stressed gets you nowhere . ):
"Go with the flow" 8D

Totally agree with Nick, getting stressed gets you nowhere . ):
"Go with the flow" 8D

Ha ha ha, easier said than done at times guys.

I wouldn't panic too much Johnny, any late departure may very well be made up in flight and VS are not the only carrier to suffer delays for any multitude of reasons - the 747s may be ageing (gracefully) but don't worry, they will be safe.

Take any extra time spent at LGW as a cue to revisit duty free or to have another drink or two at the pub.... if of course you are AU of flying UC, take any delay as a godsend to spend more time in the LGW CH

Most of all, enjoy the journey and have an awesome one in Vegas 8D

As others have said, if there is a delay, just relax and go with the flow - especially if you have no connecting flight to miss on arrival in LAS. If you do have a connecting flight, then the stress is understandable. The important thing to do here is to book both your Virgin flight & the connecting flights through Virgin (you may have to phone them to do this). This should, however, end up with all flights on the same booking reference - so Virgin / the onward carrier have to assist you in the case of missed connections. The assistance could be alternative flights / re-routings, or overnight hotels etc.

The LGW fleet is worked pretty hard as in peak season they have 5 747's all arriving at LGW in the space of a couple of hours, that all need turning round to leave by lunchtime / early afternoon. Sure, Virgin could get their ground handlers to employ more people to speed things up, but that will only add to costs, which will invariably end up in the ticket price.

I'm on the VS75 from MAN in a couple of weeks. Have done this flight many a time & have generally found that delays of half an hour or so are easily made up en-route.

Finally, Vegas does not feature on my list of places to visit - but I wish the OP a pleasant flight [hopefully fairly on-time] & great time out there.

Thank you for all of your replies. I think I'm just being impatient as I've been looking forward to this holiday for years, so I want to be on the plane now!
Unfortunately I'm not flying UC nor did I book the holiday through Virgin Holidays so not able to use the Clubhouse

Enjoy your break and don't get worked up over a tiny problem that might not even occur ,why not book the no1 lounge for a nice relaxing start to your holiday ? You won't be bothered if there is a delay if your in there .

As above and another vote for the No1 lounge. Once there you'll hope for a delay, although is it a 3 hour limit?

As above and another vote for the No1 lounge. Once there you'll hope for a delay, although is it a 3 hour limit?

I think you can buy extra hrs if req

I've taken the VS43 several times over the last decade and I too always look at previous departure times and like to know the likelihood of pushing back on time. In general departure times are improving. I think the introduction of the A330s have reduced the burden on the LGW 747s.

A couple of things I'd add to previous replies are that firstly remember the last couple of weeks have coincided with the Easter holidays and I'm sure that VS have greater frequency of flights to Orlando over this time. Orlando flights are mostly on 747s including the flights from Glasgow and Manchester which share the same 747s used from LGW (including the LAS route).

Secondly, if you can, think of ways to mitigate a late departure. Some things I'd suggest are to request a seat close to the door used to exit the plane as if you're at the back of the immigration queue you could end up waiting far longer to get through immigration than the flight was actually delayed. Use OLCI 24hrs prior to your flight if required. Also, how are you getting from the terminal to your hotel? Prebook a limo rather than waiting for a cab or shuttle can save time too and is a great way to start your time in Vegas. Another thing is to make sure your customs form is correct as this can delay you once landed too.

I hope you have a great trip including an on time arrival. I'm going the same route next week and have been looking at VS43 departure times for weeks so you're not alone!

I'm regular to the great city of LV and 9/10 they take off within 30mins scheduled time and as already mentioned they have no problem making that up.

I think the thing to remember when going to LV or anywhere for that matter that the last thing the airlines want is delays as that costs them money and they will do their upmost to avoid if at all possible.

Have a great time in LV and remember to ask the taxi driver to take Svenson/ Paradise to your hotel as it's quicker and cheaper than the freeway if your staying on the strip that is

Who cares so long as it gets there ?