Virgin losing its soul :-(

Virgin Airways was established to offer economical flights between the UK and USA - that was the original 'core mission'. I'm looking at this from an Economy-flying perspective - i.e. the majority of the people who fly on the planes.

To put it in perspective - I'm booking a roundtrip flight from May 31st, returning June 17th. I booked the same ticket 3 years ago, when fuel prices and surcharges were roughly the same (if not higher). The cost for the ticket this time is 25%+ higher (~$1200 vs $1600). I see no justification for this.

I see Virgin reallocating resources to their Upper Class offerings, while basically forgetting about their economy fliers (for instance, the cost to book a seat in advance). It's a 'quick win' to get more Business/Upper Class travelers to book with you, but you can't be sustained by this market. Besides, other airlines with larger economies of scale will undercut you (BA, etc).

Virgin used to make you feel special, even when in Economy class. The past few flights I've taken, it hasn't given me that feeling.

I cannot comment on " losing its soul" as I didn't fly Virgin in its heyday when its advertising and its delivery apparently matched.

I guess the management have to decide where they want to position the airline, what markets they want and how to survive within them. But they are nothing more than a niche airline now with a decreasing fan base. And they cannot compete on a world stage now, they don't have the resources.

The future is Middle Eastern. I have just flown out of Abu Dhabi and the airport development is incredible, many new buildings in various stages of construction. Etihad, as Emirates, is clearly going to be a world player.

And that I can post this on here from 35000 feet nearing Singapore using on board wifi, having just had a wonderful restaurant quality meal with fabulous wines, at a price below what a routing to Australia on VS would have cost really does say it all.

And with great respect to David above I have noticed that many of the died in the wool old VS fans who used to frequent this site are now using other carriers, not everyone thinks the clubhouse is adequate compensation for other inadequacies. And rightly so because it isn't.

And I still think the FSM and cabin crew on the VS200 to Hong Kong at Christmas were a disgrace. They should be sitting here on this Etihad flight right now and see proper customer service done with a smile. It really is special. Anyway, it is now time for pudding. And a glass of Tokaji.

I recently flew UC on VS401 and the FSM & Crew were a disgrace. It was nigh on impossible to get the crews attention throughout the flight....at one point they were all sat at the bar laughing and joking, making no effort to move when I approached the bar. I have complained to customer services and have received a letter back saying it was a one off and they're sure it'll be better next time I fly!

There, that's that all fixed then.

I have got to say after 3 less than great flights with VS in Y and PE I have moved over to BA... and the 1st Long Haul we got the magic beep upgraded from WT+ to Club World that has never happened with VS in over 15 years and that's 2 returns per year on average... but in VS defence we never had a delay over 1hr, BA 4+ inbound 2+ outbound they have a older fleet out of LGW hence reliability issues in my opinion that said now we are BA Silver we will stick with BA until they drop the ball.
John

Maybe it's worth pointing out that the Middle East is at a different stage of economic development to the UK. They are going through a growth boom at the moment as we did a few decades ago and what India and China did in the last couple of decades. You can offer more for less when your economy is booming. But as the pattern of economy goes so too will the Middle East suffer a recession too at some point and I imagine the amount they can offer at a low price will decrease. I suppose they have a lot of natural resources on their side, which I imagine will cushion a recession somewhat.

I have to agree with most of the comments on this thread, my partner and I have been loyal fans of Virgin for many years being both repeated Gold members for the last 6 years but this year that will not renew. We have been lucky enough in the last few years to fly UC for most of our flights but have noticed the deterioration of both quality and service especially on the LGW and MAN routes Yes the maybe mainly holiday routes but the UC fare are certainly on a par with LHR UC fares.
We traveled with Delta in Feb to Miami choosing over Virgin because of price, I have to say the food and service were far superior than Virgin. Yes Virgin win on the seat slightly over Delta.
I also have to agree the Clubhouses are fantastic but by no way make up for the downgrading of services and quality on the flights and 80% of those on the flight cannot use them.
We fly to Vancouver in 8 weeks and have chosen BA over Virgin the compatible Club World fare was £850.00 cheaper for the 2 of us.
I really do hope things improve with Virgin but now that we are both up to Gold with BA I feel that they will have to be once again the Airline that flies in the face of ordinary before we they become first choice again

I have to say that I have definitely noticed the cutbacks over the years but agree with those who say the crew make all the difference. My parents just flew over on Virgin (VS26 on 16 Feb). They did have a nightmare at the airport because it seems that the Delta and Virgin computers don't seem to always talk the same language. However, they said the flight itself was flawless. The crew lavished attention on my niece who was trying to figure out how to use Vera. My mother's IVR didn't work. They tried to fix it, but couldn't. Although my parents did not complain any further. But when one of the crew saw that the screen was still broken, they gave my mother a bottle of champagne as compensation.

They were raving about the flight when they landed. Their only complaint was that the food portions were so tiny.

We have been lucky enough in the last few years to fly UC for most of our flights but have noticed the deterioration of both quality and service especially on the LGW and MAN routes Yes the maybe mainly holiday routes but the UC fare are certainly on a par with LHR UC fares.

I agree. They may indeed be key holiday routes but they are not budget charter flights. The level of service and quality of the product should be just as high.

I've made this point before, but what Gayboyzuk noted hits the nail on the head.

What is VS for?

Is it intended to be a serious rival to BA, offering a business friendly product, coupled with a good solid Y and W offering?

Or is it intended to be 'the thinking man's Thomas Cook'?

Because it CANNOT be both - if you chase two rabbits, you don't catch either...