Virgin to charge £25 seat selection fee for Economy

Now I am confused lol. Oh hum. So does the 30 day seat only apply to economy or is it for all seat selection in all cabins lol.

That, as far as I can see, is still the big unknown. We know seat requests will continue to be free for PE & UC but will they too eventually be available at T-336? And during the roll-out will they too only be available at T-30?

One message is clear though (I think): if you're booked on a flight between March 1st and 17th, make sure you request your seats by tomorrow while the old T-90 system is still in use. If you don't, the interim T-30 rule kicks in on Wednesday (at least it does for Y passengers - who knows for PE & UC) and you'll have to wait until February.

For flights from March 18th onwards, though, it looks like everyone in Y's in the same boat - it's T-30 until the new pay-to-reserve system starts rolling out in May.

I cannot believe that Virgin intended to anything other than confuse passengers with this message.

Why oh why can they not just introduce a policy for NEW bookings from a given date. And roll out a 336 day selection policy. I am sure BA did something like that. My guess is there are IT issues.

And what are they trying to achieve? It seems very complex to give full flexible passengers free seats in Economy but not others- is this all but the top tier?

This smacks of very poor management somewhere.

I cannot believe that Virgin intended to anything other than confuse passengers with this message.

It seems very complex to give full flexible passengers free seats in Economy but not others- is this all but the top tier?

This smacks of very poor management somewhere.

Yes it is extremely confusing but based on past experience I'm guessing their IT systems just aren't up to the job and they can only cope with a gradual, phased roll-out.

As for free reservations for fully flexible Y fares, that'll be because BA do the same. Plus it makes sense and from a business point of view may encourage a few pax to book into a higher fare bucket.

God it always has to be so complicated... different time windows for booking seats depending on departure dates, routes etc. Why can't these things be straightforward!!

This is ridiculous, they should honour all bookings made before todays date as this is just another £150 seat tax I will have to stump up!

I sense an email to V/H to complain coming on!

This must be the most confusing roll out of its kind, ever!

It's just another example of the "race to the bottom" the industry is involved in.

I would be mighty hacked off if I had an existing economy booking and all of a sudden VS told me the seat fee was coming in.

It just smacks of desperation and that they have run out of ideas to me.

Hmm. OK, tıme to open a book... I have a PE flıght to DXB on 24/5/14, wıth return ın Y on 1/6/14. I'm FC gold and have my famıly booked on the same flıght under the same PNR. Anyone want to make a bet on what I see when I take a look at the manage my bookıng page later tonıght?

In theory, seat selectıon should be open to me now for both legs, although I'm not clear ıf thıs extends to the whole party. And then there's the mınor poınt of VS's awesome IT capabılıtıes...

I may be pleasantly surprısed, but rıght now my money ıs on a total balls up.

My money is with you !

Hmm. OK, tıme to open a book... I have a PE flıght to DXB on 24/5/14, wıth return ın Y on 1/6/14. I'm FC gold and have my famıly booked on the same flıght under the same PNR. Anyone want to make a bet on what I see when I take a look at the manage my bookıng page later tonıght?

In theory, seat selectıon should be open to me now for both legs, although I'm not clear ıf thıs extends to the whole party. And then there's the mınor poınt of VS's awesome IT capabılıtıes...

I may be pleasantly surprısed, but rıght now my money ıs on a total balls up.

And this just goes to show how confusing it all is. You see I interpret the rules differently to you and by my reckoning you wouldn't be able to request your seats until 1st May.

It really shouldn't be so difficult to understand should it.

Ŵhat a mess, phased implementation on this scale is madness.

Anyone want to make a bet on what I see when I take a look at the manage my bookıng page later tonıght?

I would bet on it being exactly the same as last night, and the night before, and the night before that.

The new rules aren't supposed to kick in till Wednesday so the current T-90 rule should still apply which means you're still well outside your seat request window.

So can I just ask my 90 days hit today just about 18 hours till 90 days exactly then going to 89 etc, so as it is before the 18th December when this happens I should be able to book my seat ok? or does it come under the new rules?

So how is this going to work:

(1) Pay the fee and the seats available will be shown; or
(2) show the seats available and then pay when selected

Also

(3) will ALL of the seats be available for selection at t-336 or do they still hold seats back for t-24?

Incidentally, the press was outraged when Ryanair introduced a £5 each way select your seat fee.

That is a bargain compared to the £25 that VA is charging each way!

The more I think about this the more I see it as a rip-off.

So can I just ask my 90 days hit today just about 18 hours till 90 days exactly then going to 89 etc, so as it is before the 18th December when this happens I should be able to book my seat ok? or does it come under the new rules?

You're flying on March 17th I presume? (Like me!)

In which case I hope (and pray) the old T-90 rule applies and seat requests open tomorrow.

will ALL of the seats be available for selection at t-336 or do they still hold seats back for t-24?

I don't think seats are currently held back until T-24. Everything's available to request until the 60% advance quota is reached, then requests close and what's left is allocated at check-in.

AFAIK the only seats that are blocked out during the advance request window are those reserved for VH and the extra legroom/exit row/bassinet seats.

Incidentally, the press was outraged when Ryanair introduced a £5 each way select your seat fee.

That is a bargain compared to the £25 that VA is charging each way!

The more I think about this the more I see it as a rip-off.

To be fair, the average VS flight is probably about 5 x longer than the average Ryanair flight.

As for it being a rip-off, BA seem to get away with it without any major comeback. Once the initial storm dies down it'll just become accepted as the norm, as it is with BA.

So can I just ask my 90 days hit today just about 18 hours till 90 days exactly then going to 89 etc, so as it is before the 18th December when this happens I should be able to book my seat ok? or does it come under the new rules?

You're flying on March 17th I presume? (Like me!)

In which case I hope (and pray) the old T-90 rule applies and seat requests open tomorrow.

Indeed I am touch wood it all opens up, if it opens early will keep you posted.

Could Virgin have made this more complicated, I think not. We fly out to Orlando on the 31st May and return on the 27th June. This means that I can allocate my seats for outgoing flight 30 days before, I think. But what about the return flight in June, anyone got any ideas when I can try and allocate seats. I am at a complete loss.

To be fair, the average VS flight is probably about 5 x longer than the average Ryanair flight.

As for it being a rip-off, BA seem to get away with it without any major comeback. Once the initial storm dies down it'll just become accepted as the norm, as it is with BA.

Perhaps so. But unlike the majority of users on this website that have status and/or travel in premium cabins (the latter not necessarily by paying through their own pocket but through Company expense), it is the ordinary family that takes the annual holiday to Florida that will be suffering.

A family of 4 will be £200 worse off than they were yesterday.

That is a lot of money.

To be fair, the average VS flight is probably about 5 x longer than the average Ryanair flight.

I'm not really sure thats relevent. The cost involved in allocating that seat is probably the same.

This is simply not what you'd expect from an airline like VS. The fact BA do it is also not justification because it's bizarre that BA charge you as well.

Whats next? We will need a credit card to use IFE?

Are we going to have to pay £1 per can of coke?

VS is not a low fares airline - its a full service airline. If they are going to slash fares to the bone and then charge on top for extras like a meal, or seat reservation then thats very much a different story but thats not what is happening here.

They want the price premium a full service airline commands but they want to be able to charge for extras as with a low fare airline.

I'm disappointed - I thought VS was above this. This is how you taint customer loyalty, which is worth a lot in a competitive airline. There are many carriers to fly with, and they are mostly similar on price. Before today, I defaulted to VS because they'd never annoyed me and I was always pleased with the service.

Golds will be able to book seats few of charge including exit seats and extra keg room seats.. This will include people on the same booking

An 'extra keg room' seat sounds quite attractive, but I'm guessing that's a typo ): Even so, the ability to grab ELR and Exit row seats free of charge as a gold could possibly be one silver lining to this debacle. And it's plausible given that BA does something similar, but I've not found it mentioned anywhere on the VS website - could you point me in the right direction, pretty please?

I can definitely see a marginal drop in revenue there for Virgin as they will all end up getting snaffled by golds, especially on the business heavy routes...

RC

Could Virgin have made this more complicated, I think not. We fly out to Orlando on the 31st May and return on the 27th June. This means that I can allocate my seats for outgoing flight 30 days before, I think. But what about the return flight in June, anyone got any ideas when I can try and allocate seats. I am at a complete loss.

I had a quick look at the information by clicking the bit next to seat map unavailable and it takes you to two links and it sort of explains it there but still not clear 100% unless reading a few times

I am still not clear where it says it only applies to economy. I know Neil says it so I do trust that, but call me old fashioned but I would like to see it in quill and velum.