V-Flyer

I have a non flexible ticket UC for next Saturday on VS5 going to MIA. I want to change the outbound from Saturday 25th to Friday 24th, is there any way at all I can do this without paying a ridiculous premium??? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The answer would probably be no, but it is worth calling the premier team to plead your case, there has been a few instances on here where it has been done. Don't as you don't get.

Good luck,

Dominic

I'm afraid thats the downside of an unflexible tickiet - no flecibilty in making changes. But as Dominic has said there is no harm in phoning and asking very nicely if they can help you but be prepared with a no.

You could do a load check on the two flights to see if the Saturday one is busier than the Friday etc - that might help you pursuade VS to make a change

The loads for Miami on Friday 24th July

J9 D9 R9 Z9 W9 S9 K9 Y6 B6 L4 M3 Q1 X0 N0

Saturday 25th

J5 D5 R5 Z4 W9 S9 K9 Y8 B8 L7 M7 Q7 X4 N0

Hope this helps when you call them.

Dominic

Thanks very much indeed for your reply, very helpful. I called them and after turning on the charm as best I could I was politely told to cough up another 3,300 to change the date. I'm very happy to pay a few hundred pounds but that is crazy! Any other ideas??





quote:Originally posted by DMetters-Bone
The loads for Miami on Friday 24th July

J9 D9 R9 Z9 W9 S9 K9 Y6 B6 L4 M3 Q1 X0 N0

Saturday 25th

J5 D5 R5 Z4 W9 S9 K9 Y8 B8 L7 M7 Q7 X4 N0

Hope this helps when you call them.

Dominic

Sorry, it doesn't look like you will be able to change. There are really only 2 options.

1. Pay the upgrade fee to a J or D fare
2. Cancel the whole flight and rebook. Then you will lose the ticket price and only get back your taxes etc.

You could try again in a few days time as the loads are a little lighter on the 24th, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

quote:Originally posted by dpscrest
Thanks very much indeed for your reply, very helpful. I called them and after turning on the charm as best I could I was politely told to cough up another 3,300 to change the date. I'm very happy to pay a few hundred pounds but that is crazy! Any other ideas??



Can you explain what is crazy about this please ?

IF you wanted flexibility then you should have purchased a flexible ticket surely ?

So YOUR plans have changed - why should the airline look after changing a non flexible ticket ? if THEY did then I wouldnt bother coughing up thousands for a J in future.[:?]

Makes sense to me [y]

quote:Originally posted by hackneyguy
quote:Originally posted by dpscrest
Thanks very much indeed for your reply, very helpful. I called them and after turning on the charm as best I could I was politely told to cough up another 3,300 to change the date. I'm very happy to pay a few hundred pounds but that is crazy! Any other ideas??



Can you explain what is crazy about this please ?

IF you wanted flexibility then you should have purchased a flexible ticket surely ?

So YOUR plans have changed - why should the airline look after changing a non flexible ticket ? if THEY did then I wouldnt bother coughing up thousands for a J in future.[:?]

Makes sense to me [y]




This price is crazy as VS have basically slapped in the face a customer who has already spent a lot of money with them. Yes rules are rules, but if the same class is available on the preferred date, for VS's bottom line in the long run they will benefit.

I suspect 3300 is more than was originally paid, so it is CRAZY.

I imagine next time your travel to Miami might be with AA or BA.....

Hope you find a solution...

Any airline will tell you the same thing.

When you buy airline tickets from anywhere for any airline, you agree to the rules and restrictions that come with the particular fare you are buying.

At the time of asking VS you where just over 7 days away from departure, which is why there are now only D fares available. From today D fares wont be available either as they come with a 7 day advance purchase rule.

Restricted/discounted fares often come with advance purchase rules as well e.g. VS Z fares have to be purchased at least 42 days in advance. Different fares have different AP rules.

Your only option at this point so soon before departure will be to buy an economy fare as most economy fares don't come with advance purchase rules.

Regards

quote:Originally posted by kingcole1974

I imagine next time your travel to Miami might be with AA or BA.....


Why? Do BA and AA waive change fees on restricted tickets?

I sympathise with the OP but it isn't a Virgin Atlantic issue, it is an airline industry issue, and yet another example of 'you pays your money, you takes your chance.'

It works both ways, if you pay big bucks for a a flexible ticket, and your plans don't change you have lost out.

Whether we like the fare rules or not, they are clear and well established. Airlines are in business to make money (or at least survive), as HG says - if you want flexible, you have to pay for flexible. Harsh, but true.

Nick

Here's the thing, I dont blame Virgin or any other airline for having T&C's on non flexible fares, after all that is why they are so much cheaper. However in my case I happen to travel with 5 other people on at least 3 times each year to and from LHR-MIA in UC or BA Club and one would have thought in this case Virgin would have said I could change the ticket for say a few hundred rather than ask me to pay 3 (three) times more than I orriginally paid for the ticket. I think it's crazy










quote:Originally posted by hackneyguy
quote:Originally posted by dpscrest
Thanks very much indeed for your reply, very helpful. I called them and after turning on the charm as best I could I was politely told to cough up another 3,300 to change the date. I'm very happy to pay a few hundred pounds but that is crazy! Any other ideas??



Can you explain what is crazy about this please ?

IF you wanted flexibility then you should have purchased a flexible ticket surely ?

So YOUR plans have changed - why should the airline look after changing a non flexible ticket ? if THEY did then I wouldnt bother coughing up thousands for a J in future.[:?]

Makes sense to me [y]

The T & C's of an airline to apply to everyone. Many members of V-FLyer fly a great deal more than you - inc myself who are on 2 Upper return flights this coming week alone, but we wouldnt expect Virgin (or BA who I also use alot) to do such a deal ; if they did I would then buy a Z rather than a J [:w]

It is not crazy - it is business.

luckily life, or business is not as black and white as your post would appear. The reality is that in the past BA have taken a pragmatic view on such changes and I am sure on occasions Virgin have also. I am not in any way suggesting that I am special, I am merely saying that I probably travel on this route and Class more than the average traveller and therefore one might expect when I genuinely grovelled and pleaded my case to the people at Virgin to see if it could have be changed they could (and in my opinion should) have taken a common sense view rather than simply quoting me the standard T&C's and hence a crazy price.







quote:Originally posted by hackneyguy
The T & C's of an airline to apply to everyone. Many members of V-FLyer fly a great deal more than you - inc myself who are on 2 Upper return flights this coming week alone, but we wouldnt expect Virgin (or BA who I also use alot) to do such a deal ; if they did I would then buy a Z rather than a J [:w]

It is not crazy - it is business.

You say you don't blame VS for having such T&Cs but then blame them for their enforcing them !

The way I see it is that those paying for the fully flexible J fares actually help me (and to be honest you as well) fly in UC because they are to a degree subsidising my Z fares and I thank them for it ! (Cheers Hackneyguy - I'll buy you a drink in the CH!)

There is no way I could afford to fly on a fully flexible ticket. I am aware of the T&Cs when I book and have to 'tick the box' to accept them.

Yes it is a lot of money to have a fully flex fare but thats the price of flexibilty.

BTW a few weeks ago I had advance purchase train tickets. Because my BF was ill with flu we had to cancel the trip and I lost my 50. It was tough but that was the price I had to pay for buying 'must be on that particular train' tickets rather than the full fare ones that I could have had refunded but I made a choice.

Sometimes its a hard world !

I'm not crying about it, I get why they are cheap fares and acutely understand the way it works. The fact is though they do occasionally make exceptions and I thought my individual case (and reasons) would be enough. Obviously not - they said no and quoted me a crazy price. End of the story - I have to live with it I guess





quote:Originally posted by tontybear
You say you don't blame VS for having such T&Cs but then blame them for their enforcing them !

The way I see it is that those paying for the fully flexible J fares actually help me (and to be honest you as well) fly in UC because they are to a degree subsidising my Z fares and I thank them for it ! (Cheers Hackneyguy - I'll buy you a drink in the CH!)

There is no way I could afford to fly on a fully flexible ticket. I am aware of the T&Cs when I book and have to 'tick the box' to accept them.

Yes it is a lot of money to have a fully flex fare but thats the price of flexibilty.

BTW a few weeks ago I had advance purchase train tickets. Because my BF was ill with flu we had to cancel the trip and I lost my 50. It was tough but that was the price I had to pay for buying 'must be on that particular train' tickets rather than the full fare ones that I could have had refunded but I made a choice.

Sometimes its a hard world !

Flip side of this, I wanted to date change the JFK-LHR leg of my Upper Class flight (booked in Z) to a different date and a different airport (MCO).

Total cost per person? 320.