V-Flyer

Just spent 20 minutes trying to check-in for a flight tomorrow and get all the way through to the end at which point I get a message saying cant check you in online and to check-in at the airport.

The website was running really slowly and some pages were taking a couple of minutes to load.

Beginning to wish I hadnt given VS another chance and we arent even on the plane yet!

Just tried again and was successful this time - so dont have to leave as early.

Why cant VS simply put a message on the screen to try again rather than just the "check-in at the airport" message.

Probably because with the IT system and website as it is, they have no idea why it failed!
It could be something flagged up in the booking, it could be a communications problem or it could be one of the little gremlins that VS seem to add to anything they do just to take the edge off the customer experience so we don't get too comfortable.

If it's any consolation I had the same message from British Airways last week for my CPT-JNB flight. But was able to check in later, online.

sickbag wrote:Just spent 20 minutes trying to check-in for a flight tomorrow and get all the way through to the end at which point I get a message saying cant check you in online and to check-in at the airport.

The website was running really slowly and some pages were taking a couple of minutes to load

Have VS at some point refused Julian Assange entry to the CH or a second Baileys?

Really?

Is it THAT life changing that you would really consider using another airline simply because online check-in didn't work this time?! Surely you would still have to go to the bag drop desk; assuming you are checking in bags... ii)

MrSquare wrote:Really?

Is it THAT life changing that you would really consider using another airline simply because online check-in didn't work this time?! Surely you would still have to go to the bag drop desk; assuming you are checking in bags... ii)

No its not life changing but having left VS a few years ago after 18 years of loyality wasnt the best start I could have had.

Like I said in an earlier response, had the message simply said try again later, I'd not have been as miffed. Wouldnt take them much to modify the message slightly rather than simply state I had to check the family in at the airport rather than try online again later.

sickbag wrote:

MrSquare wrote:Really?

Is it THAT life changing that you would really consider using another airline simply because online check-in didn't work this time?! Surely you would still have to go to the bag drop desk; assuming you are checking in bags... ii)

No its not life changing but having left VS a few years ago after 18 years of loyality wasnt the best start I could have had.

Like I said in an earlier response, had the message simply said try again later, I'd not have been as miffed. Wouldnt take them much to modify the message slightly rather than simply state I had to check the family in at the airport rather than try online again later.

To be fair, had the message said "try again later", and you still couldn't check-in when you tried later, would you become more frustrated? I think you would.

For some people the 'check in at the airport' message would have been 100% correct because there might be an issue with their booking, seating or for security reasons e.g. confusion over the 'watch lists'

tontybear wrote:For some people the 'check in at the airport' message would have been 100% correct because there might be an issue with their booking, seating or for security reasons e.g. confusion over the 'watch lists'

This simply highlights the fact VS dont have a very good website / IT system. Its a computer program. If developed correctly it would know if the failure was due to a simple system fault and then display an appropriate message to try again or whether there was actually an issue with the booking/seating/security.

I guess each to their own. If you are happy wasting 20 minutes of your time trying to use a service VS want you to use (because it saves us/them time and money) and it fails, and you arent slightly put out then fair enough.

sorry but if a website is going to crash its going to crash and when it does its ability to send out correct messages has basically gone (well to my non tech brain it does)

I never said I would be 'happy' if it happened but maybe I am just more realistic about these things happening and willing to 'shrug shoulders' and say 'shit happens'

It might my annoying but would I let it ruin my trip? NO!

ISTBC but sometimes you won't be able to check in online at all, as UK airlines have to force a random 10-15% to check inat the airport so will block some people from doing OLCI.

I know you were able to check in later but seat requests are kept for Upper and PE. Econ seat requests disapear T-13 hours so you have until 13 hours before the flight to check into your seat request. Even if checked in online you can still be moved due to various reasons.

tontybear wrote:sorry but if a website is going to crash its going to crash and when it does its ability to send out correct messages has basically gone (well to my non tech brain it does)

I never said I would be 'happy' if it happened but maybe I am just more realistic about these things happening and willing to 'shrug shoulders' and say 'shit happens'

It might my annoying but would I let it ruin my trip? NO!

Sorry, the website didnt crash. It was able to display an unhelpful message that I needed to check in at the airport. The backend process was at fault and a well designed IT system would have been able to determine the issue and display an appropriate message.

But why would VS invest money in a better system when it appears some customers are happy if it doesnt work as it should.

Please don't misquote me.

I said going to crash not that is did. A site going slow and taking minutes to load pages is a sign, to me, that it is well on the way to crashing.

To some people the 'check in at airport' message would have been correct. You could still have got that message the next time you tried. Such messages are not always the sign of a problem with the website.

I didn't say I would be happy if it happened to me but I am realistic enough to know that even the most robust and well designed IT systems can and do go wrong.

What I won't do is let such a minor issue affect my trip.

i agree with tontybear i wouldn't let this affect my trip.

this could affect any airline's system and as a reply above says you would have probably gone to drop bags anyway.
OLCI is a useful tool to save a little time but it is no big deal if it doesn't work

the last time i flew with flybe i was unable to check in online so it is not just VS that have problems with IT

Gosh.

Imagine a World where Online Check-In wasn't an option...

It saves you the best part of what... 30minutes by checking in online rather than at the airport?

I think the problem here is that you're wanting to find fault with VS and any little thing that doesn't work or you don't agree with becomes a massive problem for you.

StillRedHot wrote:Gosh.

Imagine a World where Online Check-In wasn't an option...

It saves you the best part of what... 30minutes by checking in online rather than at the airport?

I think the problem here is that you're wanting to find fault with VS and any little thing that doesn't work or you don't agree with becomes a massive problem for you.

That's right, I pay a lot of money for a product/service and can't wait to find fault with it.

I'd have been less happy had the system worked first time

sickbag wrote:

StillRedHot wrote:Gosh.

Imagine a World where Online Check-In wasn't an option...

It saves you the best part of what... 30minutes by checking in online rather than at the airport?

I think the problem here is that you're wanting to find fault with VS and any little thing that doesn't work or you don't agree with becomes a massive problem for you.

That's right, I pay a lot of money for a product/service and can't wait to find fault with it.

I'd have been less happy had the system worked first time

You pay for a ticket to take you to where you want to go in the cabin you want to travel in.

Your beef here is with the fact that you didn't like the message that was displayed to you when you tried to check-in online the first time. I really don't see how that can affect your holiday so much.

Anyway - stop moaning and concentrate on having a great time! And give VS a chance!

Once again I find myself yearning for the old days of travel when that meant not being able to reserve seats, getting to the airport early to get the seats you wanted and no liquid restrictions!



Edit - Oh and when hand baggage actually was a handbag and not a 20kg wheelie bag!!

StillRedHot wrote:Gosh.

Imagine a World where Online Check-In wasn't an option...

It saves you the best part of what... 30minutes by checking in online rather than at the airport?

Not at LGW it doesn't. On my last flight those who hadnt checked in online were being processed much faster than those in the bag drop line. So it saved me no time whatsoever.

I agree with Tonty and StillRedHot...getting wound up about such a paltry thing as not being able to check in online is a sign that you were either desperate to find fault with the VS product, or that you really need to get things in perspective. There are far worse things in the world to get angry about.

Online check in is, actually, a remarkably complicated system; it's not simply a case of matching pax A to PNR B, and sometimes errors do occur that prevent pax from checking in. The most common is travel agent bookings that are lacking a piece of info from the booking, or where a middle name has been strung together next to the first name, or even if a booking has been changed a few times and the check in system can't cope with all the ticket re-issues. This isn't due to a shoddy system, or VS making things difficult - it's the nature of the process, and whilst frustrating, it's hardly a life changing event.

In most cases of check in failure, it's down to the 10-15% failure rate built into OLCI - a legal obligation that all UK carriers have to abide by. Random selection of pax in order to increase checks at the airport for some security processes or other.

As for your point about the failure screen not saying 'try again later' - I refer you to the point above. The sheer number of possibile reasons for OLCI failure precludes a customised screen being presented.

At the end of the day, if your brand loyalty was already thin with VS, it wasn't going to take much to make you turn your back on it again; it just seems you were looking for an excuse.

I do find the whole OLCI process somewhat pointless to be honest....I'd much rather check in with the Upper Class agents downstairs or in the UCW.

Then again...without OLCI, there would be no rush for Seq1.... :p

iGuyHD wrote:I agree with Tonty and StillRedHot...getting wound up about such a paltry thing as not being able to check in online is a sign that you were either desperate to find fault with the VS product, or that you really need to get things in perspective. There are far worse things in the world to get angry about.

Online check in is, actually, a remarkably complicated system; it's not simply a case of matching pax A to PNR B, and sometimes errors do occur that prevent pax from checking in. The most common is travel agent bookings that are lacking a piece of info from the booking, or where a middle name has been strung together next to the first name, or even if a booking has been changed a few times and the check in system can't cope with all the ticket re-issues. This isn't due to a shoddy system, or VS making things difficult - it's the nature of the process, and whilst frustrating, it's hardly a life changing event.

In most cases of check in failure, it's down to the 10-15% failure rate built into OLCI - a legal obligation that all UK carriers have to abide by. Random selection of pax in order to increase checks at the airport for some security processes or other.

As for your point about the failure screen not saying 'try again later' - I refer you to the point above. The sheer number of possibile reasons for OLCI failure precludes a customised screen being presented.

At the end of the day, if your brand loyalty was already thin with VS, it wasn't going to take much to make you turn your back on it again; it just seems you were looking for an excuse.

If you read my posts properly you'd understand that I was able to successfully checkin online after trying a second time having ignored the incorrect message for me to checkin at the airport.

This is the point I'm trying to get across (and failing).

Seems like you all either work for VS or are easily pleased.

I can assure you I did read your posts properly, and fully accept that you did manage to check in on your second attempt; however, as I stated in my post 'The sheer number of possible reasons for OLCI failure precludes the possibilty of a customised response' - which seems to answer your comment.

It's not that I'm easily pleased, but given that OLCI isn't actually vitally important (it's not like if you can't do it your made to stand) I personally wouldnt be fussed if it didn't work. Given the overall responses from other members of this forum, it just seems we're not as highly strung as you; either that, or we just have a better perspective on priorties.