What are your pet niggles with VS?

Mine are

1) Got back from an UC trip, L to G with miles. The L miles and TPs don't post and I can't reclaim online so have to waste my time (and VSs) waiting forever to get through to FC to get them credited

2) Incorrect information about airport (specifically SFO) checkin opening time, poor effort from the comms team

Anyone else?

The massive difference in consistency on board.
There is good and bad in all airlines but with virgin it's either 1 out of 10 or 11 out of 10 nothing in between.

My flight to Barbados in April was awful, only saved as we were upstairs in economy, and the service better than PE.

for me its the tired & grubby UC cabins. I've not been in one yet where i've thought 'wow, this is truly upper class'

Generally love VS....but would say that it is the inconsistency in service in the CC. If thevTR's on here are accurate (and why wouldn't they be) this is a real problem!

The massive difference in consistency on board.
There is good and bad in all airlines but with virgin it's either 1 out of 10 or 11 out of 10 nothing in between.

second that !

1. Inconsistent service both on-board and on-ground

2. Website that does not provide accurate information e.g. times when check-in desks / CH opens for out-stations and is not updated when flight times change

3. A communications department that can not spell / use basic English

4. An IT department that appears to be totally dysfunctional e.g. sending out 'blank' emails, emails to the wrong people, looses all those PE seat requests

5. An organisation that over promises yet under delivers.

1. The way your seat requests can be changed for no apparent good reason, eg the flight was half full, seat requests were still changed.

2. The way the CC seem to disappear mid flight.

3. The standard of food.

4. Incorrect information provided by call centre/agents/CC

Once you are checked-in and in the Clubhouse or on the plane I think things are generally great, personally not had filthy seats, food has improved significantly past few years etc.. The things that get to me are more about the company than the product they deliver.


1. Inconsistent with dealing with problems/passengers.

2. Inconsistent information, from all sources.

3. Over hyped

4. Pointless announcements made just for the publicity.

5. Lost its edge, using phrases like "to come in line with other airlines" when they used to be different for a reason.

Tired-looking UC.

Sub-standard cleaning - it's become standard now for me to clean all the tv controls/buttons/drink holder. I know I'm not alone in this....

Personally if I were SRB reading this, I'd be rather worried. Many, if not most of the points being raised here are far from 'niggles' - these are fundamental issues with the overall VS service/product. Set in the context of a forum of people that are, broadly, very strong advocates of flying Virgin, it seems like pretty damning stuff to me.

As for my own situation, VS is still my preference on my most common LHR-JFK route (and I hope my flight this Sunday is a good one), but flying with SG a few months ago opened my eyes to what a business class product really ought to be like these days...

RC

1) Issues/lack of clarity with inter-line agreements on connecting flights. VS doesn't seem to have a clue when it comes to connecting flights such as LHR-JFK-TPA.

2) Inability to upgrade from any fare class i.e. you have to buy an 'upgradable ticket' so an upgrade from a PE 'S' ticket to UC can cost £800+ for the basic fare plus 20,000 miles one way, whereas BA can MFU from a sale WT+ fare (as little as £650) plus 10k Avoid one way.

3) The number of errors that you get when using the reward flight search tool on the VS website e.g. 80% of the time you seem to get an error when you press 'select flights'

4) Inability to do almost anything online without having to pick up the phone to VS.

5) Agents at the other end of the line who need to be trained by the customer on the product/rules/T&Cs.

6) Seems to be a complete mess at the moment in the fleet planning area. What on earth is going on with:
- New UC
- A330 deliveries being leased out like no tomorrow
- Very slow re-painting of the fleet - still got 5 livery types around
- The inordinate amount of time it took to formally schedule the LGW/MAN 747 refit.
- A340-300 retirements?

7) This apparent obsession with brand and image rather than delivery and substance.

I'd just like to second everything that has been sad here but I'd particularly echo the point on inconsistency in all departements, including call centre staff (training?)

Mine are

1) Got back from an UC trip, L to G with miles. The L miles and TPs don't post and I can't reclaim online so have to waste my time (and VSs) waiting forever to get through to FC to get them credited

All the other airlines seem able to credit flown miles even when a mileage upgrade is applied. Don;t understand why VS cannot. It annoys me too.
However, the BIG plus is you can double cabin upgrade (Y to UC).
Not come across anyone else will allow 2 cabin upgrade.

7) This apparent obsession with brand and image rather than delivery and substance.

Absolute nail on the head. This really is the beginning and end of the issues with Virgin.

Literally NONE of their product marketing can really be trusted to any real degree, these days.

Lofty marketing promises and brand promotion with zero follow through into the reality of their service.

I like Virgin, I really do - but if I'm honest, its really just nostalgia about the great flights I "used" to have with them that keep me flying with them. Which is sad.

There are some exceptional Airlines out there these days and I just don't believe Virgin has a seat at the same table as those guys anymore.

small niggles:

- never once been welcomed by name on board
- cannot apply for upgrades online
- when calling the main number I should NOT know more about the subject than the 'agent' to whom I am speaking
- endless blah blah blah on board from pointless annnouncements

I can't reclaim online so have to waste my time (and VSs) waiting forever to get through to FC to get them credited

I've always claimed on line in similar situations ...

for me its the tired & grubby UC cabins. I've not been in one yet where i've thought 'wow, this is truly upper class

Had one instance in three years when I needed to do some cleaning, recently I've not noticed grubbiness. All products age, it's unrealistic not to expect that - ever been on a BA European 767? However if maintenance is not performed, or performed badly, that's another issue.

Generally love VS....but would say that it is the inconsistency in service in the CC

I notice average to excellent, rarely if ever truly poor, but then you're only supposed to get experienced crew in UC. What does happen consistently, and shouldn't, is that the crew do not have the status of passengers to welcome back frequents.

That said, I've flown on carriers very highly rated for their CC, like SQ and CX, and found them to be smiling automatons who ultimately created a lesser experience than a just average VS crew.

2. Website that does not ...

Ahhh Mr Tonty B. Indeed - I fear this is tightwad managers' underfunding of IT, I know lots of people in similar roles and usually poor IT is a consequence of poor investment and poor decisions, not poor people trying to do the work (although cock-ups do clearly happen!).

Seems to be a complete mess at the moment in the fleet planning area

Agreed y) .

whereas BA can MFU from a sale WT+ fare

But you can't upgrade from Economy to Club or First on BA, only to WT+, so I'd say a hands down win for that to VS!

3. A communications department that can not spell / use basic English

4. An IT department that appears to be totally dysfunctional e.g. sending out 'blank' emails, emails to the wrong people, looses all those PE seat requests.

Pedant alert - complaint about their comms dept not being able to spell and then you say about the IT dept that 'looses all those PE seat requests'. Surely that would be 'loses' rather than looses? |:)

3. A communications department that can not spell / use basic English

4. An IT department that appears to be totally dysfunctional e.g. sending out 'blank' emails, emails to the wrong people, looses all those PE seat requests.

Pedant alert - complaint about their comms dept not being able to spell and then you say about the IT dept that 'looses all those PE seat requests'. Surely that would be 'loses' rather than looses? |:)

Definitions of 'looses'

'to let loose'
'to free from restraint'
'free or released from fastening or attachment'

I think that's exactly what VS did - set them all free ! (cue music from Born Free' and images of PE seat requests running wild across the Serengeti)

(and this may be total coincidence but when I entered 'looses' into dictionary.com what appeared but a link to the VS website!)

Concur with most people on 3 of the things

1. Inconsistent service - the 1/10 vs 11/10 is a good assessment

2. UC Cabin - looks worn, I have only just started my "J" phase and can only compare to EK whose J product is much nicer

3. Email Responders - Do not actually read the emails, rather just push out the standard response - Only when you email the Exec Office do you finally get someone who will read your email properly

I would like to add a 4th

4. The seem to be a marketing company who have a few planes, rather than an airline with a (good) marketing dept.

However, still my preferred airline going west, esp with the lounge and pricing - which if timed right, is very good

Definitions of 'looses'

'to let loose'
'to free from restraint'
'free or released from fastening or attachment'

Oh dear Mr Tonty B, clutching at straws ii) .

BTW where's that LH First TR?

For me just fix the website... Any website analyst from Virgin Atlantic just needs to run a Page Views Report for the below page in their Coremetrics Implementation:

tmParam["RealURL"] = "/en/gb/bookflightsandmore/bookflights/error.jsp";

I always get this page when clicking SELECT FLIGHTS on this page when trying to book a rewards flight for 2 adults and an Infant:

This is a poor error page, doesnt tell me anything about the problem just "WERE SORRY WE HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO PROCESS YOUR REQUEST BLAH BLAH!". I would want a better message than that if I had taken the time to run a search and actually entered into the frame of mind to make a booking as I have.

I bet there are 1000's of Page Views of this everyday and its midway through the booking process which is awful, it has now got to the point where I am stopping even searching VS first and looking at BA. At least they have a website that works.

If Virgin want to increase booking conversion on their website, increase customer retention, decrease calls to the call centre, decrease call centre costs and increase customer satisfaction overall they need to go through their Coremetrics Application and understand how often, and why their customers (especially those loyal ones logged in via Flying Club) are getting those errors and prioritise them for fixing and get them fixed ASAP. Quite simply it is a disgrace to have let the website get into the state it is in this day and age.

I was trying to check in online last Friday evening in the US to receive the message that system maintenance was taking place until 0530 (UK time) on 1st March 2011!!!

Then it was two hours late coming back up - basics...... v(

On my flights (TRs coming!) the UC salt and pepper shakers were very much still in use (even though they were suppose to have been withdrawn) and no menus on the return flight at all due to "printing issues"" v( n( n( n(

Slightly O/T

For me just fix the website...

I'm not sure if it runs in the Vigin family, but I was trying to book a couple of flights with Virgin Australia last night and I got all the way through, dates, flights, names, credit card details etc etc and on the last page they have a drop down box asking for State; NSW, QLD etc.

No useful options for me there even when I had selected United Kingdom as my country, so I selected "Other". When I pressed the buy button it kept asking me to select my state. (I was getting in a right one ): but that was not on the list either.)

Eventually, after two attempts all the way through, I had to give up and call Australia to book on the phone.

Continuing the Virgin brand crap-IT theme, I'm trying to book a couple of Virgin America flights this afternoon and its much the same. Select dates, flights, times, seats, sign into elevate, then bang: "We're very sorry but we seem to have encountered an error. Please try your request again." and chucked back to the home page.

At least they have a big advert on their home page entitled: "If You're Experiencing Web Issues:"

Talk about keeping it in the family!

I best get on the phone .... again v(

The main thing that springs to mind for me is:
1. General website crappyness (more in a minute) - what appears to be a complete lack of quality control on the IT side.

Tonight I go to the website to see what sale fares there are. I click special offers and get punted to the new look site. So now it's 4 clicks to find the Dubai sale fares (hint, click the camel).
So OK I think, the PE fares look reasonable so I go to try a booking on the right. Hmm, not very cheap. After checking on EF it looks like the published fares aren't even loaded/available.

I see this a lot on there, all style and pretty marketing but sloppy implementation.

Edit.
Now I get 500 errors and lo and behold the link on the camel is gone....