V-Flyer

It is with deep regret that I announce my departure to the dark side ...
Why?
Equivalent holidays are 15% cheaper like for like elsewhere.
An 'underwhelming' experience in UC A330 last time round.
No 787 in the foreseeable on the Caribbean routes.

I feel I have gone too far for old times' sake giving VH the benefit of doubt- time to move on.

I will sit on my sack-full of miles and hope somebody sees the light.
Soon. B.

airconbob wrote:It is with deep regret that I announce my departure to the dark side ...
Why?
Equivalent holidays are 15% cheaper like for like elsewhere.
An 'underwhelming' experience in UC A330 last time round.
No 787 in the foreseeable on the Caribbean routes.

I feel I have gone too far for old times' sake giving VH the benefit of doubt- time to move on.

I will sit on my sack-full of miles and hope somebody sees the light.
Soon. B.

A shame to see posts like this from a loyal customer , let's hope they can draw you back in

airconbob wrote:It is with deep regret that I announce my departure to the dark side ...
Why?
Equivalent holidays are 15% cheaper like for like elsewhere.
An 'underwhelming' experience in UC A330 last time round.
No 787 in the foreseeable on the Caribbean routes.

I almost went over to the Dark Side to take advantage of the 2014 for two CW fares, and some good deals on hotels in Boston over NYC...until I realised that I would be paying an extra 10% on the price to assign seats which, together with MrsPJH's Booking.com 10% discount on hotels, wiped out any BA advantage....

From what I have read on here - you can get one sale where BA are cheaper & the next where Virgin are cheaper.

The consistent place where BA seem to win hands-down is on the Amex 2-4-1 vouchers - you can use a BA one on a miles redemption. Over on Virgin you have to pay a full-whack J fare which makes the voucher all but useless unless you are on corporate travel, so can get someone else to fork out for the J fare.

Virgin still have the upper hand on seat assignments in the premium cabins - for now. I don't expect that to last long once they are happy the "new" system (that only took them 18 months or so to get running) is bedded in. Easy money to be made there.

I have read quite a few similar posts over recent months but I still find myself saying
Why & How

In November 2012 I made a silly decision to abandon my VS Amex Card and I opted to use a BA one instead. I amassed quite a considerable amount of Avios points, especially after travelling BA to Florida in April.

Then I started to look at redeeming these points. I waited and I waited I read about how good BA were with upgrades and redemption flights .... Really I think not. Absolute zero availability was showing month after month.

My frustration was taken away when I read a post on this forum a short while ago about Virgin Atlantic releasing loads of upgradeable fares to the west coast for next Spring. I go online and there they were, my exact requirements. Yes maybe I won't be travelling on one of the new smart 787 but I can live with that - UC on the 340-600 will do for us

Personally, for me it was Bye Bye to British Airways

Hev

Everyone's oppinion of reward availability, regardless of airline, will largely depend on their own last experience of hunting for them. Failing that, the last few posts they read.

Looking for rewards on VS is made easier by the highly limited and declining number of destinations to search on - unless you open it to Delta as well.

With BA, I have developed a strategy of calling the frequent flyer line and saying "I have nnn avios, I want to travel with x people between dates a and b - what rewards can you see?"

This really works as the agents pretty much know what routes to look at for you through their own experience - but obviously, you need to narrow it to a continent!

My own experience is that I have had no issues getting reward flights with BA - but then, I don't look for 4 tickets to MCO at Easter, JFK around xmas etc, I am realistic enough to look for rewards to destinations at times that wouldn't be considered peak.

Good morning

Regretfully like airconbob I have also decided to jump ship, my reasons were the poor way the loss of the Sydney flights was dealt with by the gold line and then a week late the movement of a flight from newark to jfk without even a thought of contacting myself, there can't have been many golds on that trip so a quick call wouldn't have difficult to do.

I got the BA AmEx and have achieved the 2 for 1 voucher which I'll be using in 2016 when I become semi retired and hence more flexible for dates. I would agree with Hev60 that certain places seem to have no availability whilst doing a search for next year as a 'blind booking', however, there are seats in club and first (cabin of choice for a reward) if we are prepared to move a day or two or to jump a Southwest on a decent fare for the connection on where we actually want to get to.

Our last flights with Virgin were a reward to burn the miles I had and IAD in UC was the choice. The outbound was splendid, my FF card was gold. The return, less so, I had dropped to silver...

I am not expecting wonders, recent flight to Faro with BA in coach was really good, crew at the back were excellent, the previous one a year before was stuffy crew. Also not sure about the Club seats (Yin & Yang) on long haul but we have picked up a couple of excellent value club for June to MCO in the recent First/Club sale (which will help in the points haul for 2016) and hopefully the BA computer will seat us in a sensible place prior to OLCI.

Finally, I would like to thank all you excellent people for all your help and suggestions over the years in making flying rewarding and fun. I doubt the BA gang will be as good but have joined up with BAFlyer so will see what gets posted there.

Best wishes
Bob

waldenhall wrote:
Finally, I would like to thank all you excellent people for all your help and suggestions over the years in making flying rewarding and fun. I doubt the BA gang will be as good but have joined up with BAFlyer so will see what gets posted there.

Best wishes
Bob

You don't have to stop reading / contributing just because you're not flying VS for a bit

Concorde RIP wrote:.......I am realistic enough to look for rewards to destinations at times that wouldn't be considered peak.

me too. I spent months waiting for reward availability to appear in CW for any time in March (wanted to go into LAX and then onwards to Palm Springs) or alternatively any time in April after the Easter school holidays. I just wanted to upgrade from PE. I telephoned the Executive Club but they confirmed zero availability to the west coast for months in advance. I was extremely flexible but absolutely nothing ever showed, and still hasn't since I booked with VS instead

tontybear wrote:You don't have to stop reading / contributing just because you're not flying VS for a bit

Here Here - I will be flying BA now but only because VS no longer fly to where I want to go. But will still like to try to contribute where I can. Have certainly learnt lots from my fellow V-Flyers to the extent that I was able to use my FC miles to get upgrades to NRT twice.
I have also joined BA Flyer and will try to contribute there where I can.

waldenhall wrote:......Finally, I would like to thank all you excellent people for all your help and suggestions over the years in making flying rewarding and fun. I doubt the BA gang will be as good but have joined up with BAFlyer so will see what gets posted there.

Best wishes
Bob

It is a very quiet forum compared with v-flyer.

However if you ask a specific question there will always be some helpful person replying. Earlier this year, I asked 'the route' at JFK when transferring from the BA arrival terminal over to the Jet Blue T5. They gave me step by step instructions, even to the point of exactly where to stand on the platform waiting for the Air train. I then knew to wait for the yellow loop train . That advice stopped my son from loading us onto the Jamaica route train

Lots of BA type queries, advice and shared experiences still happen here so keep watching

Indeed I will continue to look in and see what is happening, a lot of the info gained covers many different airlines. Many thanks again to all of you good people and have an excellent festive season which approaches fast.

Bob

Please don't leave us. We like TRs from other airlines - even the dark side.

Like you I have drifted over to the dark side but, alas not from choice. My semi-defection was caused initially by destinations not served by VS (TLV and EZE) and lately by price with flights to both LAS and, next year, to DUR via JNB. I still miss VS and in the past would not have worried to much about the difference in price but the price to LAS in First was cheaper than VS in Upper and the flight to DUR next year was also cheaper from Cork ( and even from DUB) than VS. I've yet to have a BA flight to match the best VS flights I have had.

I also had a brief flirtation to SIN on board SQ and travelled to DUR last year from DUB on Emirates. While people have held SQ to be the gold standard of service, my experience was that, while it was excellent it was also formulaic. I was addressed by name at all times but while a manifest was being consulted. People have also wished for a Book the Cook service. I chose it and when I saw the on-board menu, I immediately regretted it. I'll say nothing about the fact that on the return flight I had unwittingly booked a kid's meal

As for Emirates, while the cheapest on that occasion, the journey seemed to last forever! On VS, I would have left Cork airport midday, caught a VS flight later that evening, arrived in JNB early the next morning and by midday/early afternoon would have arrived in DUR. On EK I left early afternoon to travel to DUB by train, overnighted chez Aer John, was picked up early morning by CDC to an indifferent lounge, flew at about midday to DXB in a Business class cabin which was akin to a PE cabin on VS landing at about midnight, overnighted in DXB in an hotel (courtesy of EK because of a 10 hour layover) and then took a morning flight in another J cabin akin to PE arriving in DUR late afternoon. In other words, I left home at 1pm on Sunday and arrived in DUR at 5pm (3pm UK time) on Tuesday. I'm sure I could have gone to Australia quicker. True, EK redeemed themselves by routing me through LHR on an A380 (and a much better service) and thence to Cork instead of Dublin because of a misconnection but I really don't want to spend two days travelling to a destination I can reach in less than 24 hours even with 2 connections.

IN other words, the grass isn't always greener!

Regular slatings of BA on Business Traveller and FlyerTalk, I think they (competition issues aside) are really decent.

But VS has a spark. Something intangible that I love.

I get that a substandard UC experience would put you off. The 15% difference in holiday prices not so much as I personally don't agree that airlines should compete by matching prices, but I also know that wasn't the point you were making.

Anyway, do stay and share your BA experiences, and of course there's BA-Flyer too!

I am seriously considering leaving virgin as my airline of choice after my recent mco flight.

The outbound was ok but the return we got bumped and it was because of a cancellation of the 16 and they didn't tell us and wouldn't help us at all, we eventually got home in ec an have had resolution within 24 hours, thanks to vs customer services and are awaiting the last of the acknowledgement of error.

This does include refund and miles and select.

I do wonder though how many people don't kick up a fuss and just go with it. VS did admit they knew about this in May but did not tell us although they had the opportunity including when I have contacted them.

I have had very little issue with VS for 6 years previous to know but I can see major problems occurring and it is all in the face of cost cutting etc and it is making BA even more appealing which for me isn't appealing at all I would choose a small prop plane over BA if I could and that says something as I wouldn't get on a prop.

But my decision is still unknown and only time will tell really but at this time I am really not keen on going back to VS

benchsmith wrote:I am seriously considering leaving virgin as my airline of choice after my recent mco flight.

The outbound was ok but the return we got bumped and it was because of a cancellation of the 16 and they didn't tell us and wouldn't help us at all, we eventually got home in ec an have had resolution within 24 hours, thanks to vs customer services and are awaiting the last of the acknowledgement of error.

This does include refund and miles and select.

I do wonder though how many people don't kick up a fuss and just go with it. VS did admit they knew about this in May but did not tell us although they had the opportunity including when I have contacted them.

I have had very little issue with VS for 6 years previous to know but I can see major problems occurring and it is all in the face of cost cutting etc and it is making BA even more appealing which for me isn't appealing at all I would choose a small prop plane over BA if I could and that says something as I wouldn't get on a prop.

But my decision is still unknown and only time will tell really but at this time I am really not keen on going back to VS

So under EU261 they should be giving you a 75% refund of the ticket price as a minimum. That's per passenger.

My basic understanding is that the 24h delay will also attract €600 compensation per passenger. That would (I believe) be dependent on the reason for the other flight being cancelled.

clarkeysntfc wrote:
So under EU261 they should be giving you a 75% refund of the ticket price as a minimum. That's per passenger.

My basic understanding is that the 24h delay will also attract €600 compensation per passenger. That would (I believe) be dependent on the reason for the other flight being cancelled.

Benchsmith reports here that he has been paid the requisite compensation for the downgrade.

There wasn't a 24 hour delay on the flight so nothing due there.

People on the 16 that was cancelled might have a case for a payment but it's complicated because the difference in departure time from the original flight and the eventual arrival back at LGW come into play even on a last minute cancellation and as the 16 and the 28 departures are quite close together it's more than possible that the EU time limits weren't breached.

So priced my PE flights to cun in Feb with VA on an A330, Got them 29% cheaper on a B787 with TOM ..... Yes - I know it is 'only a 787-8 but that is also better for me - (shorter queues) Hope I'm not making a terrible mistake Look forward to my TR.. guess which one .....

airconbob wrote:So priced my PE flights to cun in Feb with VA on an A330, Got them 29% cheaper on a B787 with TOM ..... Yes - I know it is 'only a 787-8 but that is also better for me - (shorter queues) Hope I'm not making a terrible mistake Look forward to my TR.. guess which one .....

Are you comparing like with like?

i.e including any extra baggage fees. TOM only give you 1*23 in their PE but it's 2 with VS

Just think people need to do a proper like for like comparison

Was very careful to compare like for like - pointless otherwise.
23kg ea. is plenty for us, but even with extra it would still be much cheaper, and it still would not trump the 330<787 the deal breaker for me.

airconbob wrote:So priced my PE flights to cun in Feb with VA on an A330, Got them 29% cheaper on a B787 with TOM ..... Yes - I know it is 'only a 787-8 but that is also better for me - (shorter queues) Hope I'm not making a terrible mistake Look forward to my TR.. guess which one .....

All of Virgin's flights to Cancun are operated on 744's.

Well spotted Gpik - sorry, spending too much time on the islands! make that 747<787 then -- Still no contest.