V-Flyer

Hi all,

This is my first post on here - thought I would share my experiences on my first Upper Class flights to Chicago - and the returns (see under VS040)

Unfortunately I have to say I was thoroughly disappointed, with the exception of the Clubhouse at Heathrow which was mind-blowingly good - the real highlight, with excellent facilities, treatments at the Cowshed etc It's just a shame it went downhill from there...

I should also point out that the cabin crew were attentive & friendly, much better than on some of the American airlines, where my general opinion was less than positive.

Before flying, I had already booked a second Upper Class return flight to Chicago on Virgin for later during the month if I had known how poor the quality would be, Id have flown BA instead.

Specific observations as follows:

1. Plane interior
The A340-300 was worn out and falling apart literally. The side panel covering in my upper class suite was falling away from the main structure, and I could see the internal wiring (this looked dangerous as well as poor quality). The suite was marked and chipped in various places, and was considerably below the quality I'd expect on a business class product.

2. Cleanliness
There were crumbs and grime left over in my suite from the previous flight I find this unacceptable, regardless of the class but when you've paid over 3,300 for your ticket - outraged! Furthermore, the toilets were not kept clean during the flight I found these were of a worse quality that some economy class toilets I have seen.

3. In-flight entertainment
For a company whose brand is centred around quality of entertainment, this was absolutely outrageous the worst of every other airline I have flown with recently. The film selection was poor, the screen was of exceptionally low quality for business class, and I found the headphones did little to cancel any noise. I understand some other Virgin aircraft have newer IFE systems, in which case it I find it unacceptable that VS has such inconsistency in the business class product, and still charges such a high price for the ticket. Compared to the American Airlines business IFE (new high-quality TFT screen, excellent choice of films, Bose headphones) the Virgin IFE was a total joke.

4. Food
The quality of the food on-board was disgraceful. Orange juice from concentrate?! Youve got to be kidding. A bland chicken and rice dish that looked worse than some Tescos value meal that was past its sell-by date. Some bland generic gloopy pie for desert in lukewarm runny liquid that I think was meant to be custard. Afternoon sandwiches that couldnt be any more tasteless and dry if theyd tried. Overall a thoroughly unappetising experience. I suggest VS looks to its partner airline, Continental, whose business class menu if superb 7 courses of very high quality food.

5. Lounge at Chicago airport (return journey)
The JAL business lounge was nothing more than a big room. Having arrived at the airport early, I was dismayed to find that the only option for anything proper food was to purchase a tasteless chicken sandwich from an outside kiosk for $10!!

I have recently flown business class with Air Canada, BA, Continental, Delta, and American, and the VS product ranks, in my opinion, at the bottom with Delta. A real shame, I was hugely excited about flying upper class, and it turned out, in my opinion, to be a big flop.

Thanks for your trip report.

Many of your observations around dirty suites and toilets are often echoed by many V-Flyers. These really are simple things to get right and its a shame how often we experience this. I am glad that the crew were a redeeming factor though.

The IFE is a constant source of debate. VS are certainly not the only airline to have a mix of IFE within the fleet, BA and Emirates certainly do, so while it does bug me when I get a non-AVOD aircraft I know its not just VS at fault.

Thanks,
Sarah

That's a very unfortunate experience - especially for a premium flyer and the sort of person, one hopes, VS is seeking to attract. Have you thought of writing in to VS to comment?.

quote:Originally posted by HighFlyer
The IFE is a constant source of debate. VS are certainly not the only airline to have a mix of IFE within the fleet, BA and Emirates certainly do, so while it does bug me when I get a non-AVOD aircraft I know its not just VS at fault.


Yes, this is true, however BA (even AA!!!) have stated that they are upgrading to AVOD on all long haul aircraft, EK's are a mix of superior forms of AVOD and even the base form is excellent. VS however make no such moves and leave their premium fliers on many routes ruing the advertising ...

Sorry to hear about your poor experience but thank you for taking the time to write a TR.

Thanks for the report, such a shame that your first experience wasn't any where near up to standard.

However VS are not the only airline that have different IFE. AF, BA, EK to name a few. All airlines advertise their newest IFE on their website, and it does leave people a little disappointed when you do not get AVOD.

Dominic

Sorry you had such a poor experience - I have posted your comments on our internal forum so that the respective departments are made aware of these problems. I will let you know if I get a response.

Thanks for the comments- I have written in, and have just received a reply, several weeks later. It was quite apologetic, but the concerning thing was the absence of anything concrete on how VS were planning to improve matters - it referred at the end to striving for the 'usual high standards we have become known for' which did make me chuckle :-)

Thank you for writing the TR, it is interesting to hear how the product is viewed but obviously disappointing that you had such a negative experience.

quote:Originally posted by t_guglielmi
1. Plane interior
The A340-300 was worn out and falling apart literally. The side panel covering in my upper class suite was falling away from the main structure, and I could see the internal wiring (this looked dangerous as well as poor quality). The suite was marked and chipped in various places, and was considerably below the quality I'd expect on a business class product.


Aircraft wiring always looks a bit 'thin and scrappy', because it's designed to save weight.

Electrical systems on aircraft use a higher frequency than domestic mains, which allows more power to be delivered over lighter gauge cabling, which keeps the weight down!

However, you shouldn't be seeing the cabling at all!

quote:
2. Cleanliness
There were crumbs and grime left over in my suite from the previous flight I find this unacceptable, regardless of the class but when you've paid over 3,300 for your ticket - outraged! Furthermore, the toilets were not kept clean during the flight I found these were of a worse quality that some economy class toilets I have seen.


I've harped on and on at VS about dirty planes, even directly to the person responsible for quality of aircraft cleaning at the time. It seems to go in one ear and out of the other, or VS have just lost control of their aircraft cleaning suppliers.

quote:
4. Food
The quality of the food on-board was disgraceful... Overall a thoroughly unappetising experience.


Welcome to the hell that many V-Flyers go through with the onboard service being a shadow of it's former self.

Several of us here, including myself, have taken VS to task about the rubbish they serve. From personal experience, occasionally I've felt listened to, and sometimes it goes slightly better for a little while, but then it falls off a cliff again a couple of menu cycles down the line.

quote:
A real shame, I was hugely excited about flying upper class, and it turned out, in my opinion, to be a big flop.


That last sentence says *so* much. I hope that's how you described it to VS when you wrote in.

As for their comment about 'usual high standards', well, Virgin companies in general always try to somehow dismiss your negative experience as a one-off, or worse, deny it ever happened and refute it with marketing prose.

Your description of dirt, damaged seats, and barely edible food, matches so much reported here, that it is *this* situation that VS should be considering their 'usual standard'.

Thanks for posting your report, and thanks to VB747 for posting the comments internally. I hope your responsible colleagues can take the comments seriously, acknowledge that the issues raised *do* exist rather than be in denial, and hopefully reassure the staff who are delivering the service, that something is going to be done...

Mike

Welcome to V-Flyer, Thomas.

Many thanks for sharing your experiences, and your thoughts.

You will have seen from the comments made, that you certainly haven't offended anyone, as you feared in your previous thread.

Your reports seem to bring home all that has gone downhill on the airline. The staff are (mainly) still great. Some of the aircraft are still great, and the Clubhouses are great.

However, there are other elements that really do need to get back to how they used to be. Senior managers at VS need to carefully read your reports, and also the comments by Mike and others; then, do something about it! Before it is too late!

I know that money is tight, but the budgets for aircraft food and aircraft cleanliness represent a minuscule percentage of the fare the passenger pays - BUT they are two of the biggest factors that will prevent repeat business.

Nick

Thanks for the TR such a shame regarding all the negative points that surfaced during your transit, if you fly again with VS do yourself a favour and avoid the 340-300 at all costs as they truly are a heap of crap, your comment on wiring showing is indeed similar to my experience with the cabin fasias creaking so bad that no one could sleep and a constant din that made you want to bang your head against a wall so as not to go mad in the process. The toilets onboard were smelly and dirty too.
However i have just had a great flight to JFK which i need to do a TR for, but from start to finish was an absolute pleasure to be on and required a heap of heroes forms to be filled in!
Just avoid the 340-300 and im sure a little faith will have been restored.

cheers

alex

quote:Originally posted by Alex V
Just avoid the 340-300 and im sure a little faith will have been restore
alex


A little bit hard if that the aircraft operating on your day of flight.

Thanks for the TR, which echoes many a comment before.

Iain