*NEW*Selling of Extra Legroom seats LGW/ MAN Fleet

Why is it that people instead of looking at the positives always complain?

Heck VS are doing you the passenger a great favour by allowing you to have seat requests. Surely those that bash it should be grateful they are given the option at all rather than be critical.

I can see how it can be annoying but it is not the be all and end all, you will still have a seat on the plane which is exactly what you paid for when deciding to fly with VS.

[Darren Wheeler]

Perhaps they should do away with seat allocations for economy all together and introduce the LCC free-for-all. No expectations means less complaints.

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
Perhaps they should do away with seat allocations for economy all together and introduce the LCC free-for-all. No expectations means less complaints.

Or the LCC charge to pre-book your seat. [:w]

The thing that gets me about all this is that Virgin is (as far as i'm aware) the only carrier on the MCO route that allows everybody, regardless of frequent flyer status or ticket fare class, to pre-REQUEST a seat on their flight free of charge.

BA only do this for full-fare customers, FIRST passengers and Golds I believe. The rest are left to OLCI or at the airport.

The charters even charge for seating together!

Originally posted by RichardMannion

Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
Perhaps they should do away with seat allocations for economy all together and introduce the LCC free-for-all. No expectations means less complaints.

Or the LCC charge to pre-book your seat. [:w]

Dare to wish, and you will get [V].

I think this is a good idea on Virgin's part, and it's 'fair', i.e. if someone wants an extra leg room seat then first come first served on the day get it, rather than someone pre-selecting it and then someone else getting humpty because someone has got an extra leg room seat and they haven't.

I do think though that it would save all the arguments and upset with pre-selected seating if Virgin just scrapped it and followed the BA route (or charters).

[Neil]

Originally posted by firsttimer
I do think though that it would save all the arguments and upset with pre-selected seating if Virgin just scrapped it and followed the BA route (or charters).

I disagree. Whilst, yes it would be a lot easier and stop people getting SO upset when things are changed, it is actually a good little free service offered by VS and lot of the times nothing ever changes are you get the seats you requested and everybody is happy.

If people just took the system for what it is, a request, and didn't get SO upset about it changing occasionally then there wouldn't be a issue. The problem is that people don't read things properly, seem to expect that this free service is a personal system for them, and then moan how rubbish it is, when facts prove it is still much better then most other UK airlines offer.

Received from CS this lunchtime:

Thank you for contacting us regarding the change to your pre-assigned seat onboard.

We have recently made amendments to our London Gatwick seat maps, which has meant that certain seat numbers are no longer available to pre-assign to anyone and will only be available on the day of departure upon check in at the airport. As a result passengers already assigned these seats have had to be moved to alternative seats.

We understand and appreciate that you may have pre-assigned these seats some time in advance and apologise unreservedly for any inconvenience caused. We always try and accommodate a request but can never guarantee them due to many factors including aircraft and operational requirements.

From 23 June 2008 we commenced fitting our London Gatwick aircraft with some extra legroom seats (34 inch seat pitch) in the Economy cabin. These seats cannot be pre-assigned and their location will differ from aircraft to aircraft. Should the refit be complete by the time you fly, these seats will be available for purchase at the airport on the day of your departure for a fee of GBP30 one way, on a first come, first serve basis.

It is not possible for us to contact passengers when pre-assigned seats are changed, as they can happen at anytime including right up to departure. When it is necessary for us to change a passenger's seat number, we endeavour to assign a seat of similar position, although it is not always possible to do that.

We appreciate your feedback and constantly strive for a perfect solution to accommodating the great variety and volume of seating requests that we receive.

We look forward to welcoming you and xxxxx onboard next week.

Kind regards.


(Name removed)
Contact Centre Customer Services

I am just surprised we havent seen complaints that this will bring some economy seats close to the pitch of PE seats but for a fraction of the upgrade price.

Personally I would rather be skint and pay for the seats upstairs than struggle down the back.

I think its a great idea, I would prefer to be able to pre-book the seats and avoid the scrum at the check in desk though.

I think the seats will be very popular,and its great for those folks who are not fit/able enough to sit in the exit rows [y]

Actually one of the reasons I choose to fly with VS is that I have the ability to choose a seat on-line well in advance of my flight. I understand implicitly that this can be changed by the airline for operational reasons and have personally not had it happen to me. However if it did I would still be one V annoyed little teddy bear.

Regards
Bryan

[HighFlyer]

£30 each way isnt bad for some extra legroom, though I forsee some dissapointment from the numbers of individuals who'll arrive very early to try and grab those seats.

Thanks,
Sarah

Originally posted by sixdownkeepsafedepth
Actually one of the reasons I choose to fly with VS is that I have the ability to choose a seat on-line well in advance of my flight. I understand implicitly that this can be changed by the airline for operational reasons and have personally not had it happen to me. However if it did I would still be one V annoyed little teddy bear.

Agree completly, if it were a change of plane last minute it is totally understandable, as it is these requests could easily have been honoured without much (any) disruption to ind. PAX. Still it's a means to an end.

[Nottingham Nick]

I think that is it very important that VS spell out in advance on the website.

1. How much the seats are; and what extra seat pitch is gained in each one.
2. When they can be purchased.
3. Any limitations as to who can sit in them, as per exit rows.
4. What happens if no one stumps up the extra cash - who gets them then.
5. Do silver / gold card holders or staff travellers have any priority in purchasing the seats or bagging the seats that do not sell?

If the rules are clearly laid out (and adhered to), no one can complain too much. Or can they? [;)]

Nick

We fly MAN-MCO 6 times a year and have done for the past 7 years, which adds up to a lot of flights and in that time we have only had our requested seats changed once and that was to move us 2 rows back, no big deal at the end of the day we still had seats in economy and got to MCO on time.

I understand that some people will be upset when they have their requested seats re-assigned...BUT the ability to pre-request seats is free and, i think, a fantastic service. If you look at what other carriers charge for pre-assigning seats so that families can sit together it can really add up, add to that having to pay extra for meals, drinks and headphones, which are free on VS flights, it becomes more expensive and I personally would rather have a few family meals out when on holiday.

Now I know VS fares can be more expensive, but I can choose what day of the week I fly out and come home and be very confident that my family will be sat together and that somewhere along the line I will be fed and watered which makes me a happy bunny.

Originally posted by Ptarmigan
I think its a great idea, I would prefer to be able to pre-book the seats and avoid the scrum at the check in desk though.

I think the seats will be very popular,and its great for those folks who are not fit/able enough to sit in the exit rows [y]

I agree. As these seats are almost being created as a separate fare tier I can't see any reason why they are not put up for purchase at any time (ahhh actually I can see a reason as I believe their position can vary by plane within the same config, and therefore could not be guaranteed available until a specific plane is allocated the route)

Still, I would still like to be able to pre-book.

Originally posted by Slipperman

Still, I would still like to be able to pre-book.

Me too [:D]

If VS were serious about customer service, then they could at least make some effort (as opposed to none at all) to notify their customers that the seat 'request' has been changed...

How difficult is it to look and see if there is a contact e-mail, mobile or phone number on the reservation - if there isn't, then fair enough. But if there is, then a courtesy mail / text / call would let people know, rather than have them find out by accident.
A proportion of these will be FC members, where they definately have contact details....

I understand they can't sell the specific seats in advance (as the actual plane could easily change), but if there are a minimum number of these seats on each plane, then perhaps at least that number could be sold in advance.

And a lot of customer dis-satisfaction would be avoided.

Jet Blue recently changed their aircraft to give you 'even more legroom' on some rows and they are charging between $15 to $25 depending on duration, one one of our flights we were already in a row that had changed to EML so we didn't have to pay, but anyone who was buying a seat from the day they introduced the new EML seats had to. VS could have done that..

I do think though that it would save all the arguments and upset with pre-selected seating if Virgin just scrapped it and followed the BA route (or charters).

Sorry if I've missed something here, but do BA no longer let you pre select seats?

[Decker]

only if you have status

[honey lamb]

Originally posted by deep_south
If VS were serious about customer service, then they could at least make some effort (as opposed to none at all) to notify their customers that the seat 'request' has been changed...

How difficult is it to look and see if there is a contact e-mail, mobile or phone number on the reservation - if there isn't, then fair enough. But if there is, then a courtesy mail / text / call would let people know, rather than have them find out by accident.
A proportion of these will be FC members, where they definately have contact details....

I understand they can't sell the specific seats in advance (as the actual plane could easily change), but if there are a minimum number of these seats on each plane, then perhaps at least that number could be sold in advance.

And a lot of customer dis-satisfaction would be avoided.

Now let me see, there's 8 LGW/MAN planes, six configured one way and two slightly differently. They go to nine different airports from two UK ones on different days of the week. They can be booked up to eleven months in advance and 60% of the seating is available for pre-allocation. Bookings are made via VS, VH, travel agents, corporate travel, websites like Expedia, other package holiday operators and other means I may well be not aware of and the only ones there will be actual contact details are the direct bookings with VS. That's how difficult it is to let people know directly.

[Darren Wheeler]

I wonder if there was the same fuss when VS announced that exit row seats in Y were to be sold for £75?

My opinion for what its worth:
The offer of larger seats - about 10% larger for less than 10% more cost is a very GOOD thing.
Some people need larger seats - OK they can now make that choice.
If this works and they are over subscribed - I think they will be! - then VS can remove a row and create 10 more rows of larger seats.
This gives pax MORE choice!

In the longer term - what can be wrong with that?
It allows a mini PE option - extra space for little extra cost.

How it was implemented is another matter.
Passengers were allowed to select seats - it does not matter whether they were 'firm' bookings or not.
Passengers had an expectation that they would get that seat - they didn't!
It is understandable that they are upset.

In hindsight it is clear that they should have retained their 'booking'. The seats should have been only sold when they were 'vacant'.
However VS have attempted to improve the service - to improve choice - and in fact they have!
I do think that passengers who have been displaced should get the first opportunity to retain their seats but as it stands that is now impossible unless they get to check-in first - OK they at least know about it - they can make the effort and get in early!

In the longer term - this will work. We must not forget that most seats are not 'booked' but there is a very real advantage to being 'in the know' with Virgin and being able to select seats without charge.
That is NOT a service we wish to lose.

Summary - 9/10 for the idea!
5/10 for the implementation!

But at least we must be happy that VS are trying to improve service and choice!
It's not all cuts! 10/10 for that!

I see what your saying Bill about VS removing a row to create 10 extra seats but I dont think that would be a money spinner for them, as I understand it they are able to offer these extra legroom seats without having to actually lose any seats that are currently on the aircraft, just ''jiggle them around a bit''

If they were to remove an entire row they would gain the 30 quid for the extra room seats but would lose out on the 10 x £400 seats (or however much a seat usually is)

Hope you understand what I mean, what Im trying to say makes sense in my head but not when its written down for some reason [:I]