Please upgrade LGW fleet!!

It has to be said that the LGW fleet is really getting old and tatty - travelling back and forwards a couple of times per year in a mixture of UC and PE its really letting the VS brand down now.

The entertainment offerings this July/August BGI-LGW and return were appalling - only one channel for kids or 1 film.

As the offspring of a BA 747 skipper I jumped ship to VS 5 years ago when we found the joys of PE which FAR outstrip BA WTP, and UC which outguns Club ..... but this year really was poor, fittings and fixtures shabby and the entertainment was the worst I've ever seen on a transaatlantic flight, really poor.

On the upside the food in UC was fabulous out of LGW.

[Nottingham Nick]

Whilst I do not disagree with your sentiments, the problems with the LGW IFE have been documented on here time and time again. However, I would much prefer at the moment that VS continue to channel their limited resources into maintaining the engines and other essential safety areas of the planes.

After that, I hope they continue to spend as much money as possible on food. The IFE and aesthetics of the cabin should be at the lower end of their scale of priorities. YVMV. [:D][:D]


Nick

Originally posted by Islander
but this year really was poor, fittings and fixtures shabby and the entertainment was the worst I've ever seen on a transaatlantic flight, really poor.

Air France 2002 to LAX. After that, a photocopied sudoko smacks of luxury in entertainment, never mind the (albeit limited) array of options on Nova.

Originally posted by Nottingham Nick
Whilst I do not disagree with your sentiments, the problems with the LGW IFE have been documented on here time and time again. However, I would much prefer at the moment that VS continue to channel their limited resources into maintaining the engines and other essential safety areas of the planes.

After that, I hope they continue to spend as much money as possible on food. The IFE and aesthetics of the cabin should be at the lower end of their scale of priorities. YVMV. [:D][:D]

And some decent coffee would be good.

That said, I do like the fact that the PE service on my recent ex-LGW flight was easily on a par with that on an ex-LHR flight last year. And being in the bubble always helps[:w]

Paul

I flew PE to Las Vegas in June and felt the state of the seating was really below expectations for the price. On the return leg my head rest was broken, my wifes screen surround kept fallin off, and both seats in front of us and behind were also faulty including IFE that would not work and a seat belt that wouldn't do up, surely a safety violation.

However as we were walking up the aisle I saw seats in a worse state than ours, surely when we are paying '00's more for a 'premium' experience we should get more than smiley faces, a few extra inches and a extra drinks.

Originally posted by Nottingham Nick
Whilst I do not disagree with your sentiments, the problems with the LGW IFE have been documented on here time and time again. However, I would much prefer at the moment that VS continue to channel their limited resources into maintaining the engines and other essential safety areas of the planes.

After that, I hope they continue to spend as much money as possible on food. The IFE and aesthetics of the cabin should be at the lower end of their scale of priorities. YVMV. [:D][:D]


Nick

I don't think their resources are that limited - but assuming they are, if the plane is tatty inside it does make you wonder just how tatty everything else is. So much about flying is to do with confidence, and I think upgrading the LGW fleet is high on Virgin's agenda. It doesn't do their brand any good to have a substandard offering...

[mitchja]

Doesn't it cost in the region of around £2M - £3M per A/C to refit [:?] so times that by the 8 LGW/MAN/GLA 744 A/C are you are talking a serious amount of money.

On the other side of the coin though. My parents flew VS last year for the first time ever (in PE) from MAN. They both said the same thing when they got back home....whilst the cabin service was the best they have ever had, the A/C interiors and seats where shabby looking.

Regards

Originally posted by mitchja
Doesn't it cost in the region of around £2M - £3M per A/C to refit [:?] so times that by the 8 LGW/MAN/GLA 744 A/C are you are talking a serious amount of money.

On the other side of the coin though. My parents flew VS last year for the first time ever (in PE) from MAN. They both said the same thing when they got back home....whilst the cabin service was the best they have ever had, the A/C interiors and seats where shabby looking.

Regards

They've just announced profits of £34m, so assuming the refits are at the higher end of the scale then £24m would cover it, with a discount for cash.

I have to admit that VS LGW services are very much below the standards they would have you believe, so for that very reason if its a destination from LGW its BA for me[:I] as i have never had a problem with BA from there.

LHR is a different story so i always travel VS from there, but from LGW there planes are frankly way past there sell by date, seats are poor and fallin to bits, planes are shabby, IFE poor.

And more importantly i dont want to be treated like a holiday maker travelling on a second rate plane, when other carriers offer a consistent service regardless of airport.[V]

I'm heading to Las Vegas for SEMA and my company conference this year. I'll not be using VS direct, but selecting the olf favourite of SFO and a connecting flight.

The main reason is being treated like a holiday maker at LGW and the crammed experience of flying Economy.

Mark

[Darren Wheeler]

Of course the question has to be asked 'Why are the LGW aircraft so 'shabby' compared to the LHR fleet'? [:?]

They all get the same levels of maintenance and arguably the V-Port system is much more complicated and harder to maintain.

Bit of a dodgy subject this really, I am surprised we havent seen more posts defending the PE product out of LGW as that is usually the norm.

Personally it just winds me up that they cant even just replace the upholstery of the worst seats on a regular basis rather than replace whole cabins.

With prices rising in the current climate passengers are going to be looking for a little more form their spend and will react even more harshly if something as obvious as seat coverings are left in such a poor state of repair.

Maybe VS could have kept the old UC seats and refurbed them for PE and restricted the actual recline on them, just a thought!!!!!

Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
Of course the question has to be asked 'Why are the LGW aircraft so 'shabby' compared to the LHR fleet'? [:?]

They all get the same levels of maintenance and arguably the V-Port system is much more complicated and harder to maintain.

Maybe it's a perception thing. I travelled recently on the route in 2 different ac and thought they were pretty good overall. I think if people get onboard with a view that the plane will be rubbish then invariably they'll find fault with it. Having read all the comments and criticisms on here beforehand I half expected to enter a dump where I'd be lucky to arrive without needing some kind of hospital care.

[HighFlyer]

Lets not forget that the upgrade of the LGW fleet was supposed to go ahead but had recently been postponed due to the current financial climate. Hopefully we will see this go ahead next year or so if the economy starts to stabilise.

Thanks,
Sarah

It should have been the priority of the group to upgrade the planes at LGW rather than spend out on the V-Room, as atlantics reputation from this airport is very tarnished when it comes to this issue, and it wouldnt be the V-room that would make me fly again from LGW but rather the state of the planes and general service[V]

Cheers
Alex

[Neil]

Originally posted by wanderingmariner
Bit of a dodgy subject this really, I am surprised we havent seen more posts defending the PE product out of LGW as that is usually the norm.

Maybe because it has all been said before?

It should have been the priority of the group to upgrade the planes at LGW rather than spend out on the V-Room,

It's all well and good Virgin spending money on upgrading the a/c and then not having any pax to fill the a/c.

Like it or not Virgin has to spend money on marketing and the VRoom has been a great success, which should hopefully mean more pax will fly VS giving them some finances to spend on the a/c.

And, having recently flown on the LGW fleet in both Y and J, I found the a/c to be in very good condition and the IFE very adequate, a view shared by some first time VS flyers in our party.

Neil

VS has for some time being ploughing bucket loads of cash at its clubhouses rather than its aircraft. I for one would prefer the actual flight experience to be as pleasant and relaxing as possible rather than have a minimal amount of time in somewhere like the VROOM. Lets face it, the majority of flights out of LGW are around the 9 to 10am slots so the most you will get in either the Clubhouse or VROOM is 2 hours before you have to trot on down to the gate compared to 7 or so hours stuck in a metal tube with tatty seats etc.

Considering SR comes from the Customer Service side of Virgin I do feel a bit peeved that the actual level of product out of LGW does seem to be fast becoming the poor relation.

Before I get jumped on, I am not that fussed about the IFE out of LGW but I do draw the line at dirty, tatty seats and carpets and food and drink running out a couple of hours into the flight.

Like it or not Virgin has to spend money on marketing and the VRoom has been a great success, which should hopefully mean more pax will fly VS giving them some finances to spend on the a/c.

And, having recently flown on the LGW fleet in both Y and J, I found the a/c to be in very good condition and the IFE very adequate, a view shared by some first time VS flyers in our party.

Neil


But the point is that VS had set the bar high many years ago, and had thereby needed only, to maintain this world class service in all classes by providing consistency 'which they havent'.[:I]

All airlines rely on repeat business and VS had it all.
So providing a new Vroom whilst being very nice, has been at the expence of decent service on LGW a/c so as to try and interest new passengers (because the old PAX have gone elsewhere)seems a little disjointed. I havent seen BA or other carriers having to provide this, and yet one thing remains, and thats that their service doesnt comes across as a two tier service because of airports.[V]

Kind Regards

Alex[:D]

[Darren Wheeler]

Being sad and with no real life (quiet!!!) I've had a dig back through the LGW trip reports on here. A quick look shows the seat ratings at about 75% for Eco/PE, hardly anything to be ashamed of or a sign that the cabin is falling apart.

Of course, YMMV

Have to say the last trip I took in PE in March in the bubble was excellent in terms of CC - really good - and as is the mantra we always sit in the bubble when travelling PE. BUT 2 of our IFE systems were down and the aircraft was really on its downers.

For god sake SRB get the LGW fleet sorted out, prioritise aircraft over fancy lounges and marketing and get your loyal .... but wobbling, customers back on track. Why should we from LGW pay the same as those from LHR and yet get a sunstancially inferior product?? Or maybe you should cut the PE/UC prices on the LGW flights as the quality if far below the LHR fleet

[Neil]

Originally posted by av_norw792
I havent seen BA or other carriers having to provide this, and yet one thing remains, and thats that their service doesnt comes across as a two tier service because of airports.[V]

I think you will find that BA have varying levels of a/c, seats, IFE etc and it is very much a route by route 'lottery' as to what you get.

I think that the UC experience on the LGW fleet is still a pretty decent one. Nova (or Odyssey) ain't all that bad and the suites aren't in too bad a state most of the time.

However, the state of LGW PE compared to the newest incarnation of the same product can be - from what I've seen and read of it on here - pretty abysmal. The difference between leather seat/large IFE screen/V-Port and ripped seat/small (often broken) IFE screen/intermittent Nova is acute, yet the pricing of 'old' and 'new' seems to be much the same.

Cash-strapped as VS no doubt are I can't really suggest any immediate solutions, but if I were condidering a LGW flight in Y or PE I would probably be looking elsewhere.

Just a quick brush up and polish for next March thank you. Oh and if if you can just make sure the bar is wel stocked that would be grand.

The thing is, on many of the LGW routes, VS is flying the only direct service available from the UK and therefore that surely gives them the competative advantage. The loads are extremely good on all those flights and there is little evidence of people deserting VS to use another indirect airline. Therefore - why bother spending anything on the planes on top of general maintenance.

Originally posted by av_norw792
So providing a new Vroom whilst being very nice, has been at the expence of decent service on LGW a/c so as to try and interest new passengers (because the old PAX have gone elsewhere)seems a little disjointed. I havent seen BA or other carriers having to provide this, and yet one thing remains, and thats that their service doesnt comes across as a two tier service because of airports.[V]

I doubt the V-Room has been 'at the expense' of the fleet upgrade, as I'd think the total budget for the V-Room - which remember is a paid for facility for VH, not VS, travellers - wouldn't contribute much to putting new seats into a single aeroplane.

Paul

I would rather they kept the existing PE seats as they are in the bubble than they did a refit and fitted a LHR style downstairs PE cabin.