VS38 Delayed?

Just been checking the boards and VS038 is due to arrive 0615 on Tuesday rather than this morning, anyone any ideas as to the delay?? Another tech issue on the LGW fleet?

[Neil]

If you read the post by mikesmashing in this thread, it gives an excellent insight in to the current situation with the 744 at both LHR and LGW and explains how any small problem can cause a knock off effect of a significant delay.

Neil

I wondered this, as have family on a delayed VS service out of LGW today.
The thread doesn't explain the actual problem with todays VS38, just why the delays with Virgin this week are so excessive- (lack of spare aircraft floating around to chop and change) It obviously took off(the VS37) yesterday, so does anyone know why it was stuck in the Caribbean for 24 hours?

Neil,

If the reason is due to lack of available aircraft who was the idiot that decided to send one to Filton for a repaint???

Just another sign of the low regard VS hold their passengers, why risk delays for the sake of a bit of needless celebration of a fact we are all well aware of already.

Come on VS sort it out!

[Darren Wheeler]

quote:Originally posted by wanderingmariner
Neil,

If the reason is due to lack of available aircraft who was the idiot that decided to send one to Filton for a repaint???

Just another sign of the low regard VS hold their passengers, why risk delays for the sake of a bit of needless celebration of a fact we are all well aware of already.

Come on VS sort it out!


A tad harsh.

quote:Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
A tad harsh.


As someone who is having two hours of his time wasted by VS today - however delightfully, and at VS' expense in the CH, it's still being wasted - I can sympathise.

The current aggro in the Boeing fleet does smack of poor forward planning and disorganisation in the main, and possibly a lack of understanding by marketing/senior management of how their whims can affect the performance of the flying programme.

I'm sure the workers at the coal face (the crew, airport staff, and flight ops) are doing their level best to hold it together. It's just a shame (and possibly a good thing) there isn't a VS senior manager here at LHR to be the focus of my ire.

Mike

What I don't understand is at a time of cutting back on service, to the extreme of redundancies, how can VS justify the cost of celebrating their 25th anniversary?? Having a plane out of service whilst its having a birthday paint job seems an indulgence. I know a number of people who have passed on their personal birthday and wedding anniversary celebrations as a result of current economic climate.

I'm sure the various costs of, moving the plane to Bristol, the actual work being done, plus the current knock on effect on the remaining fleet and service has been paid for by a number of personal cut backs. I doubt one of the middle managers who made these decisions stood up and passed his 100k salary to pay for this.

Apologies, mini rant over! [V]

[Darren Wheeler]

I was refering to calling the person who made the decison an 'idiot'. The decision would have been made very high up and not in the last few weeks as the scheme would need time to design and make. Then the slot needed to be booked in at Filton as I don't think they do fly-ins with a while-you-wait option.

If VS had cancelled it, no doubt there would be fees and penalty clauses.

Darren,

It doesnt matter how high up the person is they would be regarded by many as an idiot. Maybe this shows up the major issue at VS at the moment, management that havent got a grip on reality!

Can you imagine how this is going down with those that have lost jobs etc. We all know VS are 25 years old, we all know VS love marketing gimmicks (although the reality seems to fail to live up to the hype these days) and VS have known about the economic situation for at least 18 months now along with the rest of the industry.

This is hardly the time to be defending people that seem to be treating once valued passengers as nothing more than a commodity.

Before people start on at the fact that VS have posted profits this last year, please remember that these profits were only acheived through the particular financial regs that were used (ie UKGAAP) as compared to how their partner accounted for things under IFRS (VS figures actually showed as a loss in their reports). I do stand to be corrected on that last statement though as I have only briefly read both accounts.

VS need to take a very close look at what is going on regarding customer loyalty. More and more people are looking for more value for money when flying these days but how can VS retain custom when delays occur regularly and the service on offer is constantly being chipped away at.

I choose VS over the dark side basically through a strange loyalty but this is being strained to breaking point at the mo.

Sorry for the rant, nothing personal Darren.