Sale woes.....

It looks as if I will be saying goodbye to my au card as Mr Sunshine is insisting that I swap to BA next year[:#]

My next 3 flights are to be booked CW to Tampa which will save over 1800 pounds over the same in UC to Orlando[:0]

It is too much money to argue so farewell to the CH (when it reopens) and hello to the lack of seat choice and, in my last few experiences, miserable CC's......

VA can you save me by introducing new sale routes soon???

A not so sunny Sunshine[8D]

[buns]

Sunshine

I know exactly where you are coming from here[:#]

As you know Mrs Buns and I share your love of the Gulf coast and all too frequently nowdays, the deals to MCO simply are not there. Indeed our next trip requires us to fly back from JFK[V]

The CW layout has never appealed, but reduced pricing can have an amazing effect[}:)]

Let's hope VS hears your our please

buns

I've done the BA run into Tampa a couple of times (albeit in Economy) and I find it much more preferable to the hassle of MCO. Nice little airport, quick transit through, short queues for car hire. Also get to fly on 777s which I prefer to 747s - for some reason I can always sleep easily on a 777 but not a 747.

In some respects it's a shame VA don't swap one of the MCO runs for TPA instead as I'm sure their VH and other tour operators would put plenty of gulf coast business their way.

Buns....even the JFK option isn't working as VA are still so much more expensive to there compared with Tampa or Orlando and then of course I have to add on a hotel and internal flight[:(]

The only good news is that BA have upgraded the Tampa plane...Mr Sunshine arrived yesterday on it. AND I can still meet yourself and Mrs Buns in the Crown Room if I fly via Orlando as they share the same lounge[:D]

Oh well I will have a cocktail on the beach tonight to cheer myself up...its record breaking temperatures for October out here[:w]

Sunshine[8D]

quote:Originally posted by Thedonkeycentrehalf
I've done the BA run into Tampa a couple of times (albeit in Economy) and I find it much more preferable to the hassle of MCO.

In some respects it's a shame VA don't swap one of the MCO runs for TPA instead as I'm sure their VH and other tour operators would put plenty of gulf coast business their way.


I have done the route in the past and you are right....it is hassle free and a lot of VH passengers travel on to the coast. However the airport cannot handle Jumbos....I know because I landed their once on a VA plane due to storms and they had no way of getting us off easily[:0]

Sunshine[8D]

[buns]

quote:Originally posted by Sunshine


I have done the route in the past and you are right....it is hassle free and a lot of VH passengers travel on to the coast. However the airport cannot handle Jumbos....I know because I landed their once on a VA plane due to storms and they had no way of getting us off easily[:0]

Sunshine[8D]


Unless of course you are the Tampa Bay Bucanneers[}:)][}:)][}:)]

buns

Interesting to observe: I don't do Florida, nor get it, but I see here and on other forums that VS is pricing itself gradually out of this market while pushing an older and inferior product on it.

There seems to be a lack of imagination and a large dose of complacency, both can bite over time.

Sad to see you go to the dark side though Sunshine!

quote:Originally posted by Sunshine
It looks as if I will be saying goodbye to my au card as Mr Sunshine is insisting that I swap to BA next year[:#]

My next 3 flights are to be booked CW to Tampa which will save over 1800 pounds over the same in UC to Orlando[:0]

It is too much money to argue so farewell to the CH (when it reopens) and hello to the lack of seat choice and, in my last few experiences, miserable CC's......

VA can you save me by introducing new sale routes soon???

A not so sunny Sunshine[8D]


As I said in another thread, I hope VS is reading these boards - they are going to lose a lot of business to BA if these BA sale prices continue. [:?]

We are in the same boat, go to Florida 3 or 4 times a year on holiday, so can just about sustain AU, but if we were to start adding in BA flights would probably also lose the card.

1260 EDI - LGW - MCO for BA as opposed to 1750 LGW - MCO + the cost of a shuttle and the loss of your Upper/Gold baggage allowance on the BA shuttle flight (booked seperately) takes a lot of justifying [:#]

David

[RichardMannion]

Buns - the old CW product was never a favourite of mine, but as you know the NCW cabin is much better. Having done a few flights in the product now, I'm sold to be honest. The config can be a bit pants, but if you are upstairs on a 747 then it is great. Even flying backwards is perfectly fine.

Sunshine

'A' drink in the Crowne Room? If I remember rightly we could hardly walk in a straight line to the plane for some reason[:w][:w][}:)][:X]

And how I remember landing in Tampa on 4th July weekend on the VA flight & sharing the last remaining green banana on the plane we were so desperate for food.[:o)]

Oh happy days[:p]

R-P xxx

Thanks Roxy-Popsy for letting on how classy I can be when travelling[:p]

It's the end of an era.....is the dark side ready for me[:0][?]

Susnhine[8D]

I have to share your sentiments. I am a huge VS fan but when travelling as a family the difference between BA and VS is a lot of money. We have switched to BA for our next longhaul flight purely on the cost factor.

Iain

[Nottingham Nick]

Well, Willie Walsh is making no secret of the fact that it is current BA policy to challenge VS / VH on their leisure route domination.

See Telegraph online.

It would seem that this is only the beginning - 3 more US routes and 7 to Asia.

From what I have read on here - BA are giving VS a real shoeing - will VS do anything about it?

Nick

Been waiting for a sale to Florida since just missing the last one, given up now, but lately BA has been offering better fares and T5, and in a reversal of form if my recent VS flights anything to go by, VS cabin crew now better BA's only in the 'Heads up our Asses' competition.

What astonished me even more was American Airlines fares beat BA & VS hollow, non-stop to MIA. Plus AA will hold a fare for 24 hours while you shop around for a better one.

I didn't get where I am today ..... by throwing money away.

quote:Originally posted by Nottingham Nick
Well, Willie Walsh is making no secret of the fact that it is current BA policy to challenge VS / VH on their leisure route domination.

See Telegraph online.

It would seem that this is only the beginning - 3 more US routes and 7 to Asia.

From what I have read on here - BA are giving VS a real shoeing - will VS do anything about it?

Nick


But what exactly, in this economic climate, can they do or, for that matter, should they do?

quote:Originally posted by HWVlover

But what exactly, in this economic climate, can they do or, for that matter, should they do?


by the looks of a huge amount of threads on this forum, it looks like they need to include Orlando in their Upper Sale (please [:w])

It's not just the next flight that they are losing, but the next and the one after that and after that and ultimately a valuable business class customer who swaps to BA and finds out that actually, they are not that better/worse (delete as applicable) than Virgin are.

David

quote:Originally posted by David
quote:Originally posted by HWVlover

But what exactly, in this economic climate, can they do or, for that matter, should they do?


by the looks of a huge amount of threads on this forum, it looks like they need to include Orlando in their Upper Sale (please [:w])

The threads indicate demand, but it may be suppressed demand due to lack of UC seats rather than ac flying with the front empty. Assuming UC is flying full and I was VS reading these threads I'd be thinking about how I could increase the number of UC seats rather than selling those few I had at a discount.

quote:Originally posted by McMaddog
Assuming UC is flying full and I was VS reading these threads I'd be thinking about how I could increase the number of UC seats rather than selling those few I had at a discount.


Couldn't agree more - it's easy for us to say, and difficult to get right no doubt, but VS seem to have gotten the no. of UCS wrong across the 747 fleet:

- 14 on the LGW / MAN fleet seems to few, they're frequently full, G's difficult and sales never - and for some LGW routes like Barbados they substitute a LHR 747 in any case
- 52 on the LHR planes seems to many, I still miss PE upstairs in the bubble and the conversion of those 20 seats to 10 suites seems to me to have been overkill (whatever happened to the proposal to replace the suites upstairs with Y seats?)

In the current climate, tinkering to get these right is expensive however, I wonder if VS have truly thought through the cost / revenue / return though?

quote:Originally posted by slinky09
quote:Originally posted by McMaddog
Assuming UC is flying full and I was VS reading these threads I'd be thinking about how I could increase the number of UC seats rather than selling those few I had at a discount.


Couldn't agree more - it's easy for us to say, and difficult to get right no doubt, but VS seem to have gotten the no. of UCS wrong across the 747 fleet:

- 14 on the LGW / MAN fleet seems to few, they're frequently full, G's difficult and sales never - and for some LGW routes like Barbados they substitute a LHR 747 in any case
- 52 on the LHR planes seems to many, I still miss PE upstairs in the bubble and the conversion of those 20 seats to 10 suites seems to me to have been overkill (whatever happened to the proposal to replace the suites upstairs with Y seats?)

In the current climate, tinkering to get these right is expensive however, I wonder if VS have truly thought through the cost / revenue / return though?


I had started to write much the same, but stopped because I was called to a 'crisis' and when I come back, its already there[:0][:D]

The only thing I would add is, maybe now is the time to 'tinker' with the suite ratio, because of the spare suites available from some of the 'retired' planes

David

Well fellow VS fans.....the deed has been done and I have booked two CW returns to Tampa and saved myself 1400 pounds( US keyboard) on just those flights alone[:0] and I have another one to still arrange.

It wasn't much different in price to the PE fares on VS too[:?]

I really couldn't justify keeping my Gold Card for that amount of saving[V]

I agree with most of the above discussions....obviously VS don't need to fill the UC suites. I don't think I have ever been on a Orlando plane with an empty UC seat.

Sunshine[8D]

Nice one Sunshine. That's well worth the saving amount. You'll probably get back to the Gold Card sometime, and it is nice to have but not 1400 that nice!

I have to agre with all of you - I've been ey-ing the UC flights to LAS and MCO recently - and BA is a chunk cheaper. And it's a kind of chunk you can't ignore! I Steve wants us to fly VA, he's gonna have to get some price war goin' on thar, boy!