VS015 LGW-MCO 9 SEP 11 (Upper Class)

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

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Good for Greg, but I would not stop there, in fact I would not start there either, it's the top down on this one!

Hello All

I'm truly humbled that Greg has been kind enough to make contact with me and is now looking into things (this forum truly does rock!). One cannot change what has happened in the past but one can control what happens in the future and improve on a service where things have not been as good as they could have been.

Cloudscudder

Good for Greg, but I would not stop there, in fact I would not start there either, it's the top down on this one!

Indeed. This is the kind of story reminds me of all those media 'horror stories' associated with an airline like Ryanair, never mind a 'full service' airline like VS.

I was so sorry to hear of your poor experience, simply not good enough.

But well done to Greg for making contact and offering to help, I am sure a positive outcome will be achieved

Jon

Hi Cloudscudder.

I was rivetted to your TR as it was all going so well until your flight.

Thank goodness for Greg making contact with you.

When VA get it right it can be a total joy, to the point of planning the next trip whilst outbound on the current trip.

Whilst the distress that you had to endure can not be removed, I hope that any future flights with VA are positve & we look forward to your TR.

Wishing you well.

R-P

Hi Everyone

thought I should update you all on the latest happenings following the MCO – LGW sage I experienced a month back. Due to fellow forum members and Greg’s helpful intervention, a really huge heart felt thank you to you all for your support and kindness, we now have a result of sorts (I think?)

Customers services have agreed to give us a space available return upgrade on our next trip with VA so that we can experience the advertised level of service that was so lacking on our last trip in UC. The only sting in the tail is the fact we wont know if we get it until we arrive at the airport on the day, not trying to put a downer on this offer, but being a wheelchair user this sort of set up can create problems of it’s own not being able to plan best seats etc to meet my needs. So, if I have a grasp of the situation, I believe that if we book PE we will get a return up grade to UC. The irony of this all is that my next trip to the USA is as key note speaker talking about accessible travel for all “the sky no limits”

Will keep you all posted as to the final outcome

[buns]

Cloudscudder

Thanks for taking the time to give us the update

I hope that VS honour their promise

All the best

buns

AS others have said, it makes the usual gripes that we have pale compared to your issues.

I am a little disappointed by the response by VS it doesn't seem like a very good deal - a space available upgrade, as you say means you have to wait until the day and/or book a less busy route to get this. I would have thought that VS would have offered you a guaranteed upgrade at the time of booking....otherwise this could turn out to never actually happen.

Look for a flight with light loadings!
Hopefully you will get a real result.

Thank you sharing your experience. Am appaled that you had to wait 50 mins.
I have flown Virgin a few times now and found them acceptable re Wheelchair users. This year apparently , on the new plane, there is a wheelchair accesible toilet where the wheelchair can fit in and a carer also? Has anyone experience of this aspect.

[Darren Wheeler]

Thank you sharing your experience. Am appaled that you had to wait 50 mins.
I have flown Virgin a few times now and found them acceptable re Wheelchair users. This year apparently , on the new plane, there is a wheelchair accesible toilet where the wheelchair can fit in and a carer also? Has anyone experience of this aspect.

Not sure about room for a carer, but the wheelchair accessible toilet is mandated under US Federal law for all new aircraft (non-US airlines) delivered after 13 May 2010.

Not good enough if you ask me. Should be a confirmed upgrade, no pot luck and extra stress.

Not good enough if you ask me. Should be a confirmed upgrade, no pot luck and extra stress.

I agree.

A space available upgrade is simply not goood enough in this case.

It is of course up to cloudscudder what he does next but if it was me I'd be getting in touch with Richard Branson's or Steve Ridgeways office.

To my reading of the original TR there were clear breaches of the UK Disability Discrimination Act and VS should be ashamed of itself.

Thank you for the info :-)

I do not think that is an acceptable choice, but that of course is your determination. Also, no matter how friendly Greg is, I said start at the top and you should have, I think the answer would have been different,

However, you have to judge whether the reply is good enough to close your complaint?

Hi everyone

To be honest with you all I was not and am not that happy with this outcome but the previous offer on the table was £200 in on-board vouchers. I have had a similar upgrade offer in the past, 2008, for yet another hick up at the hands of VA where we were offered the same and we’ve yet to benefit fully from that offer. So this at the airport “maybe”, “possibly” an upgrade falls in to the disappointment zone and actually becomes very stressful, i.e. can we take heavier cases, more cases. The thing I find most disappointing in all this is the fact that I was guaranteed the last time that this sort of thing would never happen again. In the correspondence I have received I have been asked to let them know when I am next flying with VA so that they can make sure the service is up to spec...surely it should be the given thing and normal.... not something one should have to pre plan.

Anyway will keep you posted as to any further outcome, your points of view much appreciated

Cloudscudder

In the correspondence I have received I have been asked to let them know when I am next flying with VA so that they can make sure the service is up to spec...surely it should be the given thing and normal.... not something one should have to pre plan.

Exactly.

I apologise for being blunt, but I think you are being fobbed off. There are always two sides to any story, but if the flight was as atrocious as you describe, and there are no mitigating factors, then I think you deserve more than a 'space-available' upgrade.

Quite simply not good enough from VS.

I think you now have a choice - if VS are worth it and you intend flying with them again, you should pursue this remorselessly, right to the top if you need to. If you don't, and can't face the effort you'll need to put in to get a decent response, drop it and move on. At least, that's the way I would view it.

Your restraint is to be applauded, you could, if you chose, make a very big deal of this indeed via publicity, media etc.

For an airline that puts customer service high on the agenda, VS have not responded anything like adequately, in my opinion.

Also, I'd expect VS to take this far more seriously, and give re=-assurances of crew training refreshers etc, this type of thing could leave them highly exposed to litigation.

Cheers,

I Fully agree with you all that I should take this matter further but I’m currently involved in this week of remembrance and I guess my priority must be focused there for now.





When the guns fall silent on the battle field ..the battle with disability, trauma and bereavement continues