VS093

Was anyone on the flight from Gatwick to Cancun that was diverted to cozamel? I have been onto virgin on chat to complain but they know nothing I have also emailed them and am waiting on a them to reply just wondering has anyone else heard anything from them about what compensation we are getting?

Morning

Given the diversion was, I think, due to bad weather I'm not sure VS would be / feel obliged to offer any compensation...

Paul

Was anyone on the flight from Gatwick to Cancun that was diverted to cozamel? I have been onto virgin on chat to complain but they know nothing I have also emailed them and am waiting on a them to reply just wondering has anyone else heard anything from them about what compensation we are getting?

As it's a weather related delay, you're not entitled to any compensation under the the EU261/2004 regs.

However, Virgin should have put you up in a hotel, fed and watered you as per their duty of care.

Any compensation above that is discretionary.

What compensation do you feel should be due?

I really don't know what compensation should be given. But Virgin didn't organise food drinks or toilet facilities for the hours we were stuck in the baggage hall in cozamel being basically held hostage with armed police. Only for a passenger decided to negotiate with airport staff and got us use of the toilets and water then they ran put of cups so you couldn't even have water if you didn't get a cup. Virgin staff didn't do anything for us. When the staff eventually appeared after 3 hours we were advised we would be put up in 5* hotels all inclusive which we were not. Most people ended up in 3 * hotels with only breakfastWe were also told someone would meet us in the hotel between 12 and one the following day which also never happened. I am disgusted the way we were treated by Virgin.

So I suppose you could send copies of your receipts to VH and ask for some recompense for the food and drink that you had to purchase.

I feel your pain, I know how awful it is to be stuck in an airport with little or no information but I can honestly promise you Virgin wouldn't have made you suffer unnecessarily. The reason you had to hang about in the airport was probably because they wanted to exhaust every possibility of trying to get you home before they moved you to hotels, they obviously would have needed to arrange the accommodation and transport as well which would have taken time. There was probably more than 400 people on your flight.

As Clarkey says, you have no legal recourse for punitive compensation as it was a weather related delay.

Add to the fact that they don't have any groundstaff or reps based in Cozumel they are all based in cancun.

Takes time to get staff in the correct location..

I can understand you were upset but using language like 'kept hostage' is not going to help.

The diversion was caused by weather - not in VS control. Weather is one of the specific exclusions from the EU261 regulations so there is no automatic right to compensation. That's not to say they you won't get any but it will be down to VS to decide what it is.

There were a number of other flights also diverted due to the weather at CUN.

VS landed at an airport where they have no staff and probably no agreement with any of the handling agents. Other airlines were probably in a similar situation.

It would take VS staff (probably contract staff only expecting to be working for VS for a few hours to handle the arrival and departure of the flight) time to get there from CUN - traveling in bad weather too - to be able to help you.

They would also have had 300 + pax at CUN to deal with at the same time who were expecting to depart from their holidays.

As several flights suddenly landed at almost the same time then it is impossible for all passengers to be unloaded at the same time and to be immigration processed etc. Immigration staff are under Government control and will do things in accordance with their procedures and nothing VS could have said / done would have changed that.

It also takes time to organise coaches and hotels.

Have VS dealt with this perfectly - no - and they have admitted as much on their face book page but I am not sure what more they could have done in the circumstances.

I'm not trying to downplay what whet on but to try and explain the situation VS were in.

Was anyone on the flight from Gatwick to Cancun that was diverted to cozamel? I have been onto virgin on chat to complain but they know nothing I have also emailed them and am waiting on a them to reply just wondering has anyone else heard anything from them about what compensation we are getting?

ymoran how dare you bring that awful weather over with you

ymoran I was waiting on your flight at Cancun on Saturday evening to take me back to the UK, we took off 48hrs after scheduled departure. We did get put up in a hotel for two nights but it was far from plane sailing with lots of not knowing what was happening.

We got a letter from virgin to say that if we email our concerns and provide copies of expenses they may be considered but as stated by others as weather is the cause its outside of their control do not sure what you will get.

Just got the following email from Virgin

Dear Ms Moran
 
Thank you for taking the time to contact regarding your flight to Cancun on the 1st June.
 
I was very sorry to read of the circumstances that led you to contact us on this occasion.
 
I am unsure if you have received the letter that was given out by the Manager of the Customer Relations Department, if not please see a copy of this letter below.
 
On behalf of everyone at Virgin Atlantic I'd like to offer our sincere apologies for the upset, inconvenience and disappointment that was caused to you when we were forced to divert to Cozumel last Saturday, due to the weather conditions in Cancun.
 
As you are aware our plan was to refuel the aircraft and continue to Cancun as soon as it was safe to do so however the organisation on the ground in Cozumel fell very short of what we consider to be acceptable, and as a result of the inadequacies with the refuelling and servicing of the aircraft on the ground we ended up delaying overnight.
 
Captain Smethurst has given us a full report on situation he faced upon landing, as well as the experience encountered by passengers. Whilst Captain Smethurst took appropriate and safe decisions at all points throughout the journey there is no doubt that the facilities on the ground at Cozumel caused real hardship for our passengers. In particular the ground handlers insistence that the hold baggage had to be unloaded before passengers could leave the airport was a highly unusual requirement, and as a result an internal review into the handling of this diversion is taking place as we want to ensure any future diversion is dealt with far more efficiently.  We are also aware that the hotel accommodation in Cozumel left a lot to be desired and I hope you will understand that our ability to pre-approve the available accommodation in such a short timeframe was very limited
 
In view of all these circumstances and by way of any apology, we would like to offer you each one complimentary round trip ticket (in the cabin class you were originally booked in Upper Class out and Economy back) operated by a Virgin Atlantic Airways aircraft on any one route not involving a stop, change of aircraft or multiple flight numbers. (This offer is NOT valid on our London to Australia route). The offer is valid for a period of eighteen months and early booking is recommended. To take advantage of this offer please contact one of our main reservations centres.
Alternatively this letter can be exchanged for a £300 discount off the brochure price of a future Virgin Holiday departing from the UK. To do this you should contact Virgin Holidays on 0844 557 4321.
 
It is essential that you keep this letter along with your  e ticket receipt (containing your flight information and booking reference) as both must be presented to our reservations centres or Virgin Holidays  before your complimentary ticket or Virgin Holiday discount will be issued. 
 
We regret this letter cannot be replaced if lost, stolen or destroyed.
In addition those passengers who took a ferry to Cancun and/or bought additional refreshments during the delay can send your receipts to the address below or via e mail to [email protected] for reimbursement.
 
In closing I would once again reiterate our sincere apologies and assurance of our intention to avoid a repeat of this situation in the future.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 

Executive Office
 

That sounds like a very good reply from VS!
How do you feel about that reply ymoran?

Wow that's amazing! What a great response.

[Neil]

That sounds like a very good reply from VS!
How do you feel about that reply ymoran?

I agree, and it's quite refreshing to see a company not only fully admit the issues, which to be fair were out of their hands in the main, but offer an excellent compensation package when they aren't required/forced to do so by any regulation or law, but because it is the right thing to do.

I agree, and it's quite refreshing to see a company not only fully admit the issues, which to be fair were out of their hands in the main, but offer an excellent compensation package when they aren't required/forced to do so by any regulation or law, but because it is the right thing to do.

All I want to say is ditto Neil, I think this is a sign of the reinvigorated Virgin.

I am thrilled with the reply all I asked for was an upgrade to premium economy on my return and the loss of my hotel for the night...... I will be checking out next years holiday when I get home

Excellent stuff, really pleased for you well done.

Great result and fantastic customer service.

Fab result! VS may take a while to reply but I have always found their responses to be of good quality.

I agree, and it's quite refreshing to see a company not only fully admit the issues, which to be fair were out of their hands in the main, but offer an excellent compensation package when they aren't required/forced to do so by any regulation or law, but because it is the right thing to do.

All I want to say is ditto Neil, I think this is a sign of the reinvigorated Virgin.

It is also a sign that they knew things went wrong - they said as much on the FB page when this incident happened - and they they were going to do a full review of what went wrong (on the basis that nothing went right!) and to try and learn from them.

That said, it's a good result for the OP - assuming he can find availability for when he wants to fly!

I think this is a phenomenal response from VS - top quality customer service and PR oo) oo) oo)

Enjoy next years holiday y)

A superb response. I am really pleased and a generous offer from VS.

A superb response. I am really pleased and a generous offer from VS.

It is indeed. One small note of caution though - is the offer effectively based on reward seat availability? The wording seems familiar from the days of the red voucher.

A superb response. I am really pleased and a generous offer from VS.

Me too! Wow!
Isn't this why we love VS?
I kinda expected this but at the same time couldn't have imagined it, if that makes sense.

A superb response. I am really pleased and a generous offer from VS.

It is indeed. One small note of caution though - is the offer effectively based on reward seat availability? The wording seems familiar from the days of the red voucher.

yes availability for these flights comes from the reward bucket - hence my earlier comment.

Can you explain reward bucket seats and how they work....I will be planning on heading away on hols somewhere around this time again do we will booking in the next couple of weeks as soon as the flights are released