Are Virgin Special?

I was just thinking are Virgin Atlantic really a special airline compared to other long haul carriers or just very standard. I saw an advert in a Newspaper yesterday where Virgin stated things like a choice of entertainment, choice of meals and free drinks. They are not unique selling points now though?

I fully appreciate Virgin has been responsible for many innovations such as individual entertainment in all classes and premium economy.

I have only ever flown economy and have flown with Virgin 7 times to the States and had a good flight everytime. The other long haul airlines I have used are Air Canada and South African Airways.

Air Canada was a number of years ago and I would have rated them below Virgin at the time due to the lack of entertainment.

However, South African Airways was better in economy. They had a better seat pitch which made a significant difference in terms of comfort. They also offered a choice between continental and cooked breakfast. Apart from that they were much of a muchness. The business class looked well below Virgin's as the seats were in a 2-2-2 configuration which would give you the privacy of Virgin's cabin.

What are other people's thoughts.

Yes, Virgin are special.

However what makes something special varies from person to person.

I think Virgin definitely go for more of an emotional connection with passengers, and yes, BA do the same but in a completely different way.

Virgin are "Hello Gorgeous!"
BA are "To Fly. To Serve."

BA is like Gordon from Thomas the Tank Engine, Virgin is very much Thomas from Thomas the Tank Engine.

BA is like Gordon from Thomas the Tank Engine, Virgin is very much Thomas from Thomas the Tank Engine.

Love it!

Virgin used to be special.
Standards have slipped so much they are barely ordinary now. For economy that are now lightyears behind Aer Lingus for example in every respect.

BA is like Gordon from Thomas the Tank Engine, Virgin is very much Thomas from Thomas the Tank Engine.

Love it!

Ditto
I think VS are good for sure. I think SQ were amazing.
Are VS special? I'd say.
They have been innovative and hope they can continue to be. I'm not over the moon about the delta venture but remain open minded.

You would probably not notice just how special until you take the same flight with a different airline - then you would notice the difference.

As for free drinks - on VS all drinks are free. US carriers charge for booze in Y

Virgin are special to those people who know the history of the airline as opposed to just their last flight.
If it wern't for Mr B we would still be flying economy with BA for the same price as Upper is now with our thumbs up our arses and have to be thankful for the privilage.

In my own personal opinion - absolutely not!
And if you read the thread "slick experience redeeming BA Amex voucher" you will see many good comments about BA.
However on a Virgin Atlantic forum, I would guess most replies to your question are likely to be positive ):

My own personal experiences of VS have only ever been positive but I have no other long haul carrier to compare them against , that said unless I wanted to go to a destination that VS don't fly to I have no desire to fly with anyone else whilst I'm happy with VS

If you read the thread "slick experience redeeming BA Amex voucher" you will see many good comments about BA.

And a quick glance at the BA forum on Flyertalk will reveal an awful lot of negative ones too.

Fact is, there are things BA are better at (website, for example) and there are things VS are better at (eg Clubhouses), some of which matter to some people and others to others. VS FFs may believe standards have slipped over the years, but it seems many BA FFs would say the same - just look at the recent heated debate about food in BA's lounges.

The problem any airline has is that once it's introduced something new and innovative it won't be long before a rival either copies or outdoes it. To keep up, it needs to keep innovating all the time but that, of course, is expensive.

My concern is that, under a man who previously worked for AA, VS will lose its edge and chip away at the little things that make it different in a quest to cut costs. I hope I'm wrong.

I agree with gumshoe especially the last paragraph the most.

Talking with people in the know the man from AA understands VS lost some edge and is actively working to regain it - and I have heard of some great things happening.

Yes VS is special, it may not be 'as' special as it was when there was one, then two 747s, but in many ways it excels. This is speaking from experience about how VS will go the extra mile - I recall once being late to arrive at JFK due to traffic, and, having phoned VS to say will I make it they asked for my ETA then had someone waiting at the kerb with my BP and with help to fast track security. I cannot think of any other airline that would do that (and for those that know me this was several years ago before having the 'elevated' status). More recently I've had similar experiences.

I hope VS goes on being special but I do understand that a lot of this is personal, I for example find SQ perfectly ordinary but I know others disagree.

[Pete]

Virgin used to be special.
Standards have slipped so much they are barely ordinary now. For economy that are now lightyears behind Aer Lingus for example in every respect.

I see this sort of comment a lot. I could probably go back to when the site started 10 years ago and find a similar comment, but looking at the Flyer Ratings (http://v-flyer.com/the-toolbox/flyer-ratings), the three month rolling average is significantly up over the overall totals, which suggests VS are currently improving their service in the eyes of those that have submitted trip reports to the site.

That said, there have been plenty of cutbacks over the years - amenity kits, flowers on the bar, red cushions and the width of the suite (that I'm going to climb in today...); but maybe there's an argument to say the product is better now than it was 10 years ago. Suites vs J2000 seats; Touch Screen on-demand IFE over Odyssey. Yes, you can point to beancutting, but I'm happy to be flying on the flight I am today rather than one 10 years ago.

As for free drinks - on VS all drinks are free. US carriers charge for booze in Y

Was not my experience on Delta Man - Atl & vice versa just recently. Spirits were chargeable, I think; beer and wine (and softies of course) certainly not.

[Neil]

I guess what is special for one person might not be for another, so it comes down to an individuals own perception of what is special.

I'm not sure VS are unique or have an overall stand out package/offering, but for me, there are many individual elements that are important to me that still make them my number 1 choice for long haul.

I have been a VS fan for many years & continue to be so but IMHO VS are no where near where as Special as they once were. Most of my travel in recent years has been UC, during that time the only other airlines I have flown with regularly have been Air New Zealand & Singapore airlines, both of which I feel offer a better in flight service in their Business Class cabins. Only area where I think VS are still Special is in their Clubhouses.

Not as special, or different, as they were a few years ago. We have flown with VS since 1990 so have seen the changes come and go. I always felt that compared with all the other airlines around Virgin did things in a very different way, unique selling point, making it fun to travel with them. During the years when they were offering a real alternative to BA they had a very refreshing way of doing things. We tend to frequent the leisure routes mostly out of Gatwick and never travelled with them for business. Flew from LHR to Boston a couple of times and both flights were disappointing. Going on holiday with VS was always fun and still is. But do not believe VS has a USP anymore. Fares are consistent across airlines/routes and although I remain loyal to VS for now but with flying costs so high now we have to shop around.

Are they as special as they once were? IMHO, absolutely not. The Clubhouse remains still the best lounge I have been in, and the staff, when they are good, are excellent. Weigh that against archaic IT, a limited frequent flyer scheme, and too many mediocre and inconsistent customer experiences, and they are no better than anybody else, and considerably poorer than others.

I've said this before, and I'll probably get howled at again - but I suspect that VS's customers who are 'not so regular, and more used to easyJet' find them more special than the 'very regulars who have status with EK, EY, BA, SQ, LH etc'.

VS may be on the up under its new leader. I hope so. But they really need to address exactly what this airline is for - what market does it serve?

In the meantime, my VS AU is in the bin, and my EK Platinum and BA Silver have just been renewed….

the three month rolling average is significantly up over the overall totals, which suggests VS are currently improving their service in the eyes of those that have submitted trip reports to the site.

That said, there have been plenty of cutbacks over the years - amenity kits, flowers on the bar, red cushions and the width of the suite (that I'm going to climb in today...); but maybe there's an argument to say the product is better now than it was 10 years ago. Suites vs J2000 seats; Touch Screen on-demand IFE over Odyssey. Yes, you can point to beancutting, but I'm happy to be flying on the flight I am today rather than one 10 years ago.

But surely people are not performing an historical comparison here; they are comparing Virgin to the present day competition, and I think it is pretty well established that if you fly East, VS is some considerable distance behind the best, and if you fly West, VS is not significantly better than a very average field.

But surely people are not performing an historical comparison here; they are comparing Virgin to the present day competition, and I think it is pretty well established that if you fly East, VS is some considerable distance behind the best, and if you fly West, VS is not significantly better than a very average field.

I think that is a good point.
I only fly east currently however apart from a couple of flights on SQ (which I thought was absolute fantastic) I have always chosen VS as the only alternatives are BA, JL and NH. To be honest JL is much like BA and its really pricey. Plus JL premium seats don't look that nice. NHL is better priced but still don't look as attractive so the only other option is BA.
TBH if I had enough Airmiles I would try BA F once going easy but until then for me on my route VS are still favourite.
Ofcourse if I was going else where east eg. SQ then only one airline is the option IMHO.

I think they used to be very special. I certainly recall the excitement when back in the late 80s my parents sat the family down to tell us we would be flying VS to the States and not TWA. Even then, a couple years after launch, the airline had a special/different feeling to it.

The innovation by the airline also helped to make it special, for example PTV screens for everyone in the early 90.

Today I think they are less special. This has been due to a number of factors:

1. The rise of Middle Eastern carriers pushing the boundaries of inflight experiences;
2. The price of oil increasing and the effects of 9/11 meaning the airline industry had to cut costs;
3. A lack of investment by the airline from C.2005-2010 meaning other rival carriers stole a march on VS (in particular ex LGW/MAN);
4. Somewhere along the line crew seem to have lost that extra spark.

So they are less special today. In fact, and dare I say it, I have enjoyed far more my recent flights on BA than VS. The crews just seemed more friendly and wanting to be there (I know all carriers have good and bad staff members just like all companies). The experience at T5 has in a way also been more enjoyable.

As for free drinks - on VS all drinks are free. US carriers charge for booze in Y

Was not my experience on Delta Man - Atl & vice versa just recently. Spirits were chargeable, I think; beer and wine (and softies of course) certainly not.

I think that is what I said ?

You would probably not notice just how special until you take the same flight with a different airline - then you would notice the difference.

As for free drinks - on VS all drinks are free. US carriers charge for booze in Y

I think both DL and AA now offer free booze in Coach. DL even offer free booze on their domestic shuttle service (SFO-LAX etc).

I read this thread and commented before my recent flight. Flight outbound = average. Inbound = perfect.
Same plane, go figure.

VS are special in fact, I will pick them over another airline always if possible. I've flown a lot over last 10 years, with AA, BA, CO, UA, and DL... due to varying work policies and still pick VS where possible (obviously not where it puts company at detriment by costing a great percentage more - we get to override at a certain %)

Several reasons
1/ Although staff and service is variable, over time they are better than the rivals. A good VS crew can destroy the rival airlines service wise. I've never had service as good as VS in a non-business cabin on other airlines. This is even more true in Economy.
2/ In Business class itself (rare as hens teeth I fly it) - service is roughly on-par.
3/ Virgin PE is better than rivals - minus the food IMHO.

IMHO service has declined over last 10 years a little - and agree with willd that the service ex-LGW (i.e. on the bread/butter holiday flights) may have declined until the recent fleet refresh. This doesn't help with my colleagues at work's ratings on VS - they get a poor holiday experience, are you going to fly VS on work, when you have 3 carriers approved for work travel on same route.

An example of above is the kids packs. Having flown with children for a holiday in past to MCO - the kids packs - even 4 years ago = excellent. The packs (or whatever it was ) I saw handed to children on my last flight = not so excellent.

Basically recent VS has been, for me, a great service onboard, but the penny pinching from what was provided in past really is noticeable - and this is what needs to stop. On top of this:

My manifesto if I was running VS - to compete:
1/ Improve PE to WTP class food, blowing BA away. The current complaints about not enough of each meal being loaded, well BA didn't seem to have an issue providing everyone their first choice on last 2 flights I took. So fix this too. The VS seat + BA food would be a class leading product.
2/ Improve redemption's - BA allows WTP - even on non flexible fares - to upgrade AIUI to Club for just miles. VS need to do this - I rarely am on a fully flexible fare with any airline in PE. I may be in E - leading to dilemmas like I'm about to post in 5.
3/ Improve companion awards to be useful, again to just match BA - we all know how useful this is - and it IS drawing smart customers away. Even I have been tempted to collect Avios. I imagine many of us travelling extensively on business have no issues spending enough for the companion award on the BA card. (the scary thing is I'll be doing this on just my next business trip).
4/ Improve on-day availability of G upgrades - no-more waiting until you get to gate to know. Part of experience is clubhouse.
5/ Horrid I know, but dump MBNA as a partner. They have treated me personally bad as a VS customer spending min of >2k a month and repaying in full. Cancelled my card, wouldn't renew wouldn't say why, even after formal complaint. As had a lot to spend for wedding, Amex themselves, said, yes, have a platinum card, yes have avios, yes have 20k credit limit on flex select - so it's not like I have bad credit. I've earnt 90k member reward points in two years on business travel since and missed out on the free econ->UC MR vouchers. And allow UK users of whatever replacement card is offered to earn TP's - US style.
6/ For E customers - Allow better use of mileage to upgrade. Allow upgrades for tax only, not fuel on the day. Why? Well, as a business customer I'm reasonably frequently on a full fare E allowing upgrade. The plane will fly with me on it regardless - so fuel costs are same, so why extra duty for an otherwise unfilled sear in a premium cabin. And it uses miles, encouraging me to fly VS again to get them back. Id argue this is revenue neutral to VS - but it really helps frequent travellers.

Okay thats my views over with...