Virgin Network Changes

Off topic but I've still not had my new e-ticket for my flight the outbound of which was yesterday and return is tomorrow.

oh :-)

but guessing you were still able to fly?

Yep. Just couldn't check in online. When sorting the G yesterday the additional taxes hadn't been taken for inbound G which I guess delayed the ticket issue. Might give them a call though as don't want to get stuck in ORD tomorrow

BA have announced that they're deploying the A380 on the SFO route (BA287/286) 5 days per week from April.

Could make for an interesting little battle with VS going double-daily...

[honey lamb]

Small potatoes I know, but we've been waiting more than three weeks for refund of £200 taken in error, admitted by VS and umpteen promises that it's on its way, it has been passed to refunds, refunds have been looking at it, they have been chased, etc. Yes I could write to the CEO but you know what, I really, really can't be bothered.

VS are notorious about not refunding promptly. Some years ago I booked a fully refundable flight, which I later cancelled. It took six weeks for the refund to come through at a time when the difference between pound and the euro was fluctuating wildly. I lost €300 in that transaction because of the delay. By contrast, because of a fare sale in BA, I was able to cancel and re-book my ticket and the refund was back in my account within minutes.

Oh dear this saddens me too but is reflective of the DL tie up which is ( seemingly) benefitting DL members at the continued expense of FC members.
I know there a few people here who are booked to travel on pulled routes next year ( gfonk and Bretty spring to mind)- I hope you are all cared for by VS appropriately (given they've sold you down the river )

DL

I second your thoughts DL on PAX already booked on these routes. A real shame to see this happen, though not totally surprising. Think it may be time to switch to the BA Black Amex for more route flexibility......

As for the CC, Honey Lamb is right, the Japanese CC are Tokyo based rather than UK. I'd say at least half the CC on my flights earlier this year were native Japanese, so I do wonder if they will be redeployed or redundant.

Anyway, thanks again all, think I need a drink and I've got a nice bottle of Daiginjo Sake in the fridge. Cheers

Japanese crew are actually London based and live in the UK. Most are employed on a 3 year working visa and that is subject to being part of the International crew team at Virgin. Unfortunately these crew will have to return to Japan when the route stops and will no longer be VS employees. There are a small amount of Japanese crew who have the right to live and work in the UK on a permanent basis maybe because they have married EU nationals or joined before the 3 year rule came into place, these crew have been offered a mainline transfer at Virgin and will fly all routes if they chose to stay.

As for the CC, Honey Lamb is right, the Japanese CC are Tokyo based rather than UK. I'd say at least half the CC on my flights earlier this year were native Japanese, so I do wonder if they will be redeployed or redundant.

Anyway, thanks again all, think I need a drink and I've got a nice bottle of Daiginjo Sake in the fridge. Cheers

Japanese crew are actually London based and live in the UK. Most are employed on a 3 year working visa and that is subject to being part of the International crew team at Virgin. Unfortunately these crew will have to return to Japan when the route stops and will no longer be VS employees. There are a small amount of Japanese crew who have the right to live and work in the UK on a permanent basis maybe because they have married EU nationals or joined before the 3 year rule came into place, these crew have been offered a mainline transfer at Virgin and will fly all routes if they chose to stay.

Thanks StarGuy, that's good to know. I could have sworn that one of the CC on my flight in May lived in Osaka and commuted to Tokyo. Whatever. It's pleasing to know their jobs aren't necessarily in danger.

i met two CC who were based in UK. one was on visa and one i think was married to an EU, she had to commute three hours to LHR before the NRT flight

I've met crew who live in Dubai and commute to London!

Sounds unbelievable but when you bear in mind part-time crew may only work 2 or 3 trips a month and pay next to nothing for standby tickets, it is feasible.

Oh dear this saddens me too but is reflective of the DL tie up which is ( seemingly) benefitting DL members at the continued expense of FC members.
I know there a few people here who are booked to travel on pulled routes next year ( gfonk and Bretty spring to mind)- I hope you are all cared for by VS appropriately (given they've sold you down the river )

DL

I second your thoughts DL on PAX already booked on these routes. A real shame to see this happen, though not totally surprising. Think it may be time to switch to the BA Black Amex for more route flexibility......

I think VS have handled this whole affair poorly ( as they did when they announced the SYD cessation )- I posted this on the day the news broke and I believe Bretty is still awaiting his eticket re- booking ( I think gfonk has received his but might be wrong ).Others have had varying fortune.
I've switched to the BA Black Amex ( in addition to the Amex Plat) -I have however a considerable stash of FC miles that I simply can't redeem. There is zilch availability for anything ex USA ( save for IAD/ JFK on limited dates) for most of next year - the next route I was looking to book ( YVR) has been pulled .
In the short time I've switched to BA I've managed some decent redemptions ( much better than VS) and can't see me returning .
I've loved my time with VS, but losing my AU status has been liberating and thrown my airline loyalty into the air.
If you want a referral for the BA card drop me a PM .
DL

hi DL
yes i received my eticket within two days.
we arrived back from prague on wednesday to the news and called VS in the car on the way home. 1st agent gave us all options ie. BA or ANA. we decided to think about it and called back when we got home only to be told by a different agent that we couldnt book BA. so left it 30 mins called back and finally got through to an agent who was helpful and enquired about BA for us. we booked it on the spot. was told ee should get eticket within 2 to 3 days. on friday morning i could no longer log into my MMB so figured the eticket must be on its way. At 4 pm i called VS again and even though i got cut off the ticket arrived shortly after. was also told that the BA reference would take a further 24hrs but should be able to get from BA. called BA twice that evening but they wouldnt give over the phone.
called VS again that day but no joy, called on saturday only to be told that because of the type of booking i wouldnt get a BA reference.
so called back on sunday and finally got through to an agent who arranged a conference call BA and while I was on the phone BA emailed my reference, i didnt end the call till i could log into the booking on the BA website lol.
but yes though i am happy to have been booked into BA CW i do think VS could have handled this better as others pointed out up thread with regards to VS having a proper plan in place. it seems that the VS reservation team got the email not much before we did!
im sure bretty and anyone else still waiting will get their eticket soon. i can totally understand the frustration though. grrrr
i have an amex so will continue to collect miles that way plus i can transfer to BAEC too.

[honey lamb]

As for the CC, Honey Lamb is right, the Japanese CC are Tokyo based rather than UK. I'd say at least half the CC on my flights earlier this year were native Japanese, so I do wonder if they will be redeployed or redundant.

Anyway, thanks again all, think I need a drink and I've got a nice bottle of Daiginjo Sake in the fridge. Cheers

Japanese crew are actually London based and live in the UK. Most are employed on a 3 year working visa and that is subject to being part of the International crew team at Virgin. Unfortunately these crew will have to return to Japan when the route stops and will no longer be VS employees. There are a small amount of Japanese crew who have the right to live and work in the UK on a permanent basis maybe because they have married EU nationals or joined before the 3 year rule came into place, these crew have been offered a mainline transfer at Virgin and will fly all routes if they chose to stay.

I'm glad to hear it as I understood that they were Tokyo based. I hope the ones who have to return will find employment quickly as my experience on the NRT flights was that they were superlative.

I wonder what the overall VS staffing impact is given drop routes, new schedules, changed frequencies, different planes etc.

Can't help thinking that it would be a net drop in staff numbers.

Haven't seen anything published that indicates one or the other - anyone have a view?

Still no new e-ticket for our rebooking on to BA. Not a major trip just our bloomin' honeymoon. Have been Facebook messaging VS and keep being told 'it's in the system just hang in there'.

I am also waiting for a few hundred quid to be refunded to us from about 2-3 weeks ago.

Still no new e-ticket for our rebooking on to BA. Not a major trip just our bloomin' honeymoon. Have been Facebook messaging VS and keep being told 'it's in the system just hang in there'.

I am also waiting for a few hundred quid to be refunded to us from about 2-3 weeks ago.

Not good enough - it's over a week and a lot of you are still not in receipt of new e tickets. Hugely stressful for you all ( and in your case even more galling as they won't refund the change fee you 'd paid !).

DL

I'm pleased to announce my e-ticket / confirmation arrived this morning, at last.

However, I couldn't log in to ANA MMB with the VS reference, but was able to log in with my ticket number, and then found the ANA ref which I've made a note of. I've now filled API stuff and contact details etc so I'm all set, and am just selecting my seats.

Fingers crossed other peoples arrive shortly.

Right, enough skiving, I've work calling and a trip to Hull to do a return to work assessment with a charming client. TTFN

Really pleased for you,Bretty . I'd raise a glass except I've just made a cup of coffee.

Hopefully you others will also have positive news today - especially if it is for a honeymoon !!!!!

Yay!! That's great, John! Must be a weight off your shoulders.

On a separate note... my packing cubes have arrived!

Still no new e-ticket for our rebooking on to BA. Not a major trip just our bloomin' honeymoon. Have been Facebook messaging VS and keep being told 'it's in the system just hang in there'.

I am also waiting for a few hundred quid to be refunded to us from about 2-3 weeks ago.

Not good enough - it's over a week and a lot of you are still not in receipt of new e tickets. Hugely stressful for you all ( and in your case even more galling as they won't refund the change fee you 'd paid !).

DL

Yep, very poor indeed.

I was so irritated about the change fee I complained via Facebook and the Facebook team have told me that they will issue a cheque for £50 to cover it. I'll expect that around Christmas at this rate...

really pleased for you bretty!! yay
obviously not cool for the others still waiting and @clarkeysntfc, that is not a cool situation. really hope that gets resolved asap.

I wonder what the overall VS staffing impact is given drop routes, new schedules, changed frequencies, different planes etc.

Can't help thinking that it would be a net drop in staff numbers.

Haven't seen anything published that indicates one or the other - anyone have a view?

With these changes they're effectively losing 4 flights a day and adding 5 or 6 (depending on season).

So when you account for the loss of SYD & ACC already this year it probably works out about the same overall.

I wonder what the overall VS staffing impact is given drop routes, new schedules, changed frequencies, different planes etc.

Can't help thinking that it would be a net drop in staff numbers.

Haven't seen anything published that indicates one or the other - anyone have a view?

With these changes they're effectively losing 4 flights a day and adding 5 or 6 (depending on season).

So when you account for the loss of SYD & ACC already this year it probably works out about the same overall.

You're probably on the money, but then smaller planes on some routes (less CC), less destinations etc (smaller HQ staff???) - also, smaller number of offshore sites (already hinted at by discussion over the Japan based crew...

I do get the sense there's going to be an overall drop, but it's probably the sort of thing they can handle via "natural wastage".

I'm pretty sure VS don't employ their own ground staff at most outstations - apart, perhaps, from a station manager it's all outsourced to handling agents.

The 787-9s may operate with one or two fewer cabin crew than the A340s they're replacing but, as you say, not a big enough drop to warrant redundancies. It's a job with a high turnover (on all airlines) so no big issue.

The cabin crew situation at NRT has already been discussed. At BOM I imagine the local crew will be offered redeployment to DEL should they want it.

I'm pleased to announce my e-ticket / confirmation arrived this morning, at last.

Great news

Unfortunately diddly squat for me

I am not known for being a patient man!