Virgin Atlantic ITV Documentary

[honey lamb]

At the end of tonights episode it said, "In memory of Pat"

Who was Pat?

The postman in the first episode. Judging by his accent he was from Cork. And more specifically, the north side of the city.

Can you not narrow it down to the Street in the north side of Cork HL?

Almost!

I've missed the series because I was in America. Do you know how I can catch up on all the episodes?

dont bother. spend the time doing something better instead.
like pulling teeth or watch paint dry.

overall , I enjoyed all 3 eps. But I have to say last night I was a bit irritated by the fact that the welcome parade in the US was on the tarmac - whose idea was that I wonder. As SRB rightly said the noise level was challenging ! It was a bit of a damp squib.

Also, the presentation of the ad campaign options. I do hope it all ends well ! it was all a bit weird I thought - I mean an Amish guy ??? Theirs is a lifestyle choice - so a new Virgin plane may make him think twice ?? Glad they moved onto the next options quickly. However, Reuben did look uncomfortable throughout.

I think the CC, back room staff and Customer relations (Swansea) came over really well. I quite liked Lusardi, even with his backpack...... great job he has..... but he did sometimes go around like he had to always pinch himself and there was a bit too much emphasis on the damn lighting...... maybe he can now sit down with a cup of tea and calm down.

I am sure there will be some comments on here very soon about the Champagne/sparkling wine tasting.....100,000 bottles a year sounds like a lot of Air Miles to me with Virgin Wines !

Overall I really enjoyed this - a great insight into the whole company (from the President to the staff, it seemed like everyone was liking being part of it) - however I think they could have spent more time on actual flights and less time in the warehouse - for me that would have made it more enjoyable and demonstrated a bit more about what the company is ultimately about - flying people around the world.

Also, the presentation of the ad campaign options. I do hope it all ends well ! it was all a bit weird I thought - I mean an Amish guy ??? Theirs is a lifestyle choice - so a new Virgin plane may make him think twice ?? Glad they moved onto the next options quickly. However, Reuben did look uncomfortable throughout.

Yes, the ad went live in early 2015. The bits they were filming you can see here here at 0'32"-0'33" and 0'49"-0'57".

In EP3 there was a very obvious (ad badly executed) audio track edit towards the end of the episode when the narrator mentions VS being "years in the red". It sounds like the exact number of years was edited out at the last minute. The result is a strange hiccuping effect. Too much Meonhill no doubt...

That backpack drives me irrationally nuts ! (I'll get help from Dr. Peroni later). But I have to say I think he does put a lot of effort into making things right.

Overall I think it presented the front line staff in a very good light and as has been said on here before, it puts them in a better light than BA whose training and ethos just seems punitive to me throughout.

I am not sure about the "execs" though. I guess I might have a tainted viewpoint as it reminds me of the corporate BSDs in the American company I work for, but I will say that they all seem proud to be working for Virgin, want to make the experience for customers as best as they possibly can, have fun whilst doing it, and I felt that was genuine and not just for TV.

I have not flown on the Dreamliner but the UC seats looked rather tight to me and a bit like toilet cubicles. And tight ones at that.

The warehouseman was a character though.

[buns]

I am sure there will be some comments on here very soon about the Champagne/sparkling wine tasting.....100,000 bottles a year sounds like a lot of Air Miles to me with Virgin Wines !

I am sure Virgin Wines would love the business.

Much to their chagrin, the wine contract is with Berry Bros At least in the TV Programme they called it "English sparkling wine" and not champagne as is often referred to on board

buns

I must admit I smiled a bit at the type of complaints the Swansea call centre gets - pax complaining that the CC weren't in fact telepathic in response to advertising 'telepathic like service' lol. And then a disgruntled pax who'd had her surprise trip for her husband / fiancée blown because VS had sent him a schedule update. Well duh! Don't fill in his bloody contact details on the MMB page, just your own. It's not difficult - I'm the only one who gets those updates when me and my OH are travelling. Still, they were offered £100 each in vouchers.

Have seen a couple of comments about comparing BA hiring to VS hiring, I think the BA program was a lot more honest about how tough it is and what high standards are expected etc. The VS program just followed a few that made it all the way, did it even show just 1 person not passing?
From talking to a few CC friends who have flown for both companies, the application process and training is very similar at both airlines.

I watched the first and last episodes. Like all these types of programme they are mainly froth and little substance.

Overall I really enjoyed this - a great insight into the whole company (from the President to the staff, it seemed like everyone was liking being part of it) - however I think they could have spent more time on actual flights and less time in the warehouse - for me that would have made it more enjoyable and demonstrated a bit more about what the company is ultimately about - flying people around the world.

I agree. An entire episode dedicated to a flight would have been good.

What is the intro music for this programme? It's been driving me nuts!

Overall to me Virgin although small did not penny pinch when delivering a service and a lot of thought goes into the likes of serving sparkling wine at 38000 feet .

Like many others I would like to have seen more flight footage as I am taking friends away this Nov with a surprise upgrade and wanted them to have a good luck at the cabin .

When Virgin get it right on the ground and in the air I think nobody touches them

I watched the first and last episodes. Like all these types of programme they are mainly froth and little substance.

Really?
I certainly didn’t see the froth and for me had a lot of substance.

I enjoyed it immensely, maybe it is because I am a very regular VAA flyer and recognise a lot of the people and understand many of the processes that are explained through the episodes. I felt close to the action, if you like!

I loved the programmes too, I'd have loved it if there had been more than three aired. A colleague at work was saying she would love to fly UV and sit at the bar....

UC, not UV!!!!

Really?

Yep, really!
Just not my kind of TV programme I guess.

I watched the first and last episodes. Like all these types of programme they are mainly froth and little substance.

I know its PR, I know i shouldn't take it too seriously, but I just wish they would for once show both sides. Show the staff being disheartened, show the mistakes that HQ make, show management being......."Management". I agree with Maximus that its just, meh. I would love to see a company do a true "warts and all" programme, and if anyone could, with their image, it could be Virgin, but alas it wasn't.

[Darren Wheeler]

VS had no editorial control over the programme contents so any glossing over is purely down to the production company.

I did chuckle about the passenger complaining about numb gums, allegedly from a contaminated sausage. Reminds me of an ex-collegue who rang in sick "because his head had shrunk overnight so his teeth didn't fit anymore."

VS had no editorial control over the programme contents so any glossing over is purely down to the production company.

I did chuckle about the passenger complaining about numb gums, allegedly from a contaminated sausage. Reminds me of an ex-collegue who rang in sick "because his head had shrunk overnight so his teeth didn't fit anymore."

Really???? I'm not sure you're correct there.