Virgin Atlantic Seat Selection
Thread Starter
Before 22/12/13, according to the website you could choose seats in PE at the time of booking.
On 23/12/13, the date on which you can choose seats was changed to 1/4/14.
Now it is 25/6/14 as described in the information about booking seats section of the website.
It may have been 1/6/14 for a period when Paxboy booked.
It will probably change again. Moral is - don't believe what you see written on the VA website.
On 23/12/13, the date on which you can choose seats was changed to 1/4/14.
Now it is 25/6/14 as described in the information about booking seats section of the website.
It may have been 1/6/14 for a period when Paxboy booked.
It will probably change again. Moral is - don't believe what you see written on the VA website.
Thread Starter
All mention of being able to choose seats from 25/6/14 has now been removed from the web site (update on 17/6/14).
It's now showing as being available 60 days before departure.
What will the next change be?
It's now showing as being available 60 days before departure.
What will the next change be?
Paxing All Over The World
The only certainty is that - by the time they allow me to book seats - the ones I want will be gone. 
The A346 config has only five full rows of PE. Given advisory restrictions (foot space / toilets / etc) there are only two (possibly three) rows in which I would like to sit. Given, further, that I always prefer the Port side for the trip in question, there are a maximum of three pairs of seats. I hope to get one of those three pairs to give my companion the best view and experience of the trip.
My guess is that others think the same way! In the past, I've always been able to book seats at the time of booking. I almost don't mind paying extra to book seats but I want to book!!
I'm getting old ...
The A346 config has only five full rows of PE. Given advisory restrictions (foot space / toilets / etc) there are only two (possibly three) rows in which I would like to sit. Given, further, that I always prefer the Port side for the trip in question, there are a maximum of three pairs of seats. I hope to get one of those three pairs to give my companion the best view and experience of the trip.
My guess is that others think the same way! In the past, I've always been able to book seats at the time of booking. I almost don't mind paying extra to book seats but I want to book!!
I'm getting old ...
Not only that but the link provided to 'changes to the way you choose your seats in advance' links to a page that is not available. All a bit poor if you've just paid for an Upper Class flight I would think.
Thread Starter
60 days
And to update it, on the 60 day before you travel (actually 60 days plus a few hours) when you are finally allowed to try to pick seats from the map, it tells you that you can't have those ones and are stuck with the ones that you have been allocated. Unfortunately, there is no indication of which ones you have been allocated and 50% are by now greyed out and not available. You think that perhaps you need to re-visit the site just after the departure time 60 days before as you would for a 24 hour check-in.
Don't do that! If you do leave it until then, you'll find that you still can't see what you have been allocated and the only available seats are middle ones and you can't sit together.
Over promising and under delivering is a sure fire way to hack off your customers - I wonder whether the people at Virgin who make the decisions about this sort of thing really understand that?
Don't do that! If you do leave it until then, you'll find that you still can't see what you have been allocated and the only available seats are middle ones and you can't sit together.
Over promising and under delivering is a sure fire way to hack off your customers - I wonder whether the people at Virgin who make the decisions about this sort of thing really understand that?
D - 60 Update.
Today is trip minus 60, so checked 'manage my booking' first thing this morning and it was exactly as TG6 described. No obvious display of seats but the seat map was available. Clicked the 2 seats we wanted and pressed 'submit'. The message came back that we could not have those seats and were stuck with the ones we had - but it didnt show which seats we had and all of the seats reverted to being available on the map.
I phoned the reservation number (which incidentally has its own error where you get stuck in a press button 3 loop) and the chap said that is what happens right up until exactly the time of departure on day minus 60. He acknowledged the poor website behaviour and that there is no indication this anywhere on the site. He said to wait until the exact departure time.
Checked again closer to the time (but still prior to departure time) and this time it would apparently take the seat selection. Still no obvious display of seat numbers on the flight itinerary page but when I now click on 'view or change seats' it shows our seat numbers in the boxes against our names. Still there when I log out and back in again - so hopefully .....
Today is trip minus 60, so checked 'manage my booking' first thing this morning and it was exactly as TG6 described. No obvious display of seats but the seat map was available. Clicked the 2 seats we wanted and pressed 'submit'. The message came back that we could not have those seats and were stuck with the ones we had - but it didnt show which seats we had and all of the seats reverted to being available on the map.
I phoned the reservation number (which incidentally has its own error where you get stuck in a press button 3 loop) and the chap said that is what happens right up until exactly the time of departure on day minus 60. He acknowledged the poor website behaviour and that there is no indication this anywhere on the site. He said to wait until the exact departure time.
Checked again closer to the time (but still prior to departure time) and this time it would apparently take the seat selection. Still no obvious display of seat numbers on the flight itinerary page but when I now click on 'view or change seats' it shows our seat numbers in the boxes against our names. Still there when I log out and back in again - so hopefully .....
Paxing All Over The World
This fills me with forboding for the November trip. For my companion, it will be her first (and probably only) to South Africa and she has paid extra for PE.
Background Noise
But are they seats you wanted???
Background Noise
Still there when I log out and back in again - so hopefully .....
Yes they are - at the time I first got on to the site no other seats were shown as reserved (which is in itself a bit worrying unless everyone else was still in bed).
In fact there all of the other seats in that cabin are still showing as available, so who knows.
In fact there all of the other seats in that cabin are still showing as available, so who knows.
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Thanks for the update guys. Reinforced my view not to use this Virgin in any way. If they can't get something like this to work, what about their aircraft? (Rhetorical question).
Paxing All Over The World
One of the things that has always suprised me about VS is their poor web service. I am a long standing customer (never an employee or shareholder) but their web services have always been poor.
Given that the Virgin Group are based on being 'disruptive' it is ironic that this part of the Group do not do well with the most disruptive technology of the last n decades.
Ttoday, via email, they again are trying to 'upsell' me with their add-on services of limo etc. but the one thing I would be prepared to pay for - they do not offer.
Given that the Virgin Group are based on being 'disruptive' it is ironic that this part of the Group do not do well with the most disruptive technology of the last n decades.
Ttoday, via email, they again are trying to 'upsell' me with their add-on services of limo etc. but the one thing I would be prepared to pay for - they do not offer.
Have Upper class booked for SWMBO and I in Jan.
Rang up, (as the website would do nothing that I could understand).
Their website is monumentally useless.
There is a recorded message that says they have mucked up their IT again and have no idea when it will be sorted.
Waited on hold for 33 mins to get through to ask about the 25/6 debacle, and nice lady told me that they have no idea when it will be resolved, if it ever will be.
So 60 days.
And their website only works tolerably well with IE, not with FF.
Rang up, (as the website would do nothing that I could understand).
Their website is monumentally useless.
There is a recorded message that says they have mucked up their IT again and have no idea when it will be sorted.
Waited on hold for 33 mins to get through to ask about the 25/6 debacle, and nice lady told me that they have no idea when it will be resolved, if it ever will be.
So 60 days.
And their website only works tolerably well with IE, not with FF.
Don't know what everyone is complaining about. 60 days before my outbound flight to San Francisco today, logged on and booked our seats. Apart from the new 60 day rule there is no change as to what happened previously.
Recently flew short haul with BA in Club and couldn't reserve my seat until 24 hours before the flight. Looking at long haul on their website it appears to be the same unless you opt to pay.
It seems to me there are a few people that just like to have it in for Virgin Atlantic or Richard Branson.
Recently flew short haul with BA in Club and couldn't reserve my seat until 24 hours before the flight. Looking at long haul on their website it appears to be the same unless you opt to pay.
It seems to me there are a few people that just like to have it in for Virgin Atlantic or Richard Branson.
Paxing All Over The World
You are correct Level bust in that some folks do have it in for Virgin Group and SRB - just as many folks have it in for BA and WW.
I am not one of them. In fact, I have been accused in these forums of supporting VS too far and being an apologist for them and SRB. I am a long term, satisfied customer. Which is why I am so irritated by their failures. VS have been my first choice of long haul for [scratches head] over 20 years. To not have your website working better than others is beyond words of stupidity for all those involved.
I am glad to hear that the 60 days has worked out for others and have the date in my diary to try and get the seats I want.
I am not one of them. In fact, I have been accused in these forums of supporting VS too far and being an apologist for them and SRB. I am a long term, satisfied customer. Which is why I am so irritated by their failures. VS have been my first choice of long haul for [scratches head] over 20 years. To not have your website working better than others is beyond words of stupidity for all those involved.
I am glad to hear that the 60 days has worked out for others and have the date in my diary to try and get the seats I want.
Thread Starter
I'd just like to say that I don't 'have it in' for Virgin or Richard Branson. My problem was that given a choice between two carriers, I chose the one that offered something that I valued. To find after paying that it was not actually being offered was, to me, over promising and under delivering at the very least (or deceitful at worst). Originally, I was curious to know whether it was just my mistake but finding out that it wasn't, I would bear that experience in mind in future.
The current state of the web site is clearly somewhat variable. It may improve, making it a neutral factor in future choices. If it doesn't, it will be another negative factor.
The current state of the web site is clearly somewhat variable. It may improve, making it a neutral factor in future choices. If it doesn't, it will be another negative factor.
Over promising and under delivering is a customer service sin and the people responsible should be fired.
However, lying is worse, and anyone doing that in customer service jobs should be fired and their cv impacted for ever.
The only problem with my theory is that there would now be no one to work in customer service.
They do it cos they can . Customers must complain more.
However, lying is worse, and anyone doing that in customer service jobs should be fired and their cv impacted for ever.
The only problem with my theory is that there would now be no one to work in customer service.
They do it cos they can . Customers must complain more.
Thread Starter
'Don't know what everyone is complaining about. 60 days before my outbound flight to San Francisco today, logged on and booked our seats. Apart from the new 60 day rule there is no change as to what happened previously.'
I waited until 60 days, to the minute, to choose seats for the return flight - by then 73% of the seats were already taken/greyed out, no seats were showing as being allocated to me so once again, I have ended up being somewhat aggrieved. I'm guessing that they came on line at midnight 60 days before departure based on dates & UK (GMT) time or midnight 60 days before based on time at the departure airport - who knows?
Has anyone logged into their booking and seen the seats which have been allocated before choosing them? Exactly which seats (or how many) on a Gatwick 747 are removed from self selection until check-in time?
I waited until 60 days, to the minute, to choose seats for the return flight - by then 73% of the seats were already taken/greyed out, no seats were showing as being allocated to me so once again, I have ended up being somewhat aggrieved. I'm guessing that they came on line at midnight 60 days before departure based on dates & UK (GMT) time or midnight 60 days before based on time at the departure airport - who knows?
Has anyone logged into their booking and seen the seats which have been allocated before choosing them? Exactly which seats (or how many) on a Gatwick 747 are removed from self selection until check-in time?
In my case they became available at 0800, but I didn't log on until about 1000 by which time only about 3 people had reserved their seats which was in premium Economy.
I guess it depends on what flight you are booked on. If your Upper Class on a B747 out of Gatwick there are only 14 seats available anyway.
I guess it depends on what flight you are booked on. If your Upper Class on a B747 out of Gatwick there are only 14 seats available anyway.