Virgin Complaints
 

I have a question for Virgin Atlantic CC.
I haven't flown with Virgin since 2003 but will be next January, so I wanted to check out seating arrangements etc., and came accross the website Airline Reviews, Airport Reviews, Flight Reviews, Seat Reviews and SKYTRAX Airline and Airport Star Ranking and was amazed to read the vast number of complaints against the airlne and crew service.

I realise that probably the majority of pax are satisfied and feel no need to post their satisfaction and that there will always be malcontents to find something to complain about.

I also realise that probably CC can't be bothered to read a website like this but if any of you have, I would really like to hear your comments. My memory of Virgin flights to Miami were always of excellent quality and really pleasant CC, so its just surprising to read comments that are more usually associated with LCC.

JC

Personally, I'm always amazed at the amount of effort put into some of the wordier comments on such sites, that frequently seem to be about rather trivial and perceived injustices. There's often a self-importance about some of those posting that leads you to suspect that they have too much time on their hands and an unrealistic assessment of their own worth. I always disregard anything that starts with the phrase "My wife and I.." or similar.

It may possibly be worth looking at the comments for other airlines: You may find that the comments are similarly negative, on similar issues and apparently written by similar people!


;););)

Tightslot, I couldn't agree more with your comments. Wordy and self important, definitely but there certainly appeared to be a common thread of perhaps trivial or perceived injustice but basically dissatisfaction at Virgin's service. I did have a look at BA's section on this site and on the whole there was little carping.

I appreciate its very difficult for Virgin's CC to justify themselves and actually why should they. My memory of my last flight with them was faultless, perhaps I should let the matter rest there!

As a matter of interest, on that last flight to Miami, we were 3 hours late taking off due to a technical hiccup but the Captain came to the departure lounge and kept us fully in the picture. Later during the flight, my colleague confessed to being a very nervous passenger and mentioned it to one of the CC. He must have mentioned it to the captain who sent a message back inviting him and myself to the cockpit where we stayed for the best part of an hour listening to him recount endless fascinating flying stories. I wish I could remember his name, he was an excellent ambassador for Virgin.

Honestly the only time I've heard passengers complain has been over things they weren't entitled to in the first place. Things like a free upgrade or free food or drinks just because they thought they were nice and special and deserved them.

I've yet to hear a complaint over something legitimate. But heard plenty by people claiming they were discriminated against over the size of their bag, the fact they required an extension seatbelt or the requirement to turn off their mobile phones. None of these things are examples of bad service by the airline. They are all examples of passengers somehow feeling that the rules which apply to everyone, don't apply to them.

And its just human nature for people to expect service to improve exponentially every year. There can be no improvement in service levels (or degradation or it) and yet complaints will increase merely because the service on offer is no longer meeting their expectations.

What really gets me is the wittering and whinges from the punters who are using Virgin into MCO expect this not to be a family vacation flight. If bothered pay for an upgrade, don't bloody whinge at me! I'm not a Virgin staffer, but am in the industry.

In some passengers mind, the answer no=being rude.

I hate these self important whingers. Yes of course there are serious complaints but why make them on a website such as Airline Quality? A lot of the pax moaning over nitty bitty things should get some perspective on life.

I must say i do find BA crew to be the best in the industry. I have flown many airlines including vs and did find them to be very very rude. Never flying VS again.

Is that because you work for them?

Did they refuse you an upgrade? What exactly was it they did that was so rude that makes it so that you won't fly them ever again?

I have flown Virgin a lot over the last 4 years - to the US and Far East and always found them to be very good with just one or two minor niggles, but no one is perfect. I already have more flights booked with them. Just wish Branson would lobby to get the carry on allowance increased, as if you are travelling on business the essential stuff you can't afford to part with weighs more than 6kg, but that's another story.

I flew Virgin at the start of the year for the first time to DXB ex LHR. It was awful. I was flying cattle class admittedly but the seats were some of the most uncomfortable I've had the privilege of sitting on. The food was absolutely disgusting and the crew really took very little interest in the passengers, prefering to gossip loudly about their fellow workers.

The final straw for me was when my wife was attempting to watch sunrise over the mountains of (what I presume was) Iran - a male steward leant across me without so much as an "excuse me" and slammed the window blind shut without saying a word to my wife and waltzed off back into the galley.

Unfortunately it would appear that Virgin are happy to sit on their laurels and rely on their "funky" image. It would appear that their staff are not motivated to provide a superior service and they expect the passengers to be so smitten by the shiny new IFE systems and the perks of flying Upper Class etc that nobody will complain...

Shopbakker's comments seem to reflect those comments in the Airline reviews.

I'm holding any judgement till after my flight in January

April 2005 and Virgin Atlantic u-turned a Gatwick-Barbados flight 3 hrs in.

Engine trouble apparently.

Which meant there was no aircraft available for the Barbados-Gatwick overnight return flight.

The Virgin rep on the island at the hotel we were at told us they'd forgotten to load documentation which meant the occupants of the aircraft wouldn't be allowed to disembark.

Apparently "engine problems" absolved Virgin from compensation payouts whereas human error would have clobbered them for shedloads?

Now I wasn't affected by the delay and I don't know enough about procedures to comment but it certainly was an eye-opener as to what measures airlines are potentially prepared to take to avoid paying out for incompetence.

great VS crew!!
 

I have just flown Vs to LAX and back as part of my holiday to Vegas. Now I wear the Silver tie at LHR for the other big company so I was eager to pass judgement on the crew. They were in fact absolutely superb on both sectors. I was in Upper class which was lovely but the crew were attentive, polite, friendly and nothing was too much trouble. I even had to telephone Crawley to sing their praises to the management!! Well done to the late crew from LAX on the 09 Oct - you were stars..!!!!!!!!!!

For what it's worth (historical interest only!), I have flown Virgin on two occasions only - both in August, 1984 - and was disappointed with both the service onboard and with the response I received from the airline's customer services department after my return to the UK. Admittedly the airline was only a matter of weeks old at the time but as a matter of principle I've never used them again.
[P.S. The fare was a bargain: £119 one way Gatwick-Newark or vice versa (£129 at weekends)! Combined with onward flights on PeopleExpress (anyone remember the old North Terminal at EWR?) this made for a cheap trip. If I remember correctly, PE fares were a flat $20 one way (extra for luggage).]

I really wish those sites allowed comments on comments. Some of the things pax write are absolute tosh and I'd love to be able to explain why they are asked to do certain things by the crew. Oh and to respons to the to$$er who thought it included in his ticket price on EY to demand the crew meals when his choice had run out!!!

I fly VS a reasonable amount and the issue I think is that they are very inconsistent. Some crews are really good and someone are really very poor.

I'd recommend a look at the excellent V-Flyer site (v-flyer.com) and read some of the trip reports. These are generally written by people who travel a lot, fly Virgin regularly and like the brand. However, read a few of those and you'll see that consistency isn't Virgin's strong suit.

I have heard say that (even by airline standards) the cabin crew aren't well paid. What is true is that if you get either an unhappy crew, or a group that are way to focused on social interaction with each other than on looking after the passengers it's going to be a bleak experience.

All in all Virgin is a mixed experience. In the air, even in Upper, the food is pretty poor. But other things, like the Clubhouse and the Upper Class Security facility really do set the airline apart.

Yes, our outbound flight crew on that Barbados flight in 2005 were, by and large, abysmal...........we'd upgraded to Premium Economy and didn't get a sniff of a duty-free trolley (we were "forgotten" apparently). And if you know the laws on Barbados with regards to the purchase of duty-free goods on the island, you'll realise how annoying being "forgotten" was.

However, the return flight crew were absolutely magnificent.

Well, bear in mind the Gatwick Clubhouse doesn't appear to open until 7a.m (or it didn't back in 2005)......but agreed, top-notch, faultless service once you're inside.

Spoke to quite a few people while we were on holiday in Barbados in september...4 couples,and a lady on her own.
All of them complained that in economy,the crew stopped serving drinks a couple of hours into the flight,and the service wasn't too good...makes no difference to me to be honest as we flew Ba,but from these comments it would put me off flying with them,unless in upper.

I'm BA crew and have also flown Virgin - 3 times.

Once LHR-ORD, crew and service excellent.

Once SYD-HKG, crew and service excellent.

Once HKG-LHR, service good, crew obviously tired and not at their best.

I'd have no hesitation in flying them again; I think, like BA, the overall service really depends on the crew you get on the day.

Unlike other airlines, they're not robots but human. If they're not in a good mood, it might be reflected to some extent on the service provided. That's not an excuse, just the way some crew are.

Virgin crew are generally quite young, and without wanting to open a can of worms, I think this definitely has consequences (good and bad).