View Full Version : Virgin Flights
Can anyone tell me if Virgin are as good as they make out to be, i have spoken to a couple of people and they say they are great and well worth the extra, but then i have read reviews and they are not so good. I am trying to plan our holiday to Florida and like everyone else wants it to be fantastic. So if anyone has flown with them good or bad experiences please let me know.
Thanks
paul1672
07-09-2004, 14:36
i (hopefully) fly with virgin on 3rd october (26 days and counting) and will be more than happy to let you know my opinions upon my return on the 18th october.
paul
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by AngelaB
Can anyone tell me if Virgin are as good as they make out to be, i have spoken to a couple of people and they say they are great and well worth the extra, but then i have read reviews and they are not so good. I am trying to plan our holiday to Florida and like everyone else wants it to be fantastic. So if anyone has flown with them good or bad experiences please let me know.
Thanks
[/quote]
We have flown with hem many times from bothe Gatwick and Manchester to Florida but also on other routes.
I would say mixed reviews from us we have had great flights but also some bad ones. I would and still do fly with them rather than charter because theres no doubt they are better than charter flights.
I think a lot depends on where you plan to fly from and in what cabin?
Lucy
We have always flown with Virgin and have never had a problem, in fact we have always felt that the treatment we have recieved has been above what we expected, for example while flying home last year I became a bit nervous and began wringing my hands and a little tearful one of the cabin crew who was sitting in front of me lent foreward and held my hand and spoke to me in a very calming way it must have been very uncomfortable for her as it was a stretch, when we were actually up she made a effort to pop back and check on me every so often even though she seemed quite busy, I have read other comments on this forum where people are not to happy with the service but from my point of view we have always felt safe and well lokked after. By the way we always fly out of Gatwick I don`t know if this makes a difference:D
In my opinion Virgin are good, but not as good as they like to advertise. They are expensive
nowadays and so not such a good deal anymore. When we have flown with them we have got the
trolly dolly's from hell, saying that we have also had great ones.
I would say they are just an airline like the others and if your lucky you will get a good
flight. We wont fly them again, we will try other airlines, but as above a lot of people
are happy with them
Nostromo
07-09-2004, 15:34
Virgin is a good airline overall. There have been a few small setbacks in the Orlando sector, particularly with catering standards but no major problems. I would prefer Virgin to BA any day.
eagleydo
07-09-2004, 16:13
We have travelled with Monarch (UH! UH![msnscared]) BA and VIRGIN all from Gatwick. Virgin is definately just that bit better. BA insisted on serving my two nephews aged 14 & 18, kids meals even though they had paid full adult fares and are both strapping 6', this didn't go down to well as you can imagine, the portions being minute. Apart from the food though BA was good but Virgin were superb.
We had no problems with our recent virgin flights, on time going out, early on the return!!! Down town disney checkin is a great idea, online check in now before departure, seat back entertainment, just shop around for the best prices. We have had quotes which varied by £1500 for the same flight!:)
andrewmckay5
07-09-2004, 20:15
Hi Angela,
we've always found Virgin excellent; we fly from Gatwick. One of my Hobby Horses is Virgin Airmiles and we collect them in a number of ways . They mount up and letus upgrade or get cheap flights etc.
regards
andrew
Hi, we used virgin last November and swore never again, they were more expensive but the sevice left a lot to be desired,
we booked the kids meals and when it came time they had none left, they ran out of juice and if you did want another drink you had to track it down, also the seat back entertainment did'nt work, there were 8 of us and only 2 were worked,
Last moan the plane itself was ancient, this year BA hope it's better
Hi Angela,
been flying Virgin both business and pleasure for years and never had a bad experience, they may be a little more expensive than some other airlines but I believe that they run a far better service too, well out of LHR and LGW anyway. I know some people on here have their moans about the Manchester service, but never having flown from there cannot comment.
Yup, ours was from Manchester
Ray&Sarah
07-09-2004, 20:48
The London service by virgin is definately better than the Manchester one. Living about half way between the two we have done both, we would opt for London everytime. Manchester gets the older planes and it shows.
CarolAnn
07-09-2004, 21:49
We tend to pick Virgin over most other airlines for various reasons, agree with Ray&Sarah re London service, we have found great, no complaints at all:)
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Ray&Sarah
The London service by virgin is definately better than the Manchester one. Living about half way between the two we have done both, we would opt for London everytime. Manchester gets the older planes and it shows.
[/quote]
London flights are slightly cheaper too! But living 3 miles from Manchester Airport I would be silly not to go from there!
Ray&Sarah
07-09-2004, 22:03
Very true Lucy, as we are half way between the two it tends to be swings and roundabouts as to which actually ends up cheaper. We did the Manchester flights twice last year as they ended up being the most convenient. There is talk of the Manchester planes being upgraded soon, so maybe the service will be too. Next time we go we are flying AA, so will see what they are like, just got to get used to the "older" attendants apparently![msnsmile2]
Hi
We have flown with Virgin LGW-MCO a number of times. It has gone down in service and up in price. It used to feel special being upstairs with all the little extras, but most of them have been taken away and all you get extra for the money (which varies by up to £1000) is the legroom.
We flew BA to Boston from LHR and got upgraded to ClubClass there and back, but the services on the return flight was terrible.
All in all, it depends on the crew and what sort of mood they are in!
Regards
Karen[xx(]
LiesaAnna
07-09-2004, 23:33
we have been on a virgin flight once and am dreading the next one!,
the flight attendant threatened to have police on standby to arrest my husband!!!!
on the way home from a truely lovely holiday my husband ,2 daughters and 19 year old son
the lady in front of me threw her seat back and made me jump!! i have arthritis in my knees and being cramped kills them !! but i didnt care i wanted to go to florida! (i have asked virgin for this years trip to pre book seats and they said no!!!)anyway i asked her politely to sit up and she did but grumbeling, then her husband through his seat back so the tv screen was more or less in my daughters face! she wears glasses and is very short sighted, we asked politely for them to put the chair up as it was making her uncomfortable, he replied "tough" and went on to say "we always sleep on this flight home" well this upset my daughter she was only 14 it made her cry, my hubby got cross and asked him again to sit up again he said no, i called the flight attendant to sort this out, and my hubby (very naughty)raised his voice at the man the F/A threatened him at being arrested when we got off the plane , hubby apologised, and the F/A said to me, this gentleman has paid good money to fly he is entitled to be comfortable!!!!! we didnt get the flights free!!!!!!!!!!it ruined the holiday for a bit, but hey we went to florida!!!!
we also prebooked kids meals and asked for my son to have a kids meal as he dont like grown up food!! none of them got them, they had some sort of chicken dish and none of them eat meat(not veggies) just dont like it,
i personally do not like virgin but have to get there somehow, so i'll just shut up and put up!!!!
Liesa
It seems to be swings and roundabouts! Flown both Virgin and BA and found both OK but think BA had the edge. Perhaps it depends which airport - BA to Tampa knocked spots of Virgin to Orlando. Preferred Tampa Airport to Miami but I guess you can have good and bad days. It is all worth it I feel to go to Florida but then having never had a bad experience on a flight I might be biased. I have disabilities and have found BA to be great with special needs.
Lisi :)
They are OK but nothing to go over the moon about. We flew with them again this summer, was upgraded to upper class going out and flew back Premium Economy. In our opinion upper class is not worth the extra £1900 each, permiun economy was worth it though if you can afford it.
Flown with other airlines and I would say the best flight we had was in 2002 with US Airways. Never flown BA so can't comment but the advantage BA and Virgin has over the others is that they fly direct to Orlando Intl.
I have flown with just about everyone, Virgin, Ba, delta, Contiental, American, Martinair, My Travel and would have to say given the choice I would always pick Virgin (never again My Travel). Everytime I have flown a US airline I have been delayed, sometimes for as nuch as 24 hrs. In terms of entertainment for the kids you can't beat Virgin.
Well this threads good, we have those for those against and those non too fussed
Hope we all havent confused you Angela
You can if you travel on US Airways with there super duper system. Loads of films to choose from, pause them, fast forward them, rewind them, much better trhan virgins entertainment system. Also had the best service on any airline ever, they walked the plane every 30 mins with glasses of water. They were also dead on time unlike my virgin flight this year which was 1:45 mins late leaving gatwick and 45mins late leaving Orlando.
Virgin have been putting the new V Port system into their heathrow fleet where you can do
that, its due soon in the Gatwick fleet and then lastly the Manchester fleet. Mind you in
my opinion only they need to improve the Trolly Dollys as well :D
just booked to fly from Manchester in july and beeen told the new planes should be in service then!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):)
From what I know they should be, they have almost finished the Heathrow lot then its onto
the Gatwick so next July seems realistic
agree about the staff though, they do have a supercilious air about them as if they are doing you a favour, I think the uniform has gone to their heads!!!!!!!!
we also paid more to fly virgin ONCE and would never bother again, our flight out to orlando was terrible, they took 2 and a half hours to clear the dinner trays, the in flight entertainment, we thought it was great to have the seat back tv screen my daughter is handicaped and has limited vision and finds it difficult to see the screens so far away on the charter flights, Virgin would have been great IF the screens had worked! there was more that did not work than the screens that were working
the meals, we had a choice but we may as well not have done as they only had one of the choices to offer and my daughters pre ordered vegeterian meal wasnt available.
The free drinks we didnt save a lot there as the bar was only brought around once on the entire flight.
The flight home was far better than the one outwards, the flight was almost empty with there only being 7 rows of seats full and full cabin staff, we all had a row of seats EACH and my daughter had the full attention of 3 cabin staff all the way home, but what would the chances be of ever geting another flight so empty, I rate them on their ability on the full plane and that was terribly poor, I certainly wouldnt go out of my way to pay more to fly with them again, but if they were a last minute deal then i wouldnt pass up the chance either.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by poet123
just booked to fly from Manchester in july and beeen told the new planes should be in service then!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):)
[/quote]
Its is May 2005 as they start selling Upper Class from then!
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by chrisj
Virgin have been putting the new V Port system into their heathrow fleet where you can do
that, its due soon in the Gatwick fleet and then lastly the Manchester fleet. Mind you in
my opinion only they need to improve the Trolly Dollys as well :D
[/quote]
Unfortunatly Chris if you pay peanuts you get monkeys! Cabin Crew are not the high earners they used to be![msncry]
pieman790
08-09-2004, 12:32
We have flown with Virgin several times now. Yes they are good overall but they are way too expensive compared to other routes. They are i believe the only schduled flight from Manchester at present but we have used other cheaper routes from Manchester (Not direct) and found that US airways in particular offer a better and far cheaper service. Yes you have to connect in Philadelphia but you get cleared imigration there and you can stretch your legs and the internal flight is only 2.5 hours or less. Once you arrive in Orlando no long queues for imigration or Car hire as you arrive generally later in the evening.
Lal
im afraid you dont pay peanuts to fly Virgin, when RB formed the company you might have. They
now charge big league money and as far as im concerned should offer the same big league service
which in my opinion they dont.
Ray&Sarah
08-09-2004, 13:23
Agree that the service on Virgin has gone down hill Chrisj. We have upgraded the last few times to premium and each time we go, we have noticed that the service gets more and more basic and for around £190 each way its now hardly worth the money. The only extra you now seem to get is more leg room and larger seats, which is good but is it really £190 each way good.[msnoo]
Nostromo
08-09-2004, 13:26
I used to be a big Virgin fan till recently. While I still think it is far better than BA particularly in the Orlando sector, I agree that Virgin's service has deteriorated in the last 18 months to 2 years. The in-flight catering seems to be the worst affected and they are not as 'family friendly' as they used to be.
I'm not overly keen on Virgin, however they have certainly come up trumps after Frances and are doing their best to put people in the right places!! They put on extra planes out of both London airports yesterday, as well as from Manchester. I got this email this morning from my guest who should have flown with them last Friday:
"Hi Carla
Just thought Id let you know that we finally made it. We were on a plane with 14 others!! Got upgraded to Upper Class - very nice."
They flew from Heathrow to Orlando last night at 5pm local time and didn't get to my home until around midnight. Well done Virgin.
:D:D:D
Robert5988
08-09-2004, 16:07
I get the impression both BA and Virgin have a much lower standard of service on their UK to MCO flights than other flights.
Firstly they are the only scheduled airlines flying direct.
Secondly could it be that the majority(not all) of passengers are not the regular long haul passengers to other destinations they need to impress to keep their custom?
Another factor is that the behaviour of a few passengers - often alcohol induced - leaves a great deal to be desired and thus the MCO trip is not popular amongst cabin crew.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by chrisj
Lal
im afraid you dont pay peanuts to fly Virgin, when RB formed the company you might have. They
now charge big league money and as far as im concerned should offer the same big league service
which in my opinion they dont.
[/quote]
Sorry I meant if they pay the cabin crew peanuts![msnsmile2]
Well if they pay the cabin crew peanuts then as I say in my opinion the crew
should not be rude to their customers, they should
Take up their pay issues with their managers
Or leave and find a better paid job
Or go to another airline that pays more
But foremost, their role is to serve the paying customer,
Nothing warrants cabin crew, ground crew, or even customer service staff being blunt
and rude to customers. They are there to offer a service regardless of their salary.
They could take a lesson from the servers in Florida, they work for peanuts but as
we all say on here you get an excellent service, and if you complain WOW do they
push the boat out to make things right
While I agree with your point about a low salary, they like us all have options
as mentioned above. Obviously cos of where I live I know lots of airline staff and
from what I know a lot of them are not as badly paid as they would like us to think
Anyway still no answers from VOTP about my complaint [:0]
LiesaAnna
08-09-2004, 16:54
Hi,
have just been reading lots of other stories about the flights, rudeness of the staff etc and now feel a bit panicky, we all save so hard for these holidays and look forward so much, the airports and flights make my family and myself so excited so the thought of having problems, or maybe they put a star next to my name to indicate "troublemakers" after my last story!
i sent a email to Virgin asking if i can prebook my seat as i have bad knees,the answer was no, they are saved for people with disabilities and babies/cots
ok cheers thanks alot!!!!! so now i am concerned the flights are gonna start something off with my knees again[msnscared]
Liesa
Liesa
I think that no matter who you fly with, you can have problems. My issue that im currently
having with VOTP is the way they dealt with the problems, or not in my case. As for marking
your name with a star, Think ive got a Skull and Crossbones against mine. Next they will
kick me out the flying club no doubt
I assume your flying Virgin, I also have bad well dodgy knees from an old motor bike crash
and to be honest the seats in Economy are ok and the leg room is fine (im 5ft 11) and never
had a problem.
I think I must be in the minority here. We fly a lot and always use BA on our Orlando holidays. I have never had a problem with the food which I think is great, Or the service.The only thing that bugs me is I always seem to be seated behind the person who reclines their seat fully straight after take off which drives me nuts as i'm quite tall and can't afford to upgrade.
Maybe i'm just easy pleased.:)
Michele L
08-09-2004, 17:18
I have flown with virgin numerous times - never a problem. Yes, they are a little more but I feel it is worth it just for the downtown check-in, which allows you to enjoy your last day. I did this in June and left my villa at 6pm for a 8.20pm flight. Hardly any time at the airport, even though I had an hours sleep on the plane did not feel jet lagged and I feel this was due to not "hanging around" the airport for more than 3 hours!!
I am flying Monarch (premium) for more or less the same price next week and I will compare the two.
Michele
LiesaAnna
08-09-2004, 17:35
thanks for that Chris, yeh but do you weigh 17 and 1/2 stone i am only 5ft 4in but my knees touched the seat in front,when we travelled before with BMI we had so much space a good 4inches in front of my knees and no where near the threat of extended seat belts, which i havent used yet!!!, i did write a letter of complaint about all aspects of the flight with virgin but they didnt give a dam! i wish we were flying with another airline but we're not so i'll just have to get used to it!!!and hope that the people in front are friendly and understanding!!!!
just cant wait till we go again, 91 days
Liesa
I'm sorry to say that we, too, were unimpressed with our first Virgin flight -returned last Wednesday.
We fly across about 4 times a year and have used all but United, and we would vote for the American airlines every time, or BA. (NEVER, NEVER NEVER Airtours, as their seats are SOOO uncomfortable - with absolutely no padding and an upright position)
We were just about to board our 'plane on Aug 8th when my teenage son had a massive nosebleed. We had no tissues, and asked one of the groundstaff for help to board the plane. The answer was, 'What do you want us to do? Stop everyone else getting on?' He walked off and left us.
Several requests for tissues were ignored, and when the whole boarding area had been nearly cleared we were left wondering if we were going to be left behind. Andrew could not walk, hold his nose, carry luggage etc (pouring nose, 3 pieces of handluggage, laptop, video camera and magazines - you know the score!). Several ground staff were in full view of us and just continued their conversation.
Finally, in desperation, I managed to catch a stewardess on her way to the plane, who I have to say was very good, and she escorted us along the walkway, past other passengers, and got us to our seats. She then got us ice, and made sure he was OK. Full marks to her.
However, the video broke down soon after we left, my son's had to be repeatedly re-started and then gave up the ghost Wouldn't play games either. Shrek 2 would only play with Chinese subtitles, and many breakdowns, so they abandoned it. The seats were incredibly small and close packed, but I have to say it was a pleasant flight, with no turbulence, and anyway we were too excited to care much. Food was definitely not as they like to advertise it - i.e. as better than the norm. Our dessert was a manufactured chocolate pot with 'crunchie' bits to tip into it - not impressed. We, too, noticed that the drinks trolley only came round once, and during the afternoon the staff cleared off (not quite sure where they went, as nobody saw them parachuting off somewhere:D)The tea was disgusting, a very wet 'wrap' which we couldn't eat.
Coming home the food was simply diabolical - chicken in a smelly white sauce, and BBQ beef which stank to high heaven and the smell of it made me feel sick - and they didn't collect it for what seemed an eternity. We ended up eating nothing but a tiny chocolate brownie - and I do mean tiny! Around 3 am I felt hypoglycaemic as we had not managed to get any food in Miami as we went through the gate and the choice was very limited. They said they did not have even a biscuit available, but searched in the staff food and found me a couple of shortbread biscuits.
They did not turn the lights off for simply ages, only for about an hour - the American flights seem to turn the lights down very soon after take-off, even on a day flight, which is great if you want to rest and relax.
Breakfast, well, the melon was nice, but couldn't face a muffin.
It was one of the 'planes with the new audio system - 50 videos and on demand, but unfortunately it was so sensitive that when we tried to sleep we simply could not get our screens to shut down, as if you accidentally touched the control at your side it lit up. We had to put up with a green glow around our feet! However, as it was night there wasn't really much time to watch it -would have been better on the way over. We have never had this problem with the brilliant 'US Airways' system.
Bearing in mind what Virgin charge I think they trade on the name. The US airlines offer better seating - with AA its 34 inch seat pitch. They also are very much more generous with drinks - we don't drink alcohol, but very much appreciate that they give you a full can of coke, bottle of water, or whatever you ask for.
We would not travel with them by choice again, mainly because of the cost - we had to go this time to visit our daughter and our villa.
Although with an American airline you do have to touch down at one of their US hubs, there is an advantage, because you go t
I have flown with Virgin to LA on 2 occasions. To be honest they are better than most charter airlines, however this is only true if you travel in premium or above.
The virgin flight we were on (economy) was cramped and had no more room than the monarch and mytravel flights we also got on.
The food is a lot better and you do get more, but you are paying for this in sky high prices.
Shopping around we traveled to florida by charter for £200 less than Virgin could offer, and in my view that is not to be sniffed at.
DOM
Oh my word...i am really confused now!! But thanks all for the response.
Well as some know im having a battle with VOTP, well got a letter today from them over
what happened, All I can say is that if someone from VOTP responds to a complaint letter
then they should at least take the time to actually read the complaint.
Line one of the reply is totally incorrect which shows they have not even bothered to check
the facts out, the remainder of the letter is just plain rubbbish. What is interesting is
that through a source I know they have been reading posts here, might be cos I keep sending
them the links. :D:D mind you so does someone else
anyway to cut a long story short the so called offer of compensation is a joke, I will be
seeking advice tomorrow and sending off a rejection letter as they have no clue how to operate
a customer service dept and have no clue what to do when they have behaved in-humane to their
customers.
Just also like to say, As I have always said, you can only really judge a company when something
goes wrong, and you see first hand how they deal with you. If your flying VOTP, i can imagine
all will be well for you and I hope it is.
No one has mentioned the luggage allowance. I could not believe how much we were allowed on our Virgin flight last March -64 kilos each! Virgin was better by far than BA who I have sworn never to use again - but that's another story. We shall definitly use Virgin again but will also try AA if we can get booked.
Linicia
For us we have never taken too much luggage, on the way back is another story
Cheshirecat
09-09-2004, 02:32
The generous baggage allowance is not restricted to Virgin only. In general a scheduled carrier will permit 2 pieces of luggage for the hold plus one carry-on. UK H&S restrictions limit each bag to 32kgs. Chaters are normally much less.
moodyvilla
09-09-2004, 03:41
We have used Virgin numerous times and overall we think they are pretty good. Like all Airlines they can blow hot and cold, but we have never had a real bad experience. I think they are a young airline who try to make themselevs attractive to the young market and they are very good if you have young Children.
They were one of the first to introduce seat back entertainment systems and my opinion is that when it works, their's is one of the best. You can choose your seat on the web and check in either the night before at Gatwick or when it's time to come home at Downtown Disney, which is really useful. Regarding food, most airline food is rubbish now and we tend to eat before we leave. I do feel they have probably had to cut back especially over the past few years and yes the drinks trolly only appears once, but they are not alone in that and with some (including a number of US airlines) you have to pay for your drinks.
The big selling point to us though is that they fly direct, I know a number of people have stated about using the US airlines and using a gateway in the US and some of the advantages but when it goes wrong it is a nightmare. Last 2 trips (within the last year) we have used American on one and Air France/Delta on the other, we have missed our connecting flights on both and ended up arriving at MCO late into the night, no joke with kids. Our return the other week lasted 32 hours!! including a nice unplanned 6 hour stop at Paris CDG???, no hot food anywhere and Air France just didn't care, just shrugged. So we have said never again and will always fly direct in the future.
Charter is a nightmare, so it is down to BA or Virgin......think it has to be Virgin.
(wish Singapore Airlines flew to MCO!!!!)
Although the drinks trolley only comes around a couple of times you can go to the galley and get as many drinks as you like maybe they don`t want to disturb people pushing the cart up and down, I have read all the comments and feel very lucky that we have never had a bad flight with Virgin, as to the food I`ve had a lot worse try eating in a hospital canteen.
Sputnick
09-09-2004, 14:20
I have flown to US on a Brittania 767 and it was the most uncomfortable flight I have ever had. Never again.
It was so cramped and if you sit anywhere near the door or toilets there is always a large amount of people standing around.I`ll still use Virgin in future.
I think Chrisj is absolutely right, you do tend to judge your flight by what went wrong, but for us, the one big factor is price, and if I am going to pay double to fly with Virgin and still have cramped seats, then I'd rather take a cheap charter flight and put up with the inconveniences - if you only pay £179 then I don't think you can really complain - and as I said, our flight with Thomas Cook was great. Incidentally, Virgin were very hot on hand luggage - checked and re-checked - with the American airlines you can have 12kg hand luggage, not 6 and they don't seem to bother to weigh it either.
All planes may get delayed, and of course it is more of a problem if you are having to get a connection. I was not suggesting everyone should do it this way - but just reassuring those who do choose this option (which is often considerably cheaper) that there are benefits as well as donwsides - our flight in October was delayed as we had a technical problem on board, and turned round once before it was fixed, but US were fantastic, as we obviously lost our connection - they helped us through baggage and all the formalities, had us re-booked on the next flight and upgraded us to First Class (on the way back, too). But of course, I am sure many of you will have had lesser experiences. It is, I think, all a matter of luck.
For us, maybe, the best flight is the cheapest flight:)!!In any case, whoever you choose, you'll have a wonderful time in Florida, and like having a baby, the minute you feel that warm sunshine on your face you will forget all the pain. Just enjoy yourselves.:D
davidandsarah
09-09-2004, 21:16
We have flown with Virgin, BA, American airlines and recently Continental. I don't think that the extra money charged by Virgin is justified. I would recommend both AA (a large seat pitch) and Continental (twice daily flights from Birmingham) and i think the service we have had from them matched/exceeded Virgin's at less cost.
The disadvantage is that the flight is not direct, but you do get to clear immigration and customs in the break, stretch your legs and fly into Orlando International rather than Sanford airport. As it is a schedule flight there is no large queue for the car hire and a slightly smaller driving time to Kissimmee. All this for less money and pleasant and helpful cabin staff. We have never had a problem with delays with the american companies (even after hurricane Frances) and found the change at Newark no problem.
I feel that Virgin charge so much as there is so little competition in the direct flight business, not because they provide a better service.
moodyvilla
09-09-2004, 23:35
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by davidandsarah
We have flown with Virgin, BA, American airlines and recently Continental. I don't think that the extra money charged by Virgin is justified. I would recommend both AA (a large seat pitch) and Continental (twice daily flights from Birmingham) and i think the service we have had from them matched/exceeded Virgin's at less cost.
The disadvantage is that the flight is not direct, but you do get to clear immigration and customs in the break, stretch your legs and fly into Orlando International rather than Sanford airport. As it is a schedule flight there is no large queue for the car hire and a slightly smaller driving time to Kissimmee. All this for less money and pleasant and helpful cabin staff. We have never had a problem with delays with the american companies (even after hurricane Frances) and found the change at Newark no problem.
I feel that Virgin charge so much as there is so little competition in the direct flight business, not because they provide a better service.
[/quote]
Virgin operate a scheduled service and they fly into Orlando International.
can't say I have ever had a problem with sanford airport as opposed to orlando int.
My point is if you can get a flight up to £200 cheaper with a charter airline I would book one of these. Why waste money as the flight is only 9 hours of you life, and is forgot about as soon as you arrive at the villa.
DOM
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by chrisj
Well if they pay the cabin crew peanuts then as I say in my opinion the crew
should not be rude to their customers, they should
Take up their pay issues with their managers
Or leave and find a better paid job
Or go to another airline that pays more
But foremost, their role is to serve the paying customer,
Nothing warrants cabin crew, ground crew, or even customer service staff being blunt
and rude to customers. They are there to offer a service regardless of their salary.
They could take a lesson from the servers in Florida, they work for peanuts but as
we all say on here you get an excellent service, and if you complain WOW do they
push the boat out to make things right
While I agree with your point about a low salary, they like us all have options
as mentioned above. Obviously cos of where I live I know lots of airline staff and
from what I know a lot of them are not as badly paid as they would like us to think
Anyway still no answers from VOTP about my complaint [:0]
[/quote]
I agree with you 100%![msnsmile]
Do BA go direct to Orlando Int.? I know Virgin do, thats a plus sign i suppose.
All we need now is for both to fly direct from Heathrow, then that will make me and a few
others here happy
pocahontas
12-09-2004, 13:16
Flew with Virgin out of Gatwick in March - no complaints about service, meals aircraft.
Have a good holiday - who ever you go with!
Viv
We have been flying with Virgin for the last 15 years and have never had a grumble about the service. The prices aren't much different to any of the others. ( Our flight this March was £329 and next April £334 ) You don't pay for any drinks, soft or otherwise and lets face it most Airline food isn't exactly the Ritz quality , but I think theirs is as good as any. I think what tips it for us is the twighlight check in this end and the Downtown early check in at Orlando.
I know BA now do the twilight checkin at Gatwick, but dont think they have anything setup in Florida
yet