View Full Version : Virgin Holidays vs Atlantic flights
Hi all,
I'm desperately trying to get the best deal for next April on Virgin Flights. To book with Virgin Atlantic (VA) I have to wait till June because of the 10 month gap thing. We are going out of peek time so I have looked at flights for early Jan/Feb 08 on VA site to get an idea of costs.... they are coming up at nearly £500 per adult which made our trip for 2 adults and a child nearly £1400!! So I'm guessing that there won't be much difference in April time.
Now... Going on Virgin Holidays site I can book 2 Adults and 1 child flights for £1141 but need to add a car as its Flydrive. To add a 4 door intermediate size with their car insurance (through Dollar) comes to £1465.
Once you book through Virign Hollidays, the refernce they give you means you can log on to Virgin Atlantic site and choose your seats... which is what we want as they is a big party of us going.
Now this to me looks like a good deal... has anyone else used Virgin Holidays to get a "Flydrive" and if so are there any hidden costs? Whats it like collecting your car the other end?? Do you have to go to a Virgin Holiday desk as opposed to going straight downstairs at MCO to the car rental desks?
Any help appreciated.
Thanks
Have used VH many times, all OK, car the same at the other end with Dollar, no hidden costs if you choose the fully inclusive car hire and Yes you can book seats and do online checkin etc.[msnsmile2]
does that include the "Twilight checkin" as we usually stay at a hotel the night before we travel out.
Thanks
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Pudders
does that include the "Twilight checkin" as we usually stay at a hotel the night before we travel out.
Thanks
[/quote]
Yes everything[msnsmile2] Seriously I am ex BA crew and if there was anything I would tell you but we have used flydrives with VH loads of times for the same reasons as you we like to book really early, you can also just take VH car for just a week then change it for a cheaper one from the site above[msnwink]
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Mach 2
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Pudders
does that include the "Twilight checkin" as we usually stay at a hotel the night before we travel out.
Thanks
[/quote]
Yes everything[msnsmile2] Seriously I am ex BA crew and if there was anything I would tell you but we have used flydrives with VH loads of times for the same reasons as you we like to book really early, you can also just take VH car for just a week then change it for a cheaper one from the site above[msnwink]
[/quote]
They offer you a free car which comes with the basic of basic car insurance and the price of the flights remain the same.... can't I just leave the car in the car park and then book a car with the site above? I don't have to collect the car do I??? Or if I do, Ic ould just park it on my driveway of the villa and use the other car I hire.
AshleyLodge
30-04-2007, 19:59
Some travel agents will already have access to Virgin Atlantic flights for the whole of 2008 and so they would be able to give you exact costs now. You could then decide which offers better value.
Once when we had to change our arrangements suddenly we used our already booked car hire (through this site) and did not take up the Virgin Holidays car. We did have some problems when we had to change the original car as both rentals were with Dollar and the replacement car was on the other voucher, which was for a smaller car. However, all was sorted in the end thanks to help from here.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by AshleyLodge
Some travel agents will already have access to Virgin Atlantic flights for the whole of 2008 and so they would be able to give you exact costs now. You could then decide which offers better value.
[/quote]
Not sure that's 100% correct. Virgin Atlantic and most of the other airlines only release fights 335 days in advance. VH will allow you to book further ahead than that but your flight is liable to change as it cannot be confirmed until VA release their flights.
Pegasus928
01-05-2007, 05:47
We have rang VA recently and they don't have the flights for May 2008 yet - so I doubt that any travel agents will.
VH had dates for when we travel in May but only had PE seats available - both online and in the travel agents and neither of them could explain why [msnscared]
Kenny
CCollins
01-05-2007, 12:56
We booked our seats with VA for x-mas 2007 in July 2006 - use Charter Travel - the link is on this website!
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by CCollins
We booked our seats with VA for x-mas 2007 in July 2006 - use Charter Travel - the link is on this website!
[/quote]
Just worth a mention VA and VH flights are both changeable however Charter Travel flights are normally non changeable/non refundable.
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
01-05-2007, 15:17
Not totally true - it all depends what fare you get with them. If you need flexibility in dates then say so when you are booking and that's what you will get [msnsmile].
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Mach 2
Just worth a mention VA and VH flights are both changeable however Charter Travel flights are normally non changeable/non refundable.
[/quote]
CCollins
01-05-2007, 17:00
we have had to amend our booking with Charter Travel for the x-mas flights as all we did was pay an admin fee.
[msnsmile2]
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by CCollins
we have had to amend our booking with Charter Travel for the x-mas flights as all we did was pay an admin fee.
[msnsmile2]
[/quote]
Oh thats good, last time I booked with them I lost £600 deposit because I needed to change[msnmad]
You will lose money if you dont select flexible prices which the last time I looked Julie they cost quite a bit more. I also lost a lot of money last year after having to change my dates. If they dont get the money out of you one way, you seem to pay in another.[msnmad]
By the sounds of it it looks like we'll just get the Flydrive and bin the car from Virgin as they are a hell of a lot cheaper on Virgin Holls than Virgin Atlantic.
THanks for all the coments.
In fact I have just looked again and its almost £500 extra anyway to be flexible. [V]Thats just on one adult and one child too.[V]
VH flights are flexible all you pay is an admin fee of about £25 per person[msnsmile2]
The other thing with VH is that you only pay a deposit of £120 per person and the remaining balance is due 8 weeks prior to Holls. With VA you have to pay all upfront.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Pudders
The other thing with VH is that you only pay a deposit of £120 per person and the remaining balance is due 8 weeks prior to Holls. With VA you have to pay all upfront.
[/quote]
Exactly[clap][clap][clap]
I have taken a fly drive before - they only have t book you 3 or 4 days car hire -take the minimum, then just don't pick th car up, and order what you want from this site. ANY company that tells yo they can book a seat on a flight more than 11 months in advance must have a regular block booking - they do not make them available any sooner for any company.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Pudders
The other thing with VH is that you only pay a deposit of £120 per person and the remaining balance is due 8 weeks prior to Holls. With VA you have to pay all upfront.[/quote] Not true, generally £75 deposit per person unless buying one of the VA specials.
Pegasus928
03-05-2007, 21:27
Last time we booked a VA ticket we had to pay it all up front. A deposit wasn't an option - and it wasn't a special.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Pegasus928
Last time we booked a VA ticket we had to pay it all up front. A deposit wasn't an option - and it wasn't a special.[/quote]With VA direct you do pay up front its with VH that you only pay the deposit[msnwink]