when did Virgin stop allowing you to prebook your seats?

[Hobbes]

My Dsis has just emailed me saying "Thats it-no more with Virgin" *** she has now been told she cannot prebook her seats at the 330 day mark. They have been told Virgin will "endeavour" to seat families with children together but as her "boys" are 18 and 16 I guess there won't be the same need to do that.
I'm pretty angry about it myself, even the cattle class budget airlines usually allow you to prebook your seats (albeit for a price, but I would be willing to pay a tenner to ensure I am not sat with a complete stranger for 10 hours!)

This might be the final nail in Virgin's coffin for a lot of people. I have noticed the standards slipping over the last couple of holidays. Who else flies to Orlando direct? (has to be orlando as we don't drive and need DME)

 

[wayneg]

I flew with then last month and could pre-book.
I know there are temporary restrictions on pre-booking, not sure how near they are to ending them.

Found this, there might be more up to date info somewhere.
http://virginatlantic.custhelp.com/...sion/L3RpbWUvMTM0NTg4OTk3Ny9zaWQva3BtTER6NGw=

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

Also pre-booking doesn't always work. A family behind us 2 years ago were annoyed that we had been allocated "their seats" but they were ok when they realised why. They had booked the bulk head seats as these have extra legroom, however these are also the sky cot seats and even tho DD was too big for a sky cot, she didn't have her own seat so they automatically allocated them to us so that we had more room for her.

 

[Trevski220]

Once virgin have finally finished upgrading the computer system then you will be able to pre book seats again, worth remembering that even when you can pre book seats that it is only a request and you are not guaranteed the seats you choose!

 

[orangetiggs]

Started feb time and runs till nov. once all the fleet are uograded ts due back.

I think ts because they cant really tell that far out what plans are going to be doing what route etc

We booked before feb and fly nov 1st and cant book seats. 24 hour checkin before you can do to get seats together but once the planes are refurbed then the maos will open again

 

[MarkF0wle]

We booked a holiday with Virgin Holidays on Thursday, they matched a WDTC UK holiday quote for free dining which was £1000 less than the VH quoted price, so can't complain. But yes, they confirmed that at the moment due to the refurbishments on the planes that seats cannot be booked until November when they have finished re-doing the planes.

 

[2Tiggies]

Pre booking adds reassurance to a limited degree, but is not guaranteed. When I prebooked 330 days out for our 2010 trip, they moved us on the day. It worked out fine because we actually ended up in better seats than what I'd been able to choose, but it's good to be aware.

This year we are going BA and flying with domestic connections. BA charge you to pre select your seats and a round trip for DD and I, choosing our seats on each leg of the trip, would set us back a cool £144

Since we will still get to Orlando International without having to pay that, I've decided to join the online check in seat lottery

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

My personal opinion is that the whole thing for most airlines is another money making scam. In the good old days when you couldn't choose your seat we always ended up together. People are just so frightened of being split that they will pay. If they put an end to it then I am sure families would still be pretty much together.

 

[Elise79]

The temporary suspension of pre-booking has nothing to do with the upgrades as it affects both fleets. That has only affected PE bookings and has been in place since April. The reason is they are upgrading the system - no one knows when it will be back.

However having flown since no requests in PE all the families were sitting together and we were together both ways when I checked in online.

 

[tinkerpea]

I have been able to pre-book my seats withVirgin for our October trip! I wonder why that is

We are going to go for Twilight check in though anyways as although we have the seats we kind of wanted of 2,2,2 so 3 window seats for each of the boys I wanted to
1.Make sure that our son does infact get the window seat and that we are not changed and end up in the middle of the plane seats(thats a nightmare for us when that happens)

2.We actually really wanted either Bulkhead seats "For ds because of the kicking he can do" plus he really does cope better in the bulkhead" OR if we cant get Bulkhead then we wanted to be more towards the front of the plane! so we can get him off as quickly as possible, At the moment we are middle to back Virgin rep said that not all seats are opened up yet and that is why most of thr front ones are saying not available and that if we did online check-in as soon as it becomes available that we could get the seats we wanted.Well we decided since we was going to stay at the airport the night before anyways (even though we only live an hour or so from Gatwick) that we would get there at 12 so we can def get the best seats we can!.

I do hope my plan works

 

[Elise79]

I have been able to pre-book my seats withVirgin for our October trip! I wonder why that is

We are going to go for Twilight check in though anyways as although we have the seats we kind of wanted of 2,2,2 so 3 window seats for each of the boys I wanted to
1.Make sure that our son does infact get the window seat and that we are not changed and end up in the middle of the plane seats(thats a nightmare for us when that happens)

2.We actually really wanted either Bulkhead seats "For ds because of the kicking he can do" plus he really does cope better in the bulkhead" OR if we cant get Bulkhead then we wanted to be more towards the front of the plane! so we can get him off as quickly as possible, At the moment we are middle to back Virgin rep said that not all seats are opened up yet and that is why most of thr front ones are saying not available and that if we did online check-in as soon as it becomes available that we could get the seats we wanted.Well we decided since we was going to stay at the airport the night before anyways (even though we only live an hour or so from Gatwick) that we would get there at 12 so we can def get the best seats we can!.

I do hope my plan works

They have only stopped pre- requests on flights leaving after 1 Nov.

If you have medical issues that would be improved with certain seats try calling special assistance

 

[queendisney]

My personal opinion is that the whole thing for most airlines is another money making scam. In the good old days when you couldn't choose your seat we always ended up together. People are just so frightened of being split that they will pay. If they put an end to it then I am sure families would still be pretty much together.

I would hate not being able to pre-book and would complain big time if they ever took that option away...I would pay to pre-book. If I am sitting in the middle of the plane I will be ill, very ill, all through the flight as I suffer with motion sickness and feel it more stuck in the middle!
Options are good

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

They have only stopped pre- requests on flights leaving after 1 Nov.

They stopped being able to pre-request PE seats since last year. This was because they were/are doing the plane refit and they are changing their seat request process.

As we are in PE I am hoping that we will be able to get the seats we want when they open up the online check in as they keep telling us.

 

[orangetiggs]

Yes all seats pe, upper and economy after nov 1st cant be prebooked

We fly nov 1st and cant book

 

[chocolateMinnie]

we booked both our outbound and inbound seats for 27th October and 3rd November last year when they were released. About February they emailed saying that our November seats had been withdrawn due to new regulations. So we have our seats for October but no longer for our home trip.

To be honest it has put me off travelling with them, however, two years ago we had our seats pre-allocated until 48 hours before and then they moved us when I checked in online. when I asked why at luggage drop it was due to a large school party who had to be sat together. They kept the four of us together so it didn't make too much difference but it's a worry if you are not all close together. I know there is the rule about sitting with your parents but that could be two of us at one end of the plane and two at the other and with DH being a scared passenger it would freak him out being on his own with one of the kids

 

[goofeygirl]

Perhaps within their fleet of 747's they don't know which plane they are using. Each plane has a different configuration...meaning one 747 may have more seats than another...so maybe thats it.

But I get it. I like to assign my seats early!

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

with DH being a scared passenger it would freak him out being on his own with one of the kids

This is EXACTLY what happened to us when we come back July 2010. We flew back indirect via New York and we were flying the international leg with VA. I did online check in from our Disney hotel and found that they separated the 4 of us into 2 x 2 with both pairs of seats being ROWS apart

By the time we'd flown from MCO to JFK and managed to get to the VA check in desk the counter crew lady not only couldn't/wouldn't do anything about it she was also very rude and couldn't see that there was any problem. She refused to understand that to me putting my 2 children together wasn't an appropriate option but neither was having 1 of the boys sit my my husband as he is a shocking and terrified airline passenger and god forbid there was a problem there would be absolutely no way he would be able to deal with it or cope

Anyway I spent to entire flight walking back and forth between the 2 lots of seats and then wrote a very strongly worked letter to VA when I got home .......... their reply left a me very, very disappointed with their customer service in as much as all they said was their usual " by pre requesting your seat allocation we do not guarantee those seats" etc etc etc

Thank goodness the boys are both very good flyers and now they are old enough to sit on their own so if it happens on this trip as we've not been able to request any seats it wont be a problem.

 

[Reb101]

we pre booked ours but not sure if we have got them seats as there refurbishing the plane we are going on

 

[KayTom]

I'm a bit miffed about this, but our trip isn't until January, so you never know.

When i enquired about it, i had a very quick email with the following response;

"I'm sorry to inform you that, you'll not be able to pre-request seats in advance reason being, Virgin Atlantic are in the process of changing their seat assignment process to make improvements for the future. Due to these changes, anyone travelling after 1st November 2012, in any class, will not be able to pre assign seats.

Seats will only be allocated either by using the on line check in facility 24 hours prior to departure or at check in on the day of travel.

If you are travelling after 1st November and have already pre assigned your seat, this request will remain in place, but it won’t be possible to make any changes. Please note that these seats aren't guaranteed in the event of a change of aircraft.

If you are travelling with children, rest assured that Virgin Atlantic work hard to ensure that you are all seated together. However, as a minimum, a child will always be seated with one parent or guardian.

If you wish to do the online check in, you can certainly do that anytime between 24 - 2hrs before the scheduled departure of the flight"

However, although i would prefer to be sitting either on our own or with one of us in an aisle seat, i'll be happy just as long as we're sitting together. I can't imagine sitting on your own for such a long flight! As well as general comfort and talking, we tend to take up eachother's space and lean if we're sleepy, etc.

Fingers crossed that they re-introduce it once the planes are all changed.

On the bright side, my cousin had the new plane on her flight over recently and said how fantastic it was. Poor thing had the old plane and a lack of staff on the way back though so that was a bit of a let down for her xx

 

[TinkerbellW]

It looks like the only option is to keep logging in to 'manage my flight' after Nov 1st and see if Virgin are opening the seat allocation once the new system is in place. As someone who has tried to check in online on 2 previous trips to no avail (problems with my youngest son's passport), seat assignment by this method also isn't going to happen