August from Glasgow misprice

[2Tiggies]

To be honest, I find Virgin horrendous for information on their Glasgow route! When I was looking for our flights I kept checking with them and it just kept saying "these dates are unavailable" but no options to see what days at all were available! It was so frustrating! Oh I've just found this which states 2 flights from Glasgow a day in 2011! One flight operates 02 Apr - 29 Oct '11 and the other 03 Apr - 01 May '11, 05 Jun - 04 Sep '11 and 02 - 30 Oct 11. Although I don't think that's every day inclusive as I've just checked dates next year and there's no flights available apart from on 1 date I go back to my earlier statement, Virgin are horrendous in publicising information on the Glasgow route!

They may well have added extra days but I think the dates you found are the dates between which they fly and I expect it will only be Friday/Saturday departures. I know that their brochures used to list flights, for random example, between 1st and 21st April. Say the 1st was a Friday. Flights would be once a day for the 1st and 2nd, 8th and 9th and the last dates only hosted the return flights for the 1,2 or 3 week tickets.

This is the first time I found flights (17 months out) from Glasgow. They have never been available in the past for me so I flew from Manchester. I also find it annoying that you can't choose Glasgow as your departure airport and leave the system to find connections, even using their flight connector tool. I haven't decided what to do for next year yet. I am tempted to skip and wait for April '12 so I can save for the Poly. so still undecided but with an 8 year old I have no issues with indirect flights.

 

[scottishgirl87]

They may well have added extra days but I think the dates you found are the dates between which they fly and I expect it will only be Friday/Saturday departures. I know that their brochures used to list flights, for random example, between 1st and 21st April. Say the 1st was a Friday. Flights would be once a day for the 1st and 2nd, 8th and 9th and the last dates only hosted the return flights for the 1,2 or 3 week tickets.

This is the first time I found flights (17 months out) from Glasgow. They have never been available in the past for me so I flew from Manchester. I also find it annoying that you can't choose Glasgow as your departure airport and leave the system to find connections, even using their flight connector tool. I haven't decided what to do for next year yet. I am tempted to skip and wait for April '12 so I can save for the Poly. so still undecided but with an 8 year old I have no issues with indirect flights.

The fact that they don't really seem to be interested in their Glasgow departures puts me off using Virgin. But I do understand they're not really a dominant presence up here like they are down South. Quite happy to fly with Continental and in-direct myself

Not going next year myself but hoping to be back in 2012 but as a bigger family group which could pose problems of its own

I bet you're sooooo excited right now wishing it was next Friday! Jealous!!

 

[2Tiggies]

Quite happy to fly with Continental and in-direct myself

Quite honestly I actually like the idea of breaking my flight a bit. It is no different to connecting at a different UK airport anyway, except going via Newark means you have the customs lines dealt with so MCO means a quick clear and on your way.

I bet you're sooooo excited right now wishing it was next Friday! Jealous!!

You know it just hasn't registered at all, save for a couple of days ago. It has been something in my mind for so long, add to that the fact that I haven't spoken about it aside from on the DIS, and it just doesn't seem to have sunk in. I could actually do with an extra few days to get organised. Not the trip itself, but other things that need to be attended to before I go and not sure how I am going to get it all done.

 

[amacspad]

That was my issue too. Have already booked Old Key West for next August, with free dining, and paid the deposit. Have also made many plans too, including my fiancee getting the time of work, which is very tricky. Which is why I felt tied into those dates and didn't want to cancel, so I've had to bite the bullet and pay the extortionate prices for Virgin Atlantic. BA were coming up even more expensive, and even indirect flights are coming out at similar prices thus far. I certainly wouldn't have booked for August if I'd known the flight prices in advance. You live and learn, I guess

Carl.

Hi Carl, dare I ask how much you paid and was it through V/A website?

Debs x

 

[dynamite100]

Hi Debs. We are two adults and one child, and I paid £2,550 (yikes!) Yeah, it was through the VA website, but went through Quidco to the VA site, so will be getting 2% cashback (a big 40 quid or thereabouts, woohoo! lol!) Carl.

 

[amacspad]

Hi Carl, that price doesn't seem too bad, mine are coming up over £3,000.00, maybe its because my daughter will be 15 and prob classed as adult??
I'm not to sure what this "quidco" is, I have heard it mentioned on the forum a few times Debs x

 

[wayneg]

I'm not to sure what this "quidco" is, I have heard it mentioned on the forum a few times Debs x

Quidco is a cashback website. There are others but this one is probably the most used. I used to use Rpoints but they are not what they were so I now use Quidco.

Anything you buy online you buy thru this site and they give you a percentage or a fixed anount cashback. Both Virgin holidays & Disney.co.uk its 3%.
A couple of deals going thru Quidco just now are a brand new mobile phone with £10 of credit for £3.40 after cahback http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/nokia-1661-payg-unlocked-for-0-90-1/764513
Or a free experian credit check(30 days) and you get £20 cashback http://www.quidco.com/credit-expert-free-30-day-trial?siouhofreeb


A previous thread on Quidco.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2493327&highlight=quidco

 

[2Tiggies]

Hi Carl, that price doesn't seem too bad, mine are coming up over £3,000.00, maybe its because my daughter will be 15 and prob classed as adult??
I'm not to sure what this "quidco" is, I have heard it mentioned on the forum a few times Debs x

The difference between a child and adult seat is nominal. It is generally about 75% of the FULL adult price and depending on what category of tickets are available at the time of booking you could pay what appears to be significantly more or less than an adult ticket. I have paid more for a child ticket than an adult ticket more than once because there were heavily discounted adult fares available and not so for children. I dont know if they have changed the pricing structure as the last time that happened to me was nearly 5 years ago.

 

[amacspad]

Hi all, I had a look through the quidco site which took me to V/A, where I have found the cheapest price of £2,623 if we fly out the day before, if I was to go ahead should I have a code of quidco or is it done automatically?
also it didn't give me the option to add the car hire, sorry for all these questions lol, still learning!!! Debs x

 

[wayneg]

Hi all, I had a look through the quidco site which took me to V/A, where I have found the cheapest price of £2,623 if we fly out the day before, if I was to go ahead should I have a code of quidco or is it done automatically?
also it didn't give me the option to add the care hire, sorry for all these questions lol, still learning!!! Debs x

You have to sign upto Quidco then log into their site, once signed in anything you buy thru their links is automatically tracked and you will(should) be paid the cashback, takes upto a couple of months before you can get it and its not guarenteed. Saying that apart from teething problems I had I have had very few problems for about 6 years.

 

[amacspad]

thats gud then, the only prob I have now is V/A don't take deposit, only the full amount plus a charge for using credit card so I am going to have to hang on a little while and just hope the prices don't go up

Debs x

 

[dynamite100]

Hi again Debs. Yeah, my son is only 10, so will be flying on a child ticket. The breakdown is £689 x2 for adults, £517 for child, and a total of £657.60 for all the taxes, etc., so a total of £2552.60 Those were flights out of Gatwick too, if you're looking at Manchester, they were a little more expensive? Really hope you find a good bargain. Carl xx

 

[amacspad]

Hi Carl, spent all day searching for prices, I am after car hire as well. When I looked at VA you can't pay a deposit just the full amount, if I go through Virgin Holidays I can book a flydrive and pay a deposit but its a whopping £3,100.00. I booked through Complete Orlando and they can't match it. In 2 minds what to do now, DH def wants to fly Virgin into Orlando International! He says just book it but its a heck of a lot Can I just check with you tho, when you went thru quidco, did you have to enter a code as it just takes me direct to the VH site, I have set up my account with them, just want to make sure i do it right to get the cashback!

Debs x

 

[wayneg]

Hi Carl, spent all day searching for prices, I am after car hire as well. When I looked at VA you can't pay a deposit just the full amount, if I go through Virgin Holidays I can book a flydrive and pay a deposit but its a whopping £3,100.00. I booked through Complete Orlando and they can't match it. In 2 minds what to do now, DH def wants to fly Virgin into Orlando International! He says just book it but its a heck of a lot

Debs x

Is that for 3 of you and before adding car insurance?
If it is then no way could I pay that for economy seats myself, we flew business class with Delta this August £3,510 for 3 of us, lay flat seats 96kg luggage allowance each, a meal that rivals many good restaurants. lounges, fastrack at Man airport. OK a change of planes but for the difference in price, I just could not pay so much for economy but if you will only do Virgin your options are very limited and Virgin know it.

 

[wayneg]

There are no codes for Quidco everything is tracked. Once you have logged in and clicked on the link to VH it should come up with a box something like this one for Credit Expert. That means your puchase has been tracked.

 

[amacspad]

Cheers Wayne, the £3,150 is for the 3 of us including car hire. I know it is a ridiculous price and I would just like to get something sorted so I can put it to the back of my mind and chill out! We def don't want to fly indirect and my DH really isn't keen on Sanford so yes, our choices are a bit limited lol!
I checked with Complete Orlando and they don't seem to think virgin prices will come down as people are paying it, so yep, a bit stuck!

Debs x

 

[amacspad]

Also Wayne, I'm not too fussed about flying with Virgin but every other flight I have looked at inc flying into Sanford are all coming out approx £2,800 and then you go the website and have to pay extra for luggage, meals, seats together and these don't inc car hire. I know the other option is the indirect route but would just be so worried incase I got delayed on the 1st and missed the next, surely the other plane can't be guaranteed to wait plus do you have to wait for your luggage each time and check in again?

Debs x

 

[wayneg]

Outbound the plane is not likely to wait for you but thats why everyone says do a 2 hour+ change, that allows for most slight delays, if you did happen to miss it(we never have in about 15 indirect flights) you would be put on the next available flight, when our friends missed their connection last August it was 1 hour later.
You have to clear immigration collect your luggage and drop again(usually within a few yards of collection) coming home you check it in at MCO and don't see it again til you get back to Manchester.
Indirect sounds worse than it is, 1000's of people do it every day so the airports are geared up for it. Its very simple but some people won't do it at whatever saving.

 

[amacspad]

Heyo, thank you again for the info, just been on BA web looking at indirect, showed great prices and flights approx £450 - £500 so I ticked the boxes, got to the next page and the total came to £2,800.00?????? I'm really losing the plot now Debs x

 

[dynamite100]

Hi Debs. As Wayne says, just use your log in on Quidco, then use their search function to find Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Holidays, click on their link and it will take you to the relevant website, and when you book, your cashback will be automatically tracked to your Quidco account. Can't tell you any more than that, as it's the first time I've ever used it, I signed up for it based on Wayne's recommendation. I like to book my car hire separately, usually thru usrentacar, booking with Budget, and then pre-registering with them to avoid queueing at MCO. Price is about £280 for a fortnight, and this year we got a Mustang! I have flown indirect once, to Las Vegas, and would be very reluctant to ever do it again, and that's despite everything going relatively smoothly. Carl xx