Virgin Atlantic Seat booking charge from 17 November 2014

[mickeyforpresident]

Thank you for the clarification..... Hmmm, to pay or not to pay? I'm assuming it's a one way fee?

 

[wilma-bride]

Thank you for the clarification..... Hmmm, to pay or not to pay? I'm assuming it's a one way fee?

Yes, as I said in my post above, it's £25 per person each way. If you are travelling with children under 12, they will not split you up and you can still choose/change seats during the online check in process. I certainly won't be paying.

 

[chmurf]

I certainly won't be paying.

even to secure seats in the bubble for example ?

I think I'd be tempted, but really can't decide if it's worth it or not.
for the main cabin (downstairs) I would not pay, but for the bubble ... IDK

 

[wilma-bride]

even to secure seats in the bubble for example ?

I think I'd be tempted, but really can't decide if it's worth it or not.
for the main cabin (downstairs) I would not pay, but for the bubble ... IDK

Not even to secure seats in the bubble. For £35 you can have extra leg room seats. If I were going to pay for anything, it would be those I would pay for.

 

[MarkF0wle]

I hoped they would scrap this since BA did when this was announced. I think I would personally take the 3 day window for Red Club members but by consensus we will be paying for the seats.

There are 2 options here for us now in future, they mention being able to use miles to pay for the seat charge which if it's possible will be a way to use our useless to us miles right now. So that's option A.

Option B is that we're flying BA in the future. Same price, similar experience & no fee for booking seats.

 

[wilma-bride]

I hoped they would scrap this since BA did when this was announced. I think I would personally take the 3 day window for Red Club members but by consensus we will be paying for the seats.

There are 2 options here for us now in future, they mention being able to use miles to pay for the seat charge which if it's possible will be a way to use our useless to us miles right now. So that's option A.

Actually, they say that at the moment you can't use miles or miles plus money to pre-book seats but this might be available in the future http://virginatlantic.custhelp.com/...sion/L3RpbWUvMTQxNTg3NzU0OC9zaWQveUkzSWtqN20=

Option B is that we're flying BA in the future. Same price, similar experience & no fee for booking seats.

But BA do have a fee for pre-booking seats.

 

[MarkF0wle]

Actually, they say that at the moment you can't use miles or miles plus money to pre-book seats but this might be available in the future http://virginatlantic.custhelp.com/...sion/L3RpbWUvMTQxNTg3NzU0OC9zaWQveUkzSWtqN20=

Sorry, my bad that is what I actually meant. In my brain I was assuming they would have figured the kinks out before I fly again in 2016 probably.

But BA do have a fee for pre-booking seats.

Is that so? That wasn't the information I was given, but is what I am seeing. They say "we will let you know if there is a fee or not", what do & don't they charge for? I saw starting at £20 each way. Thanks for the clarity.

 

[wilma-bride]

Is that so? That wasn't the information I was given, but is what I am seeing. They say "we will let you know if there is a fee or not", what do & don't they charge for? I saw starting at £20 each way. Thanks for the clarity

As far as I'm aware, it's pretty much the same as Virgin. Unless you are an Executive Club member in the highest category, you have to pay. with BA, you actually have to pay to reserve PE/Business Class seats too though.

 

[MarkF0wle]

As far as I'm aware, it's pretty much the same as Virgin. Unless you are an Executive Club member in the highest category, you have to pay. with BA, you actually have to pay to reserve PE/Business Class seats too though.

That's good information, that will significant change my view point. I can see why Virgin has moved forward with this then, as much as it sucks.

Fingers crossed they get their act together & allow us to use miles to book seats so I can use my miles for this - give my miles a use.

 

[2Tiggies]

That's good information, that will significant change my view point. I can see why Virgin has moved forward with this then, as much as it sucks.

Honestly, I can't. Aside from being a way for them to squeeze more money out of passengers, there is no merit in this system whatsoever.

I had to call United regarding our December flights last weekend. One of them was a code share domestic connection from EDI to LHR, which has now been removed as they re-routed us. The agent reacted in disbelief when she was attempting to assign seats on that flight without success and I told her that you can't pre book seats on most EU/UK airliines without paying a fee.

My view is the same as hers: if you've paid for a ticket, you should be able to select an available seat in the cabin you have booked and paid for.

So, I don't see how it makes any sense.

 

[Minniesgal]

Honestly, I can't. Aside from being a way for them to squeeze more money out of passengers, there is no merit in this system whatsoever. I had to call United regarding our December flights last weekend. One of them was a code share domestic connection from EDI to LHR, which has now been removed as they re-routed us. The agent reacted in disbelief when she was attempting to assign seats on that flight without success and I told her that you can't pre book seats on most EU/UK airliines without paying a fee. My view is the same as hers: if you've paid for a ticket, you should be able to select an available seat in the cabin you have booked and paid for. So, I don't see how it makes any sense.

I know a lot of people complained when they went from being able to book your seat at purchase to only being able to choose a seat 60 days out. I wonder if this isn't a response to those complaints?

 

[wilma-bride]

I know a lot of people complained when they went from being able to book your seat at purchase to only being able to choose a seat 60 days out. I wonder if this isn't a response to those complaints?

No, this is something which VA was going to introduce some 18 months ago, which couldn't be implemented at the time due to various issues with the system they were using. The 60-day seat booking was only ever an interim thing until this new system was brought in.

 

[Minniesgal]

even to secure seats in the bubble for example ? I think I'd be tempted, but really can't decide if it's worth it or not. for the main cabin (downstairs) I would not pay, but for the bubble ... IDK

I'm not sure I'd pay to book seats just for the bubble especially since if the flight isn't full they have been know to close the economy section of the bubble. What we are going to do instead is try and continue to buy our flights the minute they are released as if you do the premium upgrade can be very low and hope we can afford premium

 

[MarkF0wle]

Honestly, I can't. Aside from being a way for them to squeeze more money out of passengers, there is no merit in this system whatsoever.

I had to call United regarding our December flights last weekend. One of them was a code share domestic connection from EDI to LHR, which has now been removed as they re-routed us. The agent reacted in disbelief when she was attempting to assign seats on that flight without success and I told her that you can't pre book seats on most EU/UK airliines without paying a fee.

My view is the same as hers: if you've paid for a ticket, you should be able to select an available seat in the cabin you have booked and paid for.

So, I don't see how it makes any sense.

The entire point is to generate more revenue for the airline, it is solely a way to squeeze more money - it is the one & only merit. I really dislike it, just like you do. But if I put myself in my business analyst seat there's no point offering something for free that everybody else charges for unless you're charging more for the base product. Which they aren't. It'll piss people off, but as I found out today the choices aren't as open as I felt they were. I went from never flying Virgin again for BA, to "just dealing with it" inside of a day because most people charge & that was new information for me.

At worst a few people will travel with other airlines but they will sell the seats to others, they will make the same money & people will take a chance at check in. What will happen is they will make an extra £50 from 50% of the people who fly.

I'm just as annoyed about it as you, I hate being "nickle & dimed", but it makes sense for VA to do it.

 

[maclondon]

the website site says you can select for free at 24 hours before.

someone said that was 60 hours if your in flying club red

also the site says they will pre allocate families together - so you don't HAVE to pay £50 per person.

 

[Kath2003]

the website site says you can select for free at 24 hours before.

someone said that was 60 hours if your in flying club red

also the site says they will pre allocate families together - so you don't HAVE to pay £50 per person.

True, but having seen first hand VA's seat allocation process - even when it's free! - if sitting with my party was important, I'd pay. The last time we flew with VA there was near chaos at the airport as almost every party had been split (and not just by a few rows! We were right at the back; the lady next to us had been split from her brand new husband - who was upstairs in the bubble...and they were travelling home from their Virgin Holidays Wedding )

I really, really don't get the fuss over VA as a brand. The "product" is the same, if not worse, than other airlines - yet people seem to rave about them?!

We will be doing what we always do - looking at the price of flights for what we want - decent timings, convenient airports, one checked bag, decent hand luggage allowance, and seat selection. If VA are going to add £50 to the cost of the ticket for the seat selection part, we will take that into account when comparing them to other airlines.

 

[2Tiggies]

I really, really don't get the fuss over VA as a brand. The "product" is the same, if not worse, than other airlines - yet people seem to rave about them?!

We will be doing what we always do - looking at the price of flights for what we want - decent timings, convenient airports, one checked bag, decent hand luggage allowance, and seat selection. If VA are going to add £50 to the cost of the ticket for the seat selection part, we will take that into account when comparing them to other airlines.

I don't get the loyalty thing with any airline, quite frankly. There are those I prefer and a couple I will avoid at all costs. Other than that, I'm not paying a premium to fly a brand just because I'd always done it Someone mentioned to me in the summer that flights had cost 'a fortune' this year. They were flying VA and stated that they only fly with VA because it's the best airline. Curious about the basis for comparison, I asked who else they had flown with. I was surprised to learn that they had only ever used VA.

Nothing wrong with VA and they are not the worst when it comes to charging to select seats in advance. BA has been doing this for a few years bow and it's about £36 per person per sector to pre book a seat. Not only that, but they also charge more if you want a seat in one of the side aisles (A,B,C or H,I,J). It doesn't matter if you have a window seat or not. It costs you to sit near one

It's the principle of charging someone for a seat they have already paid for.

Like you Kath, I'm quite happy with the non UK/EU airlines where you get a generous carry-on allowance and the same checked bag allowance and having a ticket entitles you to pick a seat. First come, first served. Simple. For us, it's also proven to be cheaper for the flights themselves.

 

[mickeyforpresident]

Does anyone know if you can book any of the extra leg room/bulk head/exit row seats at 180 days out as well? Thanks.

 

[scoobydooby]

I am not defending this Virgin policy I think it's greedy and wrong. However. I have flown with them around 12 times in a decade and do have to say my experience has been outstanding every time and they absolutely have more than an edge on other airlines for me. I have never seen families separated on Manchester to Orlando flights personally and never experienced chaos if any kind.

 

[cheryl.UK]

The VA website still says that exit and extra legroom seats are 'allocated to you' so it appears that the policy hasn't changed there. In the section on pre booking says that you will be able to actually book them on line as opposed to ringing which is what you have to do currently.