Virgin Atlantic - Where do we stand?

[Lisa x]

Wondering if someone might shed some light on this for us....

We have booked Disney for our wedding in October, we booked our flights with Virgin Atlantic in November last year. Our party is 17 people and it has cost us about £13000 for the flights.

As it was such a large booking, we may have needed to make a name change, we were told at some point whether at time of booking or when making enquiries that we can make a name change for a fee of £30!

Now....we need to make a name change and have just called them about this, we have been advised that the £30 is if we have spelt the name incorrectly and not if we need to change the passenger!! In order to do this, we cancel the flight and rebook at another cost of £600.

So does anybody know where we stand with this? I have paid for that seat so dont think I should have to repay for the same seat when we have already forked out 13 thousand pounds!

Virgin Atlantic are going down in my estimations constantly....we have had another problem with another flight for our honeymoon....

Thanks in advance to anyone who has time to read this essay!!

 

[orangetiggs]

thats right, 30 is for a name that is spelt wrong, if you want to change it to a dffernet person altogether then you have to cancel and rebook

I had this loads when working for them

 

[Claire L]

I am sure it is standard policy with airlines that if the passenger changes it is treated as a cancellation and rebooking, but change of name ie through mispelling or marriage is a small fee.

Claire

 

[bombhead444]

Friends of ours had exactly the same problem with Virgin but had booked through TC, after a week of arguments they allowed it as the tickets had not been printed or sent out.
They state: If a mistake has been made we will allow you to amend the name to reflect the correct spelling in the passport, up to 2 hours before the flight is due to depart. However you cannot transfer the ticket to another person.

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/customerrelations/customer_charter/booking.jsp

I would just build yourself up for a row and just go for it, thats a lot of money and it's not exactly last minute. So frustrating, Someone might have some better info and hope you get it sorted.

 

[Lisa x]

Friends of ours had exactly the same problem with Virgin but had booked through TC, after a week of arguments they allowed it as the tickets had not been printed or sent out.
They state: If a mistake has been made we will allow you to amend the name to reflect the correct spelling in the passport, up to 2 hours before the flight is due to depart. However you cannot transfer the ticket to another person.

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/customerrelations/customer_charter/booking.jsp

I would just build yourself up for a row and just go for it, thats a lot of money and it's not exactly last minute. So frustrating, Someone might have some better info and hope you get it sorted.

Thanks...that is exactly what I will do!

THEY changed my honeymoon, they cancelled the Friday flight so moved us to the Sat flight, they said we would still have to come back the following FRIDAY making our week in Jamaica now 6 nights...they said in order for us to change, it would be an extention of duration and we would have to pay for an extra night.....

So we cancelled and booked to go to Antigua and got a much better deal...

So its OK for them to change MY booking but I cant change my own!

 

[Claire L]

So its OK for them to change MY booking but I cant change my own!

Yup it's in the terms and conditions!

Claire

 

[orangetiggs]

we had the same problem with our honeymoon last year, we were booked for jamaica and then 2 months out changed the flights, we moved to mexico and a better hotel but they paid the difference

You will love Antigua, we went in 2007 and loved it, where are you staying out there??

 

[Lisa x]

Were staying at the Sandals Grand Antigua....looks fab! So we went from 7 (which VH changed to 6 nights...) night to 9 nights, we were room only at Jamaica and now were all inclusive. We were flying PE to Jamaica and flying UC to Antigua.....not much more so they did us a favour changing our flights!!

I think their t&c's need looking at, I know companies r there to make money but iv already paid for that seat once and if they can change a spelling no problem then they should be able to change the full spelling of the name.....especially as no tickets have been issued!!! Makes me really mad......the rules r the rules I know but when spending sooo much money with them EVERY year, they should reward customer loyalty!

 

[scottishgirl87]

Unfortunately most airlines are pretty strict on this! So much so that booking my flights I double checked and triple checked I hadn't spelt our names wrong, lol.

You could try speaking to someone higher up and explaining that you've spent about £13k with them and it's alot of money.

I don't know if this would work but you said about cancelling and rebooking for the name change, could you possibly threaten to cancel the whole lot with them?? I'm not too sure what Virgin's refund policy is but maybe this would make them rethink. Worth a shot I guess!

 

[wayneg]

If its VA flight only then they cannot threaten to cancel if they are economy flights with no cancellation which is what it sounds like as they are having to pay £600 to change a name which is correct for that type of ticket.
My question would be are they cheap economy tickets? have you checked the booking code? they seem very expensive flights for economy or are they Premium? works out at £765pp I know depends on dates but October is usually under £500pp

 

[dolphingirl47]

This is nothing that Virgin Atlantic have any control over. Name changes are not allowed under IATA rules (governing body of all scheduled airlines). Strictly spoken they should not even amend spelling mistakes once the eticket has been issued. However, most airlines will do this for varying fees.

As for causing a row, this won't achieve anything. I am a supervisor for an airline (not Virgin Atlantic) and was a reservation agent before that. If somebody starts shouting, threatening or generally causing a row, people tend to dig their heels in. If you stay calm, there might be a solution like refunding the ticket if you buy a new one through them even if it would normally not be refundable.

Corinna

 

[Claire L]

As said there are reasons for not being able to change the person travelling. One reason I can think of is someone would buy all the cheap tickets and then sell for an inflated price and just change the name to the new person who has then bought them, so there is something to be said for name changes not being able to happen as no-one would then get a fair price for a ticket from the outset.

Claire

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

The advice you have been given is correct in the T & C's of all airlines, the tickets are booked under IATA rules as non transferable tickets.

Virgin clearly state this on their web site:-
"For security reasons it is absolutely essential that the name on your booking, ticket and passport are exactly the same.

If not, you will be unable to board the flight. This also applies to marriage or maiden names; we can no longer allow passengers to travel by accepting marriage certificates or decree absolutes in conjunction with a passport."

On the E Ticket sent to you it also states check the contract T & c's
and states against each name "voluentray changes retricted"
Conditions of carriage make it quite clear also
http://www.virginatlantic.com/en/gb/bookflightsandmore/conditionsofcarriage/carriage3.jsp

 

[ford family]

We had a similar problem last year with a wedding party going to Cancun on Delta.

One of the guests couldn't make the trip because of work commitments. We asked the airline if we could change that passenger for a different one. The airline clerk said that it was not possible to make the change, that we would have to buy a new ticket (which was about £20 dearer than the original one) and that the first ticket was non refundable. Sorry, rules are rules etc.

Very calmly we pointed out how disappointed we were with Delta's inflexibility, that the lead passengers were both silver medallion frequent fliers and that we would never fly with that airline again.

The clerk asked for our frequent flier numbers and, after speaking with a supervisor said that they would refund the original ticket and we could book again at the slightly higher price.

So, it can be done, whatever the first clerk tells you, but the decision makers are higher up the line. If they value your existing and future business they should show flexibility.

Good luck

ford family

 

[gilld]

If you - or anyone else for that matter - don't travel, you are entitled to have the tax portion of the flight refunded, so your guest will be able to claim something back.

 

[Lisa x]

Thanks for all your advice!

I too have been a manager in a customer services department of a large UK company and rules are always in place. Rules CAN be broken and often were broken if we had loyal customers that we did not want to lose. Something a company clearly cannot advertise but something that most definately can be done.

We are Gold flying club members, we always fly VA for long haul and we always use Virgin credit cards for anything at all that we buy, the Virgin AMEX wherever we can. So we are pretty loyal I would say to Virgin and this will definately leave a sour taste after paying such a large amount of money.

The original economy flight that we booked was £470pp. They have said that for the same dates, the flight is £598pp. They have said we will get the tax back which to be honest is not a goodwill gesture, its the law. Long story short, it is a 17 year old that wants this seat, she had agreed £300 with the previous passenger for the seat, she cannot afford another £300. If our only option is to cancel, she wont be going because I need to dig my heals in on this one, my wedding is costing me an absolute fortune as it is and all these little extras are mounting up to a huge sum!!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Thanks for all your advice!

I too have been a manager in a customer services department of a large UK company and rules are always in place. Rules CAN be broken and often were broken if we had loyal customers that we did not want to lose. Something a company clearly cannot advertise but something that most definately can be done.

We are Gold flying club members, we always fly VA for long haul and we always use Virgin credit cards for anything at all that we buy, the Virgin AMEX wherever we can. So we are pretty loyal I would say to Virgin and this will definately leave a sour taste after paying such a large amount of money.

The original economy flight that we booked was £470pp. They have said that for the same dates, the flight is £598pp. They have said we will get the tax back which to be honest is not a goodwill gesture, its the law. Long story short, it is a 17 year old that wants this seat, she had agreed £300 with the previous passenger for the seat, she cannot afford another £300. If our only option is to cancel, she wont be going because I need to dig my heals in on this one, my wedding is costing me an absolute fortune as it is and all these little extras are mounting up to a huge sum!!

You are right that rules can and are broken on a daily basis, but as far as airlines are concerned there are rules and then there are rules. Internal rules and policies (change or cancellation penalties, policies regarding to seating and meals, etc.) can and are broken at times for the sake of providing good customer service. I managed to get people refunds on non-refundable tickets more than once. Then there are IATA rules that cannot be broken. IATA can and does punish airlines for breaking their rules. In the worst case scenario they can actually suspend an airline from the IATA clearing house, which means that they can no longer operate. No airline in their right mind will break IATA rules. What you are asking them to do comes under IATA rules.

I don't know what reservation system VS use and how their ticketing works. Our system will only allow us to ticket bookings that were stored through the system. So if a fare is no longer valid, we cannot get that fair back. We can only issue a ticket against the lowest available fare on that day.

Your best bet is ringing them again and ask to speak to a supervisor. Then clearly and calmly make your case. That way, you might at least get your money (or at least most of it) back on the ticket that cannot be used.

Corinna

 

[kayleighnik]

okay, i'm a little worried here. we've got a trip coming up in august. originally, my ex was going to be coming with us, but we broke up and now my new (and better!) boyfriend is going. i logged onto virgin holidays website and changed the details on that...they charged me £25 i think. will that all be okay?? The details are the same on the Virgin holidays and the Virgin atlantic site...i only changed the vh one...so i'm assuming thats its all okay?

 

[gilld]

It's completely different if you book through VH - or any other Tour Operator - since your flight won't have been "ticketed" yet. ie although the seat has been reserved, they haven't printed the ticket. So provided your details are showing correct on both sites, you'll be fine.

 

[islandmum]

Were staying at the Sandals Grand Antigua....!

ooh Dickinson Bay, we used to own a villa overlooking there - you'll love it, its an amazing beach, with some great little restaurants and bars around it too. Dont stay in the resort all the time, explore, its a lovely spot on the island.