Virgin delays this week

[jen_uk]

The VS027 has been delayed all week, one day it went over 7 hours late! Today its is currently showing a 2 hour delay so far.

Hope its on time in 17 days!!!

 

[orangetiggs]

7 hours ouch! i would hate to be on that plane!

I always start watching about a month in advance to look at delays not that it helps just makes me think we are going to be delayed

 

[natalielongstaff]

wow !! those are some delays

 

[Elise79]

This happens every summer!

There are 2 main causes for the longer delays:
1) There is no wiggle room in the LGW/MAN schedules and once delayed those planes take a long while to get back to schedule as they don't have any spare planes sitting around incase one needs emergency repairs etc. Virgins LGW fleet is worked VERY hard.
2) The afternoon storms in Orlando can also cause delays but not being able to land or take off.

Also the full loads in the summer don't help as it takes longer to load/unload esp as some of the LGW gates don't have enough room for 747 load of passengers. There are also those people that are late to gate and have to be called!

Just expect delays and if you are on time its a bonus - and before anybody says that they should be on time etc in a perfect world it would be but we all know that it isn't and that in the summer the VA MCO route seems to suffer just plan for it and relax you are going to WDW!!!

 

[wicket2005]

Didn't even think about delays, I will have a look and see how the VS075 is running at the moment. However, my holiday starts the night before at the airport so don't mind slight delays.

All flights look like they are on time today from London and Manchester.

 

[getready]

Virgin and Monarch ex LGW seem to have regular delays!

 

[jen_uk]

I expect a small delay, don't think we have ever taken off bang on time with Virgin but I would hate a 7 hour delay

 

[wilma-bride]

Unfortunately, Jen, I have got to the point where I would be surprised if we didn't have a delay. Our delay last year was over 6 hours and that was pretty crummy.

One good tip, if you are delayed, is to book into one of the lounges for the day. It is fairly costly if you're only going to be there a couple of hours but it was invaluable to us as somewhere we could relax and eat/drink to our heart's content until our flight was called.

Also, if you get a sizeable delay, you should be entitled to vouchers for meals/drinks. You will need to go to the Servisair desk and ask, though - last year nobody bothered to tell us, we just overheard somebody talking about it.

Anyway, enough of the doom and gloom, I'm sure it will be fine

 

[MrsJobba1]

anyone know what the vs73 has been like - we are on it tomorrow

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Also, prior to the orlando route, some aircraft are coming in from las vegas and that is always late.

BA do not suffer as much as they have a single flight per day to Orlando and plenty of replacement aircraft.

 

[wicket2005]

anyone know what the vs73 has been like - we are on it tomorrow

It was on time going out today, check on the MCO website to see if the plane takes off on time tonight. This should give you a fair indication if it is running on time, then just depends if something goes wrong at this end.

 

[wicket2005]

VS027 expected early into Orlando today.

 

[jen_uk]

VS027 expected early into Orlando today.

 

[wicket2005]

Hope it continues to be early for you, Jen. My plane is running about 1 1/2 hours late at the moment, probably late setting off if there have been bad thunderstorms.

 

[jen_uk]

Hope it continues to be early for you, Jen. My plane is running about 1 1/2 hours late at the moment, probably late setting off if there have been bad thunderstorms.

Hope it makes up the time

 

[orlandothebeagle]

We are always delayed with virgin.

Getting away from the point but..
We are always delayed going to fl, usually by at least 3 hours with various carriers.
We flew to LA last week, flights were all on time, early actually, flew LA to vegas(early) flew vegas to san fran which was also on time.
I could go on but is it just me or is it Fl?

 

[wicket2005]

Sometimes it could have to do with the weather which is unpredictable especially in the summer months when violent thunderstorms take place. If the airport is experiencing a storm it is shut down till it goes. This, of course, will have an affect on the flights.

 

[Claire L]

The Gatwick to Orlando route does suffer due to there being a limited numhber of planes available and they are often the latest flights to leave so are the ones to get the late inbound aircraft from either Florida or the Caribbean.

Claire

 

[orlandothebeagle]

Sometimes it could have to do with the weather which is unpredictable especially in the summer months when violent thunderstorms take place. If the airport is experiencing a storm it is shut down till it goes. This, of course, will have an affect on the flights.

The Gatwick to Orlando route does suffer due to there being a limited numhber of planes available and they are often the latest flights to leave so are the ones to get the late inbound aircraft from either Florida or the Caribbean.

Claire

Very true ladiesnever thought about it.

 

[Cyrano]

We experienced delays and frankly Virgin check-in and ground staff were crap Fly-be on the otherhand tried to help their passengers get connecting flights.
Gatwick is definitely not a place to be stuck for 6 hours

So as far as expecting delays I am one for expect an airline to do its' best for the customer and to plan and resolve these difficulties