Virgin versus any other Airline.

[tashasmum]

we dont fly charter but use fly transatlantic at least 3 times a year so have got used to the BA Virgin comparisons...

we now use Virgin over BA for the following reasons:
when we fly PE (about half the time) Virgin PE is HUGELY superior to BA, much better and bigger seats, for our route they use a 747 so its upstairs seating for PE which is SO roomy its amazing, love the entertainment system too.

when we fly business Virgin also knocks spots off BA - the upperclass seats are far superior to Business BA, the area comes with a bar, feels very exclusive and the clubhouse is UNBELIEVEABLE. BA's business class feels like cattle stalls all forwards and backwards everywhere, I dont like it at all. Plus the car service with upper class is awesome and BA dont do anything like that.

Where Virgin fails appallingly for us is the professionalism of the staff. I Like the BA more polished, generally a bit older and surrey accented flight staff! Virgin tend to be Gemma, age 20, from Bolton having a blast going round the world shopping .... her job being second fiddle. Not being discriminatory just saying the experiences we've had the Virgin staff are on the whole far less quality than BA - but everything else.... better! Less atantion, more of a giggle with their mates comparing make-up techniques from what we've seen

Being from the Bolton area I find that quote very very insulting, typical snobbery and trying to justify it with "not being discriminatory" If all the country had Surrey accents we wouldn't have a country with such a rich diversty of accents and dialects.

 

[islandmum]

Being from the Bolton area I find that quote very very insulting, typical snobbery and trying to justify it with "not being discriminatory" If all the country had Surrey accents we wouldn't have a country with such a rich diversty of accents and dialects.

oh lord! wasnt being discriminatory, just saying that the BA experiences "I've" had with staff felt more like the home counties feel - which is where I've come from and what I'm used to.

I have no doubt that many many others prefer the Virgin staff who are more laid back, younger and more diverse.

please do take it as offensive, I'm a short and blonde as you can be and when the "blonde" comments arise I hardly rush out and take offense.

no offence meant so please dont take it. I dont see any Indians rushing to post getting offended by the call centres comments - which are very true and also not meant to be offensive by those posters.

 

[tashasmum]

Have flown with Virgin for the last 10yrs and the staff have always been very professional regardless of their accents. We fly from Manchester and they seem to have more male staff and women of a more senior age. Basically as long as they get me there safe and sound with the odd meal and drinks and snacks thrown in thats fine by us.

No offense taken.

 

[islandmum]

Have flown with Virgin for the last 10yrs and the staff have always been very professional regardless of their accents. We fly from Manchester and they seem to have more male staff and women of a more senior age. Basically as long as they get me there safe and sound with the odd meal and drinks and snacks thrown in thats fine by us.

No offense taken.

excellent!

funny how we all get real stressed about the flights - sometimes more than the actualy vacation and yet its over so very fast!

 

[gilld]

Personally speaking I don't are any better, or worse, in Economy, than most other scheduled airlines. In PE and UC however, they are better than BA...as far as BA's Club Class goes, though BA's First Class is probably better.

What is important to us, is flying into MCO, Downtown Disney Check-in and the choice of flights. And often VA are cheaper, though not always. Flying to Sydney and home from Singapore next year, BA were £1,000 more than VA!

 

[Hilary]

I can speak only for economy on scheduled flights:

I don't think Virgin are superior - I remember being hugely disappointed on our first flight with them because the hype (not here, this was pre-DIS days!) had led me to believe we'd have a flight like nothing we'd had before. It was fine, but no different from any other scheduled flight we'd taken. To be honest, on any flight, if you'd taken away the uniforms and logos, I couldn't have told you who we were with!

For a few years I championed BA over Virgin because I like their adjustable head-rests and foot-rests, but I'm now wary because of their historical problems with industrial action - maybe unfair, but I don't want to risk spending the first few days of my holiday waiting at the airport!

At the end of the day, I'll fly with anyone, charter or schedule, who meets my criteria of price, UK airport, availability, choice of dates. For a 7 or 14 night trip that usually means a charter, but for any other length of stay, I'll take the best deal