Virgin

[KEH]

Has anyone flown with Virgin recently? What did you think?

We flew with them for our first couple of trips and found them okay but then their direct flights from Manchester became very expensive and we used other airlines. In the meantime, I seem to remember reading some rather negative reports about them on these boards.

We are doing a repositioning cruise from California to Florida on the Disney Magic next August which means a flight into LA and one back from Orlando. We have had a reasonable quote for Virgin flights which have the added advantage of being direct. I just wanted to check out what people feel before we jump in.

So any recent experience with flying Virgin? Good? Bad?

Thanks in advance.

 

[JohnnySharp]

We have fown with Virgin every time, by the end of next year that will be 12 holidays.

I would say the overall quality of service has lessened over the years, particularly on the Manchester route where the oldest planes in the fleet are still used and whilst on the outside they look great , the inside looks a little bit shabby- they pride themselves on having the most modern fleet available, however, living up North we do not tend to get the benefit of that.

They are also putting up the fly drive prices , particularly during peak times, although having said that aren't they all?

We still fly with them though, mainly because we have a 7 year old Autistic son and they have always been very good with us, bulk head seats, letting us last on the plane but first off etc.
They fly direct to Orlando International, a lot of their competitors either do not fly direct or fly into Sanford instead - British Airways do not even fly from M'chester to Orlando.

Overall I guess whilst I do accept that the service is not what it used to be and still have a gripe about the old jumbos they use from M'chester they are still the best bet for us.
Don't think we would fly with anyone else - either that means they are good and possibly we just take them for granted or possibly the competition isn't great - both maybe.

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Flown with them 3times so far, and to be honest I wouldn't fly with any other company.
Although I agree with johnnysharp the planes from manchester are dated compared to the "fly a younger fleet" other airports boast.
The older planes are reliable and have a good record under there belt, it would be nice to have more virgin aircrafts at manchester and maybe in the future we will.

I would go with VA all the way.

 

[tartangirl]

We flew for the first time with Virgin this year from Manchester.

I thought they were pretty good. Living in Scotland we have tended to fly charter to get the direct flights but we thought the drive down to Manchester was well worth it (and we've booked again for next year).

Although the planes are old the entertainment and food was better than last time we flew with BA. Everything worked (unlike flying charter) so the age of the plane wasn't a problem.

I also like their web-site where you can reserve your seats well in advance and also order your meal type.

 

[snookhams]

we have flown with Virgin 5 times (and are booked for next August) the most recent being 3 weeks in August this year, and we can't think of anything negative about the various experiences, this year we treated ourselves to PE, with DH redundancy money, and it was worth every penny extra, the comfort and attention from the staff was fantastic.

 

[lucy_love_]

hi

we just flew with them. it was fine. although delayed which pi**ed me off.

love

lucy

 

[gilld]

I don't think Virgin are as amazing as they think themselves to be, there's no doubt their standards have slipped over the years. We do fly with them however, because they fly direct to MCO, we like to get there as quickly as possible, they are competatively priced and most of their cabin crew are very friendly. The on-board entertainment is rather hit or miss, but when it does work, it's quite good. The meals and seat pitch are neither better or worse than many other airlines.

 

[Beejayjay]

I'm a a big fan of Virgin and have only ever flown with another airline once among my perhaps 20 trips stateside.

The only criticism I might have is that, yes, certain of the Virgin fleet are getting old, and although I've never found them shabby, the facilitites and standard of comfort could be a better. On the newer planes of course that's definitely not the case.

My last trip over, with my partner and her kids, we flew BA and found them very good as well, We flew on an almost new 767, which was as comfortable and spacious in economy as you ever get. The reason we flew with them over Virgin was simply due to a pretty big difference in price for the dates we needed - we flew out on Boxing Day '03, and the saving was just about equivalent to the cost of the youngest's ticket.

If you can fly with them from Manchester, I understand Britannia's charter service into Sanford is very good, but I haven't actually flown with them myself.

Hope this helps !

 

[poet123]

From May 2005 new or refurbished full livery virgin planes will be on the MAN-ORLANDO route. We have booked for early July direct with VA and been told we will be on the new planes which will be the same standard and same ent system as Gatwick.
Manchester will no longer be the poor relation!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friends flew Brittania from Manchester and despite having flown all over the world said it was the worst flight they had ever had , plane was so old bits were falling off in the cabin, no entertainment, and the cabin lights on their side flickered for 9 hours but couldnt be swithched off. They said NEVER AGAIN , and they only paid £30 pp less than us and we flew Virgin!

 

[allie5]

Ive flown to Orlando using most of the companies that do so over the years. That includes 5 trips with Virgin (with 2 more booked), one BA flight, one Travel City flight, Airtours / MyTravel, Monarch etc etc.

I have never been a fan of Virgin, and to be honest the ONLY reason I use them is they are the only choice if you want flexible dates & flight times, Twilight Check In and Downtown Disney Check In. I find the actual flights themselves rather lacking. Planes have been old and manky, cabin crew surly and rude, ordered meals never show up, dodgy in flight entertainment systems. I have had several reasons for complaints that I wont go into here, but each time it has taken months and months to resolve. Their Customer Service is a joke if you want to complain.

At the end of the day, the flight is just an ends to means in my case. I wont spend the earth on the flight just because the plane says Virgin on the tail (though many people do). Virgin have the UK-Orlando route pretty much sown up, and just dont try too hard with it in my opinion. If they flew the oldest mankiest planes, with the rudest possible staff with virtually no entertainment, then people WOULD STILL fly with them....hmmmm, wait a minute, they do that already!!

But seriously....Virgin will get you to Orlando, in safety and (relative) comfort). You dont get "first class" service by anymeans (unless you pay ridiculous money for upgrades) and you are lucky if you see a member of the crew even smile once during the 9 hours, but you do get there, and thats all that matters to me.

Out of all the airlines we have used, rather surprisingly, the My Travel flight we had in 2002 was far and away MILES better than any Virgin one.

People will always have horror stories about any airline, so I would simply chose the flight that is within your budget, fits your schedule and is at the time you want. Whatever name is on the tail doesnt seem to make an awful lot of difference these days.

 

[Shropshire Saint]

I have flown to the US over 12 times, Orlando being the vast majority of those trips . 5 of those flights were with Virgin. The latest was the return journey last Friday. I have to say that I am not impressed with them. We travelled Premium Economy for an extra £250-£300 each. The biggest benefit being the leg room as I am 6ft 4 & need as much space as possible. Your pre-booked seats only work out about 50% of the time. Pre-booked meals rarely appear. The TV system rarely works properly & the link they have with Dollar car rentals is pretty poor to. I use them because they fly from Manchester regularly & they have worked out well on price. The best flight we ever had was a TCD/European flight sunshine first, but some people have had problems with them too. On the whole I think they are much of a muchness & struggle to recommend any of them. But its the only was I can get to the the best holiday destination in the world.

 

[Cassius69]

Evening All

In the past two months I would normally have complained about Virgins habit of offering late deals with no regards to those of us who booked early and paid full price.

However, after writing to complain last month they have just replied and given me a £100 refund. So, Virgin have now gone back up in my estimation.

Their attraction ticket prices are too high compared to what can be got elsewhere on the net, but their standard of service (including their dedicated car rental counter) all helps make the holiday go a bit smoother.

Still 7 weeks to go!

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

we have flown to the USA with American Airlines, British Airways, Continental, Virgin, Northwest airlines, Delta, Monarch and Britannia.
Out of them all, Virgin have been consistantly the best.
If I ever flew economy I would fly American, Continental are good for Buisness class, But if I ever get near a BA flight again, shoot me for going mad! Snotty cabin crew, uncomfortable cradle seats, rubbish lounges...the list can go on and on.
Delta and Northwest no better than the chaters in my opinion.
Virgin are always our number one choice, excellent cabins and seats, superb food and great cabin crew. the best clubhouses in any airport, the Upper Class suites are superb, none of the others touch them.

 

[TraceyL]

I used to fly with VA regularly but have found their standards and customer service have slipped consideraby over the past few years. My airline of choice is now BA who also now do twilight check in (wish they would add DTD check in too), online seat & meal requests. It seems with all the cut-backs VA have now put themselves back on a par with the othe rscheduled airlines whilst some of the charters have improved their game to compete too !!

 

[Cassius69]

Not that I'm being nosey, but I notice that you're going to WDW the same day as us.

To add to coincidence I'm in Wales too (though I'm not Welsh, but neither am I English).

Just don't mention the footy...

Ta

 

[danandjackie]

My experience (used once..never again) is they operate as a slightly higher std charter airline nothing more nothing less..compared with the flexibility of pure scheduled flights though they are pretty poor especially when you consider they like to consider themselves as a schedule airline and charge in that market.

They seem to be very family group orientated in there packages which on a long haul flight can`t be a good thing for passengers without kids (lol)... But if they excell in this and that works for families then they are probably the best at that..

At the end of the day it is a family destination... so my advice would be use them if your a family but avoid like the plague if you want some comfort and sleep and your just a couple..

 

[TraceyL]

Originally posted by Cassius69
Not that I'm being nosey, but I notice that you're going to WDW the same day as us.

To add to coincidence I'm in Wales too (though I'm not Welsh, but neither am I English).

Just don't mention the footy...

Ta

Flying BA from LGW om Nov 28
My children have dual nationality (Welsh/English) - DH is english !
What football ??

 

[LJP]

We landed home on Sunday - flew Virgin from LHR to Miami and back. Spent first week down the coast or in the hotel due to Jeanne and then drove to WDW. No complaints at all - outbound flight was 3/4 full - DH and I had 3 seats to ourselves. Staff attentive and friendly, flight on time and good entertainment system - choice of something like 50 films and Nintendo games. Inbound flight fuller, but still 3 seats between us and bang on time.

 

[Beejayjay]

I just yesterday booked our seats on Virgin for my partner and I for our trip starting November 26th - into Miami, back from Orlando (at a rather nice £250 per person thanks to their miles plus money offer for Flying Club members).

When I called to request our seating allocations (my 5ft tall other half suffers from claustrophobia behind those high seat backs, so we have to make a special request for bulkhead seats), Virgin confirmed that both the flights we are taking will be using the newest Jumbo's in their fleet, 747-400's, with their most comprehensive inflight entertainment system and more comfortable seats. Hopefully these are also now being used from Manchester - a call to Virgin's booking line will confirm this.

 

[poet123]

BEEJAYJAY,
I too am 5ft tall and suffer exactly like your wife, did you manage to get bulkhead seats? I have read that they are only allocated at check in. Tell me more please!!!!!!!!!!!!