Virgin Holidays changed flights and now massive inconvenience

coulsond

Hi

I am travelling to St Lucia in september with virgin holidays and by chance found out the flight from gatwick to st lucia we are travelling on has changed. Not only has the flight time changed, it is now via barbados and as a result adds 2 hours to the flight time. We also have flight connections to Newcastle and now we miss the connection on the way back.
It has gone from the St Lucia flight landing at 05:30 in Gatwick, to landing at 08:50. The connection to Newcastle is 08:30, with the next one being over 6 hours later at 15:15.!

We are travelling with our 3 year old Son. We thought it was going to be difficult when the flight was 9 hours, now with the changes it is 11 hours and with over 6 hours sitting in gatwick.

I think this is totally unacceptable, but so far virgin haven't been very helpful. An alternative would be to fly from manchester 2 days later, but they are saying i will lose the free child place and will have to pay more, never mind compensation for the connecting flights that we would miss.

I am not sure how to approach this as this is well on its way to ruining a holiday I have been looking forward to for for nearly a year.

I was just wondering if there was anybody had any thoughts of ideas as to resolve this.

Thanks

Sam_Bee

Hi Coulsond,

A couple of pointers, I realise you're unhappy now, but don't think i'm sticking the knife in, just being realistic.

Virgin have made these changes relatively recently, so you've been informed promptly. They are allowed to make these changes, and I presume you booked Newcastle - Gatwick through them, so they have changed the connecting flight accordingly, so they have seemingly done everything by the book. With only 3 x flights a day from Gatwick - Newcastle there is not much else they can do, as it does only count as a 'minor change'.

If you booked the Newcastle - Gatwick flights yourself that is unfortunately the risk you take, and you have lost money.

I'm not sure what else they can do, changing you to Manchester is a whole different ball game. However, it appears their Friday flights are still non-stop to Gatwick - can they shift you to these days?

Or failing that, book a day room at Gatwick for £60-£70 so you can relax, sleep, eat, watch a bit of tele. Naturally push them to pay for that on the basis of having a 3 year old? They don't have to, and a call centre operative won't be able to do that, but maybe you might find someone with a conscience in Customer Services (or a 3 year child themselves!) and they might pay for it.

I think letting it threaten to ruin your holiday is completely over the top though. It only will if you decide to let it. An extra 3 hours in Gatwick and 2 hours in the air could have happened anyway if the flight had been delayed. As long as you prepare for it, and try and press Virgin for some additional support, you'll be fine.

coulsond

Sam Bee

I am annoyed as they have already changed the flight times once, now they actually cancelled the flight. The flight numbers are different and a little digging revealed that it is the barbados flight we are now on, which is now making the hope to St Lucia. To me this is more than a little change and very inconvenient.

And just to make it clear, they did not inform me. I by chance went onto virgin atlantics website and logged in with my flight reference. Virgin Holiday knew nothing about it when I contacted them!

I did book the connecting flights myself as I was told by virgin holidays at the time that they couldn't do that.

If I looked at this holiday with the flights as they are now I simply wouldn't have booked it. I know flight times are subject to change, but cancelling a flight and putting you on another one 2 hours longer with the result of an enforced stay at gatwick for 6 hours after an over night flight is pushing it too far for me.

One thing I hadn't considered was the friday flight and that maybe an option.

I don't consider this being over the top, Long haul flights are a big deal for alot of people and for them to be mucked around so blatently (especially scheduled flights) isn't acceptable in my book. Not to this degree.

NadineTravelExpert

coulsond wrote: »

Hi

I am travelling to St Lucia in september with virgin holidays and by chance found out the flight from gatwick to st lucia we are travelling on has changed. Not only has the flight time changed, it is now via barbados and as a result adds 2 hours to the flight time. We also have flight connections to Newcastle and now we miss the connection on the way back.
It has gone from the St Lucia flight landing at 05:30 in Gatwick, to landing at 08:50. The connection to Newcastle is 08:30, with the next one being over 6 hours later at 15:15.!

We are travelling with our 3 year old Son. We thought it was going to be difficult when the flight was 9 hours, now with the changes it is 11 hours and with over 6 hours sitting in gatwick.

I think this is totally unacceptable, but so far virgin haven't been very helpful. An alternative would be to fly from manchester 2 days later, but they are saying i will lose the free child place and will have to pay more, never mind compensation for the connecting flights that we would miss.

I am not sure how to approach this as this is well on its way to ruining a holiday I have been looking forward to for for nearly a year.

I was just wondering if there was anybody had any thoughts of ideas as to resolve this.

Thanks

Hi Coulsond,

You're absolutely justified to feel frustrated with the flight changes, I would be exactly the same.

May I ask whether you booked the holiday through Virgin Holidays directly or was it through a third party travel agent? If it was through either an online or high street travel agent, then you need to ring them directly and it is their duty to contact Virgin and sort this out for you.

However, if the booking was made through Virgin Holidays directly, then you must keep chasing them until they sort it out for you, which they should. Also check the terms and conditions for the contract you have signed regarding the booking as it should outline your entitlements as well as Virgin's in the event of a flight change. In other words, it should mention whether you're entitled to money back etc.

Finally, failing all of the above, you can contact ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) by visiting their website at http://www.abta.com/home where you can either have a look at information under the Consumer Services tab or else email enquiries through the Contact Us section on the site, or ring them on 020 7637 2444. Remember to have all of your travel/flight details and confirmation numbers at hand.

ABTA are a consumer travel protection association and they should be able to help in case the other two options fall through.

I hope this helps.

Best,
Nadine

coulsond

Nadine

Thank you for your response. I booked with virgin directly. Unfortunately up to now it has been quite frustrating. This is the second day and have spoke to three different people. None of them helpful. It is also the second day in a row I have waited all day for a supervisor to call me back, which I was assured would happen but hasn't.

I will keep going until I get a resolution, I am quite irritated that they aren't ringing back though as it costs me money every time and I have to explain the whole thing every time too.

regards


Dean

Sam_Bee

Nadine,

I'd get rid of signature pretty quick. And also your advice is wrong.

A Major Change with Virgin Holidays classifies as an alteration of 12 hours or more.

Only then are you entitled to a refund or/and compensation (which would only be upto £50).

No compensation is due to minor changes (which this is by the definition in the terms and conditions that were signed up to).

Virgin Holidays are not liable for any flight bookings they did not make (ie the Gatwick - Newcastle flights).

Virgin Holidays are not responsible for Virgin Airlines, and the changes the airline made.

It does not matter what Coulsand thinks (this is again, not being harsh, but how ABTA would see it), but this is all according to Virgin Holidays terms and conditions which adheres to ABTA's code of conduct.

ABTA are not a 'consumer protection agency' they are the Association of British Travel Agents. Virgin Holidays have adhered to all their terms and conditions, so ABTA will have no interest in this.

Coulsand needs to speak to someone senior in Customer Services and get them to agree to providing help they do not have to i.e. changes dates of the flights to a Friday, pay for the later Newcastle flights (I presume you have to re-book & pay again), or pay for a hotel day room.

The fact their customer service is shoddy, and no-one is calling you back is probably because no-one fancies telling you this face to face.