Virgin Atlantic reserved seats now not reserved

pennylane99

gibbyni wrote: »

Just to update this is what i got back from Virgin

Thank you for contacting us regarding the change to your pre-assigned seat onboard.

We have recently made amendments to our London Gatwick seat maps, which has meant that certain seat numbers are no longer available to pre-assign to anyone and will only be available on the day of departure upon check in at the airport. As a result passengers already assigned these seats have had to be moved to alternative seats.

We understand and appreciate that you may have pre-assigned these seats some time in advance and apologise unreservedly for any inconvenience caused. We always try and accommodate a request but can never guarantee them due to many factors including aircraft and operational requirements.

It is not possible for us to contact passengers when pre-assigned seats are changed, as they can happen at anytime including right up to departure. When it is necessary for us to change a passenger's seat number, we endeavour to assign a seat of similar position, although it is not always possible to do that.

We appreciate your feedback and constantly strive for a perfect solution to accommodating the great variety and volume of seating requests that we receive.

Thank you for contacting Virgin Atlantic Airways.



At least there admitting its cos there changing the seating plan and dropped the rubbish about Airport Authority. They say they they try to get a seat of similar position but thats rubbish they didnt pick one at all and im assuming it was the same for summercherry.

As mentioned previously, the seating plans have changed cos they are making those back seats into extra legroom seats, to be available on the day, and for which you will have to pay more

Extra leg room seats - if you would like more leg roomyou can purchase exit row seats at Gatwick airport on selected flights on the day of travel from between £50 and £75 one way depending on the route. Alternatively Virgin Atlantic is creating a number of Economy seats on its Gatwick fleet of aircraft with a larger seat pitch of 34 inches which will also be available to purchase at check in for only £30 one way.

Aidenr

pennylane99 wrote: »

As mentioned previously, the seating plans have changed cos they are making those back seats into extra legroom seats, to be available on the day, and for which you will have to pay more

without meaning to stir up a hornets nest, as far as I am aware all plans to extend the seats on the LGW fleet have been put on hold as well as the plans for a new IFE system for the leisure routes.

This may have changed, but the last I herd, due to operational and financial climate reasons, they are not shelling out any extra money at the mo.

in relation to seat allocation, I am not 100% of how it works prior to -24hrs before departure.
Without sounding like Mr Branson himself, the OLCI tool is great in relation to speed through the airport etc, but it does have many downsides. Like Debs66 story ( of which I am aware of ) linked bookings dont always work. Another issue is that seats are held back right upm until a few hours before departure for many reasons such as passengers in transit.

In relation to Gatwick departures, like Orlando and the Carribean, there have been times that other airlines have pre held seats with Virgin in case of delays/cancellations, so that may be another reason for seats being changed when booked so far in advance.
Like I said, I am not sure how the seat allocation works when you have booked and paid for your holiday say 6-8 months in advance. I might be wrong in assuming that you have booked through Virgin Hols, if so these requests may not have reached Virgin Atlantic as they are 2 very different companies and are not connected.

In relation to the issue with the mother and child with special needs, I would definatly contact the "special assistance" department and they will do everything in there power to help. I know from first hand experience how difficult it can be. Once the request has been submitted to special assist, a notice will be issued on the day to the ground staff and crew onboard of your situation and therefore everyone is aware that you can not be moved etc

I really hope that everything go well for your trip, and hope that it has not put you off flying with VA.
my only other advise is that if you get no help or leway with the call center or ground staff, speak to the crew! if any of my collegues are like me, full flight or not, we will try are best and if they are not as caring as me, as to speak to the FSM ( flight service manager ) they wear either a black (female) or grey (male) shirt and they will do all they can.

If you need any other info, just drop me a line and I will reply as and when I can

Aiden
( slightly ditsy hostie )

donny_osmonds_mad_fan

david are you saying that you cant pre assign seats on BA?

you can, and united and AA, and north west etc...maybe that isnt what you meant??

SimbaSimon

donny_osmonds_mad_fan wrote: »

david are you saying that you cant pre assign seats on BA?

you can, and united and AA, and north west etc...maybe that isnt what you meant??

Business class passengers can assign seats.

A few weeks before people with young children can assign seats, then about a week before people with older children can assign seats,

Finally 24 hours before takeoff everyone else can assign seats. So annoying!

debs66_2

David_Bicker wrote: »

Debs I guess you were unlucky with the OLCI then and the other passengers unwilling to move to help. I may be wrong but I'm sure larger airlines like BA don't allow you to pre-assign seat requests like Virgin do? It may be a good or bad thing that we get a choice of seats with Virgin.

I know it is inconvenient that they do not honour these requests sometimes but it is clear in the booking T&C's.

Hi again David, to clarify, other passengers were willing to move and help, and they were the saviours of the day in that i was at least a row behind (albeit on my own) on the way there, and with one daughter with me on the way back. Virgin staff at every point were not the least bit interested in trying to help. The cabin crew did seem semi-interested, and on the way back tried to move me, but 2 minutes later came back and moved me back becuase my seat was pre-assigned :mad: !! At check-in we asked about the row of seats supposedly set back 'for scenarios like this' and were told we couldn't have them as they were for the airline's use (or some similar worded excuse).


Hi Aiden, nice to see you back. So, you now know all didn't go to plan with our holiday. Unfortunately, even though you say you hope this sort of thing doesn't put people off flying with VA, it has left too much of a bitter taste for me to give them another go. My new Virgin Amex is in pieces in the bin, and we're considering calling Sky to come and replace our Virgin media telephone/broadband/TV package. they may not be the same (Virgin) company, but the banner is the same, and we're truly p***ed off. we felt like we wasted (a lot!) of extra money on what was supposed to be an upgraded experience.

you never know, this may have forced us into looking for a better deal for some home services. always a moneysaver eh...? :cool:

donny_osmonds_mad_fan

SimbaK2K wrote: »

Business class passengers can assign seats.

A few weeks before people with young children can assign seats, then about a week before people with older children can assign seats,

Finally 24 hours before takeoff everyone else can assign seats. So annoying!

well when I booked with british airways we just did the seats when we got the tickets like everyone else, which was 11 mths before...with AA we did the seats on booking, NWA we could do them 90 days prior to departure.....

sorry but what you are saying has really confused me...anyone else?????

SimbaSimon

donny_osmonds_mad_fan wrote: »

well when I booked with british airways we just did the seats when we got the tickets like everyone else, which was 11 mths before...with AA we did the seats on booking, NWA we could do them 90 days prior to departure.....

sorry but what you are saying has really confused me...anyone else?????

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/mmbseatingpolicy/public/en_gb

Heres the link to their seating policy.

Basically when you book first class can choose seats
3 days before flying passengers with kids can choose seats
24 hours from departure everyone else can choose seats

donny_osmonds_mad_fan

oh well they have changed that then since we flew with them. I didnt have an infant when we flew with ba but had children.

mainmonkey123

As quoted in a previous post - Extra leg room seats - if you would like more leg roomyou can purchase exit row seats at Gatwick airport on selected flights on the day of travel from between £50 and £75 one way depending on the route. Alternatively Virgin Atlantic is creating a number of Economy seats on its Gatwick fleet of aircraft with a larger seat pitch of 34 inches which will also be available to purchase at check in for only £30 one way.

Can someone point in the direction of where this is on their website. I've just flown back from Las Vegas using Virgin and took up this offer as I checked in. They told me rows 40 - 54 had the additional 3" but to me all the seats looked the same to me and feel cheated. The couple behind me also paid and felt cheated.

TIA

blindman

mainmonkey123 wrote: »

As quoted in a previous post - Extra leg room seats - if you would like more leg room you can purchase exit row seats at Gatwick airport on selected flights on the day of travel from between £50 and £75 one way depending on the route. Alternatively Virgin Atlantic is creating a number of Economy seats on its Gatwick fleet of aircraft with a larger seat pitch of 34 inches which will also be available to purchase at check in for only £30 one way. Can someone point in the direction of where this is on their website.

It's here.