Virgin Atlantic nightmare for disabled traveller

Penny-Pincher!!

I wont fly with anyone to the states other than Virgin and we have been many times. I am no longer able to fly to the states due to medical problems.

I dont quite understand what you are hoping to achieve from this as I dont think Virgin have really done anything wrong.

My husband was in a similar position a few years back when we travelled and he fought my corner, put MY needs first, explained our predicament with him being my carer etc and they were great. We got bumped to upper class. He did this by keeping calm, focused and polite.

The thing is you will never know if anyone would have exchanged seats etc because you never asked. It must have been traumatic for your wife and its a shame you didnt do everything in your power to help the situation.

PolishBigSpender

Fantastic post, and says it far better than I could

Anyone that reads this thread would be well advised to click 'thanks' on the above post

baza52

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

I wont fly with anyone to the states other than Virgin and we have been many times. I am no longer able to fly to the states due to medical problems.

I dont quite understand what you are hoping to achieve from this as I dont think Virgin have really done anything wrong.

My husband was in a similar position a few years back when we travelled and he fought my corner, put MY needs first, explained our predicament with him being my carer etc and they were great. We got bumped to upper class. He did this by keeping calm, focused and polite.

The thing is you will never know if anyone would have exchanged seats etc because you never asked. It must have been traumatic for your wife and its a shame you didnt do everything in your power to help the situation.

Had you spoken to SA before the flight?
Was it the cabin crew that bumped you to upper?
Why can you no longer fly?

Penny-Pincher!!

baza52 wrote: »

Had you spoken to SA before the flight?
Was it the cabin crew that bumped you to upper?
Why can you no longer fly?

Yes we had called the special assistance months before travelling and they helped us with everything, even down to special dietry meals on the plane. I had a breast of chicken, roast spuds and roast veg....delish! On one flight a steward offered my his HM sarnie as I couldnt eat what they were offering.

We always check in the day before as we stay at Hilton Gatwick. There had been mis-communication between SA and the booking in staff, but my husband handled it well, stayed calm etc. We usually book premium economy as the seats are bigger and more spacious around the seats but the seats were in unsuitable places upstairs which I couldnt get too. Again husband calmly asked if anything further could be done as I depend on him for taking me to the toilet etc etc....they went away and asked if we would like to be bumped to Upper Class. Brilliant!!

As stated previously I am unable to fly long haul and I am not going to start posting personal info on here as to why I can't:D

Virgin have been so very helpful towards me and my disabilities. They are great.

baza52

so you never had to ask the cabin crew.
We also stayed at a hotel at gatwick but were unable to use either online or self checkin.

I can appreciate why you wouldnt want to post post details of your personal info. this is the same reason my wife didnt want me making a fuss on the plane.

so you have dealt with SA before. surely you know how it supposed to work then...
Why can you not see past the fact i didnt aproach cabin crew?

PolishBigSpender

baza52 wrote: »

so you never had to ask the cabin crew.

That doesn't matter. The point is that her husband sorted things out for her - I'm sure that if there was a problem on board, he would have approched the cabin crew in a professional and discreete manner.

I can appreciate why you wouldnt want to post post details of your personal info. this is the same reason my wife didnt want me making a fuss on the plane.

You don't have to make a 'fuss' on the plane - all you have to do is talk to one member of the cabin crew discreetly and mention your problem - disabled wife, needs someone to sit next to her in order to take care of her during the flight. You don't need gory details - and I'm certain that any flight attendant worth his/her salt would sort it out for you. I'm certain that if you told them in a calm and rational way that there was some sort of breakdown in communication, they would solve the problem for you.

But you didn't give them the chance!

so you have dealt with SA before. surely you know how it supposed to work then...
Why can you not see past the fact i didnt aproach cabin crew?

Yes, many things are supposed to work in practice - and when they don't, most sensible people attempt to find a resolution. Writing letters of complaint and complaining on here when you didn't actually attempt to resolve the situation is frankly pointless.

It's a sad reflection on today's society that people would rather complain on internet forums than actually attempt to resolve a situation.

baza52

OK i give in.

Obviously ringing SA was a waste of time and completely unnecessary as i could have just announced it onboard.

It doesnt matter what laws/regulations the carrier are bound by as it all boils down to whether i approached cabin crew and ultimately the captain.

The fact my wife is conscious enough about her disabilities also means nothing. I should have taken control (against her wishes) and explained her personal problems with them and the passengers who would wonder why they were being moved.

baza52

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

That doesn't matter. The point is that her husband sorted things out for her - I'm sure that if there was a problem on board, he would have approched the cabin crew in a professional and discreete manner.

Now you are making assumptions, he didnt approach the crew so how can you comment?



You don't have to make a 'fuss' on the plane - all you have to do is talk to one member of the cabin crew discreetly and mention your problem - disabled wife, needs someone to sit next to her in order to take care of her during the flight. You don't need gory details

Oh, but giving my wifes personal details to a "member of staff" is reasonably expected, even if it is against her wishes.


- and I'm certain that any flight attendant worth his/her salt would sort it out for you. I'm certain that if you told them in a calm and rational way that there was some sort of breakdown in communication, they would solve the problem for you.

But you didn't give them the chance!

Again your making an assumption.
What if the flight attendant was having a bad day? what if the aircraft was due to take off in 5 mins and their main priority was securing the cabin so they dont miss their slot.

What would you be saying if i HAD asked and still wasnt helped?

your able to imagine all the other scenarios so do it with this one.


Yes, many things are supposed to work in practice - and when they don't, most sensible people attempt to find a resolution. Writing letters of complaint and complaining on here when you didn't actually attempt to resolve the situation is frankly pointless.

It's a sad reflection on today's society that people would rather complain on internet forums than actually attempt to resolve a situation.

But if i dont complain and make a fuss, whats to stop the same thing happening to someone else?

pelirocco

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

Cabin crew can move who they like for operational reasons. The fact that a seat might be allocated to a certain passenger means nothing - there may very well be a good reason to move someone. For instance, if someone seated in an exit row isn't suitable, they can be moved - indeed, this is entirely up to the discretion of the cabin crew and ultimately the pilot. Remeber on board aeroplanes, the Captain has complete control - and if an order from him (via the cabin crew) comes for you to exchange your seat, then you can either comply or face the consequences.

The fact that you chose not to have a quiet word upon boarding is entirely your responsibility - but if you had done, you may very well have found a sympathetic cabin crew member who would have ordered people to move in order to accomodate the disabled traveller.

And there would have been a mutiny on board !

I'm not sure if you just like playing devils advocate or are a just an annoying poster tbh

pelirocco

baza52 wrote: »

OK i give in.

Obviously ringing SA was a waste of time and completely unnecessary as i could have just announced it onboard.

It doesnt matter what laws/regulations the carrier are bound by as it all boils down to whether i approached cabin crew and ultimately the captain.

The fact my wife is conscious enough about her disabilities also means nothing. I should have taken control (against her wishes) and explained her personal problems with them and the passengers who would wonder why they were being moved.

Just ignore the poster ' Polishbigspender' they never know what they are talking about .

Virgin did let you down , I have found sometimes they can be very helpful and other times quite the opposite , sadly its a sign of the times , with flight prices becoming more competitve the extra touches are becoming a thing of the past . We fly quite often with them and try to get PE seats( using miles to upgrade ) ecomony is getting pretty basic on their flights now , we have found that more and more seats have problems with their entertainment system these days too