Holiday ins.. virgin flight delayed

samuela66

Hi

Does anyone have a number I can call Virgin about my delayed flight.
I have now called twice, (and am guessing the call centre is not in the UK) I need a letter to give my insurance company regarding my flight which was delayed in Orlando for 24 hours.
I was told I would receive the letter via email (didnt), called again yesterday and got nowhere..... also emailed customer services (no response)
I guess I cant do anything without the letter for my insurance.

thanks
sam:mad:

samuela66

Cityboy wrote: »

Sam

I don't know the answer to your specific question but I can assure you that you could get something back from the airline for your delay plus any expenses for accommodation/ meals etc if Virgin didn't pay for these themselves.

Could you post a few more details regarding the delay including date, flight no, how long delayed etc and what Virgin did to 'care' for you between the time of the scheduled departure and the actual departure.

Hi Cityboy,

Didnt think I could get anything from the airline actually.
They were very efficient when it happened though, the vehicle putting the luggage on to the plane crashed into it and the doors wouldnt shut so they took us all off the plane, let us get our luggage then got vouchers to stay in a hotel which we were transported to in a mini bus, they gave us vouchers for meals ($45 for 24 hours ha ha) which nowhere near covered what we had to lay out in the hotel and airport the next day!
Had to take an extra day off work both of us though hence why I was going to go through my own holiday ins company.
The flight was VS076 on the 1st feb 18.30 from Orlando, we then had to get one the next night which had double passengers on it, and the plane which had been hit was still on the runway

sam

Mr_Lahey

Cityboy wrote: »

<snip>.

What's this all about:

I am not a lawyer and all statements made by me are done so in good faith with the interest of forum readers in mind. I would always encourage forum readers to seek independent legal advice on the matter on which they are seeking advice and comment from other forum members and readers.

Don't you think your getting a bit carried away?

MichH

Hi Samuela66,

Approximately 3 years ago our Virgin Atlantic flight was delayed by just under a day, like you we were offloaded and taken to a hotel overnight.

The rep also gave us information on how to make a claim (sorry so long ago cant remember exactly what it was) but when we got back we were given £240 each of Virgin vouchers to use on a Virgin Holiday or Virgin Atlantic flight. So do persevere with getting hold of Customer Services, perhaps send a letter by Special Delivery.

Mr_Lahey

Cityboy wrote: »

Ask the Polish One!

No one takes PBS seriously!

samblack

Try and e mail them again, I was in the same situation last year and they e mailed me a letter when I e mailed them - it did take nearly 4 weeks for them to send it though.

bagand96

How on earth is this not extraordinary circumstances? A ground vehicle striking an aircraft and rendering it unservicable is hardly Virgin's fault and not something that can be planned for?

The EU regulations started with good intentions but what we actually have is a blanket set of regulations with wishy washy wording that can be interpreted either way, and that in some circumstances are wholly inappropriate.

Why should the airline have to pay out €600 per passenger for something that on the day WAS beyond their control. This happened on US soil and Virgin are based in the UK. What do the EU propose Virgin should have done, short of magic another 747 out of thin air? To assume they can sort it out and not delay the passengers by more than 3 hours is utterly preposterous!

Rant over on the EU regs.....

To the OP, if Virgin's voucher didnt cover your outlayings I would certainly expect them to reimburse the difference (assuming you can provide reciepts?) without much kicking and screaming. If you have a case via the EU regs and wish to chase them it will be a long hard slog, they wont just pay up.

You should keep on at them about the letter, you need it to claim on your insurance, and it is unreasonable for the to stall on this. Perhaps ask the insurance company for advice and explain Virgin are dragging their heels. They probably wont do much but worth asking.

FH_Brit

How you get Virgin in Gatwick and not India (or wherever) - When I flew home last year the booking rep transposed the last 2 numbers of my wife's Flying Club number and therefore they booked another woman to travel. India could not rectify this so ........

Call Virgin UPPER CLASS RESERVATIONS number - it goes to Gatwick! as they wont risk India messing up Upper Class!

bagand96

Cityboy wrote: »

Unfortunately, the incidence of vehicles (and passengers) coming into contact on the ground with an aircraft is one of the major problems with which airport operators have to contend.

This is taken so seriously that the US FAA publish statistics on such occurrences and whilst the overall number of incidences is relatively small, the fact is that they are far from 'extraordinary' in their nature.

I am aware that they do happen, sometimes sh*t happens. This is my point though, the rediculous EU regulations make no allowances for circumstances that on the day are beyond the direct control of the airline.

I would argue that it was an extraordinary circumstance in terms of any individual flight. The nearest available Virgin aircraft was very probably in the UK, which is at least 8 hours flying time away (that doesn't take into account finding crew, preparing the aircraft for service etc).

What should Virgin do? Double the size of the fleet and have a spare aircraft on the next gate for every flight they operate?

To suggest that after a delay of 3 hours people are entitled to €600 IS preposterous, and proves that the implementation of these regulations was ill thought out from the start.

samuela66

Cityboy wrote: »

Samuela - forgive us this side-issue debate for a moment or two!

Bagand

Since you seem to have a resistance to the regulation itself can we just step back and consider the circumstances that gave rise to the birth of the regulation itself.

This quote from NickB, a poster on Flyertalk, sums it up well:

"For decades, airlines had benefitted from contracts of carriage which were massively one-sided: put succinctly, the only obligation that airlines accepted was to do their best to get you to your destination some time (schedules are not contractually binding), in some way (they reserve the right to substitute alternative modes of transport if they so wished) providing some kind of service (catering, confort, etc... are not part of the contract so, ultimately, at the discretion of the airline).

This gross imbalance in the terms of the contract was somewhat counterbalanced by a willingness of airlines to look after their pax over and beyond what they were contractually bound to. For instance, in case of irrops, most airlines would have put you on the next flight, even on another IATA carrier without thinking twice about it. These were the 'good old days' of higher service, little competition (restrictive bilateral air service agreements made sure of that) but also higher fares.

Then liberalisation came in and, with it, carriers who undercut prices of the former flag carriers but no longer played the game of benevolent paternalism formerly practised by airlines (the poster child of this being, of course, Ryanair). The former flag carriers then became increasingly defensive and what was previously regarded as standard service then became something that airlines regarded as an unnecessary luxury.

Full-service carriers have increasingly limited themselves to providing just what they were legally bound to and no more. As airlines started to increasingly play hardball, so did passengers in return.

If there is an increasing litigation culture, it owes just as much to the change of attitudes in airlines as it owes to pax. So, perhaps you should direct your disgust at the change of culture in the airlines approach to their customers? After all, the airlines which open themselves, and are most subject, to litigation are not those who provide the highest level of service..."

The Regulation does make allowances for 'extraordinary circumstances', which are deemed circumstances not inherently found in day-to-day operation of an airline.

The airlines themselves, however, seem to denote that almost every act of delay or cancellation is due to 'extraordinary circumstances', thus pushing more and more passengers to consider litigation.

The more that airlines continue to deny legitimate claims, the more pressure they will eventually put their legal depts under in the undoubted raft of future claims by passengers pushing back.

Back on topic. Samuela, have you had a chance to write to Virgin yet?

Cityboy

Hi Cityboy,

It is on my list for the weekend, been working very late this week so no time....
Loooked at the website you told me about, very interesting indeed, so my plan is to write to Virgin and ask for compensation (they did give us a voucher at the aiport for airmiles with them, not what I want really, then try and get the letter for my holiday insurance although dont expect to get much from them, I dont think, thanks for all your help..

sam:beer:

bagand96

Since you seem to have a resistance to the regulation itself can we just step back and consider the circumstances that gave rise to the birth of the regulation itself.

I don't have a resistance to the regulation itself per-se, and certainly not the sentiment in which it was bought in. What I do have resistance to is the shambolic manner in which the EU have executed it.

I can see why it was required, airlines overbooking leaving people intentionally stranded, cancelling flights at no notice intentionally leaving people stuck etc. Those are intentional practices that are unfair on pax.

However the legislation leaves airline open to <in my eyes> unfair litigation rising from events that were not intentional and were beyond the control of the airline. What exactly were Virgin supposed to do here. An aircraft is rendered u/s at an airport thousands of miles from their operating and maintenenace bases. They can't just produce another aircraft out of thin air. What exactly would you accept as reasonable actions from Virgin in this case? It is clear they are not going to get people home within 3 hours of the original scheduled time, it is rediculous to even suggest it.

Sh*t happens. Sometimes it just does. But then, it seems as if we are following our transatlantic brothers and sisters down the litigation culture as a whole. It seems I missed the memo informing us that Sh*t is not allowed to happen anymore.

All it is EVER going to achieve is increased price of flights for all of us.

Sorry from me as well to the OP for dragging your post off track. Let us know how it goes with Virgin.