Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Virgin Atlantic ONLY

32Nirvana

[FONT=&quot]Can anyone offer any help on this response from VA regarding a >3hr flight delay.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Dear XXXXXX
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thank you for contacting us about your delayed flight from Manchester to Orlando.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused to you as a result of the delay to your flight. Unfortunately, an external fault to the Flight Planning system resulted in this network being inoperable. As a result, our operational team had to implement a manual plan for aircraft movements worldwide. This system failure, along with having to re-plan flight movements, took longer than anticipated and impacted a number of airlines globally. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Staff worked around the clock to keep any delays to a minimum although we understand that this did have a 'knock-on' effect to flights over the following days. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]We sincerely apologise for the frustration and inconvenience caused to our passengers.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]We will not be offering monetary compensation under EU Regulation. Flights were delayed, not cancelled, and the event was completely unforeseen and extraordinary.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]However, if you do wish to pursue a claim, you may do so, following the below process.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Under the requirements of EU regulation 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding, cancellation or long delay of flights, passengers may be eligible to claim compensation if their flight is cancelled within two weeks of the departure date, or if the arrival of their flight is delayed by more than 3 hours.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Compensation will apply only if the delay in arrival time is over 3 hours, or if the cancellation was made within 14 days of departure, and the delay or cancellation was not caused by 'extraordinary circumstances' which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken, i.e. circumstances beyond our control. Such circumstances include, but are not limited to, cases of political instability, meteorological conditions, security risks, unexpected flight safety shortcomings and strikes which affect our ability to operate. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The EU Claim Application process is entirely separate to our Customer Relations and feedback service. Any person who wishes to make an application for compensation can do so by reading the advice, and completing the "EU Compensation Application Form", which can be found at:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]XXXXXXXXXX
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]This must be printed, completed and returned by post to:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] EU Application[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] PO Box 4525[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Dunstable [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] LU6 9QT[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] UK[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]We regret EU Flight Delay or Cancellation applications cannot be made by phone or e mail.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you do not have access to the internet or printing facilities, you can call our EU Compensation Claim Form Request service on:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] 0844 8715612 from the UK[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] +44 844 8715612 from outside the UK [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]You will then need to leave your full name and address. An application form will then be sent to you by post, which can be completed and returned to the address provided.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Please be aware that if you are intending to make a claim on behalf a group, for example if you have travelled as a family, a claim form must be completed for each individual passenger that wishes to make a compensation claim. Our claim handlers will process the applications in order of the date the completed forms are received.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I am sorry that you and your family were disappointed with the matter of not being offered any refreshments during the delay. Whenever facing such a delay we have to ensure that any action we take will minimise any further disruption or delay times. Under the EU Care package we provide, we do not issue any meal or refreshment vouchers until a delay exceeds 4 hours.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thank you for giving me a chance to explain and apologise XXXXXX, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]I hope this will not have deterred you from continuing to fly with us, as this really wasn’t a typical Virgin experience at all. We would love a chance to restore your faith in us. I hope we will have the pleasure of welcoming you back on-board again soon.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Yours sincerely[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]XXXXXXXX[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I am guessing the reason they give here is extenuating circumstances, is this right?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thanks in advance for any help,[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

sharonbu

we were delayed last april - taking off 5hrs 8 minutes late - but made up some time and arrived into orlando 4h 15 late - was anyone else on this forum on that flight?

we were told the plane had to be diverted to birmingham on its arrival from orlando that morning, the crew were then out of hours so another crew had to be bussed to birmingham to fly the plane up to manchester before it could go off to orlando again

info given was like pulling teeth - i even tweeted virgin from mach airport to be told there was no delay at all

on arrival at orlando the usual system for moving luggage after clearing customs was locked up for the night and it was a nightmare - we missed a booking the following day as we had expected to be awake very very early like the first day in the states but as we didnt get to bed til 1am (6am uk time) we overslept

am planning to use the form on their website to make a claim and am expecting the usual fob off - has anyone any advice?? or did anyone fly on the same flight?

thanks and good luck to everyone

rpstdavids

Just come across this thread.

I had a 7 hour delay on a flight to Boston back in Nov 2007. The original reason given was technical, and then crew ran out of time so had to be replaced.

Have filled in the form, not expecting anything, but no harm in trying.

Will update when/if I have some news.

millsmum

sorry I keep moving around with this, I hope I am now in the right place we were delayed for just over 4 hours on vs075 from man to orlando on the 21st oct 2010. we sat on the tarmac all the time, we were offered nothing at the time, we were told it was due to a techincal failure of a switch.
I am a little worried as I paid for the holiday with vh and paid with club card vouchers. can I still claim?

moments_of_sanity

Hi, in October 2008 our party of 4 flying from Gatwick to Orlando was delayed by 10 hours due to what they said was a loose panel on the plane. This was a huge inconvenience as we landed at about 3am in America having expected to land at about 5pm the evening before!

Is it worth me putting in a claim for all 4 of us and will I need to find the flight numbers (can't find any paperwork relating to what it might have been).

Mark2spark

millsmum wrote: »

sorry I keep moving around with this, I hope I am now in the right place we were delayed for just over 4 hours on vs075 from man to orlando on the 21st oct 2010. we sat on the tarmac all the time, we were offered nothing at the time, we were told it was due to a techincal failure of a switch.
I am a little worried as I paid for the holiday with vh and paid with club card vouchers. can I still claim?

The method of payment does not effect your right to a claim.
On the face of it, you have a valid claim. Contact Virgin via the template letters in FAQ's.

Mark2spark

moments_of_sanity wrote: »

Hi, in October 2008 our party of 4 flying from Gatwick to Orlando was delayed by 10 hours due to what they said was a loose panel on the plane. This was a huge inconvenience as we landed at about 3am in America having expected to land at about 5pm the evening before!

Is it worth me putting in a claim for all 4 of us and will I need to find the flight numbers (can't find any paperwork relating to what it might have been).

Hmmm. Well the flight numbers would be good, obviously :undecided
But you'll deffo need some sort of evidence that you paid for 'the service' - normally a booking reference number.

tt2505

6Hr delay on our Virgin flight to Jamaica in 2010.
The aircraft was flying from Las Vegas & had to divert to Canada due to a medical emergency onborad, before getting into Gatwick, which resulted in our flight to Montego Bay being delayed 6hrs.

Would this qualify for compensation?

Thanks in advance.

Mark2spark

tt2505 wrote: »

6Hr delay on our Virgin flight to Jamaica in 2010.
The aircraft was flying from Las Vegas & had to divert to Canada due to a medical emergency onborad, before getting into Gatwick, which resulted in our flight to Montego Bay being delayed 6hrs.

Would this qualify for compensation?

Thanks in advance.

IMO only an EC pertaining to the flight concerned is a get out clause for the airlines.
So claim away.

tt2505

Mark2spark wrote: »

IMO only an EC pertaining to the flight concerned is a get out clause for the airlines.
So claim away.

Thanks Mark :j