Virgin just changed my airport, what can I do?

pulliptears

This is a rescheduled set of flights from last month.  Original flights were Manchester to Vegas then Los Angeles to Manchester for the return, with an internal flight in between. Rescheduled to September we've just had an email saying that rather than the morning flight out of Manchester to Vegas they now want us to fly out in the afternoon from Heathrow.  This doesn't work for us at all.  What are my rights here?  I'm wondering at this point whether I can cancel the lot and give it up as a bad idea at the moment (not that I'm convinced September will go ahead anyway)

Missttt

We have just had the same email. Due to fly from Manchester to Vegas end of August and just had an email to say flights both ways will be London Heathrow now. No option for a refund. They won’t pay any additional travel costs. Can they do this ? London is quite a distance from Manchester! 

pulliptears

Missttt said:

We have just had the same email. Due to fly from Manchester to Vegas end of August and just had an email to say flights both ways will be London Heathrow now. No option for a refund. They won’t pay any additional travel costs. Can they do this ? London is quite a distance from Manchester! 

Our return flight is LA to Manchester so only one way thats tricky, but not happy with this change at all.  Looks like the Manchester to Vegas route has been pulled altogether.

98dynaglide

Here's the email Virgin are sending out, no mention of a refund:

You may have seen the news recently that we’re making some changes to our fleet and schedule. We have retired our older aircraft in support of our drive towards greener, more sustainable flying and consolidated our flying schedules in line with customer demand.

We wanted to get in touch to let you know how these changes will affect your upcoming flight. Whilst Manchester remains a critical hub for Virgin Atlantic, we’ve taken the difficult decision to withdraw our Manchester to las Vegas service.

However, we’re pleased to say we’ve been able to rebook you onto our flight departing from London Heathrow, which will depart on the same day as your original booking.

We’re really looking forward to welcoming you on board, but please note due to the ongoing travel restrictions, at this time we’re not able to guarantee your new flight will operate as planned. Should this be the case, we’ll be back in touch to let you know.

We appreciate you may also need to change your plans, so to ensure you have the flexibility you need, we’ve further extended our rebooking policies. Options include changing your flight to or from any of our other destinations, or leaving your ticket open as credit to use for travel with us any time up to 30th September 2022, with no booking change fee. If you choose to travel within 21 days of your original flight date, we’ll also waive any potential difference in fare. You can find more details on our website here.

With our teams all working from home with limited infrastructure and availability, our phone lines are very busy. If you do need to change your travel plans, to make things easier for you we’ve provided forms on our website to let us know how you’d like to proceed.

If you’ve booked through another website or travel agent, please contact them directly to discuss your options.

We’re grateful for your patience and understanding during these difficult times. We look forward to seeing you on board soon.

Until then, stay safe and stay well.

Corneel Koster

Chief Customer Officer

Virgin Atlantic

98dynaglide

You could also be on a sticky wicket accepting the 'open' ticket.

There's no fee to change but you have to pay the increase in price, and you'll most likely be going from Heathrow still, with the associated extra costs involved from there.

Virgin are asking the government for £500 million to stay afloat, it's being considered - this Manchester carry on is an example of them showing the government they're slimming down their operation.

Virgin is 50% owned by Delta, a U.S. company, so it's complicated.

Virgin could go under - Virgin Australia already has, then the 'credit notes' will be worthless.

They're not worried, their first concern is the shareholders.

The government, credit card companies and insurance companies will have to sort out the customers. (Have you tried to get travel insurance recently???)

The government wouldn't give Thomas Cook £500 million last year, (or BMI Baby, Monarch, FlyBe etc.) before Covid-19 kicked off, why would they give it to Virgin now?

Never mind recession, there's a depression coming and the government are preparing a 'war chest' to protect vital services - holidays aren't on the list.

Just watch the price of stuff fall as people try to put food on the table and pay the bills (sports cars, motorcycles, motorhomes, caravans etc. - peoples toys, always the first things to go)

But it still puzzles me why the government gave Easyjet £500 million and they're dragging their feet with refunding people - what have they used it for? Do they assume people can just write it off, along with hotels, car hire, excursions etc? Their overheads must be virtually zero.

A sad state of affairs - credit to Jet2 for their approach and excellent customer service.

It'll be remembered...

98dynaglide

Some good info here, too;

mindovermoneymatters.co.uk

98dynaglide

Virgin contact info;

Customer Service and Reservations:

+44 (0)344 874 7747 (Open 7am - 10pm BST)

Our call centre is currently open between 7am and 10pm in the UK, or 2am to 7pm in the US.

If you'd like to send us a text, our team are working from home around the clock, and available to help 24/7.

It may take a few hours to respond, but be assured that we will reply.

Text +44 (0)7481 339184 from the UK, or 97634 from the US.

You can also WhatsApp us on +44 (0)344 8747747. Just save our number in your mobile to get started.

For more info, please visit our Covid-19 news page

pulliptears

I think I might be best just accepting the change and working out the logistics of flying from Heathrow.  What the email didn't say as well was you'll need to rebook seats, and I was fortunate to manage to get the last 2 premium economy seats together.
I cant see it going ahead anyway to be honest, but I really hate the fact its all so up in the air at present (pun intended)

pulliptears

Reading that link (thanks 98)

https://mindovermoneymatters.co.uk/virgin-cancels-manchester-to-las-vegas-route-what-can-you-do/

It implies I can get a refund, but, what I'm not sure about is if that applies to the whole trip.  I have 3 flights booked:
Manchester/Heathrow - Vegas
Vegas - Los Angeles
Los Angeles - Manchester

Will the refund just apply to the changed flight?

Alan_Bowen

Yes, the change to the original flight entitles you a full refund, assuming you booked all the flights at the same time. You should be aware that Virgin is one of the worst at dealing with requests for refunds, not a single one has been paid to my knowledge and they are currently estimating 100 days, presumably from the date of the request, so get yours in as soon as possible

Missttt

Thanks for the useful information. I am going to request a refund.