Virgin cancelled flight Manchester to LA

bunnysnap

Hello I am hoping there may be some travel gurus on here who can confirm something for me please. Virgin cancelled my MAN-LAX ticket and I agreed (stupidly) not to ask for a refund and it's fine to convert to a travel voucher (I planned on making the exact same journey in 2022).

Virgin no longer fly MAN-LAX direct and my voucher (Miles and points) can ONLY be used on a direct flight (they kept that quiet when they coerced me into the travel voucher).

I have been offered MAN-Atlanta - and then I find my own way to LA (not something a small 53 year old woman wants to do really) or fly London Heathrow to LA but I have to find and pay my own way to LHR.

Don't Virgin have some kind of CAA regulation about having to honour city to city travel in a comparable standard at no additional cost to the customer?

They won't let me fly on their non-direct flight to LAX, they won't take me from Manchester to London to connect there and they won't give me a refund. They suggested I go on holiday somewhere else.

Livid isn't the word. Please help me xxx

eskbanker

bunnysnap said:

Don't Virgin have some kind of CAA regulation about having to honour city to city travel in a comparable standard at no additional cost to the customer?

They're obliged under the EC 261/2004 regulations (now inherited into UK law from the EU) to reroute you as described, but only for the original 2021 dates - by accepting a voucher instead, you've released them from that obligation.

Having said that, the terms of the voucher do sound restrictive, but I'm not sure there's anything you can actually do about that, i.e. they're not obviously contravening any laws or regulations - have you registered a complaint with them?

Given the unappealing options, flying direct from LHR would seem a more obvious choice than a lengthy leg in the US, but I'm not sure what your size, age and gender have to do with it?

Westin

I have never heard that direct-routing condition before.  Clearly if they have cancelled MAN LAX then an alternative needs to be offered.

Is there a possibility that this has been misunderstood?  I wonder if they mean either the voucher has to be used when making a new booking direct with the airline (not via an agent), or that the flights need to be thru tickets to the destination without a lengthy stop (e.g. you can’t have two nights in Atlanta on the way out).  

Without seeing the voucher conditions difficult to know for sure. Is there a link to the conditions you can post?

You could also post on the www.v-flyer.com forums.  Lots of frequent Virgin Atlantic flyers frequent and may have similar vouchers to redeem.

mike004

You should be able to use the voucher as part payment for another Virgin trip.

Westin

The OP (bunnysnap) has not logged back on since she posted nearly a week ago asking for help....