And your view is interesting too Obi, albeit wrong
My main points are that Virgin VS15 and not so often VS27 are becoming increasingly more prone to delays than the other airlines, to my knowledge (and I really do not check timings like you do) since April 12th there has been a +4 hour delay on 15 on at least 6 occasions. Also that the service on the US airlines is better than Virgin both of these are true.
Sorry Martine I cannot agree (surprise!
)
VS 15 has been over 4 hours delayed only 3 times from 12/04/07 to 18/08/07, 16/04 (6 hours), 19/04 (5 hours) and 12/05 (4hrs 45 mins) all of these and the majority of the other over 1 hour dalays are all due to the late inbcoming VS44 from las Vegas.
VS15 (true, the least on time flight of the Virgin Orlando flights, mainly because of the Las Vegas connection) has the follwoing from 12 april to 18 may:
Early 3%
On time from gate 59%
Late up to two hours 3%
Over two hours 35%
Total on time/early departure based on 37 flights 65%
The other flights:
VS27
Early 5%
On time 84%
Late by up to 2 hours 5%
Late by over two hours 5%
Total on time of 37 flights: 89%
VS16 is
early 54% (All flights from orlando are normally early due to tailwinds)
On time 11%
Late +/- 2 hours 14%
Late +2 hours 22%
Total on time 65%
VS28
Early 57%
On time 32%
Late up to 2 hours 3%
late over 2 hours 8%
total 37 flights on time 89%
so, no I refute the argument there. 28 flights a week, compared to First Choice one flight on a Thursday "take it or go with someone else" Airlines (I have yet to get their figures but I will,)
On top of that Virgin customer service stinks ! Thats a fact too for the people that have experienced it, a simple search of these boards will back it up.
No, the majority of complaints about Customer Service are to do with Virgin Holidays, a seperate compamy to Virgin Atlantic Airways.
As for the planes themselves, well maybe that is open to personal interpretation so in MY view the planes appear old and cramped, you can state the measurements all you like but unfortunately I did not have a tape measure with me when I flew, I just know I found the Virgin 747 uncomfortable compared to say the A380 or the 777 on other more favourable airlines.
The measurements are not mine, but the Air industries own measurements, used on many web sites, to save you taking your tape measure.
I cannot belive that you can say a Airbus is less cramped! They are lower ceilinged, squashed out aircraft and considerably noisier than the 747!
They are a horrible range of aircraft. Even Virgin use them I am sorry to say
Sandford or MCO well there is a dilemma, after 12 hours of travel with small children do I want to be out of the airport in 25 minutes and on the road or do I want to spend up to 2 hours walking for miles carrying children that are exhausted, dropping my bags back on a conveyor after I have waited to pick them up and do it all over again, wait for an age in a car hire queue and looking at your post ... go shopping. For me thats a no-brainer !
12 hours of travel?? Not if you go direct it isn't! its a maximum of 9 hours, normally 8 hours, with no 8 hours across the pond, two to four hours stuck at an airport and then two hours down to Florida. No wonder your children are tired!
As for walking miles for tow hours in MCO, thats just nonsense. The longest i have ever had to wait to get from the aircraft to the car hire was 1 hour and that was down to a thunderstorm which came through and the bags could not be off loaded. Its normally 30-40 mins at the most, and I will be at my villa in Kissimmee long before you would be off the I4 from Sanford.
when you Charter is delayed at Sanford on the way home, what have you there to keep you occupied? That was mu comment about shopping and food retailers!
As for car hire queues, with such a poor choice at Sanford, with only the driver allowed in the booking area, there are many comments on these forums about having to wait a ,ong time for a car at Sanford
As for the prices that really is nonsense, I have been looking today for our Sept trip, American Airlines £395 per person, Virgin £650 per person on my family of 4 I would SAVE £1000 not an insignificant amount of money !
Obi we will have to agree to disagree, you like them I (on my one occasion of using them) did not.
M
Sept this year? talk about leaving it to the last minute!
Again, you are not looking at like for like, but direct and indirect.
FCA with only one flight a week is also not a like for like with Virgin, BA giving you a 7 day choice and direct.
You pay the premium NOT to spend "12 hours with tired children" as you seem to do to save a few bob
We will disagree, but nicely I hope