In Flight Movies : Odyssey / Nova

October films from the UK:

The Lookout
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Knocked Up
Eagle Vs Shark
Surfs Up
Oceans 13
Pirates of the Carribean: At Worlds End
Breach
Waitress
Spider Man 3
Shrek the Third

Films to the UK

The Ex
Evan Almighty
Die Hard 4.0
Happily N'Ever After
Wind Chill
Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer
Disturbia
Sherrybaby
The Hoax
Fracture
Firehouse Dog

Also got the TV listings if anybodys interested

Also i didnt have any problems with the Nova system on VROM or VROS. Although i did hear there were a couple of seats playing up on VROS...

I flew V-ROY from LGW - LAS on Thursday. At least half the IFE wasnt working (rows 35 to the back). So .... if VS are telling people that they are using the NOVA planes on low-sold routes, they are teling porkies as the flight was packed!

Hi V-Flyers!

I'm due to fly to MCO in about two and a half weeks time. Does anybody know how many aircraft doesn't have the IFE working? And also are Virgin compensating the passengers in anyway if it isn't available on that particular flight?

I generally fly trans-atlantic only once a year, and the primary reason I choose Virgin is its excellent IFE (even if its Nova). Surely this is really bad for them...

Congratulations on an excellent site - I've been able to find out so much in answer to my questions on here previously.[oo]

Steve

Frankly its pretty disgusting that their is no IFE and it is known to be broken and left unfixed for so long, no doubt the crew will be left to explain how its broken when in fact its been that way for months and no real effort made to mend it. Bad management for the passengers and the crew.

I will be buying a couple of dvd players and power leads for the plane next week. The sad thing is this is the type of thing you would need to do for a charter flight like tcd or first choice, but then that would be about £2k cheaper as well.

Seems to me the management don't respect the crew, the crew dislike the management and both end up seeing the pax as some sort of afterthought.

Totally agree EGG, it is disgusting!

What with disappointing food, the continuing 'threat' of strike action, crew voicing their dislike of the MCO flights, and now IFE not working, I'm thinking why the hell did I pay to fly UC on Virgin to MCO in December [n] I would have been better off either flying BA or one of the charter's premium cabins.

Clare

What I think is bad is that they must have seen this coming at some stage, and nothing has been done about it, poor planning and shows how bad some managment have become to let this situation arrise.

Many people on the B&S routes choose VS because of the service and the TVs are a big part in that decision. I can see a lot of rather upset customers over this!

Originally posted by firsttimer
Totally agree EGG, it is disgusting!

What with disappointing food, the continuing 'threat' of strike action, crew voicing their dislike of the MCO flights, and now IFE not working, I'm thinking why the hell did I pay to fly UC on Virgin to MCO in December [n] I would have been better off either flying BA or one of the charter's premium cabins.

Clare

I am out on the VS27 the day before you Clare, I will try and get a wifi link to tell you what its looking like.

Originally posted by AlanA

Originally posted by firsttimer
Totally agree EGG, it is disgusting!

What with disappointing food, the continuing 'threat' of strike action, crew voicing their dislike of the MCO flights, and now IFE not working, I'm thinking why the hell did I pay to fly UC on Virgin to MCO in December [n] I would have been better off either flying BA or one of the charter's premium cabins.

Clare

I am out on the VS27 the day before you Clare, I will try and get a wifi link to tell you what its looking like.

Thanks Alan

Great, not looking forward to my December flight to MCO. I saw on some other forums lots and lots of complaints about this same issue.

After my last Economy VA nightmare, I am pretty certain this next flight will be my last time using VA and I will take my business elsewhere.

Great, not looking forward to my December flight to MCO. I saw on some other forums lots and lots of complaints about this same issue.

After my last Economy VA nightmare, I am pretty certain this next flight will be my last time using VA and I will take my business elsewhere.

I'd have to agree. My flight in a couple of weeks appears to be sold out, and its going to be an awfully long flight if the IFE doesn't work, especially for the kids...

What other forums have had feedback on this subject? - I'd be interested to read.

At least they seem to be on top of it as an earlier post states the parts have been sent to Seattle for fixing. Wonder how long thats going to take!

Steve

Originally posted by AndyR
Great, not looking forward to my December flight to MCO. I saw on some other forums lots and lots of complaints about this same issue.

After my last Economy VA nightmare, I am pretty certain this next flight will be my last time using VA and I will take my business elsewhere.

Yes its all over just about every florida holiday forum, yet another example of VA's lets pretend its just broke, never mind they will come back to us attitude. Virgin need to learn that apart fromusing the web to book flights people actually talk to each other first as well. If someone reads about a problem that happened to someone in Sept and it still aint right November there really is no excuse and no sympathy if the company suffers as a result.

[Nottingham Nick]

Originally posted by steveb
What other forums have had feedback on this subject? - I'd be interested to read.

I agree, Steve.

Can someone post links, please?

Maybe they will also help anyone from Virgin who may be lurking. [}:)];)

Nick

[Nottingham Nick]

Whilst I agree with you 100% about keeping promises, Pete. I suppose that the problem is that the worlds of IFE, hand held and portable gaming and video systems are moving so quickly, that even V-Port could be considered passŽe soon. [8D]

Look at how, not only IFE, but Playstations (PS3s), iPods (iTouch), and Nintendo Gameboys (DS) have changed in the past few years. It is a risky business to invest millions of pounds in a system that be obsolete before it is time to change the seat covers.

Having said that, I agree with other posters, and several on the DIBB, that saving up for 50 weeks of the year to go on the holiday of a lifetime, and then to find out that there is no IFE on the 10 hour flight with children, is NOT good. [n] It certainly doesn't fit in with the image portrayed in VS advertising and VH brochures. [n]


Nick

I think it is pretty bad from VS to let this get to where it is now. My issue with it is surely VS must have had the foresight to realise spare parts were running out. That leaves you with 3 options:

1) Commission the manufacturing of new parts as a contingency
2) Start an immediate replacement program of IFE (no imminent signs of this)
3) Screw the passengers and provide them with a service that is not advertised and that is available on every other carrier.

Seems they went with option 3!

That dibb forum made some interesting reading and I hope as it says there it is only 2 aircraft affected! Thanks for posting that link.

Usually I look forward to the virgin flight as a highlight of my holiday. This time I'm dreading it.

[mitchja]

The advantage of newer IFE's though, is that they are upgradeable (both in terms of hardware and software) meaning they are future-proof to some extent.

Even Odyssey was able to get the SMS/text message feature upgrade added to it.

Regards

[Pete]

Originally posted by Nottingham Nick
Whilst I agree with you 100% about keeping promises, Pete. I suppose that the problem is that the worlds of IFE, hand held and portable gaming and video systems are moving so quickly, that even V-Port could be considered passŽe soon. [8D]

Look at how, not only IFE, but Playstations (PS3s), iPods (iTouch), and Nintendo Gameboys (DS) have changed in the past few years. It is a risky business to invest millions of pounds in a system that be obsolete before it is time to change the seat covers.

Having said that, I agree with other posters, and several on the DIBB, that saving up for 50 weeks of the year to go on the holiday of a lifetime, and then to find out that there is no IFE on the 10 hour flight with children, is NOT good. [n] It certainly doesn't fit in with the image portrayed in VS advertising and VH brochures. [n]


Nick

Actually, that's a fair point - and you only have to look at Virgin America to see where it's at these days.

Perhaps the answer is to go down the route of putting in, effectively, thin clients at every seat, and then just upgrade the software / hardware at the central server. I think Virgin America's RED is a bit like that.

Whilst we're on the subject of promises made back when V:Port was a bit of a novelty, weren't we supposed to have Internet access on board by now?

Originally posted by virgin is the best
If your flying on a NOVA Aircraft chances are you will not see a movie. We have having major problems with finding spares to fix the IFE and the A/C are being dispatched with some seats and zones with no IFE.
Just a warning so take plenty to keep you entertained. The A/c with the problems are bei ng put on routes that that are not fully booked.

Surely this 'unofficial' post from VITB - informative though it is -should now have been overtaken by some sort of advice from VS on this subject. While I would not expect to see formal advice on this forum, the least they could do is to warn pax (eg. on the VS website)of any possible IFE problems. This way they could give prospective pax the opportunity to book flights from LHR where possible and do themselves a bit of a PR favour at the same time. But at the moment, BAD SHOW VS [n][:(!]

I'm one of those people that book flights depending on what IFE system it is, always aiming for an on-demand one, Virgin not having it on the Gatwick fleet does mean I will never fly with them out of Gatwick unless I have to, it's such a big deal these days I think

[Neil]

Originally posted by mediamonkey
it's such a big deal these days I think

Really? I disagree, on my last 2 long haul flights I have never used the IFE at all. With my iPod and PSP (and even a book) I have more than enough of my own choice of entertainment to keep me occupied.

I am not saying that the IFE not working is any way acceptable, and understand for kids etc it is important, I am just surprised that you say it is an important factor when choosing your carrier.

Neil

maybe your right Neil, the thing which makes it important to me is I like to be throughly occupied during a flight, and after a while a book will bore me, my mac will run out of power, and at the end of the day I'm a big movie and tv buff, so they're the things that are going to keep me occupied, and unless I'm in PE or UC with power at my seat, watching a good comedy or something that'll make me think means there is no better way to pass the time. I do strangely find myself asking anyone after they've been away what film they saw on the plane.... not about their holiday... that probably says more about me than them though!

[Nottingham Nick]

I tend to agree with mediamonkey on this one. The small things go a long way in influencing decisions on my carrier / route of choice.

I am also with mediamonkey about not flying the LGW / MAN routes, this isn't just about IFE, but the fact the Virgin clearly view these leisure routes as 'second class'.

I actually prefer Gatwick as an airport, as it is so much quieter. I also like the hotels and the area, but as long as Virgin favour Heathrow, then I will fly out of there when I can. [}:)]

Nick

Posted by NottinghamNick

I am also with mediamonkey about not flying the LGW / MAN routes, this isn't just about IFE, but the fact the Virgin clearly view these leisure routes as 'second class'.

It sadly seems so. As a leisure traveller when I do fly Virgin, most of my flights are out of LGW. I like the airport, and don't find the aircraft as bad as some on here. However, having flown to SFO and back from LAX last year they do seem to be a poor relation in comparison to the LHR fleet.

Anyways rant over back to the IFE, I hope that the people who need to read this thread at Virgin have seen it! People on the dibbs forum are banking on V-flyer for some action!

Over on the DIBB Florida forum, someone contacted VS customer services regarding the LGW/MAN IFE issue. I have pasted the response below:

Thank you for your email.
I would like to inform you that the Inflight Entertainment system on the LGW to MCO route is fine. We've gone all out to make sure there's something to entertain absolutely everyone during their Virgin Atlantic flight. Please visit our website to find out what's on offer http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/whats...ment/index.jsp
We look forward to welcoming you onboard.

This is the link to the thread (if I can do it right) http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=176128&page=5

Hmmm....

The IFE on my recent Las Vegas flight was fine, apart from the non-functioning headphone socket. Although I was not in one of the seats that was not working.

oooo - id say it was a vital part of the decision for thousands of travelers as to which carrier to use. Many of the US based airlines still use the old '1 tv monitor per 50 people' system as they use domestic aircraft on transatlantic routes and so I am really careful about which one to use. For example - Continental to New York from Gatwick use planes (mostly) with IFE and from Bristol, it doesnt as they use a 757. So - I would go from London given the chance even though it means a longer drive. With United airlines, if they switch the flight to a 747 - you dont get seat back tvs, just the big screens. Although the 747 rarely flies to London - sometimes they still make the switchfor 'operational reasons'.
The great thing with Virgin was that you were guaranteed to get a reasonable IFE stsyem on the plane - and whilst they are not always the cheapest on many routes, the service you got on board was often the 'clincher' - sadly .... doesnt seem to be the case anymore.
IPODs and stuff are great .... but what happens if we get another security scare (and we all know its going to happen someday) and you cant take ANY hand luggage onboard for a while??????