V-Flyer

Was on the phone to VH yesterday afternoon who confirmed to me that Twilight Check In at LGW is suspended for the foreseeable future due to staffing issues.

I was told that VS have advised VH to tell everyone it is to be suspended indefinitely but is not to do with security issues.

Did a search but did not find anything, if it has been mentioned before, Mods please feel free to delete or lock the post.

Hi

I really hope this is not true as my parents are flying to Las vegas in a couple of weeks and are connecting from Edinburgh the day before so that they could use twighlight check in and relax rather than rush around on the morning of the flight with a short connection time. They would not have gone for the day before flight if they had known they were going to have to lug their bags around to the hotel.

As my father keeps pointing out - they are not getting any younger [;)]

Can anyone confirm or deny this so that I can warn my father!!

Thanks

AKS120

Will has spoken directly to Virgin, so why wouldn't it be true?

Nick

It's pretty bad by VS not to have some sort of announcement/info on either their site or the VH site, if VH staff are informing customers of the suspension of this service then it just makes VS look shoddy IMO.

Originally posted by aks120

Can anyone confirm or deny this

Well I can confirm it! The guy at VH said it is currently suspended indefinitely. And he wasn't pulling my leg.

Neil I agree, I was rather shocked when the guy at VH mentioned it.

What I found interesting was he was very quick to say it was not to do with security concerns of the bags being left overnight. Maybe VS/VH feel that pax are worried about leaving their bags overnight?!?

Same can also be said of this! [y]

Oh gosh Willd, you are getting them all a fluster on this site!

Link to the Dibb.






Edit by mod to shorten link........ Nick

Seems that VS are now denying it:

Link to thedibb:

Not according to Virgin!! -I've just phoned Virgin Flying Club, who checked up on this and I was told this is NOT true and that twilight check in is operating as usual....

Edit by mod to cut down direct cut and paste, and replace with link......... Nick

Further posts on TheDibb are now saying it is withdrawn. Still no official word posted

Now I'm totally confused[?] The lastest post on the Dibb says it has been suspended. This is after someone rang up Flying Club and was told it is still in operation and indeed they were told to promote its use (and that was only about an hour ago)
Come on VS/VH sort it out, at least let people know to save them turning up at the airport.

-Steve

My GUESS would be that, whoever Will spoke to probably released the information before they were supposed to.

It hardly seems something that they would make up, but the conflicting information that various people are getting from VS / VH would indicate that the information hasn't been passed through the two organisations as fast, or as efficiently as it should have been.

I have never used twilight check-in, but understand that it is a facility run by VS rather than VH, so (like others) I think it is pretty poor that nothing has been posted on the VS website.

Nick

It is run on behalf of VS by GroundStar and there are typically no true VS staff present, which causes issues when ticket queries/upgrades etc need doing. Poor communicated? Yes. Will I miss it? No, not given the experience I witnessed last time my parents tried to use it. Seems an easy way to save on money too if you ask me - I could honestly see it coming back a la Downtown Disney did with a fee to use (unless in J or Au).

And as to calling Virgin (be it Flying Club support or reservations) to check? Well I think we know how inconsistent the messaging can be there!

I have jusy come off the phone to VS upper class premier line, and they say the service is still up and running...but you make up your own mind....
us lot seem to know before they do..!

It doesn't make sense if it's true a very backwards step. A lot of the charters operate day before check-in now as well.

I've seen the south terminal previously when the systems went down and twilight check-in had been closed the night before, the lines were out the terminal and down the travelators!!

I can already hear the 'thump' of quite a few complaint letters and emails arriving in someone's inbox very soon. I dare say, unless the situation is at least clarified by VS, there will be quite a chunk of 'goodwill gestures' being issued.... [:0]

Originally posted by Nottingham Nick
Will has spoken directly to Virgin, so why wouldn't it be true?

Nick

Willd

Apologies if I came across as rude - I did not think for one second that you were lying. I just was a little shocked and wondered if someone who actually works the twilight checkin or the like could answer. I have been given some 'funny' answers before when phoning VS so I guess I was after a second opinion!

Again I apologies if you thought I was being rude![:#]

Regards AKS120

It isn't just Will that has been told this. megaflyer on the dibb has been told the same.

Nick

To be honest I was shocked when I asked VH yesterday partly because I had not seen it mentioned on here. We had just been talking about the new V:Room and I asked if I could use twilight. The response was no its been stopped indefinitely due to staffing issues not security concerns.

As I have watched this unfolding I have found myself questioning if I imagined the answer or not!

I suspect Nick could be right that I may have got the information before it is officially announced. Its all very confusing and does not look good for VS.

aks120, don't worry about it.

Hi there,

Jsut to confirm, to the best of our knowledge twilight check-in isn't being suspended at all.

Currently, twilight check-in is operated largely by agents at the airport, with one or two members of Virgin Atlantic staff present overseeing.

All that's happening is the VAA staff are being withdrawn, and the process will be handled entirely by ground staff / agents at the airport. They are all uniformed staff, and this should cause no operational change whatsoever.

Thanks for clarifying the situation VirginHolidays.

VirginHolidays

Thanks for the clarification; though I must admit I would be happier if the old 'to the best of our knowledge' caveat wasn't there. [:D][;)]

The storm that this has caused over on the dibb is amazing. I thought I took my leisure time, and holidays seriously, but I am only playing at it compared to a lot of dibbers. [^] [oo]

Nick

Originally posted by Nottingham Nick
VirginHolidays

Thanks for the clarification; though I must admit I would be happier if the old 'to the best of our knowledge' caveat wasn't there. [:D][;)]

The storm that this has caused over on the dibb is amazing. I thought I took my leisure time, and holidays seriously, but I am only playing at it compared to a lot of dibbers. [^] [oo]

Nick

You have not read the thread then Nick, where Virgin have moved the flight time by 30 mins??
The outrage is huge! [:D]

TWILIGHT CHECK IN is not being suspended at all and continues to operate as normal.

The handling agents are employed to provide this service and are heavy penalties for not providing a service VAA pay for.

Dont worry everyone can still check in the day before.

To further clarify...

I've spoken with our UK Airport Manager, and she's confirmed that Twilight check-in is not being suspended in any way, shape or form.

Once VAA staff are withdrawn, the only thing it won't be possible to do is pick up TOD's at twilight check-in. Mind you, that's always 'officially' been the case, but we did previously have the option of arranging an emergency pick up when VAA staff were there. This won't be possible once the VAA staff are withdrawn and it's just the airport agents.

Sorry if the ambiuous wording caused any further concern.