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Now 75 mile radius and'Journeys beyond 75 miles will be liable to a charge collected by the driver by credit card'

buns

Sign of the times, I'm afraid.

The same old debate - short term gain, long term.... no more pax?

Nick

This is for miles related CDC rather than J/D related CDC only, isn't it?

quote:Originally posted by gingerflyer
This is for miles related CDC rather than J/D related CDC only, isn't it?


That's the way I certainly read it

buns

Nope, it looks to me - on this link - like it applies to all UC bookings no matter the fare class.

http://www.virginatlantic.com/en/gb/wha ... .jsp#range

That'd be a D fare NEVER considered for me in future then, at 120 miles out.

J is fine if I need it, if not there is now NO difference between a Z and a D fare - neither *effectively* come with a limo service, etc.

quote:Originally posted by tontybear
Nope, it looks to me - on this link - like it applies to all UC bookings no matter the fare class.

http://www.virginatlantic.com/en/gb/wha ... .jsp#range



[V][V][V]

That one has been slipped in under the radar.

The link I posted was worded specifacaly around Reward CDC - you would have thought there might have been a mention that this would also apply to those not on discounted UC Fares

buns

quote:Originally posted by preiffer
That'd be a D fare NEVER considered for me in future then, at 120 miles out.

J is fine if I need it, if not there is now NO difference between a Z and a D fare - neither *effectively* come with a limo service, etc.

Would depend on the extra charge for the extra few miles, would it not?
If VS and the limo service have thought about it, it might be a reasonable figure.

Pity they give no indication of the charge on the info. page - that will just lose more D business.

That is really poor. I am over 75 miles away as well. A driver once told me that he had pick-ups from Yorkshire and even one from Scotland (they have to stop overnight to stay in hours), but even so, if someone is spending the sort of money a J or D cost, it's a false economy to impose a 75 mile limit.

Reading the terms on the Reward CDC it sounds like they just drop you at the normal T3 drop-off point chaos, and you don't get the swanky drive-thru check-in ? Has that changed as well, or has that always been the case ?

quote:Originally posted by gameswolverine

Reading the terms on the Reward CDC it sounds like they just drop you at the normal T3 drop-off point chaos, and you don't get the swanky drive-thru check-in ? Has that changed as well, or has that always been the case ?


It mentions here that you need to be booked into J or D for the drive thru check in.

Where does it state that it drops you at the normal T3 drop off area? It states in the T&C's

quote:
However, members may spend additional miles for a single journey in conjunction with the purchase of an Upper Class reward ticket..........Passengers using Drive Thru Check In.....


Which to me states that if you use your miles for a CDC, you will be using the drive thru check in, something I am almost certain is correct.

Neil

Based on this, it sounds like you do need to be in J or D for the drive thru... otherwise, the only other place that fits their description would be the terminal 3 drop off area ?

CHAUFFEUR CARS: WHERE WILL I BE DROPPED OFF AT THE AIRPORT?
Your chauffeur cars driver will drop you off at the Virgin Atlantic terminal, as close as possible to the Virgin check-in area. In Heathrow, Gatwick and Johannesburg if you are booked into a J or D booking class, you will be able to make use of our Drive Thru Check-in facilities and check-in directly from the car.

We only ever fly UC on miles upgrade G fares and always book the CDC from home to LHR for an extra 12.5K miles. Without exception we have been taken to drive through check-in. I checked with VS that this will be the case in May when we fly to SFO and they confirmed yes, we'll be taken to drive though.

Cheers
James

Hmmm, so would this mean we could book a CDC to Wolverhampton and pay the charge. I may give them a call - would be interesting to see what the charge is.

Pleased to find this forum. Lots of useful info.

I earn quite a few miles via my card and take several UC reward flights per year. I used to be able to pay the extra to get a chauffeur driven car from my home in Oxford to Gatwick. Then about 2 years ago they stopped this and said you had to be picked up from the 'home counties' which did not include Oxfordshire.

A friend just booked a similar flight and was told that from the 15th April they are changing the rules again and going to introduce a range of 120 miles rather than the home counties rule. But that the computer would not let him book such a trip until the 15th so he should call back then.

As luck would have it, I am traveling next on the 15th but when I phoned this morning to see if I could convince them to book me a car (even though the 'computer says no'), they not only did not let me but denied all knowledge of the change coming on the 15th.

Has anyone heard about this change?

Cheers,
Paul.

Welcome to V-Flyer, Paul [y]

The recent CDC changes are already being discussed. So, to prevent confusion, I have merged the two threads.

Nick