Having just read this topic I agree with the majority of the replies especially blackcats.
As a leisure traveller I have been planning a break to JNB for Christmas and want the choice of a full service, especially at the start of our holiday. As a result of this I have decided to wait and see what happens to this planned ÔserviceÕ before booking with VS.
On the note of cost cutting presumably a reduced service will mean that less cabin crew are required, so will we see a reduction in their numbers in the future?
Hi,
Whilst I will wate for the full VS statement, I feel that the choice of having the full UC service or the Good night flight should be given ( a la snooze zone).
Reducing the desert service to Ben & Jerry's ice cream rather than a tart or sticky toffee pudding(:D) amongst other things feels like a step down. Congestion at breakfast could be fun to watch ( how about a video camera and send it in to the Funny Home Video show for £250 esp of those pax on the upper deck carrying brekkie back upstairs)
A quicker meal service might be benefical on the NYC/IAD routes ( but you have a snooze zone) but I do not see the point on the long routes ( LAX on the 24 but esp on HKG and JNB where the full UC service passes away the time but still allows plenty of sleep time.)
Regards
TBS
Whilst I will wate for the full VS statement, I feel that the choice of having the full UC service or the Good night flight should be given ( a la snooze zone).
Reducing the desert service to Ben & Jerry's ice cream rather than a tart or sticky toffee pudding(:D) amongst other things feels like a step down. Congestion at breakfast could be fun to watch ( how about a video camera and send it in to the Funny Home Video show for £250 esp of those pax on the upper deck carrying brekkie back upstairs)
A quicker meal service might be benefical on the NYC/IAD routes ( but you have a snooze zone) but I do not see the point on the long routes ( LAX on the 24 but esp on HKG and JNB where the full UC service passes away the time but still allows plenty of sleep time.)
Regards
TBS
Must be a record for me - 7 pages before I chip in. 
If I give VS the benefit of the doubt, and assuming this isn't just dressed up cost-cutting measures (although a pig wearing lipstick is still a pig), it occurs to me that Virgin may have misjudged the options of the top 50 fliers when applied to the rest of their J cabin customers.
If word of this lengthy thread is being uttered in the hallowed halls of Crawley, then perhaps VS may have the sense to review some of their plans before full implementation. Even spreading the net of their market research a little further may be worthwhile.
Pete
If I give VS the benefit of the doubt, and assuming this isn't just dressed up cost-cutting measures (although a pig wearing lipstick is still a pig), it occurs to me that Virgin may have misjudged the options of the top 50 fliers when applied to the rest of their J cabin customers.
If word of this lengthy thread is being uttered in the hallowed halls of Crawley, then perhaps VS may have the sense to review some of their plans before full implementation. Even spreading the net of their market research a little further may be worthwhile.
Pete
Hi,
Any volunteers to complete questionnaires if VS decides to give them out ( unless they will just read the forums instead!!:D)
Regards
TBS
Any volunteers to complete questionnaires if VS decides to give them out ( unless they will just read the forums instead!!:D)
Regards
TBS
Originally posted by pixuk
If word of this lengthy thread is being uttered in the hallowed halls of Crawley, then perhaps VS may have the sense to review some of their plans before full implementation. Even spreading the net of their market research a little further may be worthwhile.
Lets hope so Pix (& welcome to the thread!).
The poll running in the clubhouse has (as I type this) 96% of V-Flyers thinking this is not a good idea.
Lets hope VS hear our views & do not impose it accross the whole J cabin - perhaps instead trial it as an option first - & see if pax genuinely do want it.
Rich.
I was about to post saying even though this isn't going to effect me I think it's a bad idea,but after reading that 24 is now included,unless I can get an upgrade on 08 then i'll be flying air new zealand or BA.
It's been a while since I took a VS flight but I was looking foward to one in the spring (if I can get an upgrade)but there is no way I would pay a J or Z fare hell even an S then spend 80k miles on the upgrade to get this service,I would rather spend 75k miles and take air new zealand or carry on banking miles with BA till I can get a J ticket (sometime this decade
) VS is way of base with this idea.
Then you have the issue with JNB and HK,well a 12 hr flight with no service,might as well be in coach,I know the UCS is nice,but if your going to sell it as a biz class then provide the service of a biz class,even UA can do that.
It's been a while since I took a VS flight but I was looking foward to one in the spring (if I can get an upgrade)but there is no way I would pay a J or Z fare hell even an S then spend 80k miles on the upgrade to get this service,I would rather spend 75k miles and take air new zealand or carry on banking miles with BA till I can get a J ticket (sometime this decade
) VS is way of base with this idea.Then you have the issue with JNB and HK,well a 12 hr flight with no service,might as well be in coach,I know the UCS is nice,but if your going to sell it as a biz class then provide the service of a biz class,even UA can do that.
Hi,
Would any airline status match VS Gold? ( apart from bmi this year but they are going low cost too)
Regards
TBS ( not planning on switching as of this time )
Would any airline status match VS Gold? ( apart from bmi this year but they are going low cost too)
Regards
TBS ( not planning on switching as of this time )
Originally posted by jetwet1
but if your going to sell it as a biz class then provide the service of a biz class,even UA can do that.
Right, totally agree with you on that Dave. Talking of UA - one of the things they offer is an "all in one" alternative to the full meal, you get a main course (one of the three main hot choices), with a decent green side salad and some sort of cake or tart for afters (i.e. not ice cream which will melt). I've tried it, and it works pretty well - and you can finish dinner between 30 and 60 minutes sooner than the rest of the cabin.
A neat trick UA often use on the shorter flights is to go around the business cabin while the aircraft is still on the ground taking main meal orders.
This allows the galley operator to get straight onto preparing the meals once the cabin crew are released from their jumpseats, and allows them to offer both an "express tray" or the "full works" on the same flight.
Maybe VS can learn from this, and manage to keep most people relatively happy?
Cheers,
Mike
Originally posted by jamie
Wonder if you will get a choice of hot meal or will everyone get the same?
I'm sure that at least one staffer has already said, somewhere in this thread, that there will be three hot entree choices, as there is today.
(Hang on, didn't there used to be four entree choices on most flights not so long ago? Oh, and sometimes three appetiser choices? Or am I imagining it?)
Cheers,
Mike
Wow is this the biggest ever response to a post?
I cant see it being as bad as we all fear, well i really hope not!!
The only problem i see is the lack of the hot breakfast, first thing i would want after being forced to sleep for 10hrs is a full hot breakfast.
Maybe they could compensate the lack of service at the start of the flight by offering a enchanced breakfast service. When most people would start to wake.
But by what we know at the moment VS seem to have really dropped the ball on this one.
I cant see it being as bad as we all fear, well i really hope not!!
The only problem i see is the lack of the hot breakfast, first thing i would want after being forced to sleep for 10hrs is a full hot breakfast.
Maybe they could compensate the lack of service at the start of the flight by offering a enchanced breakfast service. When most people would start to wake.
But by what we know at the moment VS seem to have really dropped the ball on this one.
I remember having 3 entres and 3 appetisers on a flight less than a year ago in J.
Virgin, if you're reading this. We can see its cost cutting, no matter how you dress it up. Many of your J passengers love the whole UC experience, this is Upper Class light. You get the opinions - good idea in principle, just offer both. There are many passengers who will turn up for their "flight of a lifetime" who don't know about this service. I can't see how you're not going to get lots of narked J passengers in the cabin just after take off thinking they've been seated in Club Orlando. You don't want that. Please consider the options..
There you go, bit of theatrics for you
Dean
A very interesting point that T_B_S made too. Carrying your brekkie from the bar upstairs is bad enough, but bizzarely past PE passengers who being served theirs at their seat. [?]
Virgin, if you're reading this. We can see its cost cutting, no matter how you dress it up. Many of your J passengers love the whole UC experience, this is Upper Class light. You get the opinions - good idea in principle, just offer both. There are many passengers who will turn up for their "flight of a lifetime" who don't know about this service. I can't see how you're not going to get lots of narked J passengers in the cabin just after take off thinking they've been seated in Club Orlando. You don't want that. Please consider the options..
There you go, bit of theatrics for you
Dean
A very interesting point that T_B_S made too. Carrying your brekkie from the bar upstairs is bad enough, but bizzarely past PE passengers who being served theirs at their seat. [?]
well i like this idea. HKG-LHR and back is a regular route of mine.
think about it this way..i leave my home at 9pm for a nearly midnight flight.. i've already eaten dinner and don't need a great deal more to eat, maybe a few snacks in the CH with a glass of champagne and a unisom perhaps, and i'm asleep before the first hour of flight has passed.. as for breakfast.. no thanks, prefer that extra hour dozing, just wake me up when we enter final descent.. landing at 5.30am anyway, so what's the rush to eat for ? into revivals lounge and off to work in central london after a shower, a croissant and espresso.
that is service, the end to end product with optimal use of my waiting time (1) at least 45 mins from check in to departure and (2) between arriving in london and when i can actually get into the office.
on the way back, get picked up from office at 6.30, into CH for dinner and drinks, onto plane at last min, change into PJs and off to sleep all the way home. might have a snack or a chat at the bar if i wake up, but not that often. bacon butty perhaps, but only at last minute. we land, out of airport in 15 mins and home in another 30.. then it's early evening, so almost dinner time anyway.
if i ate every full meal on every plane i've been offerred, i'd be seriously overweight.. nice meals happen in restaurants, special places with ambience, not at 35,000 ft. sleep before over indulgence i think. have weaned myself of alcohol inflight long ago.
can you believe i hardly watch any movies or tv on these flights.. as for IFBT, not had one in last 2 years, just sleep. this service might mean some of the kids/brats might quieten down faster as well.. bliss.
that is what the HK$50,000 of the fare means to me.. a good nights sleep and door to door service. not going to get that on BA are you?
edited to add.. just for more context my last two trips to LHR were for the day.. fly in am, and then on somewhere else overnight again.
think about it this way..i leave my home at 9pm for a nearly midnight flight.. i've already eaten dinner and don't need a great deal more to eat, maybe a few snacks in the CH with a glass of champagne and a unisom perhaps, and i'm asleep before the first hour of flight has passed.. as for breakfast.. no thanks, prefer that extra hour dozing, just wake me up when we enter final descent.. landing at 5.30am anyway, so what's the rush to eat for ? into revivals lounge and off to work in central london after a shower, a croissant and espresso.
that is service, the end to end product with optimal use of my waiting time (1) at least 45 mins from check in to departure and (2) between arriving in london and when i can actually get into the office.
on the way back, get picked up from office at 6.30, into CH for dinner and drinks, onto plane at last min, change into PJs and off to sleep all the way home. might have a snack or a chat at the bar if i wake up, but not that often. bacon butty perhaps, but only at last minute. we land, out of airport in 15 mins and home in another 30.. then it's early evening, so almost dinner time anyway.
if i ate every full meal on every plane i've been offerred, i'd be seriously overweight.. nice meals happen in restaurants, special places with ambience, not at 35,000 ft. sleep before over indulgence i think. have weaned myself of alcohol inflight long ago.
can you believe i hardly watch any movies or tv on these flights.. as for IFBT, not had one in last 2 years, just sleep. this service might mean some of the kids/brats might quieten down faster as well.. bliss.
that is what the HK$50,000 of the fare means to me.. a good nights sleep and door to door service. not going to get that on BA are you?
edited to add.. just for more context my last two trips to LHR were for the day.. fly in am, and then on somewhere else overnight again.
Dean and I have had some interesting discussions with Premier Team over the past two days about this new announcement. It seems to have been handled quite badly in terms of communication and PR.
This has been listed as a new service on the website, but no-one at VS really knew what it was until today. And even now that the website has been updated and they have some information they can't give a definitive answer to whether or not it includes the whole cabin. They are though aware of customers displeasure with the concept of the service taking up the whole cabin.
Personally, I would have thought that as soon as a new service or product, be it this, the new CH or a new route is mentioned on the website all customer facing teams should have the full knowledge about it. They can't have one section posting a hint of information and then not telling the rest of the company.
Foz xxx
This has been listed as a new service on the website, but no-one at VS really knew what it was until today. And even now that the website has been updated and they have some information they can't give a definitive answer to whether or not it includes the whole cabin. They are though aware of customers displeasure with the concept of the service taking up the whole cabin.
Personally, I would have thought that as soon as a new service or product, be it this, the new CH or a new route is mentioned on the website all customer facing teams should have the full knowledge about it. They can't have one section posting a hint of information and then not telling the rest of the company.
Foz xxx
I think we all see your point GraemeK, but not all pax travel as much as you. Many its a once or twice a year treat, or even less. Just because we don't provide as much money to VS's coffers as regular business travellers our tick boxes for an ideal flight shouldn't be ignored.
Surely on present East Coast flights the snooze zone and zones A&B are all things for all men, why can't this be implemented instead of a blanket ban on full service.
Anyway, I await the official line (doubt it'll stop me posting though, this is doing great for my total
)
Deany Do
Surely on present East Coast flights the snooze zone and zones A&B are all things for all men, why can't this be implemented instead of a blanket ban on full service.
Anyway, I await the official line (doubt it'll stop me posting though, this is doing great for my total
)Deany Do
Graeme, glad it sounds good for you ... guess all that many are saying is that choice is good. A snooze zone and a zone for people who want the full service. Can't be that difficult for Virgin to satisfy most/all passengers???
There's a plane at JFK, to fly you back from far away
all those dark and frantic transatlantic miles
all those dark and frantic transatlantic miles
You raise a really good point there GraemeK, this service is exactly what you want. However they key thing, for me in your posting is this line:
You are a regular user of this route, a regular business flyer. For me, when I do this route next year it is to go on Holiday in Sydney for two weeks. And for me that holiday and the excitement starts the moment i wake up in the morning waiting for the Limo to arrive! I am going to be like a kid in a candy store. This is going to be, as Dean said, one of those once in a lifetime opportunities.
And if VS don't listen they are going to loose an amazing PR opportunity and product upgrade. In one swish of the wand they keep you happy by providing the exact service you want, and they keep me very happy by providing what I want.
As you say how many Airlines provide such a service? Not many i guess from your comment. And how many provide the best of both worlds?
And if they don't do this then it will be a PR, customer relations disaster and could well hurt them most financially. And something they need to resolve very quickly before it launches, if not a lot sooner!
Foz xx
HKG-LHR and back is a regular route of mine.
You are a regular user of this route, a regular business flyer. For me, when I do this route next year it is to go on Holiday in Sydney for two weeks. And for me that holiday and the excitement starts the moment i wake up in the morning waiting for the Limo to arrive! I am going to be like a kid in a candy store. This is going to be, as Dean said, one of those once in a lifetime opportunities.
And if VS don't listen they are going to loose an amazing PR opportunity and product upgrade. In one swish of the wand they keep you happy by providing the exact service you want, and they keep me very happy by providing what I want.
As you say how many Airlines provide such a service? Not many i guess from your comment. And how many provide the best of both worlds?
And if they don't do this then it will be a PR, customer relations disaster and could well hurt them most financially. And something they need to resolve very quickly before it launches, if not a lot sooner!
Foz xx
OK, choice would be good, but is the A346 partition really sound proof enough ? don't think so, the cabin layout (e.g one long room) is not going to work for sleep zone.
Don't take this too personally, as I was excited about flying once, but the last thing i want to sit next to on a night flight after a long day is someone chattering on and on and on and on..
Don't take this too personally, as I was excited about flying once, but the last thing i want to sit next to on a night flight after a long day is someone chattering on and on and on and on..
Out of interest, what would happen if a passenger attempts to reinstate the full service for themselves, ie what if someone says, "Don't bring me everything at once, wait until I have eaten my starter and then bring me my main course."? Of course, this wouldn't address the problem of no real desert choice (only ice cream) and no cooked breakfast choice; I'm just wondering what the cabin crew response would be to someone trying to get something approximating Freedom menu on one of these night flights.
E
E
Graeme, perhaps the answer is a set of Bose headphones and eyeshades sit near the front and let those who want to talk be at the rear of UC ... I agree when I travel for work sometimes it's simply sleep I want but not always, and when I travel for leisure its different. Just wouldn't want to see my choice imposed on all whichever way it is! [}:)]
PS Jaguar, when you say 'matched' what do you mean?
sit near the front and let those who want to talk be at the rear of UC ... I agree when I travel for work sometimes it's simply sleep I want but not always, and when I travel for leisure its different. Just wouldn't want to see my choice imposed on all whichever way it is! [}:)]PS Jaguar, when you say 'matched' what do you mean?
There's a plane at JFK, to fly you back from far away
all those dark and frantic transatlantic miles
all those dark and frantic transatlantic miles
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