Not happy with the UC cut backs

Let me preface this by saying I flew UC 6 times in the last 18 months and genereally the flights (save for breakfast on overnight Lon arrivals) were great.

This week I flew LHRt to MIA and it was extremely disappointing. On a 9-hour flight I expect more than one meal service. The new set up on this particular flight (1pm departure) is that you get your main meal an hour or two after take off and then if you want anything else it's "on request" - problem with this is you have to flag down a cabin crew and then wait up to an hour for them to get round to serving it. Service on this flight left a lot to be desired - when I asked for the "tasting platter" (about 5 hours in) it was met with a grimace from the stewardess who then barked "fine but it'll be at least 30 mins because we need to get the ovens on"(!)

I don't want to feel like am inconvenience on a flight and have to ask for stuff and that's exactly what this new service is all about. Don't ask, don't get. Do ask, and cabin crew seem inconvenienced. I expect even in economy they get a sandwich/afternoon tea service - why on earth have they cut the awesome afternoon tea service with the tiered stand?

There were no drinks runs either - again you have to ask. A coffee before landing would have been nice: I asked about an hour out and was told it was too late!

My issue is that I don't want to have to ask for stuff, especially when the crew are so surly. That's exactly what this new service is all about.

[Neil]

It's interesting how two flights can be very different. We flew on the VS5 to MIA with the 1pm departure, 4 weeks ago and the UC service was probably the 2nd best we've ever received. The whole crew, led by the FSM were excellent and all spoke positively about the new on board services and what impact the reduced crew levels have had.
The second meal wasn't proactively offered, but I asked for the burger just under 2:30hr mins from MIA and it was delivered promptly without any issue. I personally like this new way it works, it allowed me to eat when I was hungry rather than having to wait until the formal service, and then sleep until the seat belt signs were turned on and the cabin prepared for landing.

There's no 2ndvservice now in J as 2 of the J crew have to do the afternoon tea service in W but you can order what you want when you want from the extra bites menu at any time after the main meal service until top of descent

Does this mean the tea service to the West coast is no longer offered ? It may be distance dependant but I will see this week.
I have also noticed that the crew seem to vanish mid flight so I no loner wait to hail one like a taxi - I just press the call button (which is what it is there for).
I used to feel awkward about doing this but if there is no one around what the heck.

There's no 2ndvservice now in J as 2 of the J crew have to do the afternoon tea service in W

Wow, that's ridiculous. Nice that W still get their tea! I think it's the end of UC with Virgin for me. We will burn our remainin miles and then switch permanently to BA.

It's interesting how two flights can be very different. We flew on the VS5 to MIA with the 1pm departure, 4 weeks ago and the UC service was probably the 2nd best we've ever received. The whole crew, led by the FSM were excellent and all spoke positively about the new on board services and what impact the reduced crew levels have had.
The second meal wasn't proactively offered, but I asked for the burger just under 2:30hr mins from MIA and it was delivered promptly without any issue. I personally like this new way it works, it allowed me to eat when I was hungry rather than having to wait until the formal service, and then sleep until the seat belt signs were turned on and the cabin prepared for landing.

It works if the crew are pro-active and want to help; on my flight they couldn't care less and wanted to just get through the flight with as little disturbance from PAX as possible: lots of gossiping in the crew areas and generally avoiding interaction wherever possible. I bet they love the new reduced service, makes their life easier!

"Wow, that's ridiculous. Nice that W still get their tea! I think it's the end of UC with Virgin for me. We will burn our remainin miles and then switch permanently to BA."

I'm afraid that is what I am doing at the moment, though my reward trip to Washington this weekend was exceptional! That coupled with the vastly improved network from Manchester might make me reconsider, still plenty of miles in my account so time to have a rethink.

You can still get afternoon tea, however it is not served to everyone in UC as a matter of course as it used to be, you have to order it off the graze menu.

Why? Because VS, in their wisdom, have removed up to two cabin crew from each LHR flight so most of the UC crew are now needed down the back for the second snack service.

Not keeping your J customers happy in my opinion is the start of a downward spiral and a potential reduced revenues. Wonder which bright spark thought this one up as J customers are the ones who can afford to switch allegiance easily to another carrier.

[Neil]

Just to clarify, afternoon tea is still available to UC pax, it is just now part of the graze menu that can be ordered at any time during the flight along with some other hot options, rather than offered as a full service.

- I just press the call button (which is what it is there for).
I used to feel awkward about doing this but if there is no one around what the heck.

And for me that's the issue.

I don't particularly like pressing the call button, infact, I don't think I've ever pressed it (on purpose) on any of the flights I've ever been on.

I'm not saying that the cabin crew should be there to wait on us hand and foot by any means, but when they are not around, I tend to sit and mutter away to myself when really all I should do is press the button. I don't particularly like to "ask" for things but will accept when offered.

Saying that, on yesterdays return, even short crewed, they were pretty much on the ball.

David

Get a BA Amex card and start earning Avios! BA has a vastly superior network.

Get a BA Amex card and start earning Avios! BA has a vastly superior network.

Yep, that's my plan! Looking forward to the bigger network and new experiences. The only thing I will certainly miss is the Clubhouse.

- I just press the call button (which is what it is there for).
I used to feel awkward about doing this but if there is no one around what the heck.

And for me that's the issue.

I don't particularly like pressing the call button, infact, I don't think I've ever pressed it (on purpose) on any of the flights I've ever been on.

I'm not saying that the cabin crew should be there to wait on us hand and foot by any means, but when they are not around, I tend to sit and mutter away to myself when really all I should do is press the button. I don't particularly like to "ask" for things but will accept when offered.

Saying that, on yesterdays return, even short crewed, they were pretty much on the ball.

David

Couldn't agree more; I should probably just get over it and be more demanding but I also don't like having to ask for everything and that was my issue on this flight; and made even worse by the fact that the CC seemed to damn well make everyone FEEL like they were asking/inconveniencing them too.

Not keeping your J customers happy in my opinion is the start of a downward spiral and a potential reduced revenues. Wonder which bright spark thought this one up as J customers are the ones who can afford to switch allegiance easily to another carrier.

You might think that but BA have proved that, despite doing all they can to annoy their J customers (cutting legroom in CE, charging for seat selection, the Gatwick lounge fiasco and devaluing Avios all in the last year or so), they're still increasing passenger numbers and revenue and profits are rising.

I thought we'd see a whole series of negative TRs following the VS cutbacks in April but it's been quite the opposite - this is the first bad one I've read.

So the message I'm getting - and no doubt the airlines know it full well - is that passengers are a lot less hostile to cost cutting than we might think, even when it impacts on service. They'll grumble, sure, but as a general rule they'll keep coming back for more, particularly if there's a shiny bit of plastic at stake.

[Neil]

Not keeping your J customers happy in my opinion is the start of a downward spiral and a potential reduced revenues. Wonder which bright spark thought this one up as J customers are the ones who can afford to switch allegiance easily to another carrier.

You might think that but BA have proved that, despite doing all they can to annoy their J customers (cutting legroom in CE, the Gatwick lounge fiasco and devaluing Avios all in the last year or so), they're still increasing passenger numbers and revenue and profits are rising.

I thought we'd see a whole series of negative TRs following the VS cutbacks in April but it's been quite the opposite - this is the first bad one I've read.

So the message I'm getting - and no doubt the airlines know it full well - is that passengers are a lot less hostile to cost cutting than we might think, even when it impacts on service.

For me, it still comes right back to the very basics that if you get a good crew led by a good FSM you will have a good flight, if you don't then it will more likely be indifferent. Like I said above, our crew were very accommodating when asked for something from the bites menu and were constantly in the cabin so it was never an issue not been able to ask for something.

I was very apprehensive before our flight wondering if the changes would mean a poor flight, but the crew and FSM were fantastic and we had a full UC cabin. The return, with a different crew, a poor FSM and a half full UC cabin, the service was not even close to what we got going out and I imagine if that had been a day flight I would have had a totally different experience to what we did have.

Someone just posted the current UC menu on facebook and afternoon tea lists sandwiches and a selection of cakes...no mention of a scone... has it been removed? I will not be a happy camper if the answer is yes.

I've had two flights now in UC since the change and no problems at all however both times were fantastic crews and FSMs.

you still get the scone, although we only got one plate of cakes to share but thats not too bad as I don't have a sweet tooth.

Let me preface this by saying I flew UC 6 times in the last 18 months and genereally the flights (save for breakfast on overnight Lon arrivals) were great.

This week I flew LHRt to MIA and it was extremely disappointing. On a 9-hour flight I expect more than one meal service. The new set up on this particular flight (1pm departure) is that you get your main meal an hour or two after take off and then if you want anything else it's "on request" - problem with this is you have to flag down a cabin crew and then wait up to an hour for them to get round to serving it. Service on this flight left a lot to be desired - when I asked for the "tasting platter" (about 5 hours in) it was met with a grimace from the stewardess who then barked "fine but it'll be at least 30 mins because we need to get the ovens on"(!)

I don't want to feel like am inconvenience on a flight and have to ask for stuff and that's exactly what this new service is all about. Don't ask, don't get. Do ask, and cabin crew seem inconvenienced. I expect even in economy they get a sandwich/afternoon tea service - why on earth have they cut the awesome afternoon tea service with the tiered stand?

There were no drinks runs either - again you have to ask. A coffee before landing would have been nice: I asked about an hour out and was told it was too late!

My issue is that I don't want to have to ask for stuff, especially when the crew are so surly. That's exactly what this new service is all about.

If you haven't yet done so. Please do share your feedback and experiences with VS. I know (after providing feedback from my infamous flight back from DXB in April) that they are listening carefully and monitoring feedback closely.

I agree with what others have said. I'm back on board this week and having been lucky enough to take a few flights since the changes were introduced and with the exception of that DXB flight....I've had great crews with superb FSMs who have embraced the changes well.

I quite like the trolley set up service. Regular Delta One travellers will be use to that and it works well IMO despite the reduction in crew numbers which is a great shame to be honest but it's certainly exposing those crews that work hard and those that don't.

Unlike others I've been proactively offered a second service before arrival, but that has been very much down the engaging and proactiveness of the crews concerned.

Jon

Not keeping your J customers happy in my opinion is the start of a downward spiral and a potential reduced revenues

Started about two years ago, with the booze cutbacks.

Personally, I've always had surly crew on ex LHR flights. Great clubhouse, crap service onboard.

I'm sure like a few other I flick between forums, I did have to chuckle after reading the grumbles about going over the dark side I moved over to Flyertalk to see this being top of the forum
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british- ... t-sad.html

The grass is not always greener!

I agree with what others have said. I'm back on board this week and having been lucky enough to take a few flights since the changes were introduced and with the exception of that DXB flight....I've had great crews with superb FSMs who have embraced the changes well.

I quite like the trolley set up service. Regular Delta One travellers will be use to that and it works well IMO despite the reduction in crew numbers which is a great shame to be honest but it's certainly exposing those crews that work hard and those that don't.

Unlike others I've been proactively offered a second service before arrival, but that has been very much down the engaging and proactiveness of the crews concerned.

Jon

For me, it still comes right back to the very basics that if you get a good crew led by a good FSM you will have a good flight, if you don't then it will more likely be indifferent. Like I said above, our crew were very accommodating when asked for something from the bites menu and were constantly in the cabin so it was never an issue not been able to ask for something.

I was very apprehensive before our flight wondering if the changes would mean a poor flight, but the crew and FSM were fantastic and we had a full UC cabin. The return, with a different crew, a poor FSM and a half full UC cabin, the service was not even close to what we got going out and I imagine if that had been a day flight I would have had a totally different experience to what we did have.

Neil - sorry to hear about your return flights.

I totally agree that the service is completely dependant on the strength of the FSM - my recent flights to & from LAX were - IMHO - fantastic.

I thought that the trolley service allowed far greater interaction with guests, rather than a splash & dash. The FSMs for both flights were highly visible and customer focused. And we were pro-actively offered the second service, and as hubby was asleep at the time when he woke up he was immediately approached by a CC who saw him stir to check if he wanted anything.

I've had 2 trips in UC since the changes (LHR-JFK & LHR-LAX) and I have to say on both occasions the outbound crew were 5* but the inbound crews were more like 2*. The return from LAX was a huge let down, and had it not been for the overall package in UC I think that would have been my last.

As it is I have two more LHR-JFK coming up so will be interesting to see how it goes.

I think it's Clubhouse Vs Galleries that keeps me with Virgin!

Like everybody has said, it depends on the crew.
However why a relatively small airline cannot achieve more consistency is a mystery.

I have experienced both good and bad!
The good is when the crew say "will you be taking afternoon tea today, or can we serve you something else".
The bad is when they say NOTHING, and you have to buzz them.

I have to say that when I heard about the cut backs I was quite worried about future moral of the crews.
I tried to picture myself being demoted and taking a pay cut and shifted out of UC that I'd worked hard to get to.
(real life scenario of the person I first heard about the cuts from)
And I thought how I might react on my first few flights.
Well our February flight was just fine with good friendly service all round.

It's sad ever to hear of bad service but I hope some feedback to Virgin will prompt a better level of consistency.

Dick D