Virgin Atlantic has a penchant for flashy ad campaigns and gimmicks, with not much substance behind it. Having used them for three trips to the US in the last few months solely because they have a convenient mid-day departure from Delhi, I swear that I shall not use them again unless there is some tangible improvement.
The reasons are and these are basis 3 round trips to the US in the last one year:-
a) They use their oldest A-340-300 aircraft on this route. The difference is absolutely visible when you fly their newer aircraft from London towards the US. Some of the aircraft they place on the India route are marked for ’’Virgin Nigeria’’, and these are really really shabby aircraft where the IFE is tiny and likely not to work anyway.
b) The attitude of their cabin attendants is atrocious to say the least, and often palpably racist. However, they do carry some excellent ex-Jet Airways cabin crew on the India flights. But beware of the locals on their USA sectors. Don’t expect any sort of courtesy if you are amongst the few brown people in their Premium and Upper Class. Economy is treated like a zoo anyway.
c) There are cut-backs going on at Virgin Atlantic and they seem to be getting it wrong. Staff salaries and onboard services are apparently hit the most. Cabin crew need the slightest hint for them to start bad-mouthing their own employers and as for food, forget it. Carry your own food and water. Or fast.
d) Their frequent flyer programme is terrible. The benefits are fairly mundane, and the free flights difficult to obtain. Their clubhouse is full of their own employees and families. The commercial and ground staff at London Heathrow is unhelpful to say the least.
e) Virgin Atlantic cabin crew have a bad habt of upgrading their friends and cronies once doors close. Dark hints are passed that these might be for considerations not exactly over board. What that means for you as a paying passenger is that you may suddenly find an empty seat next to you occupied by unsavoury characters.
f) Cutlery is still plastic. They have withdrawn the small pillows. Headphones are tinny plastic. Seats do not have the head-support that most international airlines have, where you can ’’wrap’’ the seatback around your head to sleep without your head falling to one side. Blankets stink.
So, is there nothing good I can say about the airline? Well, their schedule suits me, but even that is no longer their monopoly.
Fact is, the report is now comparative, The benchmark on the India-London route is set by Jet Airways, with British Airways and Air India running a close second. Virgin Atlantic seems to have just run out of steam, they milked the Indian market for what it was worth but now that the others are in the fray, they seem like old dog bones.
Would I fly them again? Not unless I had to. I would even fly Aeroflot Business Class in preference, that’s how bad Virgin Atlantic have sunk. The main thing is that their staff appear to be very dis-satisfied, and that impacts their behaviour towards passengers.
Well, that is not our fault as a passenger, we paid for a service and if somebody else gives better, that’s it.