I am so over Virgin Airlines.

[Sanpan]

I am flying Melb to SYD next Friday 3/10 and back on 6/10 and my tickets were issued by the company paying for the flights.

The flights were booked Flexi as usual and I rang and upgraded over the phone for both flights as usual with points.

My seat from Melb is still on the booking BUT the seat I requested and was allocated (1A) has disappeared from my return booking and it says no seat selected.

I have just rung the Gold call centre and they cannot explain why the seat has disappeared from my itinerary
and the staff member told me someone has taken 1A. Fortunately I had printed my itinerary as soon as the seat was chosen but the call centre says they cannot give it back as they do not have the authority.

What sort of airline has this become? Surely if there was a glitch from their end, I am entitled to the seat that I chose that was and is still confirmed on the itinerary I has printed out.

 

[PLANT]

Virgin thought the ticket was flexi for them not you?

 

[stoneman]

Maybe the Velocity rep can help you ....

 

[mannej]

Seat selection is never a guarantee or an entitlement until you pretty much on the flight.

You may have better luck at the airport checking in, but no you aren't entitled to anything because you have lost your preselected seat

 

[Sanpan]

I understand this mannej, I was not so upset at the seat exactly but the fact that they had taken my points and I could have gotten to the airport and there would have been no seats left in j. The no seat selected was what made me angry and the fact that the person in the call centre didn't seem to care that I had paid for the upgrade and had no upgrade or seat on my itinerary.

I will speak to the lovely people in the Lounge when I get there. This is a regular flight for me every month and I usually have no problems but the last 3-4 months there has been a glitch in some part of the booking and I have had to ring up to get it corrected.

 

[MelUser]

QF does this too.

A relative (QF Plat) had 1D taken away on Thursday and put into 2D.

It happened to me last year = party of 6 - all of row 1 on the A330 SYD to BKK.

On boarding realised that 1JK - the last 2 seats were moved to 4AB.

I investigated the passengers in our seats and they weren't what I was expecting - ie a chairmans or VIP or whatever but 2 girls in their 20s who drank too much - they appeared to me upgraders given their finding of novelty with everything on board.

 

[medhead]

I understand this mannej, I was not so upset at the seat exactly but the fact that they had taken my points and I could have gotten to the airport and there would have been no seats left in j. The no seat selected was what made me angry and the fact that the person in the call centre didn't seem to care that I had paid for the upgrade and had no upgrade or seat on my itinerary.

I will speak to the lovely people in the Lounge when I get there. This is a regular flight for me every month and I usually have no problems but the last 3-4 months there has been a glitch in some part of the booking and I have had to ring up to get it corrected.

Sorry. In what way does no seat selection mean there is no upgrade? A lack of upgrade is a completely separate issue to seat selection. If the selected 1A dropped off that just means there is no selected seat, it does not say anything about the upgrade. If indeed the upgrade has not been properly added if be sorting that out before getting to the lounge. The call centre need to sort that out and they can sort it out. But can you clarify the exact issue no seat selected or not upgrade records.

 

[Sanpan]

The seat 1A had dropped off and VA do not have any way of finding out why. When I did the upgrade I was asked what seat I would like as the J section was wide open so I chose 1A, as I always do if it is available.

The person on the phone said well they have deducted your points for the upgrade and it must have been a glitch in the system but there was no way to find out what happened. The person said we always ask if you have preference and that is always allocated if it is available.

The staff member said it is rare for it to drop off but sometimes does happen. She said the upgrade is noted but it is very unusual for a seat not to be allocated when the upgrade is granted and suggested I choose another seat and check when I get to the lounge.

As I mentioned in my first post it was showing seat 1A on the itinerary that I printed off last week. When I rang today the upgrade was there on their system but no seat assigned for the upgrade. The staff member said that was unusual and she wondered where the points had been allocated to as it was not to a seat.

 

[Pushka]

Do you still have your upgrade just not your preferred seat? In which case this happens frequently on Qantas too. Seat allocation just isn't guaranteed.

 

[Sanpan]

Yes Pushka, the upgrade is documented but not allocated to a seat that is what is confusing them and me.

I know the preferred seat is not guaranteed, it never has been since I started flying with them in 2005 when they started business.

 

[Pushka]

Ok. Then sorry, I don't understand what the angst is?

 

[Sanpan]

The angst is that I could have arrived at the airport with no seat assigned and if J was full I would not have a seat, I would have paid points for nothing.

 

[Pushka]

If you have paid for a seat then you will have a seat. If the points have been taken for an upgrade and you don't actually get the J seat then your points will have to be refunded. If you've been allocated a J seat then that's the outcome you want.
I still don't see the problem.

 

[PLANT]

As I said the flexi seat is for Virgin not the paying customer

 

[SimonF]

Row 1 isn't the best row in business anyway.

 

[Sanpan]

Lol plant.

 

[Sanpan]

SimonF, I don't care if it isn't. It's the one I like and feel comfortable in and that's what counts with me..

 

[Pushka]

How long is the flight? Is it really worth the angst?

 

[VA777]

MPOV row 2 is much better any.

 

[medhead]

The angst is that I could have arrived at the airport with no seat assigned and if J was full I would not have a seat, I would have paid points for nothing.

That is wrong. You have a J seat, seat selection absolutely is not required to guarantee you'll sit in J. If J was full one of those seats would be yours. Seat selection is just an optional extra.