Update - Open Ticket - VA, any disadvantages?
 

I have been in contact with Virgin regarding my November flight, I can have a full refund, but they also said about taking the open ticket option with a few incentives, flying miles, seat upgrade (subject to availability) or £25 voucher each, so not really great incentives, but my thought is if I accept the open ticket, then next years flights are paid for (or mostly) :thumbs-up when they are released in December. Does anyone know of any disadvantages?

If you plan on booking in dec then I would accept an open ticket as there is no Guarantee you will have your refund back in time.

I agree with tinkerella123, take the open ticket if your planning to rebook in December

I don't want to hijack the thread but what did you need to say in order to get them to agree to a refund for a November flight? DW and I are flying in October, I haven't contacted Virgin as I was waiting to get a bit closer to departure in hope of them cancelling before I did so.

TIA

Thanks for the advice everyone, it's pretty much what I think, I'm not too worried about getting the refund back first, it isn't a massive amount for 2 flights, £780, to be fair, I am only thinking of booking at the end of Dec, because historically it has always been the best time to book our November flights, the way things are going who knows when will be the best time to book, if I see a price I am happy with I will book it, if not I'll hold on, but I do want to book for next November (2021) and pray it actually happens.

Diby5, I whatsapp'd VA and simply put in a refund request based on the fact that they cancelled our flights from Gatwick and rebooked us onto Heathrow flights, and this is not convenient for us.

Virgin no longer fly from Gatwick so you'll still have to fly from Heathrow next year.

Thanks for this, I have sent a WhatsApp this morning. So the wait begins

Have they confirmed they'll offer a refund? My friend is in a similar position for a November flight too but I'd assumed as the airport is still London it's not classed as a major change so didn't think she could get a refund yet. Be good if she can!

All depends who you booked with as to the refund position.

It's a cancellation of the LGW flight if it's booked direct with VS but it's not a major change if booked with a tour operator due to the London airport rule you mention.

My understanding is that if it's a flight only booking, the airline must provide the option to cancel and receive a refund because of the change of airport from LGW to LHR. If booked as a package, the change of airport is not considered a significant change and therefore you are not entitled to cancel and claim a full refund.

Debra

I'm booked direct with Virgin, so I'm cautiously optimistic about the refund. I WhatsApp'd at 09:27 this morning, nothing back yet and I'm not holding my breath on getting any sort of response too quickly