A genuine question for those who have booked 2021 .. Virgin?

[cornishfrogboy]

I have booked the USA many times and shown absolutely no loyalty to any airline or search engine, (other than loyalty based on price). In short, I am a mercenary. I must add that I am only after flights as I am an ardent DIYer and that these days I am seeking the wider USA as well as Florida.

The last 6 months have made me change my viewpoint and whilst I have been rather fortunate to get every penny back (twice) and involving BA, American Airlines, United for an internal, EBookers and others, I have watched the totally unfair struggles of others with interest and sympathy.
Had I been booked in March with Virgin for example, I would not have got my money back (8 days) in time to book August with American and then when they refunded in 5 days, with BA again already for August 2021.

The question is this. With what has transpired and how the law has been broken whilst consumers (us) have been lied to and messed around, particularly by Virgin.. how many have booked with Virgin for 2021, regardless of what happened in 2020?

One thing was for certain in my case. If Virgin had been half the price of its rivals, I would only have considered it on a codeshare with a more reputable airline. (I am still a mercenary, but now a more wary one). I am also disappointed (but hardly surprised) that whilst their are seemingly endless open lines available for credits, switches and amendments, it is next to impossible to deal with refunds.

It is a genuine question as I am wondering after all the condemnation and angst shown by both customers and observers, how many have gone back to them regardless and entrusted further money to them?

[KarenG]

I would yes without hesitation (booking with a credit card for financial security!). But I have nearly 400k miles with them so I am hoping to use those at some point.

I think it will be hard for them to get through this though.

[400ixl]

I don't know of anyone who had a charge back disputed by Virgin. So there was really no reason to be waiting months for a refund. So yes, if the price and times worked I would.

Have done it the other way around for 2021, booked with BA who I usually try to avoid due to years of bad experiences and service. They were significantly cheaper at the moment to warrant the risk.

[Blue nose]

I had a VH cancelled in April and didn't get my refund until June or July.

I will book again purely based on price and use my credit card as extra cover.

We travel from Manchester though so my choices of airline are vastly limited.

[Robyn89]

We have two lots of flights booked with Virgin next year. We didn’t really have an issue with the refund stuff as we didn’t request one, we just moved our bookings - and they’ve been great with us. We had to move our March flights to September and then again to next March and they were great when we dealt with them (clearly I know that’s not everyone’s experience).

My preference on board is Virgin - I just find it better than BA... but again, personal preference.

We also have a load of miles with Virgin so it’s in our interest that they stick around to be competitive with BA etc ☺️

[Dublingirl]

I have been flying with Virgin to the US for over 30 years and have never had a bad experience with them. We were booked for May this year and were able to re book our reward seats for May 2021 with no problem. We always fly business class and, for us, Virgin offer by far the best business product. I will continue to use them for as long as I can.

[Guest]

I’ll be booking with Virgin as soon as travel to the US is permitted (and preferably masks not needed in California)

[tspill]

My current position is that I will use virgin to run my flyer points down to zero.
Will I pay for flights again with them? Not sure.
If I do, I will only do it with an AmEx card who refunded my cash in 2 days. Never heard from Virgin again following that. No apology. No nothing.
They are an appalling and untrustworthy company in my view.

[sha9]

Flying from Scotland we have few options. We booked miles flights so changed to an open ticket which we’ll use for next September. Our only other direct option is Tui who I’m happy to consider for future trips. I have no issue using VA in the future though.

[allymc316]

Would always of considered Virgin above anyone else. After they unlawfully kept my money for 4 months to prop up their business I will not give them a penny in the future.

I will pay extra to avoid them. They can no longer be trusted and have ruined their reputation and stuck 2 fingers up to their once loyal customers.

I have already booked with BA for next summer should it be able to happen.