Virgin Atlantic Flights Update

[Egon]

Originally Posted by tspill

Why wont it help. The financial state of Virgin Atlantic is relevant information to anyone thinking of booking with them.

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I Think its because of the way its worded

[itsmeGAV]

Originally Posted by tspill

Why wont it help. The financial state of Virgin Atlantic is relevant information to anyone thinking of booking with them.

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Exactly as above.. it's the way it's worded, it's just not needed.

Originally Posted by tspill

There are plenty of other airlines fly from the UK to the US.

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Are there

Other than VS - BA, Norwegian, Aer Lingus & TUI are all I can currently think of which fly direct.. if you want in-direct there are options yes but still not many.

[tspill]

Originally Posted by itsmeGAV

Exactly as above.. it's the way it's worded, it's just not needed.



Are there

Other than VS - BA, Norwegian, Aer Lingus & TUI are all I can currently think of which fly direct.. if you want in-direct there are options yes but still not many.

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Well all the main US airlines fly from UK to US. Indirect is fairly straightforward and competes with direct.
Anyway, is Virgin go down, someone will likely pick up the routes - at least the profitable ones.

[sacratini28]

Just to update,I received the email cancelling our May 5th flight directly from Virgin Atlantic this morning !

Ive text asking for a refund and received an automated reply saying they will reply ASAP.

To be far this is a good as can be expected in the current climate.Just hope I get the money back !

[Kraken]

Originally Posted by itsmeGAV

Other than VS - BA, Norwegian, Aer Lingus & TUI are all I can currently think of which fly direct.. if you want in-direct there are options yes but still not many.

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Pre Covid-19, there were lots of indirect flight options. Admittedly, some of these will doubtless disappear / become less convenient as the airlines trim their schedules as we emerge from lockdown.

Off the top of my head, some obvious candidates for indirect US airports are Boston, New York JFK / Newark, Washington, Atlanta & Chicago. I've also done Miami in the past and then took the short flight to Orlando to avoid the drive. Don't forget Tampa as a MCO option either - it's only an hour or so's drive to Disney & may become an even more popular option for Brits when TUI switch their operations to Melbourne (80 miles to Disney) in 2022.

Iceland Air also do indirect to MCO via Reykjavik & allow a stopover / break in journey there. I have friends who broke their journey in Iceland for several hours and did a day trip to the Blue Lagoon (another thing ticked off the list for them).

[itsmeGAV]

Originally Posted by tspill

Well all the main US airlines fly from UK to US. Indirect is fairly straightforward and competes with direct.
Anyway, is Virgin go down, someone will likely pick up the routes - at least the profitable ones.

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... and charge a fortune for the pleasure, just like VS did when TC went bust.

[Kraken]

Originally Posted by tspill

Well all the main US airlines fly from UK to US. Indirect is fairly straightforward and competes with direct.
Anyway, is Virgin go down, someone will likely pick up the routes - at least the profitable ones.

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I cannot believe that the Orlando route is not profitable for Virgin. At peak holiday times they have 5 or 6 flights into Orlando, which is also one of the big 3 convention venues in the USA.

Don't forget the cargo in the hold either - often airlines can make more money from carrying the belly-cargo than passengers.

Quite simply if the Orlando route is not profitable, then one has to question why Virgin has operated it with the frequency it does for years. You don't do that sort of thing as a vanity project to prop-up the sister Virgin Holidays business. I accept loads can be light in the off-peak season & the frequency is reduced - but above comment about cargo still applies year-round.

[tspill]

Originally Posted by Kraken

I cannot believe that the Orlando route is not profitable for Virgin. At peak holiday times they have 5 or 6 flights into Orlando, which is also one of the big 3 convention venues in the USA.

Don't forget the cargo in the hold either - often airlines can make more money from carrying the belly-cargo than passengers.

Quite simply if the Orlando route is not profitable, then one has to question why Virgin has operated it with the frequency it does for years. You don't do that sort of thing as a vanity project to prop-up the sister Virgin Holidays business. I accept loads can be light in the off-peak season & the frequency is reduced - but above comment about cargo still applies year-round.

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I didn't suggest the Orlando routes aren't profitable - I dont know. If they are, some one will start to run them if not VS.

[itsmeGAV]

Originally Posted by Kraken

Pre Covid-19, there were lots of indirect flight options. Admittedly, some of these will doubtless disappear / become less convenient as the airlines trim their schedules as we emerge from lockdown.

Off the top of my head, some obvious candidates for indirect US airports are Boston, New York JFK / Newark, Washington, Atlanta & Chicago. I've also done Miami in the past and then took the short flight to Orlando to avoid the drive. Don't forget Tampa as a MCO option either - it's only an hour or so's drive to Disney & may become an even more popular option for Brits when TUI switch their operations to Melbourne (80 miles to Disney) in 2022.

Iceland Air also do indirect to MCO via Reykjavik & allow a stopover / break in journey there. I have friends who broke their journey in Iceland for several hours and did a day trip to the Blue Lagoon (another thing ticked off the list for them).

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I was mostly talking about airlines which solely operate direct flights out of the UK which we can identify there are 5 including VS.

Yes there are airlines which offer the in-direct options you've mentioned above however when I think about what airlines are available, I can think of less than 10.. closer to 5 even. That still isn't many at all.

Originally Posted by Kraken

I cannot believe that the Orlando route is not profitable for Virgin. At peak holiday times they have 5 or 6 flights into Orlando, which is also one of the big 3 convention venues in the USA.

Don't forget the cargo in the hold either - often airlines can make more money from carrying the belly-cargo than passengers.

Quite simply if the Orlando route is not profitable, then one has to question why Virgin has operated it with the frequency it does for years. You don't do that sort of thing as a vanity project to prop-up the sister Virgin Holidays business. I accept loads can be light in the off-peak season & the frequency is reduced - but above comment about cargo still applies year-round.

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Isn't this something that's been widely known for a few years with VS? I'm almost positive they put something out a few years back stating they don't make profit on seats.

[tspill]

Originally Posted by itsmeGAV

... and charge a fortune for the pleasure, just like VS did when TC went bust.

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Maybe. Things aren't going back to the way they were. Many more companies are going to be in trouble. Flying to Florida might possibly be the least of our worries.