The recently published horror story [www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/4344890/Virgin-the-worlds-best-passenger-complaint-letter.html] about the food and entertainment system on Virgin Atlantic is not the only example of the airline's dismal customer service. Here is my horror story:
I recently purchased upper class tickets on VA for my sister and her husband, round trip from London to Los Angeles. I used American Express points, which were properly transferred by me to VA. I paid $1,300 in addition, for taxes and fees. We received a confirmation number and e-tickets from VA.
When my relatives got to the airport and prepared to board, VA told them they would not be permitted to fly, and that the tickets would not be honored. They were given no explanation and no assistance finding an alternative flight.
I was awoken in the middle of the night (Los Angeles time) to try to seek both an explanation and assistance, but was told nothing other than VA had some vague suspicion of some impropriety. We have never learned what it was they suspected was amiss, or why.
The only impropriety was by VA. To compound our frustration, VA refused for weeks to return to American Express the points I transferred, and also refused to refund the $1,300. I had to challenge the charge on my credit card bill in order to get it reversed, and had to make repeated requests of VA to get the points back.
Ultimately, VA advised us it was all a mistake, that upon review they determined that they had no reason to void the ticket or deny boarding to my wife and brother-in-law. Then they said they were sorry, but that it was their policy to not offer any compensation for what I view as their breach of the basic expectation of any flier (not to mention ones with first class tickets): that if you have bought and paid for tickets, the airline will accept then at the gate and let you on the plane!
So the moral is: you are taking your chances when you book on Virgin Atlantic. They are great at suggesting in their advertising that they offer a superior experience to other airlines, but in fact I think that their behavior in my situation has been reprehensible and would place them in the lowest tier of customer service.
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