Be aware that if you book a Virgin Atlantic flight, you may be in danger of their canceling your flight for what they characterize as 'business reasons' and they may not even notify you of the cancellation. This happened to me and my family on a return trip to the US from London in 2009. I found out purely by accident that the flight had been canceled a day before we started our vacation. Without my knowledge or consent, VA booked me on a substitute flight that I wouldn't have been able to make on time and refused to book me on any other airlines that would conform with my vacation plans. After much threatening/cajoling, they booked me on a flight that took 10 additional hours of travel time! A company official conceded to me in writing that the original flight had been canceled for 'business reasons, ' which basically means they feel they can treat you like a FedEx package to be delivered at their convenience, not yours. While the price of my ticket was competitively priced, their actions effectively traded down my non-stop flight to a much less desirable alternative without sacrificing any of their profits - nice customer-oriented service! I wouldn't be willing to subject myself to the possibility of being victimized by this kind of bait-and-switch experience again, so I will never fly Virgin Atlantic or Virgin America again. I prefer to have some degree of assurance that what I'm paying for is what I'm actually going to get.
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