I give airlines a lot of flak on Live and Let’s Fly for the duplicitous double standards many engage in.
Most center around consumer-unfriendly polices like waiting to days or weeks to cancel so-called “mistake fares” while strictly penalizing consumers for honest mistakes. (I’m talking about you Ethiopian, Air France, Aeroplan, SWISS, and ANA…)
But when airlines or their agents act honorably or ethically, I also believe credit should be given.
Do you remember my Hawaii trip from November? If you recall, the outbound was United’s final 747-400 flight while the return was on a Delta 767-300 in business class.
I booked that ticket over the phone using my Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles. My original intent was to book Hawaiian Airlines, which was showing business class award space. But when I called Virgin Atlantic to book, the agent could not find the space. I figured he was just incompetent, but he asked if he could take a look at other options and I agreed.
Moments later, he came back and said all four Delta flights had business class award space. I thought he must be joking…Delta never makes saver award space available on its Hawaiian flights. But I told him to grab the midday 767-400 flight. He did and we ticketed the reservation.
While this was going on, by the way, I took a look at delta.com where I saw no saver award on my travel day or any travel day.
But I soon received the ticket and it was booked in “O” class, which designates a business class award.
Problem: Reservation Doesn’t Show Up on Delta.com
I knew something was wrong when I was unable to pull the reservation up on delta.com and the Virgin agent could not provide me a Delta record locator. I called Delta and the Delta agent as well as her support staff could not open the reservation, though they could see it (whatever that means). The agent also confirmed I was not on the manifest for the flight.
Virgin Atlantic Makes it Right
I called back Virgin Atlantic and explained the issue. This was literally just a couple hours later and all the Delta award space showing on Virgin Atlantic’s website had disappeared. The agent put me on hold and returned admitting an agent error and asserting the space was never available in the first place.
I was waiting for him to tell me to go pound sound, but then he said something quite unexpected and amazing.
“Don’t worry sir. As this was our error, we will honor your ticket. Please kindly stay on the line.”
10 minutes later he was back: the ticket had been issued…in full-fare first class (F). Yes, Virgin Atlantic had just bought me two full-fare tickets on Delta, the last two seats on that flight.
I thanked the agent. A few weeks later, the flight went off without a hitch.
CONCLUSION
This sort of customer service may infuriate bean counters, but it is ethical and so commendable. I thank Virgin Atlantic for honoring the ticket it issued in such a practical and timely way.
p.s. I don’t know about you, but I always picture Virgin Atlantic phone agents wearing the same red outfits the FAs wear…
Great, now we’ll know what to expect/demand from them going forward!
Did you get credited with the miles from this flight as well?
Yes.
I had a similar thing happen and they did the same for me. I love that Airline!!!
That’s pretty awesome – although may be some type of UK/EU consumer protection requirement?
Could be, since we were less than 14 days away from travel. I didn’t want to ask questions — just wanted to say thanks and get my re-issued ticket.
I’m glad that it worked out for you, and that VS owns up to their mistakes!! 😀 I don’t know much about their FF program, though, so I don’t know if I’d go out of my way to use them… Btw, did you end up crediting the flights to VS and essentially get a rebate on your redemption?
As an aside, I’m a bit confused about this part of your post: “I took a look at delta.com where I saw no saver award on my travel day or any travel day.”
“This was literally just a couple hours later and all the Delta award space showing on Virgin Atlantic’s website had disappeared.”
So, which was it? There was no award space to begin with, or there was and then the award space disappeared?
This is encouraging to hear/read!
My partner, who is disabled, and I, have four upcoming flights beginning two weeks from today on Virgin Atlantic, and given the unpredictability, and inconsistency disabled passengers often experience (epically long waits for wheelchairs, attendants, or both, that is, if they show up at all, are always a worry…but all of the nuisances and annoyances most encounter when flying are far more difficult for disabled passengers when encountered…plus seats, other passengers, etc.)
Our contact with Virgin Atlantic thus far, to their credit, has been pleasant, and they have been very attentive. But there have been some things that came up that has my partner concerned, so as the “travel agent”/airline “expert” in our family, that I cannot answer, he’s understandably wary based on the increasingly common instances when he’s been left in the lurch, as he was a recently just two months ago on Southwest when he, and several other disabled passengers on our flight, were left to rot on the airplane so long, the captain personally intervened to locate wheelchairs, and then also pushed my partner’s wheelchair into the terminal before I took over for the connection between the far end of the “C” concourse and the “B” concourse at BWI.
I’ve assured him that of the airlines we could’ve flown for our itinerary from JFK to JNB and back, with a stopover in London (in part for work there), Virgin is our best bet based on its overall reputation for service, and especially for its Disability Services “desk”.
But as recently as this morning, after returning from a five day business trip to Miami very early yesterday, and when he was experiencing the sort of post-trip “effects” that amplify the impact on his body arising from his disability (he had polio as a very young child), he kept seeking reassurance about our upcoming trip, and with so many “bad experiences” still fresh, and his body still yet to recover from the stress all of us often feel when we fly, I’m certainly hoping that things go as well since I’ve seen several times how just even the slightest thing gone wrong can is all it takes between being OK or being barely able to move for days, or even a week!
Fingers crossed…fingers crossed!
Especially since I’m the one who made the case to pick Virgin Atlantic over ‘Bedbug Airways’ (or others) for this trip…the daggers (starting, but certainly not ending with the ‘stank eyes’…) will surely come my way if anything goes wrong…