Flight VS077 Manchester to Bridgetown

[cja]

G-VTOP
March 30th


This was my wife’s 28^th business trip to Barbados having flown BA, (including Concorde) Virgin, BWIA etc in the past, usually from Gatwick or Heathrow. As she works in travel her first Virgin fight to the Caribbean was on their inaugural flight, which took place when Montserrat was exploding and the landing at Antigua had to be cancelled due to volcanic debris. Standards were rather different back then.



Her main comment on the flight related to the appalling standard of cleanliness of the aircraft with Filthy carpets and dirt that would come off on your finger with a gentle touch around the nearby fixtures and fittings. On the good side the service and food were good and the flight on time however the crew off duty in the galley with curtains closed were so noisy that sleep or in-flight entertainment were not possible. Since the inaugural flight mentioned above she has flown often with Virgin from London and never been disappointed. Sadly it seems that standards for Manchester are somewhat different.

The return flight was on BMI BD724 the following day, a completely different experience. Cabin staff in a different league and clean aircraft with more spacious seating.

Go BMI

[G-DALE]

Hmm, okay then.....

What's the point in posting somebody else's views when you can't actually speak for yourself?

[cja]

Dale,

What is the problem with posting other people's views as long as it comes from a trusted source and was done with their approval. It raised a point that some people may be interested in.

If people think its irrelevant or not worthy then I guess they will just move on which is fair enough. Or perhaps you are saying this is the wrong forum for this. If it should only be for personal experiences then that’s fine and the mods can move it or delete it as they see fit.

[G-DALE]

You're 'talking the talk' but haven't actually 'walked the walk.' It's not the same. Fair enough it might be a trusted source but you're only going off what you've been told. It would be completely different if it was yourself who'd have a bad experience on a flight and you told the story.

Oh and for the record.....

Flight Review Forum - Share reviews of recent flights you've taken!

[cja]

Dale So let me see.. You have jumped to the conclusion that I posted this for the sake of claiming Kudos for the fact that my other half took a trip on a plane?

One has to wonder why you are so quick to leap to such a cynical conclusion.
For the record I have also flown to many places in my time and never claimed a medal for it. If you missed it, the purpose of the post was to make a point relating to standards.

If anything you say is correct, all I have done is post in the wrong forum and so you can now take pleasure in e-mailing the mods and get it moved or deleted.

May you prosper long as the guardian angel of truth and justice.

[uy707]

Interesting for several reasons first of which is

The otherwise reputable Virgin acts in fact like Air France and some other. There's an hierarchy as for the destinations and from where they are served. Retranscription of your sweethart's comments concurs VS also has a scale of value, ie an exotic destination served from a provincial base...
The return on BD is also worth the interest as Midland may be seen as the new kids in the blocks who have to surpass themselves to attract passengers.

[cja]

Alain,

I was quite surprised to hear about the state of the VS747, my impression was that Virgin were the equal of BA. Then again I would be interested to hear from people who have travelled with BA from Manchester to JFK and how this service compares with London based services.

Offering an unequal service from the provinces does not seem like a great way to develop business as it can only create a bad impression with customers.

[uy707]

How I percieve BA from Manchester to JFK
It may be bad if the airline makes its best to let the customer know that all ways lead to London in some sort
It may also be surprisingly excellent, as they keep in mind and sight some US players also serving Ringway.