Complain about a product or service

Virgin America

anita of massapequa, NY November 14, 2009

On 9/26/09 I was a passenger on the 2:20pm flight from Las Vegas to New york(JFK), in seat 1C. This was the third time I have flown first class on your airline and was a very different experience then my prior flights. After serving lunch the flight attendant never came around to see if we wanted anything else, she never served any other drinks,or snacks. She allowed a coach passenger to use the reserved lav which he stayed in for over 10 minutes and the stench following his use was so bad nobody else could use it (thank god it was near the end of the flight) The flight crew tried to dissipate the odor by fanning the door to no avail.

kim of ravensdale, WA August 12, 2009

i was traveling on virgin america airlines from LAX-SEATAC,i went to check in my luggage at the front desk, and there was a cindy there checkin in my luggage,cindy was very unprofessional, very rude, she wrongfully charged me 50. for my luggage that was within the guidelines,and i want a refund,and something said to her about it and i wont stop until something gets done about this. i really didnt need to have a rep for this airlines treat anyone like she did.

John of Los Angeles, CA August 10, 2009

VIRGINA AMERICA LOST MY REFUND CREDIT While I love all the services and amentities, I'm extremely troubled by my recent experience with their online system.

I was scheduled to fly back from NY to LA on July 29, unfortunatley, I had to cancel that flight. I did the cancellation online (at least 48 hours in advance) around July 26/27th, received online confirmation stating I have 1XX.00 credit for future flights AND I called in to double confirm the cancellation. Well, when I booked my flight today, my credit is NO WHERE to be found. I called customer service and the operator asked me if I had screen shots of such cancellation I said no because i didn't anticipate such problem. So if you ever decide to cancel VA flights online, make sure you get a screen shot of the cancellation to avoid losing any unused credits. Also if you have experienced this before please contact me as I will try to get this resolved - legally if necessary.

John of S. San Gabriel, CA August 3, 2009

I purchased 3 tickets that cost around 1,500, and my partner had a serious medical emergency that prevented us from taking the trip. I canceled two weeks in advance, and requested a refund. The refund was denied. I was unable to use the credit due to this ongoing health condition, and because I rarely fly. They were unwilling to refund even after I faxed in a note from my partner's doctor. (I have since faxed in other verification of several other hospital stays.)

During one communication with Guest Services customer service rep, I was told that the credit expired in August, when, in fact, most of it expired one month earlier. This led to most of my credit expiring. I have asked for an extension on the credit, so I could try to sell the credit to a third party at a discount. (I wish I could use the credit for flights, but, I'm just not in a situation where we could do that.) So far, the request has been denied and I'm losing hope.

I think Virgin America is being unfair -- I canceled on time, and did not preclude their re-selling the seats. I acted in good faith on the information I was told. I think the policies are unreasonable and the staff and management are being inflexible and inhumane in this situation. Virgin America is profiting 1,500, getting my money without rendering any service.

Curt of Cambridge, MA January 18, 2009

Curt of Cambridge MA (01/18/09)
When I learned that Virgin America would begin direct service between SFO and BOS, I was elated. My fiance and I fly this route routinely, and we regarded the prospect of being serviced by a low-cost, high-quality airline like Virgin America with considerable excitement. Just 40 hours ago I made my first reservation on Virgin America, with confirmation code SWJ2BL. I am writing to tell you that I even though I have not yet boarded a plane or even gone to an airport, I am already deeply dissatisfied with Virgin Americas servicing of my reservation.

My problem was that the virginamerica.com web site did not properly accept my request to change the dates I had originally entered for my flight. I wanted to change my trip from a Feb 19 departure and Feb 23 return to a Feb 26 departure and a Mar 2 return. For some reason, the virginamerica.com web site only changed the date of my return flight. Unfortunately, I did not notice until I had confirmed my reservation. Only 36 later, hours I called Virgin Americas customer service line. The operator there told me that I must pay a 75 penalty? because I did not call within 24 hours of making my reservation.

Although she was sympathetic to my situation, all she could tell me was that the penalty stands?. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and in a few minutes was put in touch with Donna. She also refused to waive the 75 change fee, in spite of the facts that (i) I called in as soon as possible after confirming my reservation, within 12 hours of the end of the official grace period; (ii) the departure date for my flight was a full 7 weeks hence; and (iii) the problem stemmed in part from technical flaws with the virginamerica.com web site.

Frustrated, I asked her what was Virgin Americas rationale for charging the fee. Her amazing response: every airline, except Southwest, charges these fees?. I am very troubled by this for two reasons. First, I have been badly mistreated in the first of what I had assumed would be many transactions with Virgin America. When my problem arises in part because of flaws in the virginamerica.com web site, and I miss the grace period for fee-free ticket changing by only 12 hours, I believe any reasonable airline would allow me to revise my itinerary.

As Donna noted, Southwest sure does so, and I can tell you from personal experience that US Airways does as well. Secondly, I cannot believe that Virgin Americas rationale for charging the change fee is that everyone is doing it?. Apparently, Virgin Americas customer service policy seeks not to best serve the needs of its customers, but instead seeks to copy the weaknesses of Virgin Americas competitors.

A 75 change fee was charged to me *because*, in the airline's rationale, other airlines, except for Southwest, do the same thing. Is this some form of collusion or price-fixing?

Sandra of Playa Del Rey, CA January 11, 2009

Sandra of Playa Del Rey CA (01/11/09)
LETTER SENT: On December 5, 2008 I booked our trip to New York on your website. To pick the dates to leave and return I used your December calendar that pops up on the page. The leave date 12/25/08 and return date 12/31/08. Using your calendar I did not think that there could be any error. We booked our seats ahead of time and arrived at the airport early. We did not even realize there was a problem until we tried three times at the airport to sign in New Years Eve.

The young man at the desk said that we were not booked to fly out that night but booked on January 31. I replied no we booked for tonight; we used the Virgin American site calendar. He said that there were seats available on the 4:59 PM flight but that we would have to buy them and it would be over 900. I nearly passed out. I used your site, your calendar so it is computer error. I asked if there are seats available would he just switch the tickets and he said no. I asked to speak to a manager.

While we were waiting a male passenger at the next window said that he had the same exact issue and they were making him buy a new ticket also. He was flying JFK to San Francisco. He said that he also had booked online and used the calendar for 12/31/08 and your computer booked him for 1/31. Please check this out, not many people buy a one-way ticket from the check-in counter.

Looking online we found other complaints from passengers that had similar computer problems. Please see the following:

Virgin America's internet booking system is misleading. The system does not allow the user to book a flight and complete the transaction without joining the Elevate frequent flyer club. After joining the club I thought I had secured my reservation when I was emailed an eleven digit confirmation number. It turned out not to be a confirmation number at all and when I tried to check in at the airport I was informed that there was no record of my booking and I had to pay more that twice the price I was quoted on the internet. A classic bait and switch technique.

I tried to fly from Los Angeles to San Francisco on a Friday morning, returning on a Friday night. But Virgin America wasnt having any part of it. Unlike Southwests excellent website, where you can specify not only the date but also the time windows for your flights, Virgin America offers only day options. And if you click on the same day for your departure and return, Virgin America puts the brakes on the whole transaction, saying Your returning flight cannot be before your departing flight.? The only apparent way around it is to type in the wrong date for your return by making it one day later. Then, when the return flights come up, you click back to the previous day. It would be very easy to book yourself on the wrong day, if you werent paying attention.

There were other online examples (just Goggle) concerning computer ticketing issues on the Virgin American website. We could not believe the guy standing right next to us had the same booking issue that we did.

The manager was not helpful. She said I can book you on this flight for an extra 920 or you can try booking on another airline. She continued that if we booked now for a few days later that price might be a bit lower. Well, we had no place to stay and needed to get home to family and work. This was so frustrating and ridiculous. We didnt have that kind of money. We booked the correct day and she was not willing to help us at all. She said just put it on a credit card if you want to get home tonight. We were sick to our stomachs. That is a lot of money to us.

We wanted to try out this new airline and we expected that all would be well. The flight over was fine. We loved the fact that the planes jets were quiet, RED was very cool, and we arrived early to JFK. We expected a good flight home to start out the New Year. Well, New Years Eve turned out to be a nightmare. The Manager was neither helpful nor compassionate. She just kept saying what are you going to do? Hurry up if you want to get on this flight.

Good Lord. We needed to get home so I gave her my American Express Card. She gave us our boarding passes and I asked her for a receipt for my card. She said that she didnt have a printer. I said that I really need a receipt so she scribbled on a note pad (see attached). This was not professional. We got on the original plane that we booked online.

In these troubling economic times we are all cutting back and nearly a thousand dollars, that is not budgeted, will really hurt this family. I am asking the home office of this airline please help rectify this issue. This was a computer error. Why did we have to pay for it?

Their response was basically it was our problem and they would give us a 75 credit towards our next flight. We will never fly with them again!

Ramona of North Bethesda, MD December 8, 2008

Ramona of North Bethesda MD (12/08/08)
Today, I went online to pay my bills. However, thankfully, I reviewed my checking account balance first. It was then that I discovered that Virgin America billed me TWICE (using my visa debit card account number) within a two week period for a roundtrip ticket I purchased to California for the holidays. When I contacted them to report the problem, before I had a chance to share my experience, the representative asked if I was double-billed for an airline ticket. She told me that this problem was wide spread and that they are working to solve the problem. I asked her to credit my account asap because I have bills to pay today. She indicated that the best that they could do would be to credit my account within the next 5-10 business days. Unacceptable!!!!!

In these tough economic times, the last thing I need is to have an airline take twice the amount from my checking account. I am very disturbed by this experience because I don't feel as if I can trust this company to responsibly handle my financial information. Now, unfortnately, some of my bills will not be paid in a timely matter until Virgin America can get their act together. FYI. Watch your money!!!!!

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