Virgin Balloon flights

[lillboy]

Hi

I wondering if any one had any ideas, last year we booked a balloon flight for 2 with virgin @ £130.00 Each, it does state that the ticket has an expiry date, we have booked 2 flights which where cancelled due to bad weather, not their fault or ours. on our last booking we where told that the expiry date would not come into effect as it was getting close to the end of the season.

The tickets expired on 5/5/09, we have not been able to make extra booking due to work commitments and also child care provisions are a problem.

I tried to book again today only to be told they would not extend the period of validity on the ticket. is there anything I can do to get them to extend the validity period.

Quote from Terms & Conditions

CANCEELLATION OR POSTONMENT BY US OR THE PILOT

18. We or your pilot may at our discretion cancel your flight for any booked date or alter its time without notice because of matters beyond our control, for example adverse weather conditions, or for safety or legal reasons. However you will be given as much notice of any cancellationor lateration is possible.

20.

If your flight on any booked date is cancelled under paragraph 18 you must re-book for a date and time within your voucher's validity period. if it is not possible to take your flight during that period, we will extend if for such further period as we in our discretion decide.

 

We took it from the last booking we made that they had, at their discretion extended the validity period for the ticket.

 

Is there anything we can do to make them honour the tickets, I feel that it is unfair that we have to lose £260.00.

How can they justify putting a voucher expiriy when it is a service that will not go out of date. I would not mind paying an increase if the ticket prices had gone up however they are actually cheaper this year.

 

 

Any Comments would be appreciated

Thank Wayne

[BankFodder]

With virgins and balloons, it only takes one prick and they're gone. Looks as if the same may be true of virgin balloon flights.

 

It certainly seems very harsh and is probably just the decision of some individual who thinks that the company will go under if you are allowed a little leeway in the T&Cs.

 

Could you post all of the T&Cs please and also let me know a little more about the dates.

When were the tickets brought? What were the flight dates which you booked, how were they cancelled etc.

 

I think that I see a way forward but you haven't supplied much info.

[lillboy]

Thanks for taking time to read this I will post more detailed info tommorrow, can I scan the t& C 's and post them as an attachment. there are some on their website but not the same as on the tickets.

 

we have booked the morning flights so we only know the flight is cancelled when we have to ring the flight line after 11:00pm night before to confirm flight is still on. By this time both have already booked time of work which for cannot be cancelled at short notice because cover is arrranged.

 

For AM & Day Flights: please call the flightline from 11:00Pm night before you flight.

 

We purchased the tickets on 9/05/08 booked first flight for on or around 6th june. cancelled at 11:00pm Night Before. Not even bad weather nice clear day.

Booked another flight in Aug/ Sept.cancelled 11:00pm night before. wife rang to book another flight and was told it was coming up to the end of the season so cancellation would be more frequent. they then suggested that the expiry date would not apply.

we could not continue to book with the chance of cancelling due to childcare and work committments. waited till now because less chance of cancellation and was under impression the tickets would be valid.

Sorry not sure if link should be posted please remove if not allowed.

Thanks Wayne

[BankFodder]

Could you explain to me a little bit as to how it all works. I can't imagine that Virgin actually owns balloon clubs around the country all that there is only one club involved. I sort of imagine that what happens is that really virgin is providing a ticketing system and that balloon clubs in the UK find it convenient to be on their list as it will increase the sales of flight tickets. I think that most balloon clubs are simply comprised of enthusiastic balloonists who pay subscriptions but who also try to sell experience flights to the public in order to help keep subscriptions down the are and to pay the costs of clubhouses and so forth.

Maybe you can comment on this.

 

 

Which launch site was scheduled for your flights?

 

Do you happen to know if there are any other launch sites or balloon clubs in the vicinity of your booked launch site? Please will you find out. There will probably be some national ballooning society.

 

I imagine that if you look around the Internet you will find some historical weather data for the date of your reserved launch dates. Please will you have a rummage and get this information. This means that you will also have to ascertain the date of your second booking. I expect that there is a national ballooning Association who may be able to help you with this kind of information.

 

If there is a national ballooning Association, they may well supply guidelines to the member clubs as to how to administer experience flights. I think you should speak to them and ask them what is the typical arrangement when flights are not taken during the initial contractual period. Do not mention your particular problem or refer to Virgin or refer to the club or launch site that you are dealing with. You don't want word getting back.

It might also be worth contacting some ballooning clubs which are not on the Virgin list and see if they have terms and conditions which you can get hold of to compare.

Also, have you any idea who it was you spoke to on the telephone? If you don't know their name then could you describe their voices. I think that you need to set down a complete note of the conversation you had -- who said what to whom and when. Do this straightaway.

 

 

Thanks for the link to the contract.

The Virgin contract is a pretty unforgiving little contract. Of course it has to cope with the vagaries of ballooning weather. Not only must the weather be calm and clear, but generally speaking you can only go ballooning in the early morning or in the long late evenings in order to avoid thermic activity which can tend to make ballooning a pretty hairy activity -- especially for newcomers. Still, it can be pretty onerous to be obliged to risk five days off work before there is any chance of having the ticket extended. In

 

I'd like to know about the terms and conditions which accompany the ticket and which you say are different to those on their website.

 

I think that you have a pretty good basis for getting your money back.

 

I'm pretty certain that if Richard Branson knew the way that you are being treated here, that he wouldn't approve.

[lillboy]

Hi Bank Fodder Thanks for your reply.

 

I have spoken to a more helpful person today (DAVE)

 

 

He gave me the following information:

• Dates of Booked flights 12th June & 19th July
  
• Told me that no log of my call was made yesterday by Nick, I asked him to get someone with Authority to return my call.I would still be waiting.
  
• I asked for details of how many people where booked onto each of the flights, he could not dilvulge such information.
  
• They own the Balloons and employ the pilots for each flight.
  

He did state that i could request in writing for an extension of the validity period stating why we did not rebook within 6 months of last cancelled flight, however it does not state this in the contract. (I will tommorrow attatch a copy of the Virgin T&C's in a post).

 

I asked why they needed to put an expiry date on the tickets, Answer "to make it easier to manage".

 

I stated that when we rang regarding our last booking we where told the tickets have an expiry dates but they are quite flexible regarding flight dates. we had got concerns regarding being able to rebook and arrange time of work and child care at that time. He said that their sales agent would not say that and the call would have been logged. I then reminded him that yesterdays call had not been logged by Nick. He would not comment further and advised me to write in easking for an extention of the ticket dates.

 

Weather from Met office However national not regional.

 

12th to 15th June 2008 A brisk north to north-westerly air flow brought cool and showery weather. The showers were locally heavy during the afternoons, especially on the 15th where thunderstorms cropped up locally across in the south-west and the north-east. Funnel clouds were reported near the Humber estuary on the 15th. Despite a fair amount of sunshine between the showers, temperatures were below the seasonal average, with a brisk breeze making it feel cooler. Unseasonably chilly at night, with rural ground frost occurring in places across central and northern areas, with Shap (Cumbria) recording a minimum temperature of -0.1 °C overnight on the 15th/16th.

 

19th to 21st July 2008 A cool north-westerly air flow gave bright and breezy conditions, with a mix of sunshine and scattered showers. The showers most prevalent and quite heavy across eastern England, but few and far between towards the sunnier and slightly warmer south-west.

 

( I definitely remember it being a very bright morning with no raid, I made comment on how nice it would have been) that is what prompted the wife to ring and ask why the flight was cancelled.

 

Will post Virgins T&C's Tommorow.

Edited May 28, 2009 by lillboy

[BankFodder]

OK, see if you can get the rest of the info.

Keep a close note of this call with Dave and also with Nick.

I suggest also that you write a very gentle letter as suggested, asking for the extension. Make the point as you did in your opening post that you would have been prepared to pay an increas in cost and you are not seeking any refund of the difference - you only want to enjoy a balloon flight.

See what they say. If they knock you back then we'll suggest some action

[BankFodder]

How are you doing on this? Have you asked them nicely yet?

[shampoodave]

What un-suspecting people don,t realize there are no guarrantees you will ever get your Hot Air Balloon flight and if it is a non-refundable flight you will not get your money back either.The usual excuse for cancelling your flight will be the bad weather conditions.

Even on a nice summers day your balloon flight will probably still be cancelled due to poor weather and you only have the option of re-booking another flight,and so on.

On the "Virgin Balloon" website it advertises over 100 UK launch sites but are there 100 Virgin balloon pilots? In fact they have the portfolio of just 16 pilots profiles on the website.So would that mean that if only one pilot is covering a possible 2/3 counties and up to 6 or more launch sites on "am" and "pm" flights, 7 days a week, there could be a chance you could be waiting for a very long time or you simply never get your flight.

Edited July 8, 2009 by shampoodave

[BankFodder]

That's very interesting to kow. Have you any links to their pilot register please.

[shampoodave]

Go to the Virgin Balloon website and you will also read that they hope to exceed 25.000 balloon bookings of new customers in one year and theres a recruitment drive for more staff at the Head Office.. It beggars the questions of just how many people are on the database waiting list and how many attempts will it take to actually get your balloon flight.Why would you book a flight and still wait up to 5 years for a flight when each year more and more people are added to the waiting list.Many people just simply give up trying.The advertisements makes it sound so appealing and exciting but most people don,t realize what contract they are entering.

Its a raw deal.Virgin Balloons prefer to have your money rather than help you get your balloon flight.i

Edited July 9, 2009 by shampoodave

[Elenathion]

Am I right in thinking that if the terms and conditions aren't provided until after you have paid then those terms and conditions aren't valid?

[shampoodave]

Go on Virgin Balloon website and after a bit of searching you can find the terms and conditions. Not all launch sites will be available to choose from when you try and book a flight.It may well say there are 4/5 launch sites in your county,but only 2 sites are available when you search for a booking and date.You may even have to book in another county. Obviously you can only make one booking at any one time...so perhaps after 6 attempts the balloon flying season is finished and you have to request an extension of your ticket,usually in writing.. This extension is sometimes allowed and at Virgin Balloons discretion.

Many new customers don,t have a clue how long it may take to get a balloon flight.

 

Do the pilots use a national weather forecast ? When the media are warning us about heatstroke and the heatwave your balloon flight may be oddly cancelled because of potential rain and waterlogged ground on the launch site. If there are clear skies then perhaps its too windy.Its frustrating to witness a fine,clear,sunny day and still get a cancellation message.Its a farce !!

Edited July 23, 2009 by shampoodave

[shampoodave]

Good luck.

Edited July 2, 2009 by shampoodave

[ex-vbf]

I used to work for virgin balloon flights in 06 and 07 as a part of the balloon crew and have registered here to hopefully clear up a few bits and give a little insight into ballooning in the uk.

 

virgin operate their own balloons and pilots around the country rather than relying on smaller operators, most of the smaller operators are using smaller balloons and baskets which can carry fewer passengers at a time.

 

going back to when I left there were around 20 balloons operational on a daily basis with around 30 flights scheduled each day (remember the same balloon can fly from one location in the morning and another in the evening) I would assume that the fleet has grown since then but even if you say it hasnt then at 30 scheduled flights per day the fleet could cover every launch site every 4 days. with the flights being scheduled months in advance the demand for a particular site can be judged and extra flights can be put on for the more popular launch sites where every flight is booked solid almost straight away and fewer flights from the less popular sites where the flights are not filling up (note a flight not being completely full wouldnt cancel a flight, it would just lead to slightly less flights in the next schedule)

 

with regards to reasons behind cancellations.. there are a multitude of possible reasons for a cancelled flight, by far the most common is wind speeds (or in some areas wind direction) its worth remembering that the pilot is basing his decision on the forecast in the air rather than the forecast on the ground, these 2 forecasts can be quite different with little or no wind on the ground but high wind speeds in the air. others in the list would be a forecast for thunderstorms, rain, low cloud or mist/fog. other less common reasons for cancelling a flight can be a problem with the balloon itself or the vehicles needed to carry the balloon or passengers.

during the season the crew and vehicles get very little downtime between flights so a problem at the end of a morning flight can easily lead to the evening flight being cancelled. one event from a few years ago that sticks in my memory was the 4wd and trailer with the balloon being sideswiped on the motorway which caused it to jack-knife (there wasnt a straight panel on the vehicle afterwards) this caused a large amount of damage to the trailer the balloon was on, we tried everything we could to get things together for the evening flight but there isnt anywhere in the uk that you can obtain a trailer with all of the extra equipment needed to carry and lift the basket with less than a couple of weeks notice, even though there are spare trailers within virgin it would have taken too long to get the trailer and shift everything over for the evening flight to go ahead.

a problem with the balloon can take that balloon out of action for weeks at a time, this isnt because virgin arent capable of fixing the problem it is because they are not allowed to, the only people who can fix some problems are the 2 uk balloon manufacturers (Lindstrands in oswestry or Cameron in bristol) and these almost always have a backlog measured in weeks or months. even buying a new basket isnt an option since the lead times on those was normally in excess of 8 months for the size of baskets that virgin required

[shampoodave]

Reply to previous post. (ex-vbf)

 

I find it difficult to appreciate the reasons you have mentioned why flights can be cancelled.In reality,some launch sites would be lucky to get one flight per month.Its a disgrace that people don,t know this and just keep on booking a flight from the very same site,year on year.Does anyone care you are still trying to get your flight from a launch site that does not see many flights. The answer is NO, they have your money.

Regarding your sad story about the damaged trailer,balloon, etc

With the shed load of monies recieved there should be a spare balloon,trailer and basket to cover a breakdown in 3-4-5 counties.Regardless of cost !!

 

If you don,t get your flight on a fine hot summers day then its not much help waiting for a rainy day is it? Do you think balloon flights are still booked from a launch site when they already know theres no chance of it going ahead regardless of the weather. Perhaps the real reason is that here are not enough resources to serve an estimated 20.000+ new customers each year. Why should anyone wait 3/4/5 years.

 

I did not know there was a post-code lottery..... where less flights can apply.... depending on where you live and how busy that area is.Thats a good one.Theres no mention of this in the Terms and Conditions.

 

You still have to spend extra money on phone calls(are they premium rate phone tariffs?) You constantly reschedule your work to accommodate a possible flight and repeatedly become disappointed.. That's not in the Terms and Conditions either. Your flight could cost you alot more by the time you get it and you certainly won,t be a happy customer by the time you do get it.There should be warnings about the waiting list,the time it could take and the added cost.

Most people enjoy a memorable experience and probably purchase this treat on instinct.They have no idea how long they could be waiting. So,perhaps many don,t know the pitfalls untill they have paid out valuable money.You have the terms and conditions sent to you once you have paid,but they can be found on the website.

It would be interesting to know how many people gave up trying to get a flight?

How many tickets expire or their ticket made invalid because of the Terms and Conditions.? How many people never got their flight or their money back? How many are on the waiting list? Answers on a postcard please.

Perhaps people who have been waiting more than 1 year should be guaranteed a flight in the 2nd season.Then that would help keep flights to two years more or less guaranteed.

Or, if you are unfortunate to encounter more than ten cancellations you should be refunded in full ...or offered to be a "top priority" for a flight and a generous refund given.

Having a safe flight is obviously important but your flight should be available within a reasonable time slot. Its not much fun complaining. People don,t need all this hassle.The rules need changing in favour of the customer.So much for the experience of a lifetime.

Edited July 23, 2009 by shampoodave

[shampoodave]

2007-2008-......and 5 cancellations so far in 2009...next one booked in August.Watch this space!

[Virgin Balloon Flights]

Reply to previous post. (Shampoodave)

Dear Shampoodave,

Hopefully, as it has been a while since your last post, the weather was kind to you in August and you did fly. If so, this will have made you one of over 30,000 people who flew with us throughout the UK this year and I hope you thoroughly enjoyed the experience. If you did get your flight, I would welcome your feedback.

I would like to respond to some of your earlier comments. Firstly, I fully understand how frustrating it can be to experience repeated flight cancellations due to weather. However, unfortunately, this is something which is out of our control but as you can see from this link to our ‘buy now’ pages http://www.virginballoonflights.co.uk/7DayAnytime.asp we are upfront about the fact that ballooning is a weather dependent activity and we offer tickets with a weather insurance option for this reason.

Most importantly, we put safety first at all times and the conditions in which we can fly are set down by the Civil Aviation Authority. I hope you can appreciate the potential risks if hot air balloon flights are undertaken in poor weather conditions. Our pilots are highly-experienced and make their decision based on forecasts from the MET Office and local airports. I can assure you that our pilots are some of the top professional balloonists in the world and they do not cancel flights without very good reason.

We do care about whether our customers fly or not so once someone is in the last six months of their ticket’s validity, we will extend their tickets for 6 months each time a booked flight is cancelled because of the weather. This means that no matter how many cancellations you have, your tickets will not expire, as long as you continue to make bookings. Not all ballooning companies offer such favourable terms to customers and I would be happy for you to carry out a comparison if you wish.

I am sorry that you have been unlucky with weather so far however; I can assure you that many people do get to fly on their first attempt. Unfortunately this is the nature of the beast but generally we find that our customers accept this and keep booking until they fly. Even those who do experience some cancellations, write in to tell us how much they enjoyed the experience and that is was worth the wait.

In terms of availability, the literature you have states that we schedule flights eight weeks in advance. These are made available through our call centre and online on a first come first served based. We adjust our scheduling regularly to meet demand in specific areas and add extra balloons where necessary, but we do not guarantee that a certain number of flights or that specific dates will be available at specific launch sites.

So, in conclusion, we are always looking at ways we can improve, but one of the things we cannot affect is the weather and this is the same for all balloon companies and many other suppliers of weather dependent activities.

I hope this information has been of some help.

Thanks

Lynsay

Head of Customer Service

Virgin Balloon Flights

[Would not fly with Virgin]

The Head of Customer Service Lynsay [EDIT] - please note, it is claimed that her email system does not accept numerical characters within your email address, in case you thought she was ignoring you) has written (on 12th January 2010) that she is personally “disappointed” with the negative feedback that has been left, especially given that she “care a great deal about the level of service [she] offers” and is “proud of [her] position as the UK’s leading balloon rides company”. As she states that she "is always looking at ways [she] can improve [her] service” and so would “appreciate any further comments regarding [their] refund process”, we wrote to her in the hope that she could help resolve problems that I have personally experienced.

 

 

She has claimed that “a Virgin Balloon Flights ticket or gift package makes a fantastic Christmas present”, and their excellent “express delivery” service enables “peace of mind”, and also that “many” of “over 30,000 passengers a year”, “even those who experience some cancellations, write in to tell [her] how much they enjoyed the experience and that it was worth the wait”. Certainly this is what I hoped when I made a telephone call to purchase a ticket costing £125 as a Christmas present for my son to enable him to experience one of their flights in London and a glass of champagne, courtesy of Richard Branson, for himself. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case.

 

 

As Lynsay [EDIT] pointed out, “ballooning is a weather dependent activity,” which might explain why my son was unable to book a flight despite several attempts to do so. And as she states that Virgin Balloon Flights “offer tickets with a weather insurance option for this reason,” I was surprised that this option was not offered me when my purchase was made. Of course, their “highly experienced” pilots “do not cancel flights without very good reason”, although “when this is unavoidable, customers can simply re-book onto another flight”, and since their tickets “have 12 months’ validity”, if “anyone experiences a cancellation in the last sixth months” they will “automatically extend this by six months”. After a number of unsuccessful attempts to book a flight, my son became so concerned that his ticket would expire, that one of their former customer service operators [EDIT] did extend the date of his ticket. However, on his subsequent attempt, he was advised that the London flights were now no longer offered. After a number of further unsuccessful attempts to book a flight, he put the tickets to one side, due to family and work circumstances and a relocation, and his ticket expired. Although attempting to resolve the situation with one of their current customer service advisers, [EDIT], he was informed that they would not be able to offer any extension, as ‘this date has long passed’ and that ‘it would be impossible” to “trade solvently if [they] could not estimate when, or where, any of [your] voucher holders would come forward to redeem their flights’. As I paid £125 for this ticket, and as a goodwill gesture from Virgin Balloon Flights for the great deal of distress and inconvenience this matter has caused my son, I requested some kind of compensation, at least a partial refund, or an offer to extend the ticket, now that my son is again in the position to make use of it. I am sure you will appreciate that it is not his fault that he was unable to book a flight previously.

 

I am pleased to confirm that Lynsay eventually worked out how to access emails containing numerical characters and sent her rushed response, albeit full of grammatical and factual errors. Sadly she was unable to make any refund or give even partial compensation, but she would like to highlight that the Virgin Balloon Flight Customer Care team are 'wonderful' and offer a small discount if I waste even more money on buying another ticket.

Edited August 26, 2010 by alanfromderby
Personal Details Removed

[loopinlouie]

From reading the above thread Looks like best to avoid them then. So a customer needs to be understanding when it involves unavoidable cancelations and just rebook and rebook, but in the case of customer needing a break from rebooking again and again, the ticket is expired.

 

Seems to me unless you want to spend years shackled to a branson balloon by the ankle for chance place on favourable conditions day, then dont pay them a penny.

 

Just pay about ten quid on dvd and get the thrill from watching 'up' I say, more fun also xx

 

Shame on you virgin balloons or as one particular radio station was saying to show customer dissatisfaction in many situations, since the world cup I believe, BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

to Virgin. xxxx

Edited August 21, 2010 by loopinlouie

[loopinlouie]

By the way virgin quoting how many successful flights and customers you have had over and over again does not help the one whom it most matters to. 1+1+1+1+1+1 adds up to lots who will avoid virgin balloons. Of course would have been different if consumer could have reported virgin had gone out of their way to make sure flight convinient to them was arranged and successfully taken due to hastle experienced.

 

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO until then is all you get xxxx

[Would not fly with Virgin]

From reading the above thread Looks like best to avoid them then. So a customer needs to be understanding when it involves unavoidable cancelations and just rebook and rebook, but in the case of customer needing a break from rebooking again and again, the ticket is expired.

 

Seems to me unless you want to spend years shackled to a branson balloon by the ankle for chance place on favourable conditions day, then dont pay them a penny.

 

Just pay about ten quid on dvd and get the thrill from watching 'up' I say, more fun also xx

 

Shame on you virgin balloons or as one particular radio station was saying to show customer dissatisfaction in many situations, since the world cup I believe, BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

to Virgin. xxxx

 

Absolutely, Could not agree more! I wonder if the forthcoming Virgin Galactic flights will be run in the same way? I am sure the rich businessmen paying $200,000 each for their tickets will be pleased to have to keep rearranging their flights into space due to bad weather.

[Virgin Balloon Flights]

I am sorry that you are disappointed with my response however; the fact remains that your son’s voucher expired in June 2007. This was after a previous voucher extension given to you as a goodwill gesture.

Unfortunately I am unable to offer you a refund or any partial compensation because since the voucher was purchased in December 2005 neither you nor your son have made a booking with us, which is contrary to our terms and conditions!

I understand your frustration however we are unable to flex our terms and conditions for you due to the aforementioned breaches on your part.

I believe my offer of the opportunity to purchase a brand new voucher at a much discounted price to be fair and reasonable.

Kind Regards

Lynsay

Head of Customer Service

Virgin Balloon Flights

[loopinlouie]

Believe what you want Lynsay. I can see common sence that booking a balloon service with virgin could be more stress that fun. You had a chance at no matter who was at fault after reading how many times op had attempted to get ride and then personal circumstances came it, which we all have that made he couldnt be bus boy to chasing his flight any longer untill available his end also.

 

Virgin are perfectly able in special circumstances to either re extend ticket or refund or am I reading a different story to you Lynsay.

 

I read an awful experience that had issues both ends where op was expected to be patient for flight his end yet virgin couldnt just pull out the stops and help their customer when required their end. So what if you extend it again, op paid for it, how have virgin lost money? You wont have I am sure at a guess you other flights were full, so what difference is it if you plop the op into a convinient slot for both parties.

 

The difference is wether you care once you have the money. Reading about virgin trains and health clubs and now balloons I personally have gained the opinion Virgin are all there for customer service till paid the money, then their keeness wanes !!!! Noticed virgin in media areas described as 'virgin hell'

 

Readers of these forums can make up their own minds of course xxxx

Edited August 25, 2010 by loopinlouie

[loopinlouie]

I think the big difference is the normal customer saving hard for buying pressy for family or whatever are not the millionaires who will be paying for the space flights and obviously dont matter to virgin. Prove me wrong virgin and give the op his/her flight, would look better and you wouldnt lose face. Op could then report what a fantastic time had and that worth the wait after all. Good bit of pr your passing by then !!!!

 

Maybe they read the article about the worlds reserves of helium running out?

 

As it is at the moment I would still say best to avoid from what Ive read xxx

Edited August 25, 2010 by loopinlouie

[Would not fly with Virgin]

Unfortunately I am unable to offer you a refund or any partial compensation because since the voucher was purchased in December 2005 neither you nor your son have made a booking with us, which is contrary to our terms and conditions!

I understand your frustration however we are unable to flex our terms and conditions for you due to the aforementioned breaches on your part.

I believe my offer of the opportunity to purchase a brand new voucher at a much discounted price to be fair and reasonable.

Kind Regards

Lynsay

Head of Customer Service

Virgin Balloon Flights

 

It is clear that Lynsay Symcox likes to conveniently ignore the truth, which is that my son has attempted to book on SEVERAL occasions (approximately TEN) since the £125 ticket was purchased. EVERY time he has been told that Virgin Balloon Unflights are unable to provide him with a flight, and only on one of these occasions was an extension offered.

 

Lynsay Symcox has shown also that the Information Systems in place at Virgin Balloon Unflights are wholly inadequate. Firstly I am told that her email system sends emails with numbers in them to her junk items folder. Secondly, there is incorrect information being held (where there is any at all) regarding the purchase that was made (e.g. date, type of ticket - i.e. platinum NOT silver as Lynsay Symcox incorrectly states). In fact, Lynsay Symcox did not even know that flights were available in London at the time the purchase was made!!! Nor can she spell simple words like 'goodwill' and 'to'.

 

Only a rich fool would believe that to purchase another ticket with a negligible discount was a 'generous' offer. Will the customer service for the $200,000 Virgin Galactic space flights be so poor? I doubt it! No, Branson would not want to upset his rich business friends.