Virgin America

If you are a business traveler and need to change your ticket on Virgin America, they will not send you a receipt for the change fee. Then you have to wait on the phone for hours to talk to someone. When someone finally answers they tell you to wait for them to transfer to guest relations. Then you have to wait an additional hour for them to pick up. I have been trying to get a receipt for 1 month! I still have not been able to get through. My company will not reimburse me until I have this receipt. At one point I actually liked this airline. They are the absolute worst! I will only fly Jet Blue from now on. Please help me find a way to get through to their guest relations.

Two things: First, after booking flights with economy select option, food and entertainment system did not work. I have tried to contact the company but with no response. Secondly, I'm trying to change an upcoming flight to an earlier departure, I can not get through online to do so. Also, I was not able to get a hold of a human being to discuss this and the fare increased as I was trying to do this.

I booked a flight from Vegas to JFK which took me about 15 minutes. After they had my MasterCard, then they tell me the price has gone up! What kind of airline do you run? I will never try again. And trying to talk to customer service, lots of luck? After waiting 15 minutes, they hung up.

Virgin America has, without a doubt, the worst customer service of any airline. For at least six months now, their website does not work properly and I always have to wait at least 30 minutes to speak to a representative and some of them are *** and don't know the answers to simple questions. I am now on hold again, for the third time in two days, and it's been 25 minutes so far. Their hold music is horrible, too!

The really *** thing is there is a recorded message at the beginning that explains how they have recently "improved" their reservation system and hired additional people but "as a result" the hold times may be longer than usual. How stupid do they think people are? It's obvious they must have let people go rather than hiring additional staff. Otherwise, it would not take this long to speak to a person. Also, this has been going on (with the same *** message) for at least six months that I know of. I would never use this airline if it were up to me but my boss (who doesn't have to deal with them) wants to fly on it sometimes.

My overall experience? It's a zero. On November 11th, I completed a transaction on the Virgin America website purchasing two one-way tickets from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. (Dulles) on flight VX114.

Having entered my complete credit card information with no problem, I immediately received confirmation code, seat numbers and flight information. On the day of the flight, I was again assured of my reservation because I received text messages with flight status updates. Upon arriving at the airport, my sister travelling with two small children was informed that the system did not contain their reservations. Owing to the urgency of her travel, she bought two more tickets (same flight) to resolve this very bad situation, which obviously were a great deal more expensive (4 times!). People from Virgin America at the airport didn't give any explanation or solution.

After this incident, I checked my credit card statement and I noticed that there wasn't any charge from Virgin America related to tickets purchased for 12/11/11. Apparently, there must have been a problem with the Virgin America billing system given that I received both email and text confirmations regarding the flight. I did not see the need to double check that charges had been made to my account nor do I feel that the customer should be given said responsibility. Nothing indicated that there had been any problem with the tickets purchase.

I explained to a Customer Service representative the incident and received an email with a number. Since then I've been trying to reach someone from Virgin America by phone, email or web over 15 times and after being put on hold for hours nobody answers. I will never fly Virgin America again! They have the worst customer service and web system. At least other companies answer the phone.

I'm going to keep it brief because I just want to put this all behind me. My girlfriend had booked a flight for the 14th of January to visit her father whom was very ill. Being as she had almost enough miles to book the flight with miles only, she was advised by the staff to purchase more miles so she could book the flight for "free". She was hesitant because airline prices go up and down daily. And as the miles would not post for 48 hours, she was not sure she would need the non-refundable miles. She was not allowed to reserve the flight as she was not paying cash, so she had to bite the bullet and pay.

Sure enough, the fares went down and we could not get a refund for the extra miles that could not even buy a sandwich on board alone. Sadly, her father had passed away before she could make it out there. And we had to book the next flight out to arrange the funeral and deal with the lawyers. Lucky for us, the ticket system was down online so we had to wait on hold for half an hour to speak to a rep. Ideally, we wanted to just switch the date of the tickets. And given the circumstances, we thought it should not be too much of an issue. We were wrong. The member of staff told us that we would have to pay $75 to cancel the flight, wait 10 days to get the miles back then book another flight. I told him the circumstances and he said that there was nothing he could do.

I asked to speak to a supervisor, but he told me that the wait was about 40 minutes and he would just tell me the same thing. We then went to book a flight that was $1,100, three times the original flight. We had to suffer the cost given the severity of the situation. When I had called them back to cancel the flight (after another 30 minute wait), he told me I had to do it online. I told him it was down and was told that we would have to wait until it was back up. I told this rep the situation but was given the same robotic response. And the sickest thing is that everybody kept telling my girlfriend with a fake happy tone "We hope you have a nice day," knowing that her father had died just hours before. What idiot in their right mind cannot process how people must feel? Nobody is listening and the only way we can get our miles back is to fax over a death certificate. Did I mention we have to plan a funeral, talk with lawyers, and mourn the loss of a loved one? I hope we can squeeze in the time to fax over something to a heartless airline to get back what is rightfully ours.

I booked two business class tickets to San Francisco from Orlando, and return to Orlando on Dec. 12 (dep) and Dec. 14 (return), 2011. Please be aware that the so-called "business class" seats are the first few rows of the economy class, and have little or no ability to stretch back and rest, or sleep. When I complained, I was told that the "perks" of business class in Virgin America are free food, free TV, and certain luggage fee waivers! Most US carriers that I have used, do have business class seats, with the ability for passengers to lean back, stretch, and rest. Virgin America's aircraft do not provide that. My wife and I will never use Virgin America again. And, had we known that the business class seats in Virgin America are the first few rows of the economy class section, we would never have wasted our money! So, buyers, beware! It was a horrible trip in cramped rows and we were unable to rest or sleep.

Virgin America is consistent at one thing and that's not crediting my miles for flights. I've spent hours on the phone with them ensuring my elevate number and name are all correctly matched with my tickets. However, I always have to call and write to get mileage credit. However, I'm still awaiting credit for a Dec 16 flight (SFO/FLL - Conf IRKSAP) and I've called and written 5 times. It's irritating to have to constantly manage this airline. To top it off, they continuously blame it on their system upgrade which has been going on for 60+ days now.

Last time I flew, they had to color in a seat map with a yellow highlighter because their system was down once again. How safe and reliable can this airline really be? Then try to reach them on the phone (especially for an upgrade which can only be done 6 hours in advance of the flight), their phone line isn't operational until 7 am in the morning. If you write them, they simply ignore all your requests.

I purchased extra miles to make my one way ticket to Boston on Tuesday, January 10th. I did my reservation once I received my extra points, but now I don't see my itinerary. The 6000 points needed for a one way ticket to Boston is off my account but no reservation. I had been calling for the past three days and I kept being on hold, then hang up. I can't make another reservation because my points are completely gone. I am calling my bank right now to have the money reversed to me (the amount I paid to buy extra points).

I booked a flight online for December 21 on November 15. It took several attempts to make the site work, which should have been my first clue to walk away from this airline after years of loyal service. Upon booking, I received a confirmation page, and assumed an email would follow. The charge was pending on my credit card, which is normal. The travel insurance also appeared on my card. Fast forward to December 20, the day before my flight, when I went to check in online. There are no flights, nor any record of flights. There is no way to check the flight status. I called the customer service number in a panic, only to be left on hold for hours. I eventually had to re-book with another airline, which meant I had to take a red-eye that evening, to guarantee a flight home for Christmas.

It cost me an additional night at the hotel, and I lost the Elevate points I would have accrued. When I tried to get customer service on the phone after my vacation, I was hung up on four times, while explaining the situation. When I finally reached a customer service representative on the 3rd day, I was put on hold for an hour, to be told that there was nothing they can do for us, but they would be happy to write down my number, and hand it to their supervisor. I loved this airline, which is what makes this so infuriating. I want my money back for the hotel room, my points for both travelers that we would have accrued, the money back for traveler's insurance, and I honestly expect a little extra something for my trouble, or a public apology from Virgin America to its customers.

Virgin Airlines was scheduled to be my return flight from Boston to Los Angeles. My initial departing flight on another airline was cancelled due to weather. Therefore, I immediately cancelled my return flight with Virgin. I was promised a full refund of the $158.70. After over two months and nearly 7 phone calls (about 10 hours total) to customer service, I have yet to be credited. The wait times per call is beyond ridiculous, with the longest hold time logging in at slightly over 2 hours. Every time I call, I am promised the credit will appear on my statement soon. Today, Virgin issued a $50.00 flight credit on my behalf, but I will never fly their airlines again. I believe they purposely have horrible customer service in the hope that disgruntled customers will give up when seeking rightful compensation. I warn everybody not to fly with Virgin America.

On December 3, 2011, I used my debit card to pay $25 for one bag to be checked. Virgin America charged my account 5 times ($125). I have been trying since that day to get these unauthorized charges refunded to my checking account. I have the actual receipts from the ticket agent at the counter. I was told she could not take care of it at the desk, I would have to call. As of this date, I have been unsuccessful. I have made three phone calls waiting at least one hour before speaking with someone. Each time I am told it will be refunded. I'm not sure what to do at this point to get my money back.

Virgin America Airlines should be ashamed of itself. They lured me into giving up my seat to another person with a promise to upgrade my trip to 1st class and $400 credit. After trying to get through for 3 days to guest services, being on hold for hours, being dropped several times, Virgin America told me that they are going to credit me with $200 voucher. After being on hold again, I did get another promise of $400 voucher, but no upgrade. First and last time I am flying VA. Will never volunteer to give up my seat again. Fraudulent promises.

I booked a flight in November using 21,500 miles. The miles were missing from my account and no flight could be found. I called ten times, been on hold for almost an hour, and each time no one answered. No one at the gate could find my flight or give me an answer. No one at the Virgin America/Barclay's CC will give me an answer. I cannot get anyone on the phone from Virgin America to this day. The hold times are always an hour long. I had to purchase a new flight for almost $500 to return to NY from LA because the flight was not able to be found. I am now calling again today and once again put on hold, still no answer after 30 minutes.

This is in regards to the refund for a ticket (Virgin America 815, November 21: Chicago ORD to Los Angeles LAX, Airline Ticket Number: **; purchased on November 19, 2011 5:10 PM CST, $126.69, canceled on November 20th), which has not been received. Upon cancellation, I was told by Virgin America Reservations Customer Service I'd received a complete refund of $126.69 minus the service fee of $6.99, totaling at $119.70 and returned to the original form of payment. The time given for this refund process was 3 to 5 business days. It is, yet, Dec 10, 2011 and the funds have not been returned to my account nor posted on my bank statement.

Also, there weren't any email sent in relation to the cancelled flight. I've contact Virgin America over 20 times, still with no form of action. In our latest encounter, December 9, 2011 at 4:22 pm, I spoke with a supervisor from Guest Relations, Tonya. She told me the refund took 5 to 10 business days to be processed, but it would take 4 to 6 weeks for the refund to be posted on my bank statement or in my account. I asked why she said, "It has always been their protocol." I asked why they didn't inform customers of this protocol on their website or before or during purchase, she couldn't reply. I asked to speak to her manager and she said he was out and he'd tell me the same thing.

She later afforded to forward me to his voicemail. I asked would forwarding me to her manager's voice mail be beneficial, possibly resulting to a call. She said she didn't know if I'd receive a call back, but there was a list and I'd have to wait. Every attempt to contact them via phone has resulted in waits over an hour, and the effect has been countless minutes applied to my phone bill. The customer service received from Virgin America is unacceptable and absurd. After long periods, an expedient response would be recommended leading to the full refund of $126.69. Failure to reply will result in reports of these issues to the Better Business Bureau.

On November 15, 2011, I left San Francisco on flight VX1740 and was asked to check my bag when I got to Seattle. The name tag window was ripped. This was not noticed until I was leaving the hotel a few days late. Departing Seattle, I mentioned the damage to my $250.00 bag and was told it would be better handled in San Francisco.

I was again asked to check my bag while leaving on Seattle flight VX755 because of lack of room back to San Francisco. When I arrived, there was another rip and more damage. As instructed, I went directly to the baggage claim area to complain. The person on duty said there is nothing we can do and began a stripped search about the airlines liability. It seems the airlines can destroy your property and not have any liability for the damage. How can that be true? Someone named Tim emailed me to ask if a $50 voucher would make me go away. I asked for his supervisor on that flight on November 22, 2011.

Tim, I cannot put into words how unacceptable this pat on the head is! You trash my property and have no responsibility for your actions? Please forward to my attention your boss's name and email address today!

I have been trying for 3 days to reach someone via email, Web and phone at Virgin Airlines to cancel a reservation and receive credit for the flight. I cannot get through. This has been going on over a month when I tried to purchase an upgrade and change a flight in November. I want to be certain that I receive my credit, but I can't get in touch with them anyway!

Rate my experience? Are you serious! Are there any numbers below 0? I booked flights for my family on November 01, 2011. It seriously took me days to book the flight. However, I only got as far as Virgin taking my money online along with a partial confirmation. Since I'm traveling with an infant it was important to book our seats together however the system was experiencing some problems! If you call being on hold for 8 or 9 hours and then the phone goes dead, yes, I would say they are having some problems.

I finally reached an agent, after 11 hours on hold at 4:30 am, who said that her system was down and was unable to even assign a seat, and then hung up. This was after calling for 15 days and being on hold for up to 11 hours. I have tried to connect now for more than a month with still no luck. I've sent 50 emails with no reply. I truly would cancel my flight but can't get hold of anybody to cancel it. The website does not work. Why are these people still in business? I would hate to see their maintenance records!

Their reservation changeover 30 days ago is still an incredible nightmare. Never in over 30 years as a ff flyer have I experienced this. The web site is messed up and it takes hours to get reservation agents on the phone who are untrained and can't solve simple issues. After maybe 20 hours of trying to deal with them on the phone the last month, my patience is gone. I seriously question now if they have the capability of operating safely. I am looking for a lawyer as they lost a $1200 credit.

There is no customer support to speak with. I was not receiving points for their frequent flyer program, and I tried calling the only number they offer, to understand why. I was left on hold in excess of an hour, on multiple occasions, with no one ever answering my calls. Frustrating to say the least. After investigating online, I've come to find that there are legions of people facing the predicament, with the same complaints. The company really needs to be investigated for their lack of customer support, as it truly is non-existent. It cost me for time and extreme frustration.

Virgin America's customer service or lack there of is horrible. I have been trying to cancel a flight reservation for one of my kids and I have tried their online system and to no avail, it doesn't work. I have been calling for the last two days various times and am currently on hold with them for going on two hours now. They don't ever answer the phones and their website doesn't work. You email them and they don't respond to your emails. I don't know what to do, but I need to cancel this flight so that I can get my refund. I will never use them in the future.

I booked a flight for my mother Patricia *** for Nov. 21, 2011. I was in need of changing the dates for the roundtrip ticket conf#***. I have been trying to do so since October 27, 2011. I have called xxx-xxx-xxx numerous times only to be on hold for hours at a time. I have tried to change on their website and the system is either down or refers you to the number above. I am now filing this complaint at 4:34 am pacific time and have attempted to reach them at all hours of the day and nite. I would never fly this airlines again. I am concerned about my paid flight for my mother and the time factor involved.

I need to change immediately. I do not want to lose my money. I am unemployed at this time and this is precious money even at $105.40. Please respond as soon as possible I do not know what to do at this point and so close to the scheduled departure date. Home phone: 707-763-3412 Thank you! Deborah *** P.S. my 85 year old mother would require a wheelchair and if this is an indication of Virgin America's customer service it is frightening to think how this would pan out!

I had 2 trips with Virgin America this year. The online system had been down since earlier this year and it's still not working. I can't check in properly, select my seats or print my pass. When I called their number, I can't go through. When you go to the airport, the line is so long and not enough people to help you (LAX). My points for my trip are still not credited after signing up as an elevate member even if a staff said they've emailed me and that I have been given mileage credit already. This is just very unprofessional and misleading.

They are acknowledging technical problems, but I have been on hold with them for about 4 calls and an hour each. I have a question about a flight in 4 days and whether or not will be able to get on the plane. I've got to make other arrangement because I have to be in the San Francisco area in 4 days, but have already purchased a $60 ticket. Since I absolutely have to be there, I'm probably going to have to take the train for another $100+. How can they not figure out a way to work around their internal problems and please their customer?

They have terrible Consumer relations. Their web site is non-functional. No customer service reps are available now for 4 days. Do not fly this airline!

I am having a hard time buying tickets with points, and getting through via telephone. First was cut off, and then on hold forever. I booked tickets online and have no email confirmation.

I have been trying to cancel my flight for the last 5 days. The on-line system will not let you cancel a flight or send them an email. The number they give to call only leaves me on hold until I have to hang up. During my last 5 tries, I have stayed on hold from 35 minutes to 80 minutes and still have not received a representative to cancel my flight. My flight is on Saturday and I have no idea what to do.

I have been trying to cancel a flight all week. First, the website said I don't have a flight. And then when I can bring up my flight, it said that I can't cancel it online due to a change in computer system and to call. I have been on hold for over an hour twice, and I cannot get through. I went to the contact page to write an email, but the email system is not working. At this point, my flight is scheduled tomorrow, and I still can't reach anyone!

Experience has been horrible. The first time I flew with them, it was great. The second time, I ended up with three $75 credit vouchers due to flight issues. I have tried numerous times to book two seats and it will not take the credit. I have called repeatedly and have been on hold for 30-45 minutes or more and no response. The have an option on the website to have someone call you right away.

Well, they did. They connected me and I just heard a busy signal. Not sure how this company will stay in business. The website is horrible, the customer service is non-existent and they make it impossible to book flights. They say it is a system upgrademore like a downgrade. So I guess I lose the $225 in credits. For now, I will never fly or recommend Virgin America to anyone. Back to American for meat least I know I will get there. Just plain horrible, horrible, horrible.

I booked a flight for my husband and did not choose his seat assignment at the time of booking. Now, all I want to do is pull up his itinerary and choose his seat, but Virgin America's online system is not allowing me to view his itinerary. I've tried calling the customer service number provided: 1.877.fly.virgin, and sat on hold for 90 minutes each time without ever reaching someone.

They have a terrible customer service and online booking system. I booked a ticket using credit from a previous cancelled flight but the credit never ended up applying after submitting the payment even though it showed up at the checkout page. I have tried getting in contact with Virgin America for three days now and all three days have taken me at least an hour of waiting time. Trying to get in contact with a supervisor was even more difficult as I had to wait another hour. Nothing was resolved and they told me that since their system is going through a lot of issues, they can't do anything for me. I will never be using Virgin America again after the worst airline experience of my life.

I have been trying to get a hold of anyone at Virgin Airlines for 2 days now. You are in a phone tree, on-hold. I have waited 90 minutes each time--about 4 so far - to change a reservation and through their website, not working either. I am stuck with having to travel of 50 miles to SFO to get the ticket changed!

What is wrong with these folks? They have been saying that they are switching to a new system for days now. What kind of people are installing their system?

I have travel credits I would like to apply for my trip. On their website they state that they are moving to a new reservation system and migration should be complete by Oct 28. It's Nov 5. I have called six times over three days. Most of the time, the service states that no one is available. When I do get through, I wait on hold for an hour or more to no avail. I went on Twitter and sent a direct message. Still nothing.

I have been trying to book a flight online and by phone for the last 3 days. I am unable to get through and complete a transaction. Right before I am done online will kick me off with an "error" but won't say what the error is. When I call, I just receive a message to call back later. Or if I try to book on the phone, it will hang up on me 3/4 of the way through booking. What a waste of time!

My mother is having heart problems. I need to change my flight initially scheduled for 11/8 to 11/5, 2011. I cannot reach this airline to make the change, neither by web nor phone for the last 48 hours.

I flew on Virgin America recently on a round trip SFO to ORD. It is a beautiful airline, but I think it has a terrible safety problem. I was disturbed to see that wing exit rows are going completely empty due to the fact that these are now seat upgrades and, I guess due to the bad economy, nobody was sitting in the wing exit seat row in front of me. I asked the lead crew attendant about this and he said that FAA rules require them to place somebody in the seat if an emergency is declared. I find this really a travesty of safety because I am sure, as US Airways Flight 1549 was positioning for the landing in the Hudson there was no time to get a passenger into the exit row seat if it had been empty, and how important was it to open those wing exits? Considering all the talk about safety, I find this FAA rule and the failure of Virgin to improve upon such poor rules to be a case of safety being presented to the passengers as something in words only.

I bought a ticket as a gift for a couple. I noticed the date was off by a day. I know that they have a 24-hour cancellation notice. I called since for work I'm on the road all day. They had a 3-hour hold. I left a message on their message system, which says it keeps you in line and they would call back. But they never did. I still kept trying to call, but I'd have to hang up as I had appointments all day. The next morning, I called. They said it was now 25-26 hours later, and they would have to charge me a higher fee. I tried calling back to speak to a supervisor. But now their hold time was up to 10 hours (because of Hurricane Irene). I left another message on their system. I never got a call from any of the messages I left.

The airline never gets my Elevate miles credited. Each and every time I have to call them, despite the fact that my frequent flyer Elevate number is on every reservation. Now for calling Virgin America, good luck!

Right now I have been waiting for 1 hour and 5 minutes, and I am still on hold. This is the absolute worst in customer service. Actually, there is no customer service!

My friends purchased a Virgin America gift certificate for $300 as a birthday present to me. When I booked my flight and went through the prompts on the Virgin America website to redeem the gift certificate, it asked for the gift certificate number and the transaction ID number. I entered both numbers and clicked the "apply to payment" tab which deducted the G.C. amount and showed what the balance due after the gift certificate would be. That was $37.40. It showed me in bold red print on the screen that $37.40 was the balance due. I then entered my Visa debit card information to pay that balance and finish the booking. I went to bed excited that I was finally going to take my trip.

The next morning, when I went to run errands and use my Visa card, I found that I couldn't because my account was mysteriously overdrawn. I checked with my bank and, lo and behold, Virgin America charged me for the full price of the plane ticket! I know that I entered my correct gift certificate information and I know that I only authorized a payment for $37.40. I proceeded to spend four excruciating hours back and forth on the phone with a very rude, unsympathetic and generally nasty supervisor who reluctantly did her job and canceled the ticket, faxed my bank to release the full amount back into my account and re-enter the gift certificate number so that I could keep the same flights that I originally booked.

The funds appeared back in my account later that night but not after reeking some serious havoc on my day. I thought that it was all done but the very next day, Virgin America forced the charge of the full amount of the plane ticket through to my account again, bringing me into overdrawn status. I have had to cancel my Visa card so they would stop taking the money that I never authorized in the first place. I have also had to file a dispute with my bank, which will be investigated; however, as I sit here typing this, I am unable to access my own money in my own bank account because of this huge corporation's mistake. It will take 7-10 business days for me to get that money back.

When I asked the supervisor how this could happen, her answer was, "I don't know, I wasn't there." Nice. Not at any point did she offer an apology for the inconvenience. I will never ever book a trip on Virgin America again and I am seriously considering suing them for the stress and inconvenience that I have endured for the last three days. Their customer service was beyond awful and I would advise taking your business elsewhere. So much for something that started off as a gift. It is now tainted by corporate greed and professional incompetence. I wanted to give this experience a zero but this service won't allow me to give the rating that is deserved.

I booked a ticket for a friend on the Virgin America's site. My friend does not reside with us but will travel here later in a month. Their website was incredibly slow, but at the end, I received one confirmation that the booking was completed. Later, I was surprised when I received two reservation confirmations with different confirmation numbers. I called their toll free number to find out what happened and they confirmed that they made two reservations under the same name on the same flight.

But the ridiculous thing is that they requested the person who is flying to call them and cancel it. I made the reservation, paid for it with my personal credit card but I cannot cancel the reservation. There is an obvious mistake on their site but they penalize customer for that. I always use their site when I travel to West Coast and I know perfectly well how it works. I did not make a double reservation as what they are insinuating.

Virgin America lied about their flight status in order to avoid refunding tickets even though they knew the flight would be delayed for eight hours. Then, they issued a credit but ignored the credit when I had to rebook flight home after Hurricane Irene. Their customer service representatives couldn't have been more rude and belligerent, and no one seemed to be able to find anything in their system.

I have lost $600.00

We booked a flight to Toronto Canada through Virgin America since they offer the cheapest flights. We are all set for the trip. We booked our hotel and we even flew to New York with another airline. Now we received an email from Virgin America that they are not flying to Toronto anymore starting April 6. I called their customer service and they said there is nothing they can do about it. They gave us a full refund of the money and a 20% coupon. They don't have the capability to book a flight from another airline and they can't offer anything else other than the coupon. I told them that we were all set for the trip and we booked the flight because it's within our budget.

Should we have known about this and if the airfare was expensive, then we would have not planned the trip. If they have a good customer service, they should at least accommodate us and be considerate to offer how they can help us in anyway possible since it's not our fault that they are not flying to Toronto anymore. They have a bad customer service and they don't look after their customers. It is not advisable to get Virgin America even if they have a ticket on sale.

These guys have no way to communicate with them directly for lost articles or baggage. They send you to a black hole and could care less if it works out for you. They are fast to take your credit card number and money, but their service blows.

The snow is no reason to not Willison come. You should honor his ticket to come to the States tomorrow or take him to Portugal, if its clear there. The snow shouldn't have delayed him. You should have the runway cleared by now. Or honor his ticket to come to the USA as soon as possible. We had some cancellation too, but they are honoring the tickets. I paid for it, and you are no different from anywhere else. I'm not paying for another ticket. I paid $980.00 for it. And it better be good, especially when flights are cheaper than that.

I booked a flight for my wife and myself from San Francisco to LA for Thanksgiving. Due to my wife's job, we were planning to fly there separately, meeting in LA. After booking the flight on Virgin America's website, reviewing the itinerary and paying for my wife's ticket, I later discovered, through the email confirmation sent to my wife's email address, that Virgin America had not only booked her to travel on the wrong day, but even got the month wrong.

When I called to straighten out the mistake, I was told by a rather rude woman, named Megan, that I would have to pay a "re-booking fee" for the amount of $75. Not only do I think this is bad business practice (I will avoid this airline in the future), but probably illegal. I have lived in England and have observed that the websites there are often second rate and that, unlike in the USA where the consumer is nearly always considered right. In the U.K. the customer is nearly always considered wrong or at least somehow at fault. I will avoid this airline in the future and you should also.

On 08/29/2010 we were traveling from Los Angeles to Seattle. It was me, my husband, our 4 year old daughter, and 16 month son. Our son was not in a good mood and he was crying every once in a while. There was a couple sitting in the next row to us. All the sudden the lady stood up from her seat and yelled really loud" scream. I can do louder than you. Cut it out" My son got really scared and he got quite and tried to hide his face under my arm. We did not say anything back to her but other passengers got upset and one of the passenger ladies said" Are you a psycho? "The person sitting next to the yelling lady said" Don't call my wife a psycho. You are not the one sitting with a ** kid who has been crying for an hour. "

The air hostess came and asked if everything was ok? She moved the couple someplace else. The other passenger lady who said "are you a psycho" told the air hostess that she was threatened by that man and she wants to make a complain. I do not know what happened to that. My husband called the air hostess and told her that he needs to file a complaint and take a legal action as our child got so scared that he was quite for rest of the 90 minutes flight. Air hostess told us that they do not have the information on what is next step we can take and when we land she will talk to the ground crew. My husband asked what if the couple leave and the hostess said she will make sure no one gets off the plane before I get the answers.

Well when we landed, everybody started to leave and my husband ran to ask the ground crew and they said they do not have any info about this incident. He came back inside and asked the hostess and she said there is nothing we can do about it now as those couple has already left. We asked her about why she insured us that she will talk to someone before everyone leave. In answer she said she did not say anything like that. My husband got really upset and asked the hostess to just answer his question" did you tell us that no one will leave the plane before we have the answers? "And she said you are not my parent and I do not have to answer you. Well then, my husband asked them if they can write this event on a paper so he can go to the police and they said "NO"

Anyway after an hour of arguing with them the only thing they said they were sorry. Right there my husband called the airport police and explained the whole situation again. They told us that they will file a complaint for virgin America not helping us but they can't really do anything about the lady as it was just a verbal abuse. My husband thinks we should have said something to that couple but the only reason we kept quite was that the airline would handle the situation. We were stunned that an adult can do something like that. I do not want those people to just go away like that and I wish I could do something about it. So they know it is not ok to yell at a 16 month old.

I spoke to Cathy who was the most rudest person I have ever spoken to. She basically told me to shut the [expletive] off and she did not give a D...n about my child and it is not her responsibility because she was not the agent and she had nothing to do with the delayed bag. Meanwhile, I have an 11 yr old traveling unaccompanied stuck in New York because of their mistake. First and foremost I had to change the connecting flight because of the missing passport and missing laggage. The change was $1,400 and the cost to fly to New york to hand over the passport the agent did not had over when checking in.

I was badly mistreated at SFO, when tried to board my flight (VS020 on 05/25/2010) and as a result my European vacation went south. I arrived early at the SFO/Virgin checking desk, approximately 3 and a half hours prior to the departure. When I was getting my boarding pass, it turned out that I had a problem with my last name. On the ticket only one part of my surname was present. However, Virgin policies allow to amend the name up to 2 hours, before fight departure. Virgin officer, instead of getting on top of the problem in timely manner, pushed me aside to wait for 'ticketing rep', that never showed up.

After my repeated inquiries, finally I got a rep attention. This was about 2 hours after my initial request and only an hour before departure.
Naturally, the answer was 'No I can't change your name, the system does not allow me'. Virgin stuff came with all possible explanations:

'it is not in our power to amend the PNR', 'ticket was purchase from travel agent', 'call the final destination carrier', then the following 'we will not give you a phone number to call to customer service, we will not give a written document why we decline your request of change' and etc. Of course after I was pushed aside for about 2 hours, window of ticket changing expired. I was traveling with party of 4, and because I was the 'responsible adult' the entire European tripped failed.

I also hear the insulting suggestions, that if the name on the boarding card does not match, then London Immigration will stop me !? I am EU citizen, how on Earth they will stop me to enter EU country? I asked that and VX rep assured me, she new better the immigration services in London.

To put a cherry on top of all that pleasant day, two Virgin officers, assured me that they will put a note on the booking/ticket that it was not our fault flight miss, hence they will reissue the tickets for the same tariff at no charge, but then 'the note' was not there, when my agent checked and we called VX ticketing manager. I want just satisfaction from Virgin. My family suffered, my relatives suffered, my health is shaken, and I missed my vacation and several work days.

I was scheduled to fly on a Virgin America flight from San Francisco to San Diego on March 5th, scheduled departure time was 10:55am. On March 4th, I checked in online. On March 5th I arrived at the airport, went to the ticket counter and an agent printed my boarding pass. Security lines were very long and seeing as though my flight was scheduled to depart 35 minutes later, she called the gate agent to let them know that I was in the airport and heading for the gate. She asked the gate agent if they should send me through or plan for me to take the later flight at 3:20pm.

The ticket agent said that the gate agent requested for me to attempt to make my flight but the policy stated that they must close the aircraft doors 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure. I took their warning seriously and made it through security in less than 10 minutes and got to the gate 20 minutes prior to scheduled departure. When I arrived, there was no gate agent at the gate. I looked around for a few minutes and no one was in the area. The plane was still attached to the end of the jetway. I then rushed to the next Virgin America gate that was staffed (which was at the other end of the terminal). I arrived there at 10:50 (5 minutes before my scheduled departure). The agent that I spoke with called the gate agent for my flight.

The agent claimed to be at the gate when I had gone there and did not leave until 10:45. Which was comical as it takes longer than 5 minutes to go up a floor level, walk the distance of the terminal then go down to the lower level (especially in 3 inch heels and lugging a carry-on suitcase). Alas, they claimed that he was telling the truth and insinuated that I was lying. The best they were willing to do was to book me on the next flight, which was scheduled to depart at 3:20pm (approx 4.5 hrs later). After confirming my seat on that place, called customer support. They offered to talk to the agents involved, remind them of their policies and after I claimed that it was not enough and asked for more they offered me a $25 credit towards future flights.

This is frustrating as I am leaning towards never flying them again. In all of my discussions with agents and customer care reps, I was lectured about policies, specifically the one about the aircraft doors needing to be closed 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure. Around 3pm, I boarded the 3:20pm flight. The security lines in the airport were still long, so the gate agent and other Virgin America staff held the plane and did not close the door until 3:26pm, six minutes after our scheduled departure. While we were sitting there, I called Virgin America customer support to notify them. Apparently that never happened, as they don't have it on record.

I then sent an email on March 5th upon landing in San Diego to the customer care rep that issued the $25 credit and had listed my incident as "solved". I wanted to make her aware that the policy had been broken and that I would like a full refund for my ticket. I never received a response. On March 11th, I sent another mail and issued a complaint via their website which noted that I would hear back from someone within 14 business days. All emails listed my incident number for easier tracking. Today, March 19th, I called as I have heard nothing from Virgin America in response to my 2 emails and online complaint submission which were sent 14 days ago.

In speaking with a representative today, I was informed that the emails were never received and there was little they could do. After requesting for them to escalate, they miraculously found my emails and told me that there was nothing they could do. Again I requested for them to escalate, they said that they would speak to the first agent that helped me on March 5th but I should be prepared to not receive a resolution. All this after I have logged in close to 100k miles in the past 2 years with this airline. Loyalty is certainly a thing of the past!

I purchased 2 first class tickets from San Diego to Florida. I had to cancel one of these tickets. When I asked about having someone else use the ticket instead of losing it I was told, "Hello Bruce, Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your query. I certainly understand your concern regarding our non-refundable First Class tickets. We are looking at the refundable option for the future, but for now we have enough demand to fill the cabin without having to offer refundable fares. Please be assured that your feedback will be shared with our Pricing Team. Because we are a new airline, we are continuously reviewing our guest's feedback and will make changes when necessary. We truly appreciate you as our guest and would hate to see you go. We hope you will allow us the opportunity to welcome you on board soon. Best Regards, Fed. Virgin America Guest Relations"

After receiving their response, I purchased another ticket. I found out today after calling them about another issue that I did not have to purchase another ticket but could have easily used the credit from the first ticket for the purchase of the ticket I just bought.

If you like me expected an European (good) attitude towards their customers compared to the American (bad attitude) based airlines, you will be very disappointed. For example ,their response to my initial request, "For now we have enough demand to fill the cabin without having to offer refundable fares." This is an arrogant American airlines (not AA) attitude towards their customers.

This is not the only example of their attitude towards the customers I ran into. I did call Virgin Atlantic (England based); they deny any connection with their American based company. I can understand why. They are very customer oriented and their American based company. For example, "we have enough demand to fill the cabin" is absolutely not. If you think by flying first class and paying 5 times the main cabin fare that this company would treat you any differently, you would be mistaken. They even nickel & dime you after paying over $2,000 for your ticket, which again by the way Virgin Atlantic does not.

Virgin Atlantic wanted to make sure that I understood that they are not the same company as Virgin America and do not treat their customers the same. I can only imagine how many calls Virgin Atlantic has received from disillusioned Virgin American customers to prompt them to enthusiastically respond with we are not them. I was not informed that I could have transferred the $2,200 credit to be used by someone else instead of having to purchase another ticket. The treatment by their other capricious rules did not cause any physical or economic damage, just disappointment that this airline turned out to be just as bad as any other American based airline.

I accidentally cancelled a flight from SEA to SFO but when I called virgin America customer service, the person told me that they only issue a Virgin America credit files that you can use within a year. Also on top of that, they have already charged us the $75 cancel fee. I understand the cancel fee but they said 24 hours before the flight. I accidentally cancelled! Besides that, if it was an intention to cancel, it is still outside the 24 hour time frame but the reservations person refused to accept the fact that it was an accident. I asked then if that is the case are they going to refund the remaining balance in cash? The answer was a resounding no.

I asked on how to get it re-instated and she started calculating the present fare and fees. With the remaining funds, Virgin America wanted an additional $311+. I think that this is ridiculous and no wonder Virgin America owner is sitting pretty good on where he is at - being a billionaire. I mean, if they charge this much when someone accidentally cancel, imagine the money that they collect and passed on to the boss who is already a billionaire. My taste for Virgin America just went from sour to rotten. This is not the only time that I have a bad experience with this airline.

A couple of years or so, I was accompanying my aging parents to fly down to SFO. Service seems to be good but on the way back from SFO, these guys never even asked or offered a couple of wheelchairs for my aging parents. I had to go back and asked them for it. Why do we need to ask for it if they are already looking at two senior folks that could hardly walk. Other air carriers will automatically tell you to hang around for wheelchair service. We had to wait for half an hour to get the wheelchair. Upon arriving here in SEA, there was no wheelchair at the gate.

I watched my parents struggle walking up the bridge. The flight attendants just watched instead of them picking up the phone at the end of the bridge and asked for wheelchairs. My take on this is that Virgin America hired the left over of the other air carriers who did not qualify and better yet, took the ones who don't have common sense. This airline is not service or senior oriented establishment, they'll take your money and you're on your own.

My first (and last) time on Virgin America was through a sale fare special they advertised for $39 one way from SF to SD. Southwest was offering the same deal, but we "randomly" went with Virgin, for an hour difference in flight time. On the way there, no services was offered, not even a glass of water. Everyone had to push the call button individually, for the flight attendant to come over (apparently they had an ordering service through each seat's monitor, but it wasn't working). But with the ** of today's airline services, I wouldn't hold this against them. It's pretty much the norm.

However, on the day of our return flight (originally scheduled for 5:30PM), we received a call at 11AM that morning, that the flight has been cancelled due to the weather. The flight before and after ours we're still scheduled, so how is it due to weather, that ours was cancelled? We had to rush to the airport (losing the rest of our day for sightseeing) to try to get on standby planes, which later the agent at the gate informed us, we have no chance of getting on, due to the massive waiting list, since 140 people from our plane is waiting to leave SD.

I asked if they can about rebook us to another flight to go home? The response was basically, that they're all sold out for the next 2 days, but they can book us on the first available flight, 2 days later, take it or leave it. I asked if they will be paying for our accommodations, and they said no, and our options are take it, or leave it. I asked if they can book us with another airline that has a flight, and whether they will be reimbursing us. The response was no, and that they don't work for other airlines.

We ended up booking a flight (at our own expense) on Southwest, and flew out at 8PM (2.5 hrs later than our originally scheduled flight on Virgin). Obviously, planes were flying, and for cost reasons (or other), Virgin decided to cancel our flight. Ironically, we had originally thought about taking Southwest (at the same $39 sale fare), and now ended up paying much more for a last minute flight home. I've never had a worse experience with such restrictive "company policy", with re-booking a reasonable alternative flight, with customer service & attitudes, with lack of accommodations and flexibility, you name it!

I honestly believe that they are taking advantage of the weather to cancel a flight that they didn't want to fly. Otherwise, why would the flights before and after hours (which were completely booked) not be cancelled, but rather delayed? We were able to purchase a flight home on Southwest that although delayed, got us home (and not 2 days later)! Like many other complaints against Virgin America, the customer reps and managers we spoke to offer no help, and are unsympathetic to the situation, and basically told us to take it or leave and go to Southwest. Well, we did exactly that! In this economy though, it was quite an expense for us to pay for extra tickets on Southwest to get home. Our "cheap" getaway for $39 ended up costing us an extra $345! It'll be awhile before that comes off the credit card. I may be 1 meager little customer that they don't care to keep, but they've lost me forever as a customer!

In anticipation of going to a meeting in San Francisco, I went on line on Saturday 1/2/10, at Virgin's site and booked a round-trip ticket, departing and returning on 1/6/10. There were 2 fare options - one was $78 total, and was non-refundable. The one next to it was $271 round trip and was marked "fully refundable". Because my plans were not firm and seats were selling out, I selected that fare. My receipt did not indicate any non-refundability, and I checked all of the policies and terms and conditions to make sure it was refundable.

On Monday, 1/4, I found the meeting wasn't taking place, and I went on line to cancel the trip. The first thing I saw was a $75 cancellation fee. I called Virgin about this, only to find that I had booked the non-refundable ticket, the little box for which is right next to the box to check for the fully refundable ticket, and I would thus be entitled only to a credit for the fare toward a future flight, less $75.00.

I spoke with two supervisors. Michael, the first, acknowledged that this had likely been a mistake, and a not uncommon one, related to the website. I spoke then with his manager, Ahmad, who confirmed this, also acknowledging that this confusion does happen not infrequently. Regardless, they were either unable or unwilling to do anything for me, and couldn't give me the name of anyone higher up to whom I could direct my appeal (although Ahmad did, upon request, give the name of Virgin's President, to whom I will be writing). Ahmed also acknowledged that he did have the power to refund non-refundable fares in certain circumstances, but said that I had deliberately purchased this fare. He did not have an answer to my question. If I had intended to purchase a non-refundable fare, would I not have bought the $78 round trip fare over the $300 round trip? I am essentially out $313.40 - the cost of the fare (plus the facilities fees, taxes, etc.).

On October 8, 2009 I purchased two tickets through Virgin America's website under my Elevate account, one for me and the other for my husband. My ticket was for a departure on Dec. 17th returning on the 26th, and my husband's departure was for the 20th and returning the same date. Our seats, of course, are different on the departure, but coming back we were to be seated next to each other in 14C and 14B. I'm mentioning the seating because it will become quite significant later on in this letter. I have been an Virgin Elevate customer for a year. I went into their website and booked both tickets, paid for them, and got a confirmation email for both.

I get a call in November from one of their representatives telling me that I have two reservations and that maybe one of them was a mistake because the departures were different, but the return was the same. They said to call them back if there was a problem. I didn't need to call them back because my reservations were fine. They didn't mention that the reservations were both under my name, so I get a call from a rep today, Dec 13 telling me that I have two reservations under my name, and that I should have one cancelled. That immediately prompted me to call them. That's when the nightmare began.

After speaking to numerous agents, they told us that they could not change the name on the reservation, and that we would have to cancel it and re-book another ticket for a higher price. This was completely unacceptable, because we intentionally booked our tickets in advance to take advantage of the lower fares. We were so upset because it wasn't our fault that their website kicked my husband's name out as a traveler. No where in the website through my Elevate account did it say that we couldn't book tickets for other people, and that if we did, it would put me in as the traveler under their reservation. That is what happened! I spoke to two supervisors and they all proceeded to call me a liar when I told them what happened. I specifically put my husband's name in and seated next to me on the return flight. According to one of the reservation reps, she said the WEBSITE AUTOMATICALLY CHANGES THE TRAVELERS NAME TO THE ELEVATE CUSTOMERS NAME. How was I supposed to know that?? Why when making the reservations for my husband and I at the same time, would I seat myself next to me on the return flight the 26th. Ridiculous!!

I'm put on with the last supervisor that I was able to talk to, according to him, and he again continues to say that it was my fault that I made two reservations under my name. He told me again that he could not make any name changes. He told me that I could pay an additional $192 to change the departure, but their wouldn't be a return for my husband. I told him this was unbelieveable and unacceptable. I wanted to talk to someone else, he said he was at the top and there was noone else. They were not going to get away with this. He relented and got me in touch with "Jen" at the SF headquarters. She was rude, would talk over me, proceeded to tell me that I made the mistake and wanted me to admit it (for the record), and I did not. She then threatened me to pull the records of the phone calls made to me, and I said fine, I have nothing to hide. She said there were emails sent to me regarding this, as well, and I told her I never received them. The first I knew about this was when a rep called me in November! After hours on the phone, and hours of stress and strain, SHE PROCEEDED TO TELL ME THAT SHE COULD MAKE A NAME CHANGE FOR $50!!!! As of today, I am not an Elevate customer, nor will Virgin America ever see another dollar from me, and I will make sure everyone hears about their practices.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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?

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!

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!!!!!

If I had know about this site before, I would have logged in many times to vent about United Airlines. Whenever United Airlines comes up in conversation with friends or acquaintances, I never hear anything good about the poorly staffed and run airline: terrible staff attitudes, lost bags, late and cancelled flights, terrible staff attitudes . . . I repeat myself because half of their employees should be turned. United is one airline that absolutely should NEVER be bailed out again--they had their chance and look at what they have been doing with it.

Happily, Virgin America has moved in on a few flights out of SFO. Over the last five months, I have enjoyed four roundtrip flights on Virgin America. Unlike my experiences with United Airlines wherein I am subjected to multiple indignities every time out, I have not had one negative encounter flying Virgin America (same with Virgin Atlantic, but don't fly it often).

I have been signing Virgin America's praises whenever I hear someone complain about their airline experience. The only thing I don't like about Virgin America is the limited number of routes they fly at this time. Hopefully, they will continue to grow and expand their routes. I look forward to trying their service to JFK and opened a VA credit card just to add support to the operation. As long as they keep whatever management is spreading the goodwill down the line and don't get stuck with a union contract that rewards complacency and longevity over service and effort, I look forward to a lasting, pleasant relationship with Virgin America.

PS. I am in no way affiliated with Virgin America nor United Airlines

RUDE! RUDE! RUDE!

After being a loyal Jet Blue Customer for years, I decided to stray away for the first time and use Virgin America for my flights from Los Angeles to San Francisco because of the supposed cheaper fares and because VA flies into SFO rather than Oakland. I say supposed cheaper fares because what seems like a cheaper advertised price becomes higher after VA adds wacky surcharges that I have NEVER seen on any other airline. It can be at least $20.00 USD per way if not more.

After dealing with the chaotic international Los Angeles airport, I was greeted by nothing but nasty ground personnel that worked for VA. In flight was another story. What I thought were nasty VA ground personnel now seemed rather pleasant compared to the in-flight crew. I was given nothing but rude remarks and stares for my appearance. I OWN a skating boarding company and so I dress how I please which is not in a 3 piece suite.

Ever since that first flight the last 2 flights have been the same situation! It is as if I have been black listed and posted on some company news letter. I thought I was the only person, but some of my employees and friends have had similar occurrences with Virgin America.

I WILL NEVER FLY VIRGIN AMERICA AGAIN!

Thank God Jet Blue has opened a route from Long Beach to SFO! I get to avoid LAX and fly right into SFO at Jet Blue's straight forward prices and no non-sense attitude.

Again, they ENTERED the cabin as such, evident to anyone within an approximate 20 row distance (this I know for certain). I also asked for different seats but was told none were available. I have no way of knowing if that was true, HOWEVER I am certain that the female friends of two of the clowns would have been only too happy to join their revelry in our unwanted seats. This would also have saved several other patrons from frequent loud and rude visits from the newly re-christened.

I absolutely realize that the lines are a bit thicker and fuzzier in 1st class. We are talking BEYOND the limit of common decency, and on the flight crew's part, FAR beyond reasonable tolerance from the time these three individuals (in two SEPARATE parties, yet) stepped into the cabin.

Our outbound flight was stellar, as I stated. My son and I vowed at deplaning that we would never fly another airline again, provided Virgin had a route to our destination. And that was just on slightly upgraded main cabin. We were truly giddy after the flight and phoned Dad/Husband over the adventure.

Our anticipation at flying first class (a Birthday bonus from my husband) well, after the thrill of our outbound experience, you can imagine our delight. What an utterly sad, frustrating, disgusting and pathetic letdown. PLEASE revisit my complaint. Feel free to write, email, or phone for further elaboration.

I can not imagine that I am expected to accept paying for such an experience--no one could have paid ME to sit through such a miserable fiasco. The fact that we actually paid EXTRA for abuse like that is beyond my comprehension and so far off my own VERY tolerant moral compass--okay, I won't go on here, it's brought me back to tears and I'm hoping my point has been made. More importantly, I pray that my point is well TAKEN.

Please consider offering us a formal apology as well as a full refund for our return flight. I do demand, at the very least, a refund for the up grade on both our fares, and hope for a meaningful apology. I am attaching a copy of my notes taken during the last 30 minutes of our flight, but please also refer to the complaint your representative took earlier today as well.

We adored our first trip and I can't say enough how much. I would really, really love to be able to get some of that feeling back. I look forward to hearing from you. By their (seats 1 A & C) very own, LOUD and proud admission, they were EACH served nine (9) DOUBLES during pre-flight and flight. They stated that, prior to boarding, they had only had 2 shots each just in case it wasn't true that "you can drink all you want for free in first class."

paid extra for 1st class seats only to be traumatized, vodka spilled on 13 year old son, verbal abuse, taunting, fear for personal safety. We remained in an agitated state for over a week, the experience was so awful. Since then, I am still angry and stressed whenever the experience comes to mind.

I was flying back from JFK to LAX on Virgin America. Due to inclement weather I sat on the runway for 6 hours straight. The flight crew served water but ran out of food very quickly. With all passengers getting restless they deplaned by dumping us on the runway and having buses take us back to the terminal. We sat for another 1.5 hours at the terminal- and then they promised us a quick departure because the weather had lifted. We were sent on buses back to the plane. We then sat for another 2 hours! Then the pilot made the mistake of announcing that he had timed out on his shift and there was not a back up pilot to take off so they were cancelling the flight all together and we would all be re-assigned for the next day.

By this time it was about 2am. Passengers were screaming and chanting and it was a very volatile situation. We were not given any hotel accommedations but were only told to just sit and wait. Our new flight wasn't until 9am the next morning. Food vouchers for $12 were given to a few people who asked but a mass announcement was not made. I spent $30 on nasty airport snacks and slept in a corner clutching my luggage with the other people flying Virgin America.

The communication was terrible between the employees. The passengers were almost rioting and no crowd control was really implemented. We were treated like cattle and not even offered any compensation for the horrendous environment or the combined almost 8 hours sitting on the runway. I felt abused and emotionally exhausted. I covered up with a plastic bag while sleeping in the corner of the terminal like a homeless woman. Unacceptable.

I spent money on food, had to miss an entire day of work due to the delayed flight- which averages out to about $125. I was stressed, tired, extremely angry and will NEVER fly Virgin America another day in my life.

Don't trust any arousing ad about Virgin America and don't trust their promises!

We supposed to leave at 9:25pm from SFO to IAD on Oct. 28, 2007 but the Virgin America flight delayed over 2 hours. Even Virgin America staff members were chatting and walking around despite of lateness. They did not move forward and operate quickly.

They were chatting and rumoring about their passengers. They performed too slowly and boarding was too slow. Boarding took longer than one hour. Virgin America staff members are long tongue chatters than Southwest flight crew and staff members.

I feel that my trip time is abused by Virgin America chronic lateness and sloppy service.

We were expected to arrive at 5:30am next morning in IAD because we supposed to open a business meeting at 8am in DC area but the flight delayed and we arrived at 8am!!!

Many passengers are angry and mad. The flight crew was rude and with their negative attitude. I am a business traveler and have experience with many red eye flights. Most airlines turn off lights during night time in order to allow passengers to sleep and rest well but airlines usually do turn on only a few of lights in cabin.

Virgin America refused to turn off lights during night(bed time) and lights were on all night and morning. Honestly, we were surprised about that.

Their flight crew was rude. I asked a flight attendant to turn off some lights for our bed time but he refused and told us to close eyes and shut up our mouths.

God help you if you have to cancel your SFO-LAX flight. These people will charge you a $40 fee for cancelling a $39 flight. Beware. I just gave them $160 for nothing. Nothing. No credit issued like Southwest Airlines. Good lord.