Virgin Atlantic Cuts Chauffeur Service

The chauffeur service has been a feature of Upper Class since the launch of the airline in the mid 1980s. While it may not have a huge impact for most passengers, it is sad to see them give up on what, at the time, was a unique service. IIRC, they eve used to offer chauffeur service via motorcycle in London.

The chauffeur service was a one of the differentiators back when VS started their Upper Class service.

It’s a shame they’re taking it away.

I use the transfer service with Emirates whenever I fly them; it streamlines the travel experience.

I was surprised when I learned that China Eastern offered chauffeur service and my partner took advantage of it a couple of years back. They didn't exactly advertise it. Saved us at least $150 as we live in NJ and the flight was out of JFK.

The thing I wonder is that, as it’s restricted to full fare customers, if even 1 in 50 people books away from Virgin as a result of this, it’ll be a loss-making move.

@Michael And unfortunately they recently cut chauffeur service as well either because of cost cut or consistent experience with good old partner Delta lol. It was nice to have free chauffeur service for 380km.

I recall one time (good 20 yrs ago) where I was in Cambridge going to LHR and traffic was particularly bad on the M25, to the point we arrived over an hour late... The driver was in touch with ground crew all along and the flight waited on the tarmac just for me. Needless to say I got the looks from everyone when I boarded the plane....
Point of the story - the service was a sure way to eliminate the unknown element of freak traffic delays from the equation.
Don’t think nowadays anyone will wait by the way so I’m ok with it being taken away

Eh? Didn't know they offered any. Been avoiding them anyway bc of their coffin class configuration. Thankful that's changing gradually

VS used to need to go above and beyond to compensate for their smaller route network. Now that they are part of the JV, there is no longer any need to do this. Expect more cutbacks as they revert to the mean for AF-KL-DL.

The influence of Delta at Virgin is noticeable, from this, to the website, to the lounge.

The Virgin lounge now is markedly worse. Whereas even 18 months back, you used to be able to order food from your seat anywhere in the lounge, you no longer can.

You either have to be seated in the restaurant, or you go this deli counter, where it's all pre-packaged and, if hot food, kept heated. Not only that, but the deli counter has zero plates, trays etc. so if you want to get food for a couple of people, either all need to go or need to make multiple trips.

Virgin markets this "improvement" as "ensuring customers get the food they want and reducing mistakes".

Virgin have now also eliminated some complimentary treatments and services in the lounge

The result is that at LHR the BA First lounge is now much more competitive, and the Concorde Room is, gulp, better?!?!

Avi,

Airlines will never hold up a plane departure because a passenger is running late, no matter who they are or how much they paid (royalty aside, maybe). My guess is that your flight was delayed for some other reason and they just wanted you to feel special.

At least, not at Heathrow where giving up your take-off slot can meet an indefinite wait. But you highlight the problem with these car services - get stuck in traffic and you can miss your flight.

The other factor with Heathrow is that there is now a high-speed rail link from Paddington, which takes just 15 minutes and is a fraction of the cost of any car.

Virgin and BA kinda pioneered owning their business class seat intellectual property, and then selling those rights to other airlines. They have both given this up within the past year, meaning they must've realized uniqueness is no longer something that makes money.

Are the overhead bins in VS commercials even accurate? Anyhoo.

I doubt VS could exist independently today without Delta's partnership. The scale of the game has gotten so big, and the scale commoditizes the product, so the little creative touches neither work nor are expected by customers.

Who will be the first to stop offering complimentary alcohol? On the grounds Of corporate speak that some of their customers don’t use it blah blah bla.

To be clear this does mean the closure of the Drive Through Check In and people can still use taxis and private cars to access it.

Frederick,

There are a few Aran airlines that serve no alcohol in Business Class, and United stopped free alco in Coach a long time ago. But that is a hard pass for me.

The Upper Class Wing remains open as normal, no need to book but easy to drive past the entrance. Sorry to see the end of CDC, only used it once but tend to book Tristar (Addison Lee) direct these days.

Uber killed the need for this service. Getting a car to the airport used to be a headache - now its generally much easier.

They day we moved to Australia we had one car for the 4 of us and another for our luggage!! flying EK MAN to BNE. Those were the days

When did Virgin Atlantic first offer it's chauffered ground transfers? Was this only in the UK or in the US as well?