I've just been into the Virgin Atlantic website...

[Mazzy]

.. and what I read there has made me SO angry!

I was checking to see whether they still had the personal DVDs in Upper Class, and couldn't believe what I read there!

VA are updating their inflight entertainment system in all classes to include choice of video on demand, wider choice, rewind, fast forward, pause and will be adding more features in the future.

If they can afford to do all this, why can't they afford to hold a couple of DVDs on the plane for deaf customers?

I tell you, I am absolutely seething about this, and will be ringing Customer Services tomorrow to tell them what I think. To blame the demise of captioned films on lack of funds due to Sept 11, then to read of their GRAND PLANS for the future, which exclude anyone with a hearing loss has made me so angry, I really wish I had never booked with them!

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

News report on the financials last week was about 'poor' old Virgin Atlantic back in the black again after 11/9 . . . so far this year they've only made about £5million profit , but reckon they'll still be about £90 million (or somesuch figure) down at the end of the year because of hard trading times, Singapore airlines alliance etc etc . . . need I go on.

Just thought this might be useful for your call to VA. Good luck.

 

[Mazzy]

Right I've just come off the phone to Virgin Atlantic and here is what they say:

Reasons for withdrawal of DVDs:

They were being stolen - why on earth didn't they have some kind of system on board whereby passengers signed for them or even paid a deposit to use one? Duh!

So because of drop in funds since Sept 11 they can't afford to replace them - if they had had the wherewithall to realise they might be stolen, they wouldn't need to replace them would they?

What is being done now:

The 'project team' on inflight entertainment are 'working on it' but at the moment can't say what is going to happen.

Suggestions I made:

Put in place some kind of monitoring system to keep a check on who has the DVDs

Use one channel on the seat back TVs to show subtitled films (thanks for that suggestion Bev)

So... just to wait and see what happens now. We don't fly 'til December so fingers crossed, miracles may happen!

AND I didn't lose my temper or use any 4 letter words, but then, it's very hard to show your temper through a minicom!

 

[signtalker]

Mazzy, i can see we seem to be going round in circles here, surely its discrimination if they are supplying DVD's in upper class, so i think we need to jump on this wagon, although the DDA doesnt apply to airlines, there must be an organ grinder we can speak to rather than all these monkeys!!

Jules

 

[Mazzy]

Jules, no they don't have DVDs in Upper Class, maybe I didn't make that quite clear in my post, but they don't have them at all.

Have you rung them yourself yet?

 

[signtalker]

Mazzy, no im leaving that till friday, end of the week and all that will be in the right mood for them!!!!.

Jules