Virgin Atlantic: We Listened to Your Feedback

Virgin Atlantic said travel agent feedback prompted it to rethink a plan that would have removed agents’ ability to pre-assign seats in their GDSs.

The carrier told agents in December that it planned to eliminate their ability to pre-assign seats as part of an overhaul to its advance seat assignment rules. On Friday, the carrier reversed itself, though not across the board.

‘We listened’
“We’ve listened to the feedback from the trade around the advanced assigned seating and will now continue to allow travel agents to assign seats in the GDS for exempt booking classes,” a spokeswoman said.

The planned restrictions on agents’ ability to pre-assign seats wasn’t “user-friendly” to agents,  she explained.

Under the updated rule, agents can continue to pre-assign seats in their GDSs for the following exempt classes of service: Upper Class – J,C,D, I, Z bookings; Premium Economy – W, H, S, K, and Economy – Y and B classes.

Passengers in Economy below Class B will still need to go to the carrier’s website if they want to select their own seats before check-in. “This should only take a few minutes,” the carrier said in its memo to agents.

Fees still in effect
Also still in force is a new fee of $40 each way that Virgin Atlantic will charge to non-exempt Economy passengers who want to select their seats prior to the online check-in period. The fee will be phased in starting in April.

There are exceptions to the fee, the carrier pointed out on Friday. “Economy customers not on a Y or B ticket but travelling on corporate deals and/or Flying Club Gold card members are exempt from the charge but the agent will still need to go via our website.”

Travel agents and tour operators told Travel Market Report last week that they were unhappy about Virgin Atlantic’s new policy. They said the restrictions would cause extra work for them and that the seat-selection fee would drive some travelers to book on other carriers.

On the bright side . . .
In a letter to agents on Friday, Virgin Atlantic asked travel sellers to consider ways in which the new seat assignment policy might have a positive impact on their business.

For instance, it said, the fee for Economy passengers “will help agents upsell to Premium Economy (exempt) or higher, which means more commission for you.”

It also noted that agents will now be able to assign extra-legroom seats in their GDSs, instead of having to phone Virgin Atlantic’s U.K. call center.

Better for customers
Also, it said, “Seats usually preferred by most travelers will not likely be secured in advance by those who buy the cheapest fare offered. That might just make the aisle seat available for your customer!”

In addition, while previously the carrier could only pre-assign 60% of seats, “with this policy, almost 100% of seats will now be available to pre-assign.”

“We don’t expect this to be easy but please keep in mind many of our policies are considerably more liberal than other airlines,” Virgin Atlantic told agents.

Ana Figueroa contributed to this story.