Poor Little Red loads
Back to Forum- This topic has 73 replies, 32 voices, and was last updated 1 Oct 2015
at 13:59 by Speedbird_ABZ.
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727jesmondParticipantI wish you better luck in 2014. I had a terrible wait arriving on TAP from Lisbon two days ago at MAN term1, just prior to an Emirates 380 disgorged, I was very fed up by time I got to the desk.
5 Mar 2014
at 15:32
JohnHarperParticipantI tried LR to EDI last week, load both ways was about 30%. I think unless they get some interline agreements in place soon days will be numbered.
6 Mar 2014
at 08:36
BA319131ParticipantFlew Little Red today to EDI and back.
Both flights less than 50% loads, include the 06:50 from LHR, the BA one at that sort of time in my experience is always nearly if not full.
Don’t like the loud boarding music or overly loud safety demo and announcements, the legroom is very tight, if the person in front reclines, forget reading your meeting notes, let alone the Times!
That said booked the flight less than 7 days before departure and it was less that £100 return for a day trip.
I suspect they are hemorrhaging money, whilst Bmi lost money on the route, at least the loads were respectable, not that means much.
6 Mar 2014
at 19:49
johnsmith111222ParticipantI’m off to EDI shortly. On a Friday BA don’t run their 7am flight from LCY so the 6.30am LHR service is the only other option I have (LGW is inconvenient for me). At short notice the 6.30 BA flight is overbudget (that’s another story) and so I’m flying Little Red who are still as cheap as chips on their 6.50am service.
Little Red use the gate at EDI that is directly opposite Yo Sushi. I’ve never seen more than a trickle of passengers boarding.
Still, it will be nice to (probably) have a row to myself and not worry about overhead locker space!
6 Mar 2014
at 20:32
AMcWhirterParticipantMaybe we’ll have a better idea when Virgin Atlantic presents its financial results this spring.
7 Mar 2014
at 15:16
ConstantFlyer1ParticipantLittle Red and Virgin would get my business but for one huge turnoff: flying to Heathrow. If I’m heading west or east long haul, the last thing I want to do is stack over London, change terminals, then queue ages for take off. Even Virgin’s excellent service can rarely tempt me to endure the Heathrow horror hub from hell.
7 Mar 2014
at 16:55
BA319131ParticipantConstantFlyer1,
I think you are referring to days of old, or listening to gossip. Heathrow is a pretty decent place to travel from, indeed there can be stacking and take off queues, though nothing like you see at some US airports for example. As to Virgin’s excellent service, I have always found it somewhat disappointing and lacking the hype of the adverts…….
7 Mar 2014
at 21:26
TominScotlandParticipantColleagues, just bumping this back up the list ahead of the spam
8 Mar 2014
at 11:55
SimonS1ParticipantA short article in CityAM today. During 2013 Little Red had average loads of just 37.6%, the lowest of all operators at Heathrow.
So much for LHR being full. There should be penalties for airlines that waste capacity in this way.
http://www.cityam.com/article/1402288725/virgin-s-little-red-struggles-take-most-seats-empty
9 Jun 2014
at 09:00
Speedbird_ABZParticipantI had my first Little Red experience last Sunday LHR/ABZ.
It is actually to my shame that I waited this long to use it to be honest since there is always an outcry when airlines drop routes – however, I will use it again after this.
I flew ABZ/LHR BA and can compare the two experiences very honestly.
Seat comfort was similar (the BA 320 was ex-bmi) – but I’m not tall so don’t need that much legroom, food was similar – not that important on a 1 hour 5 minute flight. However it was the service that made all the difference. Night and day. The BA crew were really surly, no smiles, pleases or thank yous – I tried to make conversation with one of them about where they were going next, “dunno, I’m too tired to think” was the reply. The Virgin crew were fantastic, most welcoming and really could not do enough for us. The flight was full – ok it is summer holiday time, but great to see.
I’ve noticed their fares are more realistic now as well – as is usual with Virgin they were a few £ cheaper than BA when they first started, but now their cheapest fare comes in around £120 return when BA is about £150 on the ABZ/LHR route.
Hopefully they are going from strength to strength and keep the route.25 Jul 2014
at 13:30 -
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