Manchester hit by Virgin Atlantic plane changes due to Boeing 787 woes

We recently covered the problems that Virgin Atlantic is having with its fleet of new Boeing 787 aircraft due to faulty Rolls-Royce engines.

This problem is not going to be solved in a hurry.  As a partial fix it is bringing in some replacement aircraft, rumoured to be four A330 planes previously used by airberlin.  Delta will also be flying some additional services on routes it jointly operates with Virgin.

It looks as if these aircraft will be based in Manchester.  This means that you may find yourself flying the airberlin business class product that Anika reviewed here, instead of the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class seat.

This is not necessarily bad news – in some ways it depends on whether you are travelling alone or with your partner, and on which Virgin Atlantic aircraft you were originally booked.  Alternatively, Virgin may decide to refit these aircraft with Upper Class seats although there has been no announcement.

These aircraft do not have a Premium Economy cabin although Virgin is talking about retrofitting it ‘later in 2018’.  This is a rather worrying statement as it implies that the 787 problems could continue for a long time, even though the schedule changes announced below only run until the end of May.

In summary:

You can be rebooked in Economy for the cash price of an Economy ticket on the day you booked your Premium Economy ticket (and, if moved to a Delta aircraft, will be offered a seat with extra leg room)

You can move yourself to a flight on a different date which will still have Premium Economy

If you were booked from Manchester, you can rebook onto a Heathrow / Gatwick departure in Premium Economy but you will need to pay your own costs to get to London

You can move your flight to a different destination, subject to paying any additional fare

You can, of course, also request a full refund from Virgin Atlantic although the document does not mention that.

Note that this situation may impact you even if you are not booked onto a Boeing 787 aircraft, as other aircraft are being shuffled around to keep seat capacity in balance.

Here is the statement which has apparently been given to the travel trade, according to reports online:

We need to let you know that we’ve made a few changes to our flying programme because of an industry-wide supply issue with the Rolls Royce engines we use on our Boeing 787 Dreamliners. While some of these aircraft are temporarily parked, we’ve been working to make sure our customers’ travel plans can continue with certainty and in comfort. To support this, we intend to add four A330-200 aircraft to our fleet – they’ll be Virgin Atlantic aircraft, operated by our own pilots and world class cabin crew, delivering our own service and experience.

VS 127 / 128,  01 March 2018 to 14 May 2018 Manchester (MAN) to New York (JFK)
VS 109 / 110,  02 March 2018 to 31 May 2018 Manchester (MAN) to Atlanta (ATL)
VS 121 / 122 , 23 May 2018 to 30 May 2018 Manchester (MAN) to Boston (BOS)
VS 125 / 126,  22 May 2018 to 29 May 2018 Manchester (MAN) to San Francisco (SFO)
VS 77 / 78,  17 May 2018 to 31 May 2018 Manchester (MAN) to Barbados (BGI)

Any of your customers affected by this change of equipment can be viewed in your GDS from Sunday 10 December 2017 onwards.

Booking information for Premium Economy customers:

Initially, the aircraft will not have Premium Economy but we’ll look to retrofit our Premium Economy product onto aircraft later in 2018. For now there will be a small number of flights on which our Premium Economy service will not be available.

For passengers booked to travel in Premium Economy cabin:

We will offer partial refunds on their Premium Economy booked seat if the passenger is rebooked into Economy cabin on the same flight.

• Fare recalculation for Seat Only ticketed and IT un-ticketed please see below:
• Original K/H booking classes recalculate using fares at time of creation in N class for the sector updated to Economy.
• Original S/W booking classes recalculate using fares at time of creation in Q class for sector updated to Economy.

Upon calculation please request the refund through BSP.

Passengers downgraded from Premium Economy to Economy cabin will be offered an extra-legroom seat at no additional cost subject to seat availability, and provided travel is on the original flight and departure date.

Alternative Options:

If the options offered are unsuitable, customers may be offered one of the following alternatives:

Customers on the affected flights may rebook to travel in Premium Economy on any VS operated flight between their original Origin and Destination between 01 January 2018 and 30 November 2018, at no additional cost, subject to availability in the same cabin. If original booking class is not available, please book lowest available.

Customers on the affected flights may rebook to travel in Premium Economy on VS operated or VS marketed (VS*) flights between their original Origin and Destination on the same travel date, at no additional cost, subject to availability in the same cabin. If original booking class is not available, please book lowest available.

Customers on the affected flights may rebook to travel from/to London Heathrow (LHR) or London Gatwick (LGW) to take a direct flight to/from their original origin/destination, subject to availability in the same cabin E.g. MAN-JFK change to LHR-JFK. If original booking class is not available, please book lowest available.

Travel to/from the alternative airport will be at customers’ expense.

Customers on the affected flights may rebook to travel to an alternative destination with no change fee, subject to availability in the same cabin and any applicable fare difference. If original booking class is not available, please book lowest available.

Customers on the affected flights may upgrade to Upper Class cabin on the same flight with no change fee, subject to availability and any applicable fare difference.

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How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (March 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review

You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 60,000 points. You receive 40,000 points when you spend £6,000 within three months and a further 20,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

American Express Business Platinum

Up to 120,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Up to 60,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.