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Virgin Atlantic is having a disaster with it’s Dreamliners. In fact, Dreamliners have become a disaster across the industry. Japan’s biggest airline, ANA, has been grounding parts of its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners for the last year after discovering a problem with the plane’s Rolls-Royce engines.
Virgin Atlantic is suffering from the same problem, with the unreliable Dreamliner Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines. As a result, many of Virgin Atlantic’s 787 aircraft have been grounded which will lead to scheduling problems and possible downgrades for passengers.
The result of this disaster is that Virgin Atlantic will have to lease aircraft to avoid canceling flights. These will not be Virgin Atlantic aircraft, and there will be no Virgin Premium Economy on board. Virgin’s Business Class on these chartered planes will not be what you are used to either, although Virgin Atlantic staff and pilots will remain of the same quality.
What Do I Do If I Am Booked On A Virgin Dreaminer
The good news is that you can do something about this. Keep an eye on your flights online, and if your aircraft is altered, you have the right to request a different flight. If you haven’t yet booked I would advise booking with an alternative airline, or picking out an alternative trip. Take a look at our six amazing flight deals.
If you are already booked and choose not to alter your flight, you may get to fly the Dreamliner or you may get your trip downgraded to a charter plane. If you are traveling in Premium Economy and get the charter plane, you will be downgraded to Economy.
If you are travelling in Business Class, you will still fly in Business Class seats but how good the seats will be compared to Virgin’s Upper Class is anyone’s guess.
This is such a shame as Virgin Atlantic has great Club House lounges and is a fun airline to fly on. If you are planning a transatlantic flight in Premium Economy in particular, we would advise booking on an alternative airline until these problems are smoothed out. You can read which airlines offer the best Premium Economy transatlantic and which I consider to offer the best Premium Economy in the world. Since writing these articles, some of the American carriers (American Airlines and Delta) have also introduced Premium Economy and are worth considering.
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