Virgin Atlantic is a British carrier that operates from its main and secondary hubs, namely Heathrow Airport in London and Manchester. The airline was established in 1984. It uses wide-bodied aircraft to carry its passengers to destinations like North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
When you think Virgin, you imagine everything quirky and unconventional, which sets the carrier apart from the rest in terms of class, services and products provided, and overall flying experience. The airline offers flying at three levels or classes — the Upper Class, Premium Economy, and Economy. The Upper-Class passengers have access to world-class services at their airport lounge, and earlier they even received free limo rides to the airport from their homes/offices.
Everything from the ground and onboard hospitality, in-flight entertainment, flying comfort factor, food and beverages served on air, seat comfort, cabin staff service and behavior, overall interior ambiance, to flying punctuality, and safety factor are top-notch at Virgin Atlantic and have garnered rave customer reviews. There’s more — the Upper Class passengers have free access to their bar and refrigerator to raid snacks, and drinks as and when they want. The new fleet has a reserved social area for the passengers to sit and stretch their legs during long-haul flights (a first of many). Rest assured, you will carry home many cherishable moments from your flying experience with Virgin.
Airlines worldwide ensure that their customers are not harassed unduly on account of delayed, damaged, or lost luggage. Unfortunately, however, the scenario is changing with high footfall at the airports, and a corresponding shortage of ground staff handling passenger luggage. Flight cancellations and delays exacerbate the situation. This results in complete mayhem when fliers are reportedly filing complaints against mishandled and missing bags across all airports in the world.
When you fly the Virgin Atlantic and realize that your bags are missing, resort to the following to avoid potential headaches. We understand how horrifying it could be to remain stranded in a foreign land without your luggage.
Approach Lost Baggage Team at Airport
It is okay if you have left the airport premises for your intended destination and later realize that your bag is missing, you can still contact Virgin Atlantic’s Lost Baggage team by emailing your concern with flight details, seat number, your name and contact details, and a full description of the item lost to baggage.tracing@fly.virgin.com.
Alternatively, you can try contacting the Lost Property Department at the arrival airport. Provide them with all the essentials like — the date of travel, flight number, seat number, your name, and address, email id, and a working phone number where they could reach you when they trace your bag. Give them a full and authentic description of your bag, mentioning its brand, size, color, and any distinctive mark or symbol that will help the authorities to spot it from a distance.
Irrespective of what mode you choose to file your complaint (online or offline), once the case is lodged, they will issue a PIR (Property Irregularity Report) number or a file reference number that you will need to trace the status of your baggage online or to make a follow-up call with a Virgin Atlantic Lost Baggage ground staff.
They will contact you when they find your bag, but remember retrieval will come at some nominal admin costs. If they don’t find anything to match your description, they will let you know within 5 days. Depending on the country of your travel/residence, you can try the telephone numbers.
Dial the Hotline to Register a Complaint
Sometimes, it is more relieving to talk to a human on the phone rather than simply submitting complaint forms and sleeping over the issue. You can do it all simultaneously. Here are the numbers to call: +44 (0) 344 874 7747 (UK), +1 800 862 8621 (US), +33185169351 (France), +86 21 61 361777 (China), +1800 102 3000 (India) and +44 (0)344 8110 000 (HQ). Someone should be there to assist you.
It is a good idea to let the agents at customer support know about your predicament in full detail. In case they are unreachable (as they most likely are because of the high volume of incoming calls), you can try their bot service or send them a message on their official website, or even use their contact forms to touch base with them.
Go on Social Media When Everything Else Fails
Social media has made things simpler, faster, and more accessible. You need no longer wait in long queues for assistance. When it comes to tracing a lost bag with prized belongings, you need to act fast as every second counts. The more the delay, the lesser the chances of retrieval. Airlines have also made it easy for their customers to reach out via social media. Major carriers like Virgin Atlantic have entire teams dedicated to monitoring Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
If you are here to get your problem solved quickly, these are your go-to social media platforms. They tend to be extremely efficient and well-connected representatives who are plugged into all areas of the company so that they may have the best troubleshooters and resolutions for your concern.
