VS18 The nightmare begins

Am not sure about you but I've flown a few times with Virgin and generally I've not had a problem. Well their magazine racks are in an annoying place (right in front of the knee with a solid wire frame!) but other than that it's a fairly cheap and easy ride.

Unfortunately last week, I and all of Economy class on flight VS18, had an experience we'd all rather have escaped. So let's start at the beginning.

New York, 4AM. My partner and I are in Newark Airport. Our JFK Virgin VS26 flight has been cancelled and we are re-routed to Newark for the 8:20AM flight to Heathrow. Unfortunately all online 'Check In's' had not been re-booked so we are put on stand by.

8AM: We board the plane, sitting 7 rows from the back.
8:20AM: We're supposed to have taken off but have just heard from the Captain that the navigation devices are not working. 1 of the 2 computers is kaputt. Uh oh. A bit later he makes a further announcement - 'not to worry, we'll manage with one (!?!) and go the long way round'. Am very uneasy about this, I hate flying and nothing stresses me out more, than learning there's a fault before a long-haul flight.

10AM: We finally take off. But hang on a cotton-picking moment !. What's that noise? and why the hell are we not getting much lift here. Am starting to feel very panicky. This is not a good take off.

45 minutes later the Captain announces we're turning back. There is SMOKE in the cabin!. I am now an absolute wreck. Captain is on again. We're flying into JFK and we're dumping all fuel so it's safer to land. Oh, that's what all that stuff pouring out of the wings is !!!

About 45 minutes later we've landed and a number of fire tenders are trailing us. Scary. Thankfully we're down safely. Unfortunately we have to sit tight - for now. In the meantime we're given water and a muffin (the first thing we've had since 4am). Ground staff board to assess the problem.

An hour or so later everyone is off and heading to baggage to pick up our luggage but none of us know what's going to happen from there on. A Virgin rep. is there and tells us they're taking us back to Newark and a coach will be here soon (but no information where the coach will be). We pick up our luggage and hunt down the Virgin rep. and ask her where to go, "upstairs" she says - to the Virgin Desk. ?!? Off we go.

A huge, rowdy line with only 2 Virgin reps at the counter. After some time, a Virgin rep. comes up to me and tells me to go downstairs as there is a coach there. "But I was told to come upstairs". Am told that I am a liar and to go downstairs or we'd be "on our own without any Virgin help". Bleeee.

We've found the coach. Hmmm...no Business or First Class customers here. Just Economy. Interesting. We're off to Newark but the drivers don't know where they are going, and we seem to be driving right through Manhattan. This is a 45 minute journey - max. - but is taking ages. No food, no water, no toilets. We're all starving. It's getting on now - around 5 O'clock. Driver stops ( at the wrong hotel ) to clean windows. No screenwash. God. This is awful. I start to cry.

6:30PM: We find our hotel. A huge line of people trying to check in from the flight. Lots of children crying, frail people in wheelchairs, a lady with a neck brace. This is terrible. Worst of all NO VIRGIN REP!!! We are all livid. The lovely manager at the Ramada Inn, Newark, tells us that the Virgin rep. will be here by 9 and in the meantime here are some food vouchers. Thank God.

9PM: We've eaten and now in the lobby waiting for the rep. No show.
9:55PM: She arrives. A young girl who knows a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y nothing. This large crowd is moving in and she's looking pretty scared. Everyone here is tired, angry, upset, emotional and this girl from Virgin doesn't know a thing. She can't tell us when we're leaving, what was wrong with the plane... nothing. Except that Virgin has oversold their flights out of New York for 5 days and we've got two hopes of getting out of here before Tuesday, unless they fix the plane.
She tells us that she *thinks* the plane will be fixed tomorrow, so assemble at 6am tomorrow, all ready to go. We go to bed. The crowd is getting nasty and we've had enough.

... MORE TOMORROW ON THE NEXT PHASE OF THIS VIRGIN NIGHTMARE!!!