{"id":190853,"date":"2024-12-13T12:00:50","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T12:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/?p=190853\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T14:06:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T14:06:40","slug":"virgin-eliminates-award-seat-guarantee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/news\/virgin-atlantic-flying-club\/virgin-eliminates-award-seat-guarantee\/","title":{"rendered":"Virgin Atlantic Blames Flying Club Members for the Removal of the Award Seat Guarantee"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two years ago, Virgin Atlantic took the positive step of guaranteeing at least 12 award seats on every flight<\/a>. But this guarantee is no more; Virgin is eliminating this feature of its program. Why? Because \u2014 and you will struggle not to laugh \u2014 loyal program members didn't like it and wanted more flexibility with awards instead<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Virgin Atlantic Scraps Its Award Seat Guarantee in Secret<\/span><\/h2>\n

Virgin Atlantic hosts an invite-only Travel Talk forum for its most loyal Flying Club<\/a> members. The airline values these travelers so highly that it set up a special forum just for them. The airline shared a four-page PDF defending its recently introduced changes, such as dynamic award pricing,<\/a> and addressing the elimination of the 12-award seat guarantee.<\/p>\n

As you can imagine, the forum did not respond well to this document and was utterly scathing at some of Virgin\u2019s reasoning. Go figure.<\/p>\n

Related: What Is Dynamic Pricing? How This Award Pricing Model Works<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Why Did Virgin Atlantic Eliminate Its Award Seat Guarantee?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Perhaps it is best to let Virgin speak for itself on why it scrapped the award seat guarantee:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe listened to member feedback and while the minimum 12 seat guarantee was valued, the high demand for those seats showed us that we needed more flexibility. We considered including a guaranteed number of seats in the new Saver product, but feedback showed that booking 11 months in advance to secure one was unfair and impractical for many members. Instead, we\u2019ve reinvested that value into better pricing for all. This way, you can use your points anytime.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes, you read that right. According to Virgin Atlantic, its loyal members weren't content with all that guaranteed award space and would much rather fight over the odd saver seat here and the odd saver seat there \u2014 as long as they have more flexibility.<\/p>\n

We'll clarify that there are positives associated with Virgin Atlantic adopting dynamic pricing. For example, some saver awards from the United States to the UK come dirt cheap \u2014 think 29k Virgin points for a ride in Upper Class<\/a> with reasonable taxes and fees. But juxtapose those low rates with exponentially higher rates for the same ticket a day later, and it's easy to see where the problem lies. But hey, at least seats are available!<\/p>\n

\"a
Credit: Virgin Atlantic<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n

Virgin Atlantic discussed other program changes but explained away the bad<\/span><\/h3>\n

The document \u2014 which Virgin Atlantic didn't share publicly \u2014 does not only address the award seat availability but does reference other negative issues affecting the program in recent times, including:<\/p>\n