Virgin Atlantic's seat messaging system has been flagged by travellers for years
"I've been in my share of compromising positions," says the guy in the airline company video. "Here's my guide to getting lucky at 35,000 feet."...<br/>It sounds perilously close to the kind of sexual harassment experienced by Jessica Van Meir on a Virgin Atlantic flight this week. Van Meir was on an eight-hour flight from London to Washington, DC, when she says she received messages from what appeared to be a group of passengers she had passed on the way to the restroom. One called her "tidy" and "babe," while another, going by the name "big d*** swinger," sent her winking emojis. A third, "dirty mike," told her, "Welcome to hell." Van Meir says Virgin Atlantic crew addressed the situation immediately, and a spokesperson for the airline said that Virgin has "zero tolerance for any disruptive or inappropriate behavior." A spokesperson said Wednesday that, "This is the first time we've ever been made aware of unwanted messages appearing through the chat system," which was introduced 19 years ago. The airline says they are reviewing their inflight entertainment system, and that seat-to-seat messaging is already being phased out across the fleet. Virgin America's inflight entertainment system allowed travellers to pick out other passengers on a digital seatmap, message them, and send them a drink, meal or snack. The messaging system has been in place on Virgin Atlantic planes for even longer -- since 2000, according to a spokesperson for the airline. Virgin Atlantic planes, however, have never had the ability to send drinks or snacks to others on board. Virgin America was disbanded in 2018, when it was integrated into Alaska Airlines. And Virgin Atlantic confirmed that new aircraft joining the fleet will not have the technology. The 12 A350s set to join the fleet (of which two have already arrived) do not have the capability. They will eventually replace the 747s, A340s and A330s that do. The spokesperson said it was being phased out because "it's a really underused facility, especially now, with the evolution of on-board Wi-Fi in recent years.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2019-10-10/unaligned/virgin-atlantics-seat-messaging-system-has-been-flagged-by-travellers-for-years
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Virgin Atlantic's seat messaging system has been flagged by travellers for years
"I've been in my share of compromising positions," says the guy in the airline company video. "Here's my guide to getting lucky at 35,000 feet."...<br/>It sounds perilously close to the kind of sexual harassment experienced by Jessica Van Meir on a Virgin Atlantic flight this week. Van Meir was on an eight-hour flight from London to Washington, DC, when she says she received messages from what appeared to be a group of passengers she had passed on the way to the restroom. One called her "tidy" and "babe," while another, going by the name "big d*** swinger," sent her winking emojis. A third, "dirty mike," told her, "Welcome to hell." Van Meir says Virgin Atlantic crew addressed the situation immediately, and a spokesperson for the airline said that Virgin has "zero tolerance for any disruptive or inappropriate behavior." A spokesperson said Wednesday that, "This is the first time we've ever been made aware of unwanted messages appearing through the chat system," which was introduced 19 years ago. The airline says they are reviewing their inflight entertainment system, and that seat-to-seat messaging is already being phased out across the fleet. Virgin America's inflight entertainment system allowed travellers to pick out other passengers on a digital seatmap, message them, and send them a drink, meal or snack. The messaging system has been in place on Virgin Atlantic planes for even longer -- since 2000, according to a spokesperson for the airline. Virgin Atlantic planes, however, have never had the ability to send drinks or snacks to others on board. Virgin America was disbanded in 2018, when it was integrated into Alaska Airlines. And Virgin Atlantic confirmed that new aircraft joining the fleet will not have the technology. The 12 A350s set to join the fleet (of which two have already arrived) do not have the capability. They will eventually replace the 747s, A340s and A330s that do. The spokesperson said it was being phased out because "it's a really underused facility, especially now, with the evolution of on-board Wi-Fi in recent years.<br/>
