Virgin Atlantic Is In the Hot Seat

During this time of year, the airports start to become packed and busy. This is normally due to the number of people flying home to see their family members or friends. This means the airlines become extremely busy, and in order to combat the tired pilots, the airlines often give their workers a raise this time of year. The Virgin Atlantic airlines usually do this too, but not this year. The pilots’ union, the Professional Pilots Union, which has about one third of Virgin Atlantic pilots as members, was not involved in negotiations in the pay raise and other pilot benefits.

In response to this, about one third of the pilots at the airline have decided to strike from December 22 until December 25. According to Virgin Atlantic, this will cause absolutely zero disruption in their scheduled flights, and the airline does not need assistance in any of their flights. Although this has very little impact on the airline itself, the professional pilots union has said this is their “last straw.” The Virgin Atlantic airlines did not recognize the union of pilots for two years until the union was finally accepted as legitimate, angering many union members. The members from the union have responded by asking Virgin Atlantic to reconsider their guidelines and pause negotiations until a member from the union can get into the conversation.

This is not the first time Virgin Atlantic has been under fire. In 2017, the airline forced an 11-year-old Chinese boy off a flight because he was unaccompanied and his section was overbooked. The boy was on his way to London and was going to attend a summer camp. According to the family’s lawyer, more than ten staff members, including the captain of the plane, told the young boy to leave.

The mother of the boy, who decided to go as Mrs. Liu, has gone public with the incident because she was not completely satisfied with the response from Virgin Atlantic. The response was three round trip tickets to anywhere in the world. Mrs. Liu was unsatisfied because she and her husband work everyday, and three vacations are not in the near future for them.

Needless to say, Virgin Atlantic Airline has several things to work on. The airline has been involved in multiple controversies and is seen as shady and furious at times. Without a doubt, Richard Branson, the company’s owner, and the airline need to get their act together.

By Adam Smith