Virgin Atlantic offers extra perks to students flying abroad

In a bid to woo students travelling abroad for higher studies, British carrier Virgin Atlantic will allow them free baggage check-in of up to 69 kg in economy class besides one date change without any additional cost.
They would also be allowed hand baggage of up to 10 kg in economy class as well as free transportation of sports equipment as part of this offer, the airline said in a release today.
At present, Virgin Atlantic operates one flight daily from Indira Gandhi International Airport here to London's Heathrow airport, and also provides further connectivity to the US.
The UK-based airline said it has also carried out a survey to get an in-depth insight into students' packing desires.

"We are pleased to offer students flying to the UK and US a generous baggage allowance and free date change to ensure they can carry their home comforts while studying abroad. We also have student travel advisors at our contact centre to help them with all their travel-related queries," Virgin Atlantic Head of India and Middle East Nick Parker said.
Students can avail the special check-in baggage allowance of up to 69 kg in economy class -- three bags of 23kg each -- in addition to 10 kg of hand-baggage and one piece of sports equipment at no extra charge, it said.

A survey conducted in June by the airline revealed the essential items that students would want to pack when they go abroad -- with home food and fashion topping the list, it said.

It said, if allowed to carry extra baggage, 35 per cent students would pack more food items, while 32 per cent would take along with them all their shoes.
In addition to food, apparel and shoes, students also love to carry sports equipment and music instruments as they shift their base to another country for a few years, the airline found in the survey.
"We will continue to surprise and delight our customers and understand the importance of extra baggage for students when they travel abroad for studies," Shivani Singh Deo, marketing and communications manager, Virgin Atlantic India added.

Additionally, as per the findings 40 per cent of the students who book their airline tickets in advance usually end up changing their date of travel and about 32 per cent of them have to incur a date change fee.
Having factored these trends amongst students who travel abroad, Virgin Atlantic has created customised offers to make travel more convenient for students, the release said.