What Particular Expressions Mean

In these Conditions of Carriage we use particular expressions to mean certain things.  These are:

"We", "our", and "us" means Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited.

"You", "your" and "yourself" means any person, except members of the crew, who has a Ticket for travel and has been carried or is to be carried in an aircraft (See also definition for "Passenger"). In relation to refunds, it means, the person who paid for the ticket. In relation to Young Persons Travelling Alone, it includes parents or guardians.

"Airline Designator Code" means the two or three characters which identify an air carrier. Our Airline Designator Code is “VS”.

"Applicable Conditions" includes:

• the Tariff which applies to your Tickets; and
• regulations, policies and conditions applied by us from time to time (or the airlines operating your flight under a Codeshare) as set out on our website www.virginatlantic.com or on the website of the airline operating your flight 

"Assistance Dog" means a dog which has been:

• trained in the UK by a prescribed charity registered as a member of Assistance Dogs (UK); or
• trained in any other country by a prescribed charity affiliated to the International Guide Dog Federation, Assistance Dogs International or Assistance Dogs Europe;

to assist you if you are visually impaired, deaf, epileptic or have any other disability which affects your mobility, dexterity, physical co-ordination or ability to lift, carry or otherwise move everyday objects.

"Authorised Agent" means a passenger sales agent appointed by us to represent us in the sale of flights operated by us.

"Baggage" means your Checked Baggage, Hand Baggage or any other personal property accompanying you on board the flight.

"Baggage Identification Tag" means a document given to you, to identify each piece of your Checked Baggage.

"Checked Baggage" means your Baggage which we have taken into our custody, which travels in the hold of the aircraft and for which we issue a Baggage Identification Tag.

"Check-in Deadline" means the deadline set by us, or the carrier operating your flight, by which you must have completed check-in and received your boarding pass.

"Codeshare" means an arrangement whereby a flight that bears our Airline Designator Code (“VS”) is operated by another carrier on our behalf.

"Conditions of Carriage" means these conditions of carriage.

"Conjunction Ticket" means a Ticket we have issued to you in connection with another Ticket, which together, make a single contract of carriage.

"Connecting Flight" means a subsequent flight providing onward travel on the same Ticket or a Conjunction Ticket.

“Contract” means your contract of carriage with us, which includes:

(a) these Conditions of Carriage;

(b) the Tariff which applies to your Ticket;

(c) regulations, policies and conditions applied by us from time to time (or the airline operating your flight under a Codeshare) as set out on our website www.virginatlantic.com or on the website of the airline operating your flight.

(d) in the case of parents or legal guardians of YPTA, the contents of the signed Parent/Legal Guardian Consent Form.

"Damage" means:

(a) death or wounding of, or bodily injury to, a Passenger; or

(b) loss, partial loss, theft of, damage or destruction of Baggage.

“Delay” means:

(a) a delay in your arrival at your final destination airport as shown on your Ticket; or

(b) a delay in the arrival of your Baggage at your final destination airport as shown on your Ticket.

"Days" mean all seven days of every week. Where a notification within a certain number of days is needed, the day a notice is sent will not be counted. Where the validity of a Ticket is being worked out, the day it was issued or flight departed will not be counted.

"Denied Boarding" means you are not allowed to board a flight for which you have a valid Ticket.

"Events Beyond Your Control" means an unusual and unforeseeable circumstances outside your control and the consequences of which you could not have avoided (even if you had taken all due care). The following circumstances (amongst others) will not be considered an Events Beyond your Control:

• a pre-existing medical condition which you knew or should have known about when your Ticket was issued;
• failing to leave enough time between the scheduled times of Connecting Flights;
• a commitment relating to your employment, business or personal life; and
• not having correct and valid travel documents.

“Government Scheme Costs” means costs arising from our participation in a government mandated scheme (for example, the emissions trading scheme).

“Ground Services” means services provided by us or a third party on our behalf on the ground, including, amongst other things: chauffeur driven car service, check-in service and clubhouses.

“Hand Baggage” means the baggage and personal property you take with you in the cabin on your flight.

"Montreal Convention" means the Montreal Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air, signed in Montreal, 28 May 1999.

"Package Holiday" means a "package" as defined in:

• Regulation 2 of the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992, if you booked your holiday before 1^st July 2018;
• Regulation 2 of the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, if you booked your holiday on or after 1^st July 2018.

"Package Travel Regulations” means:

• the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992, as amended, if you booked your holiday before 01 July 2018; or
• the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, as amended, if you booked your holiday on or after 01 July 2018.

"Passenger" means a person who has a Ticket flightwho is carried or is to be carried on an aircraft.  It does not include a member of operating crew (see also definition for "you" and "your").

“Parent/Legal Guardian Consent Form” means the consent form for parents or legal guardians of Young Person(s) Travelling Alone contained on our website and updated from time to time. 

"Regulation 2027/97" means Regulation (EC) 2027/97 on Air Carrier Liability in the event of accidents as amended by Regulation (EC) 889/02.

“Regulation 261/2004” means Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 295/91.

"Special Drawing Right" and "SDR" means the currency that is the official unit of exchange of the International Monetary Fund.

"Stopover" means a scheduled stop on your journey between the departure airport and the final destination airport, as shown on your itinerary or Ticket.

"Tariff" means the fares, charges, fare rules and related conditions of an airline filed (where required) with the appropriate authorities.

"Ticket" means an electronic ticket for a confirmed reservation which has been issued by us or an Authorised Agent, and which entitles the named Passenger to travel on the flight(s) identified on it.

“Young Person Travelling Alone” or “YPTA” means a Passenger who is aged 14 and 15 years old on the date of the first flight, who is not accompanied on the same flight by another Passenger who is at least 18 years of age. 

"Warsaw Convention" means whichever of the following (if any) that apply to your Ticket:

• the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air, signed at Warsaw, 12 October 1929 (hereinafter referred to as the Warsaw Convention);
• the Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague on 28 September 1955;
• the Warsaw Convention as amended by Additional Protocol No. 1 of Montreal (1975);
• the Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague and by Additional Protocol No. 2 of Montreal (1975);
• the Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague and by Additional Protocol No. 4 of Montreal (1975);
• the Guadalajara Supplementary Convention (1961).