Booked Extra Legroom Seats on Virgin & Concerned with location

[EllieJ]

Hi ,

I booked Extra Legroom seats on the new Airbus and I am concerned now it will take ages to get off the plane as they are so far back .

Has anyone had experience of them & did it take a long time to get off the plane ?

Would you book them again given the choice ?

Thanks

SAM J

 

[MrRomance]

I can't speak from experience of those particular seats but I really don't think there is a great deal to be gained by being at the front of the plane most of the time. I would rather be comfortable during the flight with extra leg room, than get off the plane quicker because honestly, I think it all balances itself out in the end anywhere.

By the time you factor in baggage reclaim, which can either hold you up or speed you up, immigration lines, where you can get in a good line or a bad one, customs where you can get held up or waved through, baggage reclaim again at MCO because you drop your bags back off to get on the tram over to the other terminal. I don't think you really gain or lose much either way.

I can say that when we flew Virgin P.E. which gets priority when disembarking, we didn't gain anything from it.

 

[darthtatty]

I agree
we're always the last ones off the plane as we have to wait for our wheelchair. When we go to baggage claim, I usually see the people who are rushing off the plane still waiting for their bags.

 

[epcot.girl]

Agree with the above. We usually sit near the front so we're among the first off but even when getting through customs quickly there can be a wait for baggage. Sometimes we've been lucky and our luggage has come out quickly and we've been on our way, but equally there have been times where we've been waiting for baggage for what seems like a lifetime, by which point nearly everyone is off the plane and through customs.

 

[Wismgari]

I don't know where the seats are in the plane but I would disagree that it doesn't matter where you sit, in my experience anyway. When I arrived into Orlando just under a month ago we were towards the back of the plane - we got off as quickly as we could and walked very quickly to immigration. We there joined a huge que that moved incredibly slowly... took us almost 2 hours to get through immigration and there were still people waiting behind us! Our bags had been going round for ages and everyone who got off ahead of us had left! Next time I go I am going to do my best to sit further forward on the plane after that experience! Hopefully mine was a one off bad experience but thought I should warn you.

 

[MrRomance]

I don't know where the seats are in the plane but I would disagree that it doesn't matter where you sit, in my experience anyway. When I arrived into Orlando just under a month ago we were towards the back of the plane - we got off as quickly as we could and walked very quickly to immigration. We there joined a huge que that moved incredibly slowly... took us almost 2 hours to get through immigration and there were still people waiting behind us! Our bags had been going round for ages and everyone who got off ahead of us had left! Next time I go I am going to do my best to sit further forward on the plane after that experience! Hopefully mine was a one off bad experience but thought I should warn you.

There have been reported problems at immigration at MCO especially during the period most UK flights land because there are a number of flights from the UK and Europe that all get in to MCO over the course of a couple of hours. It sounds like you were caught up in the chaos at MCO that seems to be a problem of late. Where you sit on the plane doesn't really impact that very much. We are fortunate in that we get through immigration very quickly because my DW is a US citizen and we get to fast track it through the citizens line, but I think in your case, your 2 hour wait was more to do with the line being backed up before you got there than where you sat on the plane.

 

[ChipnDaleRule]

We flew into MCO last May.We were sat right at the back of the new Virgin A330 and sailed through immigration in record time.I think this was due to good timing,we were the first plane in (we were on the 11am flight) and it was a tuesday.
If i had the choice i would book extra legroom seats for the extra legroom and not worry about being a few rows further back

 

[queendisney]

I would always go for better seats ie extra leg room and chance my luck at MCO. Its too long a journey and any extra comfort you can afford is worth it. We normally get the extra leg room seats at the back of the 747 where they are in pairs (one pair on each side has a couple of inches more and yes it does make a difference) I think its just luck as to how long it take to actually get out of MCO as we have also been off quite quickly before and waited for ages for our bags. We cut out a bit of time by not putting it on the second belt that takes them to the second bag reclaim. But whenever we have been in PE with VA we have ALWAYS got off very quickly and our bags have always come out very quickly and waiting for us to pick off the belt.
So yes...imo its worth going for the extra leg room regardless of them being further back in the cabin.

 

[TinkerbellW]

We sat on the very back row of the plane last Easter and still got through Immigration relatively quickly. As previously mentioned, it depends on how many flights get in at the same time.

We've also requested the back row again for our flight in July

 

[Shazzie B]

We had extra leg room seats last Oct, we were slightly concerned too about how far back they were, we usually sit as far forward as possible. As pp have said sometimes it gives you an advantage some times not. I haven't got any timings on how long it took us to get through immigration but It didn't seem any longer than previous visits - probably about 30mins I'd guess. Agree with others - I prefer being more comfortable on the flight-but I don't travel with young children.

 

[Chilly]

I agree with what everyone else has said, i'd take the better seats on the plane over maybe saving 30 mins.

 

[scoobydooby]

I booked two extra leg room seats on the return leg last trip and the kids sat behind us. Best few quid I've ever spent. However long you're in immigration etc, you are on the plane much longer. I'd go for it

 

[Laurafoster]

We had the extra legroom seats last year on our way out. The combination of being pregnant and having a excited 2year old made those seats worth every penny.

When we got off the plane there was an awful queue at immigration. Probably took around 90mins. However this was not just our plane as the manchester flight landed just before ours. Even with the queuing i would book these seats again without hesitation.

 

[EllieJ]

Thanks everyone !

Happy with choice now after hearing your comments .


The big bonus I suppose wherever you sit is - Your're on our your way to DISNEY !!!!!