Does PE on Virgin get cheaper the later you leave it?

[Martin S]

Calling all PE experts:

I was looking to book our trip, me DW and DS (2yr old) for Nov 2004 and was surprised at the extra prices for PE on Virgin after reading peoples comments on here.

the cost of upgrading now seems to be £400 each for the adults and £300 for DS, which is a lot of cash !

Would it be worth just booking Ecconomy seats now and upragding nearer the time to see if the prices drop ?

Cheers

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

I don't know whether you can get cheaper on the day, or perhaps nearer the time. What I do know is last year Virgin were doing some cracking deals on PE - this year they're not. From our past experiences of PE, it has now become VERY popular, so I suspect unless you can get a good deal with a travel agent, you probably won't with VA direct

When we were looking at our trip to St Lucia we looked at Kuoni, who were offering PE on Virgin at a reduced amount compared to Virgin Holidays. But the Kuoni holiday itself was more expensive, so it's swings and roundabouts

 

[giggler]

I M H O PREMUIM ECONOMY SEEM TO SELL OUT, RATHER THAN GET CHEAPER (WEVE MISSED OUT THAT BEFORE) AS THERES ONLY 36 SEATS IN PE.
I HAVE KNOWN VIRGIN TO DO SPECIAL OFFERS AT £250 RETURN UPGRADE BUT THEY DONT ADVERTISE, YOU HAVE TO RING UP AND HOPE FOR THE BEST.

GIGGLER

 

[jwhiting]

In answer to your question, we tried to upgrade on the flight back from Orlando and asked if there were PE seats available to which we told there was.

At a cost of (wait for it) £290 per person, for one way!!!!

We politely refused and despite the queue being reasonably long, still managed to claim the exit seats, and saved £580 in the process.

Hope this helps,
Julian

 

[Martin S]

Thanks for you help everyone, looks like we'll just have to pay now if we want to go then - makes it expensive though £2.5K just for the fly drive before adding accomodation.

 

[The Lost Boy]

Martin,
I agree with the above posts - we have already booked our PE Fly/drive package with Virgin for October 04 (I know its a long way out but this was the only time I could book time off work which coincided with the kids holidays). I just checked the dates again on the Virgin website, and they are now showing as fully booked on the dates we are travelling !

Clearly it all depends on whether you can be flexible with travel dates or not. If you have to travel on a certain date, then my advice would be to book as early as possible and just accept that you will not be in a position to shop for prices.

 

[codge90]

makes it expensive though £2.5K just for the fly drive before adding accomodation

Wow you must have plenty of spare cash. I paid £169 for a flight to Florida in November last year (economy).

November is the cheapest time to fly. Cash saved on Flights can be used for shopping!

Codge

 

[bubblefactory]

We upgraded to PE at check-in and it was more than the brochure price. We paid £312 per adult (one way), but they were bulk-head PE seats with even more room. They were excellent seats though. We have pre-booked Club Orlando this time. If you want PE seats, my advice would be to book them as early as possible. Even Club was full for our flight home so we could only book it outbound. The majority of people upgrading one way do it homebound so they can sleep. Hope this helps.

Alec

 

[Martin S]

Codge, not too much cash but too long legs !! eg Its either PE or we dont go as the seat pitch on Virgin is so small I cant get my legs in without ramming them into the person in front's back ! Ended up standing most of the flight last time lol

Alec, whats Club Orlando, is it effectively business class?

 

[bubblefactory]

Hi Martin,

Club Orlando is a special deal from Manchester . You pay a ~£120 supplement on top of PE and get the First Class seats. there is no other difference then from PE. The Manchester flight does not have first class food or the manicurist or masseur on board. IMO is a good deal as the space is all I want to be comfy. This will be our first trip Club ( seats prebooked in the bubble ) so i will have to tell more when we return.

Alec

 

[mike230652]

codge

It depends when you're booking. Martin is booking some 15/16 months ahead.I very much doubt you'd get any ticket ( economy or otherwise ) for £169 if you're booking that far ahead.

We ( 3 adults and 1 child ) tried everywhere for cheap seats this November. Best deal was scheduled flights with BA for £920 and that was a special offer.

Mind you, due to a mess-up with Air2000 we got 4 x flights ( 2 adults and 2 kids ) in November 2001 for £584........and that INCLUDED Premium economy seats on the way out AND car hire ( with insurance included!!! ).
Oh, Happy Days!!


mike230652