Flight decision help!!!!!

[torsie24]

what do you and db want to do?

Well, this is the quandry!

I LOVE luxury anything. And having flown with nice seats a few times in my life I do know how it makes a difference.

Jack however has only ever flown economy, and had never gone further then Europe before he was with me, so even though he's 6'4" his motto is "I'm very grateful to be able to travel so far, I don't care what the seats are like"

That being said, we only ever travel leisure select on Eurostar, and he loves that, and he does LOVE a nice hotel.

He's the sensible, patient one, and I am the impulsive, disney-nut one.

I think maybe Economy there - PE home is a good bet. I'll phone VA and see what the prices are like, will it be as simple as half the PE fair and half the difference in miles?

 

[joolz1910]

I am far too tight to spend £800 extra on a flight. I would much rather have something memorable once at WDW. My instinct would be VA Economy, but it's not my money...

 

[Cyrano]

Another vote for economy

 

[Jets fan]

This is going to sound strange, but whilst checking out the PE costs, ask how much Upper Class is as when we went in April last year, the cost of UC was only £80 each difference per ticket. I actually booked PE first and then called and asked what the difference would be and was staggered at how cheap the difference was.

Tina

 

[2Tiggies]

I'll phone VA and see what the prices are like, will it be as simple as half the PE fair and half the difference in miles?

I don't know about the miles, but the fare is not necessarily half. There can be a vast difference in upgrade prices depending on the flight and capacity etc. so make sure you ask for individual prices for the outbound and inbound as one is sure to be cheaper than the other. If the difference is significant, it may well solve your dilemma for you. However the cheaper upgrade may or may not be on the inbound so be prepared to be flexible if you go this route. Let us know.

 

[london75]

I'm going to buck the trend here and say you should definitely go PE if possible.

My motto for our wedding was "you only do it once" (and I mean to stick to that!).

We were flying to Singapore which is a longer flight but it made all the difference, the crew were so nice, they gave us champagne all the way keeping us topped up at all times, our every need was catered for and it set the honeymoon on a really good start.

That trip is what started our obsession with PE and although standards aren't what they were despite the cost going up we still love it.

I personally would be concerned the first part of the journey would much more likely to be ruined with bad seats, rude neighbours, poor service due to overstretched cabin crew etc. Like it or not (and some won't), you pay PE for a reason, the extra care, dedicated crew (upstairs, don't get me started on the lower level of PE downstairs), perks etc are all worth it in our book.

I'm a 6'5" bloke that used to be just grateful to travel, he sounds like me, I'm now on my quest for bargain UC seats instead, got the luxury bug.

 

[Jets fan]

I'm a 6'5" bloke that used to be just grateful to travel, he sounds like me, I'm now on my quest for bargain UC seats instead, got the luxury bug.

They do exist, just keep checking the flight prices, as I did and found a bargain UC fare, only £80 more than PE, but I had to be quick.

Tina

 

[WSussex]

Hi

My gut and sensible head says VA economy but it IS your wedding and hopefully you will only do it once so I reckon its such a special occaision I would go premium!!!!


S x

 

[2Tiggies]

Torsie, whatever you decide, once you make a decision, agree that you won't do the "if only", "what if" or "I wonder". Often the choices we make are great until we ruin it by wondering if maybe we should have done things differently..... At the end of the day, it probably isn't going to make or break your wedding, but I do believe that there are some things that are worth the sacrifice. You and DB need to decide together what would mean the most for you for this special trip. If it is extra spending money for something great when you get there, wonderful!!! If it is that spending can be done on any trip but you want to travel in style , Also wonderful! But once you make your decision, stick to it and don't second guess yourselves. Just enjoy it!

Oh and just by the way, no matter what you choose, I think I speak for everyone here, we are right behind you on that decision!

 

[igk]

Does anyone know if VA have a policy on honeymoon upgrades? When we got married we flew BA to San Francisco, and we were upgraded to Club World. I've no idea if even BA do that kind of thing any more, but if you do decide it's not worth £800 for PE, then I wonder if VA upgrade honeymooners

Edit - although on the outbound trip if you're going for your wedding they won't know though...

 

[VailaTigger]

I did the whole "it's my wedding and I only do this once" thing, and spent a lot of money on it.
Now I'm about to do it for the second time! Never say never...

I'm flying Virgin Economy in just under 3 weeks time, if you want a report on what it's like? Admittedly from Glasgow, so I've no idea which plane we'll be on, an old one or a newer one.

I don't know which way I'd be tempted if I had the cash... But then I've never flown anything other than Economy!

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Do you know I only found out a year ago that there are PE seats not in the bubble. I have always ended upstairs. How do they decide who gets the bubble and who gets the downstairs? Just curious what this is based on as I have never specifically requested it - didn't even know any differently (aside from wondering howcome there were so few PE seats )

You can request at time of booking but I guess that depends on availability, as it is generally more popular upstairs.
It may also differ depending on who you book with, I think Virgin Atlantic work in a different way to booking with Virgin Holidays.

Once you have a reference you can check availability on the 'manage your booking' section on VA, then you can reserve your own seats, but would have to check in online the day before otherwise someone else will pinch 'em.

 

[Jets fan]

If you book a PE seat with Virgin Atlantic - flight only, then you can book your seat. You have access to your booking from the the minute you pay the full fare. In the past I have changed my seats in PE on several occasions. You can do this until all pre-bookable seats are booked, it's then not available until check-in.

Tina

 

[torsie24]

If you book a PE seat with Virgin Atlantic - flight only, then you can book your seat. You have access to your booking from the the minute you pay the full fare. In the past I have changed my seats in PE on several occasions. You can do this until all pre-bookable seats are booked, it's then not available until check-in.

Tina

I've not sat upstairs in PE, but would for this trip if we book it. When I've sat downstairs though I've chosen that myself so I was in the front row with about 8ft legroom.

One flight I was flying back from LA on my own and had no one next to me so I had so much room for me and my bags, that was the best flight ever.

*sigh* I'm no closer to deciding, and I have like 4 weeks until the flihgts come out.

Wait, no I have 7 cus it's from the flying back date. Boo.

 

[wayneg]

I would never pre-plan any flight or hotel until prices are released. Just wait see what is on offer before making any decision. This August we are going indirect Delta business elite cheaper than we could have bought Virgin PE.

 

[torsie24]

Just played around online with February prices as it's as far as I can get forward.

Economy return with miles £431

PE return with miles £895

Econ there - PE back £592

Even Jack agreed that's a good deal!

Fingers crossed prices are similar for March if we book the day they are available!!

 

[2Tiggies]

Once you have a reference you can check availability on the 'manage your booking' section on VA, then you can reserve your own seats, but would have to check in online the day before otherwise someone else will pinch 'em.

I "pre-booked" my seats some months back via the Manage Your Flights tool. Does that mean if I don't check in online asap 24 hours before, that someone else could nick them? Sorry if this is a silly question, but emergency exit rows are not an option for me with a young child and I have picked us some seats I am really happy with.

 

[gemmybear83]

Just played around online with February prices as it's as far as I can get forward.

Economy return with miles £431

PE return with miles £895

Econ there - PE back £592

Even Jack agreed that's a good deal!

Fingers crossed prices are similar for March if we book the day they are available!!

The economy seats look quite expensive we paid £406 for economy return with miles and money from Manchester and that is flying on a Saturday? Returns from LGW were at £350?

Personally I would just go with economy and pay for extra luggage and leg room if needed, this would still be much cheaper than PE and remember no matter where you on a VA plane going to MCO they still have the same crummy entertainment system

If we were flying from LGW again I would try and go BA they have a new AVOD system on board and the plane interior was nicer.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I "pre-booked" my seats some months back via the Manage Your Flights tool. Does that mean if I don't check in online asap 24 hours before, that someone else could nick them? Sorry if this is a silly question, but emergency exit rows are not an option for me with a young child and I have picked us some seats I am really happy with.

Not necessarily but it's best to check in online to be safe. Last April we pre-booked the same 3 seats in upstairs Premium Economy both ways.
On the way to Orlando we checked in online the night before, no problem and we were upstairs as expected, however on the return flight we didn't and someone else took our upstairs seats.
At Downtown Disney check-in the Virgin rep's said they had put us downstairs in the PE bulkhead seats because of Joshua's disabilities.
They actually said they did that at our request - which just wasn't true.

I suppose because we make Virgin aware our son is Autistic they 'assumed' we would want to be downstairs, I can only assume though that if we had checked in online the night before we would have been okay, after all we were on the outbound journey.

 

[disneyholic family]

i voted for VA economy...

use the money for a super splurge on your honeymoon....
something like dinner for 2 at victoria and alberts - the chefs table version (you're in the kitchen with the chef).

something like that...that you wouldn't otherwise do...