Infrequent Flyer

[joolz1910]

It suddenly occurred to me to look at my Virgin flight booking and I was shocked to see that passengers had already booked their seats for my flight on August 16th. I'm sure you never used to be able to book so far in advance! It is also £25 each way, which would mean £250 extra for our family

My eldest daughter has Acute Anxiety Disorder, so last time we flew I requested bulkhead seats for 2 of us (DD and me) through Special Assistance. Am I still able to do this or have I missed the boat as these seats are unavailable online?

Also, is there any chance that the kids could be seated alone? I can (and have) coped with us being split up as a family, so long as the girls are sitting with at least me or DH.

Feeling a bit stupid for not realising all of this.

 

[Kath2003]

Under 12s are guaranteed to be sat with an adult.

If you need special assistance, you'll need to telephone VH to make arrangements.

 

[TinkerbellW]

I spoke with special assistance because we need to be sat near a toilet as my ds has Crohns disease and they reserved suitable seats for all of us together with no charge.

I'd definitely speak to them.

 

[Elise79]

Around December time they finally managed to get their paying for reserving seats system working after about 18 months of trying.

You can now book seats in Economy for £25pp each way from the time the flights are released and you have booked.

I believe bulk head seats are still blocked and given out on a as needed basis through special assistance so if you have a need I would give them a call.

If you have a flying club red membership you can book 72 hours in advance free of charge, otherwise it is 24 hours in advance.

 

[joolz1910]

Thanks for all of the replies. I will phone VH Special Assistance as they were great last time. I don't mind being split up, just as long as the youngest two (11 and 7) are seated with one of us. I would like bulkhead seats for DD (15) as it will make a huge difference to her, although I understand that they are allocated according to greatest need. I will phone and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[jothp]

Hi, if you booked before 12th November then you should be able to book your seats for free 60 days before you travel. Have a read here.
http://virginatlantic.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/86
We have decided not to pay to book seats as it would be a lot of money both ways for the 5 of us. I know that my younger 2 will definitely be with an adult but crossing my fingers that my older dd will be with one of us too as she hasn't ever flown before and I don't like to think of her alone on the plane.

 

[joolz1910]

Hi, if you booked before 12th November then you should be able to book your seats for free 60 days before you travel. Have a read here.
http://virginatlantic.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/86
We have decided not to pay to book seats as it would be a lot of money both ways for the 5 of us. I know that my younger 2 will definitely be with an adult but crossing my fingers that my older dd will be with one of us too as she hasn't ever flown before and I don't like to think of her alone on the plane.

Thanks, that is good to know. We are exactly the same - I don't want to pay an additional £250 for 5 of us and I'm only worried about my eldest DD who has acute anxiety. I would have liked the Bubble but it's not worth the extra cash to me - I would rather spend it when I'm there x

 

[DLPDreams]

I hope you manage to get sorted out Joolz. Are you ringing them this week?

As we are flying PE with Thomsons we get our seat booking included BUT as we are going for 3 weeks I am dreading it as I don't think there will be much choice left - they have this silly system allowing you to book 90 days before your return flight and not outbound which means anyone going for 1 or 2 weeks will be able to book before us! As there is a row without a window and of course the back row which has limited recline, I'd rather not be left with those seats!

While it wouldn't be a problem normally, there are 6 of us so I was hoping to get us in seats of 2, on rows behind each other but I can't see that happening! We flew once before Thomsons about 3/4 years ago and didn't prebook our seats - there were 5 of us and we ended as far apart as possible so it wasn't ideal as the girls were still quite little so I wanted to be with both of them but couldn't be! Since then we've always prebooked, but I do agree it's a lot of extra money to find for a family and quite frankly a rip off - just another way for the airline to get money out of people!!

 

[joolz1910]

I hope you manage to get sorted out Joolz. Are you ringing them this week?

As we are flying PE with Thomsons we get our seat booking included BUT as we are going for 3 weeks I am dreading it as I don't think there will be much choice left - they have this silly system allowing you to book 90 days before your return flight and not outbound which means anyone going for 1 or 2 weeks will be able to book before us! As there is a row without a window and of course the back row which has limited recline, I'd rather not be left with those seats!

While it wouldn't be a problem normally, there are 6 of us so I was hoping to get us in seats of 2, on rows behind each other but I can't see that happening! We flew once before Thomsons about 3/4 years ago and didn't prebook our seats - there were 5 of us and we ended as far apart as possible so it wasn't ideal as the girls were still quite little so I wanted to be with both of them but couldn't be! Since then we've always prebooked, but I do agree it's a lot of extra money to find for a family and quite frankly a rip off - just another way for the airline to get money out of people!!

Totally agree. If it were just 2 of us, I would stump up and shut up but for 5/6, it adds a huge amount. I will phone this week. Last time, Virgin Special Assistance were really good. We got 4 bulkhead seats on the outward journey and 2 on the way back. Not so sure with it being August this time. The seats I would prefer are all booked already so 60 days before flight probably won't make much difference other than to ensure the kids aren't on their own lol.

 

[DLPDreams]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you x

 

[wilma-bride]

Joolz, it is unlikely that the bulkhead seats are booked. They are unavailable for online bookings, I believe, since they are generally reserved for families with babies.