Pictures from new A330 - PE and Economy *Updated Sunday 3/4

[Cochise]

If you happened to visit YouTube and searched on el nuevo airbus a330 de virgin Atlantic you may find something. The other website have to be very careful to not ruin their position with the airline

 

[kazdav]

If you happened to visit YouTube and searched on el nuevo airbus a330 de virgin Atlantic you may find something. The other website have to be very careful to not ruin their position with the airline

That looked like economy though not PE

 

[Red-Snapper]

Looks a bit "tight" for space

 

[kevin harrison]

Premium Economy Seating with IFE, note sockets for iPods etc..



Premium Economy Seating

 

[kevin harrison]

 

[Pegasus928]

At least I know not to bother paying the extra now. Looks just as cramped to economy to me.

 

[15isto2]

Is their in seat power for laptops etc?

 

[kazdav]

At least I know not to bother paying the extra now. Looks just as cramped to economy to me.

How do you work that out, if you are looking at the Red seats I think that is economy!

 

[act1980]

How do you work that out, if you are looking at the Red seats I think that is economy!

I think they are talking about the purple ones in PE. And I have to say that I completely agree. I thought the seats would be far more spacious.

 

[Pegasus928]

How do you work that out, if you are looking at the Red seats I think that is economy!

I think they are talking about the purple ones in PE. And I have to say that I completely agree. I thought the seats would be far more spacious.

That's exactly what I am talking about. For the price difference between the two I would expect a lot more for my money - and the size of the seats is only the starting point.

 

[kazdav]

I agree it is quite a hike. I opted to get the flights on the airbus though because the virgin rep told me that the orlando 747's did not have the purple leather seating and were the old cloth ones. Hmm maybe I should have had one flight on each.

 

[london75]

Premium Economy Seating with IFE, note sockets for iPods etc..



Premium Economy Seating

I can't decide if based on this I want to re-arrange to be on the 747 now! They look like a man's legs and with about an inch of space after his knee! I'm 6'5 and I accept we've been spoilt by the upstairs 747 PE but that looks borderline economy seat sizes.

I think this year will be our last Virgin flights. Given Aer Lingus Business with an almost horizontal bed each would only have been a couple of hundred more in total I don't know what they're playing at with these steps.

The video on youtube of economy made me feel claustrophobic just watching it. Shocking move for an airline supposedly built to give the best experience for the customer.

 

[Muscateer]

The PE does look a bit crammed not much different to cattle class. This has maybe been asked before but when will the 330s be flying out of Gatwick to Orlando?

 

[T16GEM]

I don't think that the cost of PE is worth it generally - but based on these pictures looks like I won't be changing my mind.

Having said that though I am looking forward to traveling on Beauty Queen in 21 days time!

 

[act1980]

I agree it is quite a hike. I opted to get the flights on the airbus though because the virgin rep told me that the orlando 747's did not have the purple leather seating and were the old cloth ones. Hmm maybe I should have had one flight on each.

Even still, it's a lot of money to spend on purple leather

 

[kazdav]

But I like purple

 

[disney_princess_85]

I thought I was looking at economy seats before I scrolled down! It certainly doesn't seem to be worth spending hundreds of pounds more.

 

[2Tiggies]

I thought I was looking at economy seats before I scrolled down! It certainly doesn't seem to be worth spending hundreds of pounds more.

Quite honestly, the debate as to whether it is worth it has been going on for a long time anyway, but I suspect that this is going to sway more over to the side of "It isn't!"

Strangely, for some reason when I looked at the original pics which were in post #1, the seats looked quite wide. It may have been the angle at which the picture was taken or maybe down to the fact that the uphostery looks less padded However, looking at the recent pictures on here there really doesn't appear to be much difference between PE and Economy. The other thing in the back of my mind is that it always looks so good when it is new. Let's see what these planes look like after a couple of years of wear and tear - then they don't even have the shiny new look to ride on, which I think is buying a bit more forgiveness at present.

 

[act1980]

The only real benefit to PE that I can see is that you get another 23kg bag but for £32 you can buy an extra one anyway which is obviously far cheaper

 

[2Tiggies]

The only real benefit to PE that I can see is that you get another 23kg bag but for £32 you can buy an extra one anyway which is obviously far cheaper

True. Don't get me wrong though, PE is nicer than economy IMO and the benefits were worth it (when there wasn't such a ridiculous price tag on upgrading that is). You also get priority boarding (okay that I have never understood - who wants to spend an extra half hour on the plane when you are going to be on there over 9 hours anyway ), priority luggage, which does make a difference and the extra weight. The 'comfort' of the seats has never been on a business class level, but neither have the prices. I am just not sure losing the bubble AND looking at those seats posted here, that it is worth any of my money.