To go premium economy or not?

[mushumadness]

Hiya

Just wondering if anyone has been premium economy with virgin?

and which way is best?

I am considering it as a treat for chris

thanx anna

 

[gilld]

Well I have to say we think it's worth every penny IF you are seated "upstairs". The cabin only has 42 seats so is much quieter, the seats are 2+2 with a lovely wide aisle so it feels spacious and the seats themselves are wider and have lots more legroom with a leg/footrest. There is also a low level locker all along the sides so convenient for putting hand luggage in and resting drinks, magazines etc on. You also get Priority Check-in, boarding and baggage reclaim.

The difference for us is significant and makes for a much more enjoyable flight, particularly on the way home. We won't travel Economy anymore, unless a short European flight, and are trying UC in September for our return overnight bed!

 

[jockey]

Anna - PE is well worth the money. As gilld has already said the upstairs cabin is really quiet but I would suggest that you request upstairs as soon as you book if you decide to do so.


If you go PE on the outbound leg then you will probably appreciate the extra leg room and the comfy chairs. It's handy as you are 1st to get off the aircraft with the UC people and you luggage comes off 1st too!!

If you use it on the way back - you will appreciate the comfy seats for sleeping - so whats the point paying the extra if you are going to sleep if you know what I mean - especially if you can sleep anywhere like me!!! On the other hand it would be a nice treat as you will probably be depressed you are coming home!!!

Hope I haven't confused you too much

 

[princess jackson]

Anna, we travel PE in 6 weeks, on our return flight.

Has anyone sat PE on the lower deck, we have been placed there, 2 rows behind UC, will it be the same as the upper deck apart from the noise.

 

[carolfoy]

PE on the lower deck does not have its own specific cabin crew like the upper deck does so although you still get the same benefits i.e. bigger seats you don't get as much personalised service. I personally opt for the return leg if I do one way only as I like to get a better nights sleep on the return, but its definately worth it!

 

[princess jackson]

We gor the £50 upgrade each for our return flight, but each tiome i ring the call centre to allocate our seats on the upper deck, they keep telling me i'am on the upper deck, but when looking at the seat plan, i'm on the lower deck.

I have rang 3 times each time telling me i'm on the upper deck (I WANT TO BE ON THE UPPER DECK!!!)

So no idea what to do.

 

[gilld]

Have you tried moving your seat allocation yourself on-line on VA's site? It's very easy to do.

 

[TraceyL]

WE too managed to book the £50 upgrade on the return leg

I can't sleep on planes as a rule, but found the difference in BA's WT+ seats unbelieveable. I a ctually managed to get about 5 hours sleep - which made teh world of difference on teh drive home afterwards.

I know we will be missing out on some of the benefits on the way out but for me the ability to sleep coming home far outweighs that

I've 'requested' upper deck seating too

 

[princess jackson]

Unable to do anything online!

We have connecting flights from Newcastle to Gatwick, then onto Orlando, = 4 flights.

But due to our flight times changing from Newcastle to Gatwick, our booking shows 6 flights, and virgin website is unable to cope with 4 more flights.

We have been even seats 82, which is in the Upper class area, so heres hoping we get a little UC service

Not to concerned about our outbound flight will be to excited to do anything. Plus i get the job of filling the forms in yep i make mistakes to DH annoyance.

So this process takes twice as long

 

[Booknut]

Can someone explain to me this £50 upgrade?

DH and I haven't booked flights yet and haven't flown Virgin either, we were going to book with BA and pay £190 each to upgrade on the way back.

Does Virgin have better upgrade deals?

Thanks,

Eloise

 

[princess jackson]

This was a deal that was on offer, unfortuantely the offer has ended.

Not sure how you find out about offers, i only read a thread on here on the last day of the offer.

 

[Halo]

Can someone explain to me this £50 upgrade?

DH and I haven't booked flights yet and haven't flown Virgin either, we were going to book with BA and pay £190 each to upgrade on the way back.

Does Virgin have better upgrade deals?

Thanks,

Eloise

Just to clarify as well - that upgrade deal was a Virgin Holidays deal. If you booked with Virgin Atlantic direct, rather than through Virgin Holidays, you would not have been able to get the deal. The best Virgin Atlantic upgrade to PE appears to be £190 each way.

Also if you book early enough you can get BA Club from £1200 return on the www.ba.com website.

 

[icydog]

We used BA World Traveller Plus and enjoyed the extra room. Also Flight attendants are nicer to you and more accomodating. Maybe because the cabin is small and less hectic than coach.

 

[nattyk]

can't believe I missed the chance to upgrade for £50!!!! just phoned Virgin to check and they only have PE on the return flight (when we fly next Mar/Apr) and was quoted £285 per adult and £171 per child (we are 2 adults and 3 kids) so not really an option...so going to have to keep an eye open for these offers - how do you hear about them??

cheers
nat

 

[TraceyL]

I heard through the boards (first elsewhere then here)

Right place at the right time

 

[brighton boy]

I think that it is not worth all that extra money you can use the money on things to do in Orlando

Some pepole will say that it is worth it , I think it depends on the Person

Tony xxx

 

[Frances999]

Some pepole will say that it is worth it , I think it depends on the Person

I agree. It depends on what the cost of the upgrade means to you. If it will be stretching your budget, then it may not be a great idea to upgrade.

For us, it is worth every penny. When we travelled Economy back in 1998 I found it extremely claustrophobic and had a generally negative experience. The extra space and quietness in PE (especially upstairs) makes it well worth the extra. I don't consider it good value - but it is still an essential part of our flights we couldn't go without. For true value-for-money, UCS is hard to beat.

 

[alisonbestford]

I guess the general concensus of opinion is, ''If you can afford it, and think it would improve your holiday experience, go for it''

I, personally couldn't justify it - the price difference is half the cost of a chance to catch 2 weeks more sunshine somewhere

 

[cannp123165]

We flew in Premium economy on the journey to Orlando in February. The only reason was as we booked about 3 weeks before we left, they were the only seats available for that journey. To be seated together we had to sit in the downstairs premium economy section. We were lucky to have seats at the front of the PE section, with about 1 metre leg room (we were not by a door).

It was fun- you get ice cream, drinks on take off, newspapers and socks in your amenity kit!!!

The extra space was nice- it would have been more useful on the return journey for sleeping, but we would not fly in PE again, as it was not such a bonus in return for the money.

I am sure it would be a fun experience. Also the check in is basically a walk in, and your luggage is already waiting for you when you are there!!! This is a brilliant bonus!!!

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I have to say as a Virgin fan I am not enamoured with Premium economy.
It should have a different menu to economy and access to not the Virgin clubhouse, but access to one of the other airport lounges.

Still, its better than BA world traveller plus where you don't get the pre take off champagne notr the dedicated check in desks....