Up in the Bubble

[Tony Bush]

DD and her DBF are flying with Virgin next May. They are thinking of trying to reserve 2 economy seats in the bubble. I know some of the advantages and disadvantages, a full list in peoples opinions would be good !. One thing that bothers her is, are there toilets up in the bubble or will she have to come down into normal economy for the loo ?

Tony

 

[crabbie1]

There are toilets upstairs at the front. U have to walk through PE to get to them. Its very nice up there we sat in the back row think it was 79 ABC.

 

[strawberry blonde]

They use the toilets upstairs in the PE section. A friend of mine sat with her family in the bubble and loved it especially being off first

 

[chocolateMinnie]

We sat in the bubble for the first time coming home last October.

Please bare in mind we slept for 75% of the trip.

pros - when we got on board we noticed there were more staff per person up there (presumably based on the PE at the front) but as I say we slept and didn't really benefit from this.

You get off the plane first - worth loads especially if you are just arriving in USA and want to be quick to immigration.

Very quiet - not much noise due to not many people but then presumably a crying baby in such a small area would cause more disruption??????????

Cons
Only 2 toilets upstairs and you have to walk through PE. The staff appear to use the same toilets.
No area to self-serve drinks during flight (on the way out we always send the kids for soft drinks rather than ring for attendant - not saying you couldn't do this but would be embarrassed to send kids via PE)
Very small storage areas. They are more like side pockets under windows. Fine but means underseat storage rather than overhead. Cabin crew were taking larger items from passengers and storing in a locker at the back. Would have found this really irritating if I wanted access to stuff during flight.
Nowhere to wander. If you are a leg-stretcher you are kind of doomed up there - think minibus. Downstairs you can stretch your legs every once in a while.

As an add-on we had a very calm and flat ride up there but not sure if we were just luckier than usual coming home but nowhere near the usual turbulence.

:

 

[tashasmum]

Would definitely recommend economy in the bubble. We arrived home this morning and managed to get seats upstairs, 76 a and b. lots of storage space in the lockers above and to the side of the seats but if it is a large piece the stewardesses store them in a locker at the back after you have taken out what you need for the flight.
There was no problem with using the toilets at the front of PE but we did notice that an odd one or two people went downstairs. You get off the plane before PE so woulda get you a head start at immigration too.

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

You get off the plane before PE so woulda get you a head start at immigration too.

I know I'll probably get totally flamed for this and completely "hated" but this is exactly why I think the whole rearrangement of the bubble seating is unfair. One of the reasons we pay extra for PE is so we get off the plane quicker now the folks in the bubble EC and PE are off before us in PE downstairs

 

[tashasmum]

I know I'll probably get totally flamed for this and completely "hated" but this is exactly why I think the whole rearrangement of the bubble seating is unfair. One of the reasons we pay extra for PE is so we get off the plane quicker now the folks in the bubble EC and PE are off before us in PE downstairs

i totally agree with you. We have paid for pe before but dont think i would again. Upper class and pe downstairs got off before us today, but we were off before pe upstairs.

 

[RDP]

I know I'll probably get totally flamed for this and completely "hated" but this is exactly why I think the whole rearrangement of the bubble seating is unfair. One of the reasons we pay extra for PE is so we get off the plane quicker now the folks in the bubble EC and PE are off before us in PE downstairs

I agree with this point (And we fly EC) If I was paying for the advantages of PE, I would expect them to be applied fairly across the PE cabins.

 

[Tony Bush]

Thanks guys, DD is sold on bubble seats. Just looked at the seat configuration and I hadn't realised economy in the bubble was 3 + 3. May go for the extra legroom 3 for me DW and DS next year. Are there issues with feeling cramped with headroom as DS is 6'5" ! I'm sure people have said the overhead bins are smaller but do you still get decent headroom ?

Tony

 

[queendisney]

I know I'll probably get totally flamed for this and completely "hated" but this is exactly why I think the whole rearrangement of the bubble seating is unfair. One of the reasons we pay extra for PE is so we get off the plane quicker now the folks in the bubble EC and PE are off before us in PE downstairs

Yep totally agree...

We are in PE downstairs as I think its way to crowded in that small space upstairs now. I thought the priority was downstairs first class and PE then upstairs PE and economy then the rest of the plane.
I don't really mind tbh as never really had a problem with immigration at MCO and generally even if we are last off the plane, which sometimes we are if we book the two seats at the back of the plane in economy, its never taken very long to clear it...

 

[scoobydooby]

Been in the bubble economy. It's quieter and we were off immediately behind the FC and many of the PE people downstairs which was my intention and why we booked these seats. It is also much quieter. Cons are the large bag storage as previously described and many of the seats have a metal box under them which restricts leg room. I have an app which shows where these seats are and would avoid them in future. If you need to walk around you can go down the stairs to do so. Overall I prefer it to economy downstairs. Also if the PE people in the bubble moves fast enough they could get off first.

 

[flortlebap]

I know I'll probably get totally flamed for this and completely "hated" but this is exactly why I think the whole rearrangement of the bubble seating is unfair. One of the reasons we pay extra for PE is so we get off the plane quicker now the folks in the bubble EC and PE are off before us in PE downstairs

Completely agree too.

I liked the A330 PE setup but we are on a 747 next year. We are people who get off the plane and sprint! Lol.

Some of the VA 747 fleet are PE only though in the bubble - maybe they will roll them out onto our route?

 

[ChipnDaleRule]

I know I'll probably get totally flamed for this and completely "hated" but this is exactly why I think the whole rearrangement of the bubble seating is unfair. One of the reasons we pay extra for PE is so we get off the plane quicker now the folks in the bubble EC and PE are off before us in PE downstairs

No flaming here.If I've paid extra for my flight i too would expect privileges.At the end of the day we're not talking a couple of extra £ we're talking a few hundred extra

I would love to experience the bubble next trip.I wouldn't mind waiting till last to get off.Fingers crossed prices come down soon

 

[Elise79]

Completely agree too. I liked the A330 PE setup but we are on a 747 next year. We are people who get off the plane and sprint! Lol. Some of the VA 747 fleet are PE only though in the bubble - maybe they will roll them out onto our route?

None of the VA747 are PE only in the bubble anymore

The LGW/MAN fleet have PE & E in the bubble and the LHR fleet have UC & E in the bubble.

The A330 2 class was great for PE but they are all being refitted to 3 class now too.

For us the best PE is outbound downstairs towards the rear of the cabin then return in the rear of the PE section in the bubble.

 

[Lisa x]

I know I'll probably get totally flamed for this and completely "hated" but this is exactly why I think the whole rearrangement of the bubble seating is unfair. One of the reasons we pay extra for PE is so we get off the plane quicker now the folks in the bubble EC and PE are off before us in PE downstairs

We pay a fortune to fly Upper Class and PE have always been off before us including upstairs PE, I know this is because the PE cabin is closer to the door than UC so it makes sense for them to be off first as they'd all have to move aside for us coming through, just seems to be the way it is. I know it seems a bad set up where they have placed them but they're there now and it's only a relatively small bunch getting off before us!


To the OP, definitely reserve in the bubble if you can, it's really nice up there, quiet and spacious, we've only flown PE in there so haven seen it with EC but can't imagine it being much different! My family are flying in the bubble at Christmas in EC, I'm happy they get off first as we won't have to wait for them to clear immigration so long behind us

 

[flortlebap]

None of the VA747 are PE only in the bubble anymore

The LGW/MAN fleet have PE & E in the bubble and the LHR fleet have UC & E in the bubble.

The A330 2 class was great for PE but they are all being refitted to 3 class now too.

For us the best PE is outbound downstairs towards the rear of the cabin then return in the rear of the PE section in the bubble.

Oh that's disappointing - VA were showing PE only on one flight configuration, so I thought they may have rolled it out

Does that mean the bubble PE is amongst the last to disembark? I may opt for downstairs if so - I want to hightail it to epcot when we land!

 

[Elise79]

Oh that's disappointing - VA were showing PE only on one flight configuration, so I thought they may have rolled it out Does that mean the bubble PE is amongst the last to disembark? I may opt for downstairs if so - I want to hightail it to epcot when we land!

Last information I had was it is front of the plane first (so UC & PE) followed by everyone else.

You get some crews that disembark the bubble before the main economy cabin however these seem to be in the minority.

 

[DISWolves]

Having flown Virgin for at least 10 visits.....I must say that the Econ seats that we had in the bubble were the worst ever!!!!!! With the seat in front fully reclined, the tv screen was around 9" from your face! making it totally un-viewable. I don't recall it being so bad in Econ seats downstairs where you could not view the screen comfortably. Plus point of course is the fast exit from the plane.

 

[flortlebap]

Last information I had was it is front of the plane first (so UC & PE) followed by everyone else.

You get some crews that disembark the bubble before the main economy cabin however these seem to be in the minority.

Thanks - I think as a compromise we will do downstairs on the way out for a quick disembark and bubble on the way back for some peace and quiet

 

[darthtatty]

My husband went on a trip to San Francisco recently and I managed to get him a seat in the bubble.
He didn't like the big gap inbetween the seats and the wall. He said there was nothing to lean against and go to sleep.

Apart from that he enjoyed going upstairs