Virgin flights - seat question ?

[mulhjnr]

Any experts out there who can help with economy seat preferences ?

We are a family of 4 and I am just about to select our preferred seats on the Virgin website but is there any seats better than other ?

My first thought was to go with the rows af 2 at the very back to get 2 window seats and also less people to annoy if my 2 year old DS gets loud !!

Thanks,
Pat

 

[Lisa1976]

I personally prefer the twos at the back of the plane, at the moment there is only myself and my husband to worry about so the twos are great, we don't have to worry about bothering other people to get in and out of our seats and only have each other to annoy!!!

 

[TMM]

I have not flown Virgin yet (doing so in January 2006), but I have flown with my 2 year old son. I call Virgin and request the bulkhead area as that is the best place to be with a little one. You have a bit more space and there is no one in front of you.

If you can't get the bulkhead then take the last two rows as you were thinking. That way if your little one kicks the chair in front you won't have to keep apologizing. We flew to Atlanta in April on BA and my son was in his second stage car seat. The elevation of the car seat and the length of his legs was just so that his feet rested on the back of the chair in front of us. I felt horrible for the man in front of us, but he understood.

 

[TraceyL]

I've just 'requested' 2 sets of 2 at the rear for our family of 4. We find it so much easier as we can split our 2 DDs up if (when) they start bickering )and swap them around with us so ease the boredom. Not sure how likely we are to keep those seats at check in though as I've read they prefer to allocate those seats to couples

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

If you go to www.v-flyer.com there is seat ratings page for all Virgin aircraft there

 

[kevin harrison]

The problem with the back of the plane is people congregate around the toilets and it does get very busy and noisy.

 

[squitty]

We are a family of 4 and I've just requested seats at the back 61 H&K 62 H&K were the ones offered to us. Might change these when we do online checkin

 

[carolynn38]

Hi guys, first post here so please be gentle with me.

Me and my boyfriend have just booked to Orlando next May with Virgin and have been reading the seat related threads with interest.

As Obi Wan Kenobi has already stated, there is a great page at v-flyer which shows peoples opionions of which seats are good/bad.

Having read this, we have already pre booked 62 with the 2 seats together as we recently flew with Thomas Cook to Mexico, and again managed to pre book just 2 seats together at the back of the plane and it was fab.

Can I also just add (which may make me very unpopular - sorry) that families of 3 & 4 could be a little bit more considerate when booking seats. This is not meant to be a dig at anyone, but me and my boyfriend always have great difficulty flying longhaul as most planes have a config of 3/4/3. This means that my boyfriend ALWAYS has to sit in an ailse seat as he is over 6' and this means that I have to sit in the middle of him and someone I don't know. I know this isn't the end of the world, but it can be annoying, especially when there are seats that would be available for us and other couples to sit on our own are taken up with families of 4 taking 2 rows.

At the end of the day, I know it is first come first served, and that families have just as much rights as anyone else on where to sit, but just think about the adults travelling in couples, who may not want to sit in the middle of a 3 or 4 seat config.

Like I said, hope I have not offended anyone but I just wanted to add my thoughts.

 

[TraceyL]

Welcome to the DIS and good luck getting the seats you want

 

[barry7767]

A slight variation to this theme.....

When you use DIY check in the day before, can you only select the seats you have pre-assigned months before, or can you choose any seats? It was just that in an earlier post in this thread it was mentioned that they might change their seats when they check in online. It would be a nonsense if you could select any seat, and render the pre assigning facility useless. Me and my gf would like 2 seats at the back together, but they have already gone on the outward leg - if we check in online, theoretically, could we assign these seats to ourselves?

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

A slight variation to this theme.....

When you use DIY check in the day before, can you only select the seats you have pre-assigned months before, or can you choose any seats? It was just that in an earlier post in this thread it was mentioned that they might change their seats when they check in online. It would be a nonsense if you could select any seat, and render the pre assigning facility useless. Me and my gf would like 2 seats at the back together, but they have already gone on the outward leg - if we check in online, theoretically, could we assign these seats to ourselves?

Not all seats are available pre chack in ( about 40% AFAIK are held back from being pre assigned)
When you check in on-line you can change your seat allocation, but only within the seats then available (i.e. your seat allocation plus the 40% that were not allocated)
Of course, at the check in desks, the staff can re assign your allocated seat right up to boarding if they have to, or so choose to do....

 

[barry7767]

Thanks for quick reply. That seems fair enough - I knew they could re-alloctate you regardless of where you have chosen, but wasn't too sure with regard to the DIY check in. That answers my question. We were hoping that we could be allocated 2 at the back at check in, as currently they are all filled bar one seat - someone has selected to sit alone on this row of 2. They have every right to I suppose, just seems a little odd when they could sit in any seat and have to sit alone/next to a stranger. Im hoping they will bump him/her for me!

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Barry,
it could be that they are flying in a group of three but have flown enough times to know these are the premium seats in Econ!
I take it you will check in at the desk then?

 

[Candy]

We sat in the back rows on our orlando flight last october myself and dh at the back. with my dd and ds on the two seats in front of us.if you can get these seats they are good but on the outward flight it does mean you are last of the plane .

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

someone has selected to sit alone on this row of 2. They have every right to I suppose, just seems a little odd when they could sit in any seat and have to sit alone/next to a stranger. Im hoping they will bump him/her for me!

Perhaps they are like us - we are "only" a family of three. Terribly inconvenient I know, but there you go

When we've flown PE the seats there are only in twos, my DH always has to sit on his own next to someone he doesn't know . . . .

edited to add that we've booked a row of three - suits us brilliantly. I can't stand the four seats in the middle, each to their own.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Perhaps they are like us - we are "only" a family of three. Terribly inconvenient I know, but there you go

When we've flown PE the seats there are only in twos, my DH always has to sit on his own next to someone he doesn't know . . . .

edited to add that we've booked a row of three - suits us brilliantly. I can't stand the four seats in the middle, each to their own.

I bet he does not complain if its a young nubile leggy blonde girl....

 

[barry7767]

Cant be a family of three. The row in front is a row of three, occupied by 2 people. The row across is a 2 occupied by 2. So you could say they have spread over 2 rows of 2 right? Wrong. Window seat has been chosen leaving seat between person and potential family. Either they are alone or they hate their family!

Also, I don't like blondes. But between 2 brunettes, yeah I could live with that!

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

Either they are alone or they hate their family!

Well . . . it IS a long flight

Obi Wan Kenobi - DH says he wishes Each of the three times we've travelled PE, both legs of the journey he's been sat next to very uncommunicative "more mature" people . . . but then he probably enjoys it because it gives him a few hours peace from DD and I chattering

 

[TraceyL]

SOme people deliberately chose seats with empty one in between in the hope nobody gets put there and they have an extra seat to spread out in ?

 

[barry7767]

Fair point - but seen as though the previous tone of the thread indicates I am being selfish by wanting to sit in a row of 2 with my gf, surely this pratice of trying to get a spare seat is more selfish? Just hope the Virgin check in staff do their best eh?