Virgin PE, Is it worth it ?

[Daftman]

Hi all,

Just a general question to those who have flown PE in the past.

I have seats on hold at present for our Nov 04 trip costing £2,000 for 2 adults and a child.The upgrade is costing the best part of £1,000, is it really worth it ?

I really like the idea of PE but are you really getting an extra £1,000 worth of service.

Any advice

Regards

Sean.

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

In my view no, but there are others on this board who say emphatically yes! It's all down to personal choice.

My preference would be to spend that extra £1,000 on upgraded park tickets (annual passes perhaps), or a better hotel/villa, or a longer holiday, or several slap-up meals at Orlando's finest restaurants, or a couple of behind the scenes park tours, or a day at Discovery Cove, or any number of other things which in years to come will be more memorable than the upgraded seats and small service enhancements that you get with PE.

Regards

Rob

 

[wendy_uk]

We were considering upgrading our seats to PE, but the quote we got was £1200 which in my honest opinion is way to much, but as already said above there are many who wouldn't agree with me.
That £1200 has bought all our park passes 30 day fun in sun and 5 park flex ticket and we still have change. We decided on this so we can have a couple of nice dinners when we are there and also have opted for a couple of nights away from the Travel lodge we are staying in.
I am sure PE is very nice, but we just couldn't go to that expense.




Just 4 weeks to go!!!!!!!!!

 

[keswick1uk]

We considered it before we priced it up! In terms of the extras far and away the best was the extra legroom. I'm short, my husband isn't very tall and the children (well economy seats were made fr children weren;t they ;-) So, £1000 to us, half a months wages, just wasn't worth it. I can see if you earn a lot more than we do and are much taller, then it might be worth it. All the other little extras would add to the experience too.

If I had the extra I would have stayed at AKL rather than our offsite 4*.

 

[Robbie Fowler]

Hi,

My boyfriend, daughter (11) and I went PE in August was it worth the extra, thats a difficult one!!! On the plus side in no particular order of preference

1. loads of leg room
2. no queue for the toilets!
3. 1st off the plane and through customs
4. Waited no time for luggage
5. No queue at check in and in Fl there was only 2 desks open for the whole plane.
6. Offered a drink at least once an hour

The only negative is the cost but in our case my boyfriend has chrones disease so the less stress and hassle he has when travelling the better.

It was money well spent in August, however I would probably think twice about spending that amount again. I think Virgin economy is pretty good anyway (well better than Air 2000 longhaul which is grim) so either way your travelling shouldnt be too much hassle.

Any questions, give me a shout!!!

 

[Daftman]

Thanks guys,

It's a dilemma!!

Robbie Fowler, did you fly from Manchester? How was the plane if you did?
When we flew from Manchester in '02 we had a 5 hour delay because of various problems with what seems to be quite a tired plane nowadays.

Any further info would be great if you have any.

Regards

Sean.

p.s Robbie Fowler is still GOD!!!!!

 

[mickg7dyd]

Hi,
I too would find it hard to justify the upgrade price so I joined the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and I'm saving the miles to "pay" for an upgrade on a future trip.It's amazing how quickly they add up,I am lucky enough to be able to have 2 trips to Florida a year and that gets me more than 8500 miles per return trip.I also have an Amex card which earns me miles too as does my Hilton HHonors card.
An upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy is 20,000 miles so if you use Virgin on a regular basis this a good way to get a "better" seat.

Mick.

 

[Robbie Fowler]

Hi,

We flew from Gatwick this time as we had a connection from the Isle of Man and with Manchester we would have needed an overnight stay.

We have flown from Manchester all previous trips (as there never used to be a Gatwick link from IOM!) and the layout of the plane was the same. The First Class is at the front of the plane, the PE is upstairs and has about 40 passengers and then the economy is from the stairs up to PE backwards. There is a link on this discussion page if you put in a search that has a picture.

It is nice in PE, you are one of the first on the plane and you are met with a glass of champagne, there are UK newspapers and magazines. The seats are bigger and you have loads of leg room - I am quite tall so it was nice. The food was OK and there was an endless flow of drinks etc. On the way back it was lovely and quiet too. Best seats are the two at the very back (row 80 I think it was) as no one walked past and if you were quick you can dive down the stairs and off the plane whilst the others are still getting their bits together.

I pondered the upgrade for ages afterwards and I didnt tell anyone at work or anything cos I know they would have said "who does she think she is" and go all sniffy. But as far as I am concerned it is my dosh and I will spend it as I bloody well like and so should you!

Give me a shout if you think of anything else!

YES, ROBBIE IS GOD - IT WAS A SAD DAY WHEN HE WENT!

 

[Astrid]

In a word ..... YES!! Flew PE first time in '02 and loved it and my only problem now would be going back to Economy!!

Yes, it is expensive but I have hit lucky and managed to get a couple of good deals when I have booked it.

Not having to queue for ages to check-in is bliss and all the room in the cabin is wonderful.

However, I can understand why some baulk at the extra price and see the Rob's logic of wanting to spend more on the holiday but I go along with Robbie's words .... "But as far as I am concerned it is my dosh and I will spend it as I bloody well like and so should you!" !!!

Astrid

 

[Claire L]

Another vote for PE due to all the reasons as stated by Robbie and also from me due to DH's height Economy is not good as he cannot sit properly as his knees hit the seat infront, not very comfortable for 8 hours or more. I also like the fact you get seperate check in and your luggage comes off first with UC. That is after you have left the plane ahead of Economy, and got to immigration before the huge queue builds up. We got off the plane in Orlando, through immigration, picked up our hire car and to WL in an hour and a half in 2002, which I thought was very good.
HTH
Claire

 

[Fantasia Sam]

Well I'm torn on the answer to the question "is it worth the extra £1,000" I really can think of many ways that I can spend that much money.

I have no hesitation in upgrading where I possibly can and I would say you get lots of benefits for flying PE however if you don't have that sort of disposable income to add on to the holiday cost then don't do it because you will find it very hard to go back to normal economy seats in the future

 

[Red-Snapper]

I think if you can afford the £1,000 then you will think it is worth it.

The separate check-in and the first off the plane the other end (with bags off first on a separate carousel) is a big plus after the flight. Not to mention all the other things above.

This question is asked a lot and there are plenty of other threads last year including some with photos of PE if you have a few hours to try to look for them

One thing I will say is very few people who do go PE post negative comments about it but obviously not everyone can afford it or feels it would be value for their money.

A word of warning however - if you do go with PE do not make the mistake we did on the way back of being offered an "upgrade" to first class seats with PE service. This is an area just behind first class where you do get the better first class seats but the service is not as good as the PE stewards serve you after they have done the proper PE cabin upstairs.

You also get a steady queue of people coming through the curtains to use the upper class loos just in front of this section rather then use the economy ones further back so its nowhere near as private as the upstairs "proper" PE cabin.