Virgin Upper Class

[kevin harrison]

We are flying premium economy to Orlando in Sept. I have had such a crap year that I am thinking of maybe trying to upgrade to upper class.

Does anyone know how much they usually charge on the day of check in for this pleasure?, a lady at Virgin Atlantic advised me to try on the day as there are big bargains to be had at the moment, what with them cancelling flights due to lack of interest.

Also anyone that's flown UC, tell me how good it is.....

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I can't answer what the cost is for the check in upgrade.
However I can tell you that in our minds UCS are worth every penny.
The fun starts at check in with the upper class check in, where you will recieve your fast track stickers to get through security quicker and your invite to the Clubhouse.
Into the clubhouse for breakfast, champagne and pampering in the V-Touch area, where you can get a sensational shave, a cut and blow dry with scalp massage, pedicure for the wife etc..
The clubhouse has endless foods available, endless selectionbs of drinks, a playstation type games area, a tv viewing area, a cinema, and even one of the best shoe shine guys.
Time to go to the gate, you used to go into the lift to miss out the queues in the gatwick village, but since they got rid of the shuttles, the lift has gone as well. Down to the gate and priority boarding
into your suite, with the FA showing you how to convert it into a bed if you so desire, chanpgane and orange juice, newspapers available to read whils waiting for the rest of the plane to board, your water bottle already by you seat and the menu for you to choose your food from. the KID packs handed out to your children plus the Oswald Boeting packs for you.
After take off which is a little weird as you can take off whilst lying down, up to the bar for a few drinks and snacks, and then back for your larger sized TV
Your order for food can then be delivered at any time you want it
here is a picture of one of the starters

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Now you get real metal knives and forks again. You get to choose what wine or drink you want from the wine list for each course
main course again very nice with choice of wine

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After feeding why not change your seat into a bed and have a kip?
later on, you get tea with sandwiches and little cakes (food again!)

[/URL][/IMG]
Back to the var and then arrival at MCO.
You should get priority disembarking which is excellent to get in front of the crowds at immigration, you luggage comes off a seperate carrousel (but then the system fails due to the re taking of your cases) first
A civilised way to fly.
On the way back, you can check in a downtown Disney for free, but they do not have the nice purple boarding cards there.
At MCO you have use of the Delta Club room, not as nice as the Virgin Clubhouse, but at least there are free drinks available, plus magazines, but no food, you have to go downstaris to the food court for that and eat it down there.
A Virgin FA comes to take you to the departure gate, with the red carpet priority boarding, once on the plane, you are issued with a rather natty Sleep suit for changing into and a different OB ameinity kit.
One the food has been eaten and your breakfast order taken, they convert your seat into a bed, give you a fluffy duvet and pillow (two would be nice) and after everyone who wants to change has, the cabin lights are dimmed and most people go to sleep. our son goes zonk as soon as he is in his jammys and in the bed and does not wake up until we are landing. heaven

All in all a lovely way to fly.
As there are only 14 UCS on a gatwick aircraft, upgrades are becoming a thing of then past.
What are your flight numbers and dates? I can check availability (PM me with themif you want)

Any more questions please do not hesitate to ask

 

[Frances999]

It's more than good, it's incredible. I can't help you with the upgrading at the airport question, but it's got to be worth a shot. One thing though, be prepared to be disappointed just incase they have no availability to upgrade you. If you really want it, make sure you have upgraded in advance? Do you collect Flying Club miles? If so, you can use them to upgrade from PE to UC (assuming you have enough).

I always find that UC is the kind of thing that seems so expensive for what it is when you think about it, but when you are sitting (or laying!) there during the flight it is really worth every penny. It isn't just the flight either - there is the clubhouse, transportation and priority check-in at the airport too. So far DH has always been able to upgrade us from PE to UC through his work, but next trip to Orlando (with the children) means we will have to fund the upgrade ourselves if we want UC rather than PE. I worked out that by booking PE seats, we will have enough miles to upgrade to UC.

Go for it! It's such a great way to start and end trips.

 

[pauldents]

Kevin,

I take it you are departing from Gatwick and not Man?

Heres the availabilty for J on that day:

Seats available on VS027: 7 A&K, 8K, 9A and 10K

Seats available on VS015: 6K, 9K, 10&K

 

[Rain]

You may wish to try early.

I tried a couple of days ago to upgrade our PE flights for 19th October and 2 nd November, No availability! I had already tried VA but they said I had to go via Virgin Holidays as the Flights had been booked with them. Our flights are V075/6

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

You may wish to try early.

I tried a couple of days ago to upgrade our PE flights for 19th October and 2 nd November, No availability! I had already tried VA but they said I had to go via Virgin Holidays as the Flights had been booked with them. Our flights are V075/6

On the outbound, there are only two seats in UC available and are showing as J2 (full price)
PE has good availability with 7+ seats available

On the inbound again, only two seats in UC still available in either J class or D class (no discounted Z fares available)
PE again, 7+ seats available so not full and in fact three "s" class fares still available (discounted PE)

there are no discounted UC available, you would have to pay a shed load of money for the two seats available (the cost for UC now on those two flights is £8,737 for two people)

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Sept 9th LGW-MCO
VS27
5 UC seats available with 3 of them at "Z" class (discounted lowest fare)
PE very empty with 7+ in all fare codes, s best discounted fares available still

VS15
4 UC seats available again with 3 of them at "Z" class fares
Again PE empty with all fares showing 7+ available

sept 9th MAN-MCO
VS75
5 seats available in UC 1 of them at "Z" class, 5 at "J" class
PE again 7+ in each fare class

23rd Sept
MCO-LGW
VS16
5 UC seats available, 4 at "Z" fare
Plenty of PE seats available in all fare class codes

VS28
UC still 5 seats available, but only 1 at "Z" class, 2 at "D" class prices and all 5 at "J" class prices
all PE fares showing 7+ seats available

MCO-MAN
VS76
3 seats in UC available, 2 at "z" or "d" price
7+ at all PE fares

 

[susieh]

We're aleady booked UC for 3rd June next year and I have allocated our seats based on best guess of where is the best place to sit. But you people who have been before know where best to sit - so please can you tell me while I still have time (and availability) to change them! Thanks

Was already looking forward to it (have flown PE in the past and been upgraded once to the old style UC seats) but now I can't wait!

Last question - I know you get one Virgin V treatment at Gatwick but do you get anything in MCO and is there anything offered on the plane itself?

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

We're aleady booked UC for 3rd June next year and I have allocated our seats based on best guess of where is the best place to sit. But you people who have been before know where best to sit - so please can you tell me while I still have time (and availability) to change them! Thanks

Was already looking forward to it (have flown PE in the past and been upgraded once to the old style UC seats) but now I can't wait!

Last question - I know you get one Virgin V treatment at Gatwick but do you get anything in MCO and is there anything offered on the plane itself?

Susieh,
how many of you are going?
The seats are all good, but if you like intamacy (sp?), then seats 6A & 6K are great, being the closest seats. plus you get the extra bit of shelving next to the seats.
However yoiu have t get onb first as there are no overheads above these seats and you won't want your hand helds put at the back of the cabin if its a full flight

Normally they block the seats at the bar until the end, as these can be the noisiest if you get a couple of people standing at the bar

as for the rest, they are all great.

no, there are no treatments on board, no room for the In flight beauty therapist. As they do not have their own lounge at MCO, there is no V-Touch available in MCO. You can pre book beauty treatments at LGW on 01293 444342 or email vtouch.lgw@fly.virgin.com

get to the Clubhouse as early as you can, to savour the food, drink and other services available

 

[wilma-bride]

Sept 9th LGW-MCO
VS27
5 UC seats available with 3 of them at "Z" class (discounted lowest fare)
PE very empty with 7+ in all fare codes, s best discounted fares available still

VS15
4 UC seats available again with 3 of them at "Z" class fares
Again PE empty with all fares showing 7+ available

sept 9th MAN-MCO
VS75
5 seats available in UC 1 of them at "Z" class, 5 at "J" class
PE again 7+ in each fare class

23rd Sept
MCO-LGW
VS16
5 UC seats available, 4 at "Z" fare
Plenty of PE seats available in all fare class codes

VS28
UC still 5 seats available, but only 1 at "Z" class, 2 at "D" class prices and all 5 at "J" class prices
all PE fares showing 7+ seats available

MCO-MAN
VS76
3 seats in UC available, 2 at "z" or "d" price
7+ at all PE fares

OK, for someone who is very thick, can you explain:
a) What does all that mean - the different classes etc.
b) Where do you get that info
c) Are you saying it may be possible to get cheaper upgrades in September, if there are lots of empty seats?

Thanks
Joh

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Hi joh

When an airline releases seats they are costed into fare classes, so in the case of Virgin (and many other airlines) there are in UC three fare classes J, D and Z
J
Full Fare Upper Class
Flying Club Miles and Tier Points will be earned on this fare. 200% of mileage flown earned (225% for Flying Club Gold members). Highest level of fare class for Upper Class (therefore most expensive) as it is full published fare; fully flexible and refundable. 4 x Chauffeur driven car transfers included on all routes in this fare class except destinations in Nigeria. This fare class always qualifies for any promotion that applies to Upper Class passengers. Naturally, a ticket in this class will allow you to utilise the Clubhouse/Shared lounge on your journey for you and one guest flying with you. If returning to LHR on an appropriate flight, only the ticket holder can use the revivals lounge - guests are no longer allowed, even for cash. Eligible Upper Class fare class for utilisation of: Companion - Flying Club Upper Class Mileage Redemption Companion award for 65,000 miles, Complimentary Flying Club Companion award for renewing Gold Status or Complimentary Virgin Credit Card Companion ticket award for reaching the spend threshold in the 12 month designated period. Note there must be availability in G class for the companion seat. You don’t have to take the companion seat in the same class, it can be in a lower class so you could buy this qualifying revenue fare and then use 30,000 miles to get a ‘companion’ seat in Premium Economy

D
Discounted Upper Class
Flying Club Miles and Tier Points will be earned on this fare. 200% of mileage flown earned (225% for Flying Club Gold members). 2nd highest level of fare class for Upper Class, some restrictions in regards to changes/cancellation. Advance purchase will be required as it is an Advance Purchase Excursion based fare (APEx). All routes except Nigeria offer chauffeur driven car transfers on D class Upper Class fares now; where chauffeur driven cars are not included they can be purchased using Flying Club miles, starting from 10,000 miles one-way. This fare class normally qualifies for any promotion that applies to Upper Class passengers. A ticket in this class will allow you to utilise the Clubhouse/Shared lounge on your journey for you and one guest flying with you. If returning to LHR on an appropriate flight, only the ticket holder can use the revivals lounge - guests are no longer allowed, even for cash.

Z
Heavily Discounted Upper Class Fares
Flying Club Miles and Tier Points will be earned on this fare. 200% of mileage flown earned (225% for Flying Club Gold members). Lowest level of fare class for Upper Class, highly restricted in regards to changes/cancellation. Advance purchase will normally be required as it is typically an Advance Purchase Excursion based fare (APEx). No chauffeur driven car transfers on any route on this fare but they can be purchased using Flying Club miles, starting from 10,000 miles one-way. Rarely qualifies for any promotion that is running for Upper Class passengers, only notable exception is the MilesMoreFriends referral scheme. A ticket in this class will allow you to utilise the Clubhouse/Shared lounge on your journey for you and one guest flying with you. If returning to LHR on an appropriate flight, only the ticket holder can use the revivals lounge - guests are no longer allowed, even for cash. This fare class is also used for Upper Class Flying Club MilesplusMoney fares (MpM). There will need to be availability in this fares class for you to be able to take advantage of MpM. MilesplusMoney tickets do not earn Tier Points or Flying Club miles.

The seat availability is the system used by travel agents and others to get an indea of what fares are available.

all the above information is from the supwerb V-Flyer web site. If you join the members only area you can get the seat availability info.
go to http://www.v-flyer.com
and its well worth becoming a member

If there are lots of empty seats, then the chances of an operational upgrade (i.e. a free upgrade) will be zero.
they will have posibly, some upgrades you can pay for, but remember, they will have to have told their suppliers such as the food service how many of certain classes of meals to load. Whilst thats not a problem for PE as they have the same meals as econ, its more difficult on UC.
they will also have a lowest price for UC,(I would imagine around the Z class fare) below that its not cost effective to sell the seat to someone already on the plane.
the best time to get a good price for an upgrade to UC is when the plane is oversold, then they will have to fill the UC seats either from operational upgrades which cost them money or from people paying for an upgrade, releasing a seat for an extra passenger

 

[susieh]

Susieh,
how many of you are going?
The seats are all good, but if you like intamacy (sp?), then seats 6A & 6K are great, being the closest seats. plus you get the extra bit of shelving next to the seats. However yoiu have to get on first as there are no overheads above these seats and you won't want your hand helds put at the back of the cabin if its a full flight

Normally they block the seats at the bar until the end, as these can be the noisiest if you get a couple of people standing at the bar

There are 2 of us going and the seats I currently have booked are 6A and 6K! I wondered if the ones by the bar were already allocated to people or blocked as they were noisy - was gonna avoid them for that reason anyway!

I thought the footrest was also a locker? We will only have small bags with us - usually just carry a book, a bottle of water (will a bottle be supplied in UC or do I still need to take one), a few snacks (shan't bother with those!), and passports/tickets/money/phone etc.

We've got the virgin V details and will book that in advance too. Plan to get to the airport at about 8am for an 11.15am flight so that will give us time to have breakfast and relax a bit before getting on the plane.

 

[kevin harrison]

So back to my original post, has anyone upgraded on the day? and at what cost?

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

So back to my original post, has anyone upgraded on the day? and at what cost?

Can't help with Virgin (my upgrades on the day have been complimentary ), but we recently flew MCO-LGW with BA and they were charging £250 at check-in to upgrade one class (ie economy to premium economy, premium economy to business class). No idea if that is typical or not.

Regards

Rob

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

So back to my original post, has anyone upgraded on the day? and at what cost?

Sorry Kevin, never don that, but it might be worth asking tyhe question on V-Flyer

 

[patdavies]

Obi Wan

There is also a G ticket in UC which is reward (ie miles) or companion ticket.

The v-flyer site has an acknowledged error in their description of Z tickets - you cannot get the limos for miles. You can only purchase limo transfers (@ 10,000 miles each) on G tickets.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Obi Wan

There is also a G ticket in UC which is reward (ie miles) or companion ticket.

The v-flyer site has an acknowledged error in their description of Z tickets - you cannot get the limos for miles. You can only purchase limo transfers (@ 10,000 miles each) on G tickets.

Hi pat, yes I agree. I was trying to keep it down to the easy to understand fare classes.
I think that ticket does depend upon the availability of Z fares though. i.e if no Z fares available, no miles upgrade
Unless you live near the airports I think that the limo use of the miles is a bit of a waste really.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

There are 2 of us going and the seats I currently have booked are 6A and 6K! I wondered if the ones by the bar were already allocated to people or blocked as they were noisy - was gonna avoid them for that reason anyway!

I thought the footrest was also a locker? We will only have small bags with us - usually just carry a book, a bottle of water (will a bottle be supplied in UC or do I still need to take one), a few snacks (shan't bother with those!), and passports/tickets/money/phone etc.

We've got the virgin V details and will book that in advance too. Plan to get to the airport at about 8am for an 11.15am flight so that will give us time to have breakfast and relax a bit before getting on the plane.

Hi Susieh
yes they are the last to be allocated due to their position near the bar

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Sorry that its out of focus, I was a little "squiffy" by then

The footrest is an open area underneith, big enough for a handbag or your shoes, just.
You get a armrest which is also a pocket for your passport/wallet/phone etc.
You get a bottle of water

[/IMG]
as you can see by my Little 'un and snacks are avialable at any time at the bar.
Personally i would be knocking on the Clubhouse door at 7am <grin> to get the most out of the facilities. By the way, the toilets are, well, different!