Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy Gatwick

[frequentflyer2]

Mrs. FF and I today booked a holiday in Barbados to mark our 25th wedding anniversary next May. We will depart LGW on April 26 and return from BGI on May 7.
We have reserved Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy seats which has added almost £1000 to the bill.
Frankly, is it worth this? There appears to be two versions - one on Heathrow aircraft and the other on the rest of the fleet.
Obviously, we want something a little bit special for a special holiday but the reviews are not quite what I would have expected.
Can anyone offer advice?

[FlyingEagle21]

Might help?

Check which A/C your flying on..

Virgin Atlantic Airways: Best Seats - SeatGuru (http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Virgin_Atlantic_Airways/information.php)

[PAXboy]

Before I give my view, let me state that I have NEVER worked for any airline and do not expect to either!

My preferred choice of long haul is VS (VAA) and, since I have to pay my own way, PE is what I choose. In March/April I used them again for LHR/JNB on 744 and CPT/LHR on 346. No complaints. I have used BA WT+ on the same route, which was OK but VS PE had the edge.

You don't say which reviews you read. Personally, I don't take any notice of reviews by people I do not know. That is because I do not know what their idea of 'normal' and 'good' is. I don't know what their cultural history and expectations are etc. Also, some appear to have an axe to grind.

[NWSRG]

ff2,

The 'old' PE on the LGW 744s is still pretty good. I haven't sampled the 'new' PE yet, but in the older version you do get the benefit of larger than normal seating; it's not full recline, but not far from it. We travelled on the upper deck, which was great; very peaceful, and you felt like you were on a different flight from everyone else. If you can select your seat, I would recommend the upper deck, although I think some of the seats are reserved for Virgin Holidays.

Also, the cabin crew seemed more attentive to PE passengers. We had a Glasgow based crew on our PE flight, so maybe it was just Scottish charm, but we certainly felt well looked after. The champagne and brandy nightcaps were also a nice touch.

IFE will be exactly as per the rest of the aircraft.

All in all, it's a price you're never going to be happy paying, but once onboard, I thought it was worth every penny, if only to have the peace and quiet of the PE cabin...enjoy!

[warkman]

If you are a tall person, then without a doubt its better than Econ.
Comments coming back from people who have flown the new A330 PE is that its seems tighter and a bit more claustrophobic than the 747. Plus you have the upper deck PE cabin on the 747 ewhich gives the feeling of exclusivity.

[manintheback]

Money well spent. Old Style PE is still very good and much better than BA WTP+. Not that different to business class of pre mid 1990s. Enjoy

[GROUNDHOG]

Flew LGW/BGI with Virgin in premium economy a couple of months back, I am Mr Fussy and would say the following. Aircraft, Crew absolutely fine, IFE excellent, On time, everything really good except I found the catering poor out of Gatwick, much better on the inbound strangely.

Worth every penny.

[Justin Cyder-Belvoir]

PE from LGW is way better value than UC: tried both and PE wins hands down.

[frequentflyer2]

Many thanks everyone. I'm now convinced this has been money well spent.

[airbourne]

Top deck 744, seats 80 H and K. nobody beside you.

[spannersatcx]

Frankly, is it worth this? for 1K no, it's old tired, tatty, ife continually fails, seats are not great, there is a vast difference between what you get out of LHR and LGW, LHR yes it's worth it, LGW in my opinion NO.:(

[PAXboy]

Fow what it's worth - I'd say that the IFE on most modern carriers is poor. They have all tried to do too much, cram in more features, make it more whizzy and bangy, out do the competition. In this, it was an open goal.

The salesmen of the IFR companies are selling to the marketing people of the carriers - also salesmen. They just swallowed all the glitzy promos and forgot about to investigate the techhy bits too much. But you try asking the carrier for a more basic IFE - but that does it's thing reliably? They wouldn't even finish listening to the question.

Perhaps in 8 or 10 years, it will have stabilised, the technology will have caught up with what it is being asked to do.

Back to the thread after my view biased by having been in IT for 27 odd years and a pax for 45.

[DownIn3Green]

PaxBoy said it all...I usually travel U/C, but then that's because I use miles...

However, if I were paying, then P/E would be the way to go...Money well spent and do call and find out the A/C type and ammenties before hand...

Doesn't P/E rate the Lounge entry and "Fast Track"??? That alone is worth the extra, in my opinion...

[PAXboy]

Separate check-on but NO fast track or lounge. However, prob worthh paying for commercial lounge access. Ask for details if you want FF2.

[GroundedSLF]

VS consider LGW "leisure" routes, while LHR are "business" - which basically means that they care more about LHR pax than they do LGW ones.

This translates to LGW having older aircraft, with older interiors etc - I regularly get feedback from clients about IFE not working, the interior looking tired etc...

Then again, regular economy out of LGW is supposed to be a total nightmare...

[A340_rulez]

Hi
I'm Crew for VA and i'll try and give you an unbiased view.
I would say it's worth the money but If i were you I would get to check in early in order to get a seat on the upper deck as it's very comfortable out there.

It's fair to say the IFE is a tad ropey but the Gatwick fleet is due to be refurbished from April onwards next year so there is a chance that the aircraft you fly on will have the new cabin interior, updated seats and the new IFE that is currently on the A330's.

Either way I hope you enjoy your flights, as whatever you may read, the crew do try their best to provide a good service and are genuinley interested in doign so.

A340_rulez.

[Delight]

I have travelled on both VA PE and BA WTP+ transatlanic and I dont think there is much between them. Both are fairly comfortable and the IFE is good but seems a little more unreliable on VS. I find VS crew a little friendlier than BA but both do a good job.

Except....if you can get the top deck PE on a VS 747 then I think that it worth paying £500 each for. Plenty of space, quiet, side pods for storage and comfortable seat. It is as good as an onboard experience needs to be for me.

[spannersatcx]

side pods for storage not on VS LGW fleet. Small overhead bin that's all.

[Cyber Bob]

There are side stowages on the upper deck VS albeit not massive

[spannersatcx]

Yes you're right, my mistake.:ouch:

[Eurotraveller]

Hi,

I'm considering upgrading to Premium Economy for a forthcoming flight from MAN to MCO and back on Virgin - however, the price difference for two of us is pretty significant compared to standard Economy class.

Just wondered if anyone has any experience of this product and whether they would consider it worth the upgrade in hindsight? The flight is scheduled to be on the A330-300 if that makes any difference.

Thanks in advance

[spannersatcx]

In my opinion an extra £1000 each for a flt under 8hrs is better spent elsewhere.

[PAXboy]

No one can answer that question but you, Eurotraveller. For myself, when I'm paying, I have a six hour rule. More than six then I travel PE/WT+. I have always considered it worth paying and regularly choose to pay for PE on long haul. Indeed, I would only travel Y on long haul if something VERY serious demanded me to be there!

Some folks prefer to spend more on hotels/clothes/etc. I choose to ride more comfortably on aircraft. In March I did LHR/JNB~CPT/LHR in PE and paid about double what I would have paid for Y and was happy with my choice. Some of my friends think I'm crazy.

[Basil]

Well, having just spent 15 min on hold trying to speak to Virgin re baggage allegedly not loaded at SYD I don't think I'd fly with them at all :*

[PAXboy]

Everyone has a horror story. I've used VS as my first choice for long haul carrier for 26 years and never had a problem. It's the lucky draw of airline travel. (Not employed by anyone in the airline biz in the past or now)

[Basil]

It isn't the baggage that's the problem; just being ignored.

D1+GD3 en route and I'd heard (so not confirmed) that power cut at SYD meant checked bags not loaded. Not VS fault; perhaps just one of those things.

[GROUNDHOG]

I'm with PAXboy - over six hours and it is PE - Y is not an option even if it costs double.

[peuce]

4 Hours in my max ....

BTW, have just booked V Atlantic Prem Econ .... LGW-Orlando, returning NY - LHR
The system won't let me select my seat outbound, but it will for the inbound????

Any thoughts? Is it because they don't know what equipment will be operating the service? (we're talking 10 months away)

[deep_south]

They are "refurbishing" the LGW based 747's starting (in theory) around March 2012, and it seems they haven't decided exactly how PE will look, plus they will have a "mixed" fleet for a while so they aren't doing any seat reservations for PE during that time. You will be able to select at online checkin, but if I was you I would check every few days, as plans are liable to change...

[peuce]

thanks for the info ...