Virgin Atlantic A/C

[dfearns]

I will be flying in December from London Heathrow, to San Fransico and i was just wondering what aircraft Virgin Atlantic used for this route.

We are off to San Fransico Skiing!! :p

Whats the onboard service on Virgin like? Whats the leg-room in "cattle class" like?

I have been looking on their web-site but to be honest it aint that informative towards a/c type.


Thanks In Advance :ok:

Oh, and P.S....
I have never flown Long-Haul before, and i am slightly aprehensive as to what to expect. Any comments are greatly appreciated, or any crew who work for Virgin, if they could Private Message me i would be very gratful!!

Thanks Again!



DFearns

[The_Banking_Scot]

Hi,

The aircraft should be a 747-400.

A seat map can be found here;

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/our_story_our_fleet.view.do

Fro the SFO route it will be the 747-400 (2).

You will have a PTV with a number of films;tv channels ( up to 20)video games and music.

A couple of aircraft have vport: ( Video on demand) with a CD Juke box of up to 50 CDs and 50 movies.

As for food;

Drinks service after take off
Choice of three main dishes ( one is a veg)
Ice cream during the second or so movie
snack prior to arrival

Free drinks during the flight.

Seating in Y is adequate ( unless you are tall) with about 31inches.

Hope this helps

Regards

TBS

[PAXboy]

Hi, you say that you are new to the long haul, so I'll pss on a few points, ignore as much as you like!!

If you think that you might want to move around, try for an aisle seat. However, the window does give a view! It's true that there is not much to see as you corss the pond but - clouds dependent - you'll see a lot of North America and the world looks very good from 37,000 ft!!

Wear loose clothing and check out the expected temp at your destination, as it might be cooler/warmer and you need to have clothes suitable. Travel in soft shoes. Your feet will expand during the flight - even with walking around and doing the exercises. Loosen the laces during the flight and then tighten to suit before landing. If you have slip-ons, they cannot give as much as you need them to. Your feet will return to normal within 12 hours (normally!)

Do not underestimate the amount of time that you spend standing in queues and so forth. I always carry a small bottle of water and a flapjack. If you are delayed in the lounge, there may be no refreshments. If you are delayed in the aircraft before take off, then there are NO refreshments. They have to keep the aisles clear at all times when on the ground. I have found these simple precautions to be useful.

Don't forget to stop back and tell us how it all went. Also, this kind of question is normally better in Passengers & SLF but I'm sure it's fine here. (Looking out for low flying Mods) :E

[glynn-kayes]

I flew from SFO to LHR 12 months ago.Aircraft was a 747-400.I found it to be very cramped,althought i was in a"b"seat and im 6"3.There was far more room on our American Airlines flight from Sandiego to Sanfrancisco on a MD80.Luckily i knew 2 of the cabin crew and spent most of the flight in the crew seats opposite the galley at door 4.They were also very tight with drinks,pouring spirits from half bottles <35cls>and very very small measures at that.When asking for more drinks some people were looked at like they had 2 heads.Inflight meals were great,3 choices and really filling,Breakfast was great as well,the warm egg muffin was so tasty and filled with real eggs.All in all my mates and I had a good flight home and knowing a few crew really made it a bonus with extra drinks and sitting in crew seats et al.However,i dont think id be so impressed if flying as a revenue passenger<we were on id90s>...........Anyway good luck for your trip and enjoy the skiing....BTW try JACKS BAR down at Fishermans Wharf if you get the chance,its the best pint of Guinness that side of the atlantic.

[dfearns]

Hey all,
Thanks for the fab replies! I am really lookin forward to the trip! Quite a bit of a difference between the 737/757 and 747! Gonna be exciting tho!
Just a few follow up questions:

Whats the difference in the Virgin fleet between the 747-400 (2) and 747-400 (1)?

I REALLY hope we have that v:port system onboard! It looks sooo cool!

PAXboy, what do you mean by:

Do not underestimate the amount of time that you spend standing in queues and so forth

I assume u mean as in the boarding and stuff like that?

Really looking forward to the inflight meals...for me, the meal is the thing that makes a flight! (yes! say what u want about it!)


Anyways, better get on with sum stuff

Look forward to your replies!

DFearns

[EGGPOPS]

:ok: Virgin have the best long haul meal and service i have seen in a long time

Cabin crew beat BA hands down for friendliness and service

Have a great trip

pps Fishermans wharf is excellent and definetly do alcatraz

[The_Banking_Scot]

Hin dfearns,

The 747-400(1) is the LGW base aircraft with fewer Upper class seats and more Economy seats ( also the Nova entertainment system)

The 747-400(2) is the LHR equipped fleet ( your flight to SFO) and has more Upper class seats ( the J2000 with the bar on board)
This fleet has either vport, Arcadia or Odessy entertainment systems ( more choice than Nova).
The service on board is the same.

Have fun

Regards

TBS

[Jinkster]

I am flying Virgin to LAX from LHR on 4th November.

I will let you know what its like as it is probably a similar service.

Dont think you will get a cockpit visit - I have already tried

[ArcticTurn]

Any rumors of Virgin returning to ORD?