Virgin Exit Row Seats

[BigGrecian]

The other day I checked in to travel to the USofA on one of Virgins 747-400s.
Upon arrival at the check in desk I was informed that I had been upgraded. Little did I know that I had been upgraded to the exit row seat for which Virgin normally charge £50 for the privilege.
Now as much as I appreciated sitting in the exit row seat(especially for immigration) I was wondering what the general consensus is especially since I might have to operate the door in an emergency to aid them?
Personally I think they shouldn't be allowed to charge for the privilege of possibly helping them.

Not really sure where to put this so put this in the Pax section?!

[plans123]

Hve a look at this site (V-Flyer). It has ratings on all the seats on all the flights, left by passengers. Well worth a look....

V-Flyer seat ratings (http://www.v-flyer.com/seats.asp?click=36)

[girtbar]

i dont see it as being a privilage, opeing the door for them in an emergency, i think thats the wrong word to use.

I dont think its fair to charge extra for a seat that is still in economy just because it has more leg room. Thats just clawing more money out of the pax.

I dont think its fair either to charge a person who is very tall and cant comfortably fit into a normal "y" seat. They should be allowed the exit seat as courtisy.

But the airline knows they can make quite a bit of money by doing this and at the end of the day they're not going to turn away money.

I think if you are lucky or early enough at check in and you accept the responsibilty and are fit enough to operate the door then that seat should be available without the extra cost.

[TightSlot]

Just a few personal thoughts, as me, not as a mod...

An exit row seat has the single most valuable asset in Y class: Space. Since these seats cannot be used for disabled/frail/elderly etc. they are a highly marketable asset. Some customers place sufficient importance on having Space that they are willing to pay a premium for it.

Surely this is absolutely straight forward. This particular product costs £50 and is available in restricted numbers on a "first come , first served" basis. Every customer then has a personal choice to pay... or not. If space is not that important to you, you choose not to pay the premium, and vice versa. By extension, the same holds true for upgrading to Business and First.

In an emergency, you would not be helping the airline, so much as yourself (presumably you would prefer safe and rapid egress?) - and in the process, extending the same help to your fellow human beings on board?

[apaddyinuk]

But just remember, if you are fortunate enough to get an exit row...dont complain about the noise as most airlines have their economy exit rows beside the basinettes!

[skydriller]

Tightslot,

OK, I see your point, based soley on economics it is a nice little earner for the airline - maybe.... but what happens if a couple with kids pay for the exit row, or an elderly couple......

......I believe the exit row must be occupied by adults capable of operating an exit in an emergency - or am I mistaken?

I think the 'pay for the exit seat' idea is flawed....

Regards, SD..

[TightSlot]

but what happens if a couple with kids pay for the exit row, or an elderly couple...... It then becomes the responsibility of the Cabin Crew to reseat those pax as required.

BTW - I don't have the definitive response on this - it is just one point of view - others will take a different view, and if the policy proves unpopular, the airlines will eventually change it. But don't hold your breath...

:rolleyes:

[B Sousa]

Just another way for the Airlines to screw the PAX. Take a guess where your hand carry goes.............Hint:not under the seat..

[davethelimey]

Kids or frail/disabled people wouldn't be allowed to get as far for paying to sit in the exit row - surely check-in staff know the rules.

And think of it this way - not only does your £50 (paltry for the extra space) get you a seat with bags of leg room, but if something goes wrong, you'll be the first out :D

[skydriller]

Kids or frail/disabled people wouldn't be allowed to get as far for paying to sit in the exit row - surely check-in staff know the rules.

I just happen to have been on 2 flights with with Mrs SD and SD junior (2 1/2 in baby seat!) where we were checked in and allocated an exit row of seats, caused alot of extra hassle for the poor cabin crew moving us around - that is why I posted the comments above!!

Im willing to bet that a travel/sales agent or whatever doesnt care who gets the exit row seats, just that they are charging extra for them!!

Regards, SD..

[Jerricho]

Im willing to bet that a travel/sales agent or whatever doesnt care who gets the exit row seats

That's exactly right, and it boils my piss. Pre-allocation of these seats IMHO is outrageous and can place CC in a very awkward situation. Having paid their 50 pounds for the "privilege", what are the odds that somebody who isn't suitable to sit there actually accepting the direction of crew and moving? Slim to none.

[davethelimey]

Then it appears I engaged fingers before brain.

That's a pretty unbelievable situation to force cabin crew to deal with.

[Final 3 Greens]

I always find it strange that VS engage in what is pretty much a charter operators way of raising extra revenue.

IMHO, it takes away some of their gravitas as a serious airline.

[10secondsurvey]

To the very tall, the idea of charging a small amount extra for these seats is a godsend. It discourages regular folks from going for them just because there is more legroom, so a tall person at check in has much more chance of getting such a seat. A damn fine idea, and I really don't know what everyone is complaining about.

I wish every airline did this, instead of as say, BA do, which is to reserve them for gold card holders (regardless of height). Well done Virgin! I hope more do the same.

I have also flown with charters (with seats designed for smurfs), and once again am happy to pay extra for these seats, as it also allows me to book them in advance. This idea about the charge meaning lots more unsuitable (e.g infirm, kids etc.) being allocated the seats is rubbish. I would guess it probably happens less often than when there is no charge. As I can not afford business class fares, I always ask airlines if they allow people to pay extra for exit seats.

In an ideal world of course, all airlines seats would be designed for passengers who are not as small as smurfs, and I wouldn't need to go to the lengths I do go to in order to book a flight where I can sit in the seats. I just wish Virgin would let people book the exit seats at time of reservation.

[slim_slag]

they should give it to one of their frequent fliers

[10secondsurvey]

It makes sense on many levels to give these seats to tall people. Not least because they are a damn sight more likely to be able to lift a wing exit window if required, as opposed to a little person who happens to have a gold card.

If I recall correctly, I saw this point raised regarding Virgin charges for such seats in 'business traveller' magazine, and Virgin responded by saying they had a lot of very positive feedback from customers regarding this. Clearly the punters like it.
I doubt Virgin would do it otherwise.

[ACL1011]

I do not agree with charging extra for emergency row exits for two reasons:

1. I hail from a clan of freakishly tall beings and have a fiancé who fits in with my family. It's like adding a fine for being tall.

2. More importantly: it is essential that the people sitting in the emergency exit rows not be there 'just' for the extra room, but also know how to operate the emergency exit. I fume when I see some person in that row who flops down on the seat and promptly sleeps through the safety briefing and/or is 'too cool' to read the safety card.

Here is some food for thought (http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2000/SS0001.pdf). The section beginning on page 39 focusses on the use of overwing exits in actual evacuations. Favourite highlights include:

"Of the 42 passengers seated in overwing exit rows ... 22 passengers (52%) ... indicated they had not read the briefing card."

and

"Three passengers seated in exit rows did not speak the language in which the briefings and oral commands were given by the crew."

[shortm]

As a member of Virgin cabin crew I have a couple of comments to make. My initial thoughts when hearing of the charge for exit rows was that I didn't like it (very charter !!) but then I have started to see a slightly different view to it. Lots of pax board the aircraft and come up with all sorts of reasons why they should be moved to an exit row. At least now we have a simple answer of saying "were you not given the option to purchase an exit seat at check-in" - it does dispell a lot of problems.

For those very tall pax out there, I have to say if I have a very tall pax I will do everything I can to move them to a seat with more suitable leg room, either at the exit or witha spare seat beside them. Despite only being 5'2" I do understand !!

The last thing I wanted to say was that people were talking about overwing exits. As far as I am aware VS do not charge for the overwing exit (A340-600 only) - it is for the seats by the doors.

Overall, I don't like the charge and would prefer to be able to select people on a different basis than those who are prepared to pay the charge. But hey, I guess while pax are prepared to pay the money the companies will take it.