Ridiculous Virgin A340 seating

[splashbrooke]

Well..
In october I was flying back from Miami to Heathrow on a nightime flight with Virgin Atlantic on one fo their A340s. (think it is the a340-400)

Anyway..
I was in economy... and I was given a rather odd seat!
The middle seating goes from 4 seats to 3 seats.

And I was on the left hand seat of the middle isle.

So right where my right leg should go.... was the seats infront leg!
Being a long legged chap to sit down I had to angle myself to the left... (not very comfortable on a 7 hour flight) but to top it off the screen was over to the right (the left hand seat infront had the screen removed)... so if i wanted to watch tv i had to angle my head right around to the right... and the screen was basically infront of the person next to me!

So angle myself to the left... and angle my head back to my right!

Anyway, understanably I was not the happiest of pax on the flight.. so I went and complained (nicely) to the Economy Supervisor.... who was very shocked as she hadn't seen this problem before.
And just my luck... the plane was flying full for the first time (apparently) so she assured me that if she could have done... I would have been bumped up a class... but she couldn'tlol!)

Anyway.
What I can't believe is that Virgin are flying aircraft with this stupid config? To be selling seats like this is rediculous and was very very uncomfortable... and my back hurt a lot at the other end.

Although I was offered a free item of duty free for £20 and a complaint was apparently lodged for me... I really would have at least appreciated a letter from Virgin appologising for it.

ANYWAY - Sorry this is long winded and might not make much sense.
But has anyone else been lumbered with this seat?


PS. to top it all off... on the flight out to Miami they forgot to serve drinks with the meal on our 'side'. <- and yes I am being fussy but these things do build up... which is a shame because I always felt that Virgin were an ace airline with great service... but things seem to have slipped.

[apaddyinuk]

Almost every widebody aircraft has a similar layout towards the rear. It is where the aircraft tapers in at the sides and airline are unable to place full width rows of seats. They have to reduce the number of seats often making them as centered as possible no longer being in line with the last row of full width seats. You were just unfortunate to get that one row. Its not specific to Virgin, you just need to be more careful whoever you fly with in the future.

[AircraftOperations]

A340-300 or 600. No such thing as a 400.

[Captb747]

Splashbrooke

Have alook on seat guru....The A330/A300 exactly the same...The B747...almost the same but a seat has been removed from each side.

If this didnt happen nobody would get their drinks........

[Leezyjet]

So right where my right leg should go.... was the seats infront leg!
Being a long legged chap to sit down I had to angle myself to the left... (not very comfortable on a 7 hour flight) but to top it off the screen was over to the right (the left hand seat infront had the screen removed)... so if i wanted to watch tv i had to angle my head right around to the right... and the screen was basically infront of the person next to me!

I've sat in those seats before and this sounds a bit like an over exadgeration to me. The leg of the seat is about 1-2" wide max so hardly takes up a huge amount of space. The TV screen is only slightly offset to the right, no worse I'm sure than sitting in ones own front room, where the TV is viewed from a different angle depending on which seat one sits in. It is better to have it where it is than on the aisle seat on the row infront, then you really would have to stretch to see it, rather than using those little muscles in your neck to turn your head slightly !!.

Anyway.
What I can't believe is that Virgin are flying aircraft with this stupid config? To be selling seats like this is rediculous and was very very uncomfortable... and my back hurt a lot at the other end.
Although I was offered a free item of duty free for £20 and a complaint was apparently lodged for me... I really would have at least appreciated a letter from Virgin appologising for it.
ANYWAY - Sorry this is long winded and might not make much sense.
But has anyone else been lumbered with this seat?

Anyway, what I can't believe is that people are moaning about something so petty. If you want space and comfort, these seats are freely available for you to purchase at the front of most aircraft on alot of airlines - VS being one of them with 2 sections of big seats to choose from. The section you chose to sit in is called "Economy" for a reason !!.

I don't see why VS have to send you a letter. The crew compensated you onboard by giving you £20 of free duty free items which they didn't have to do as after all you did get what you paid for - i.e. a seat in economy. Airlines make absolutely no guarantees at all to sit people in specific seats, especially in the economy section and someone has to sit there if the flight is full as the crew told you it was.

As people have already stated on here, this is a standard layout on almost all widebodied aircraft where the fuselage narrows towards the rear, so it is not a stupid layout that VS have specifically chosen.

Anyway, in future you could reduce your chances of getting a bad seat by using the online check-in facility that most major airlines have these days that lets you check-in 24 hours in advance, or ask your travel agent to request a seat further towards the front when they make the booking.

[Avman]

Leezyjet, you make valid points and offer good tips but why the attitude? As for "petty" I'd say no it's not. Economy Class on a legacy carrier such as Virgin doesn't give the airline licence to sell a sub-standard product. Period.

[10secondsurvey]

Splashbrooke

I think you have a valid complaint, although many arilines do this cr*p to their paying pax.

I'd recommend a look at seat guru in future, as the plans are all there. Seat plans are incidentally, also on the virgin atlantic website, but hard to find.

I think you are right to let Virgin know how you feel, but I wouldn't hold your breath for any comp.

Leezyjet,

I hardly think the person is over stating the case, but either way, hopefully pax like you volunteer for these seats at check in so to ensure normal pax don't have to suffer them. After all, you don't have a problem with them. Apparently.

It's well know amongst FF pax that these are not good seats, hence the success of sites like seat guru.

[PAXboy]

Most folks sit in these seats once and once only!!!! The next time around, they ensure they sit elsewhere and someone else gets their first (and only) chance to sit in them!

[Self Loading Freight]

It works a lot better in the VS 747s, where the curve in at the back of the a/c is accommodated by removing the window seat. Get the right seats back there (61A/K), and you end up with almost a seat's worth of space next to you, with two lots of underseat stowage and plenty of space to stretch out laterally. I've even seen more compact pax stand up for a bit there. The amount of space decreases as you get closer to the tail, but it's still worth aiming for.

Whatever, it's always worth choosing your seat online beforehand.

R

[llondel]

I'll second the crapness of the first row of three seat at the back of the A346. I made the mistake of picking them back in June and it's definitely uncomfortable when you've got long legs. It gets worse when one or other of the two seats in front is reclined. I've learned that for next time I travel on an A346.

[Leezyjet]

Leezyjet, you make valid points and offer good tips but why the attitude?

There are people dieing in the world and this person's rant was just a little over the top considering what it was about !!.

hopefully pax like you volunteer for these seats at check in so to ensure normal pax don't have to suffer them. After all, you don't have a problem with them. Apparently.

And why would I do that ?. Just because I don't have a problem with them doesn't mean I would go out of my way to sit there so some other chump can be more comfortable. Obviously everyone wants as much comfort and space as they can get in economy, but those seats are few and far between and it is upto one's self to ensure they do all possible to get them. If one turns up at the airport an hour before departure or has not made an effort to secure a half decent seat, one has to accept that one's choice of seats may be somewhat limited, however you have still got what you paid for i.e. a seat in economy and thats it. The airlines promise you nothing more.