CLUB WORLD VS UPPER CLASS

We are thinking of going to Antigua and obviously there are no 'points' seats on virgin. The price for Upper Class seems to be getting really expensive, and from what I have read here the general opinion is that the other classes are becoming a little worn out, and again the price seems to be getting a bit pricey.

We have been looking at the Club World tickets, and could not believe that to travel on the dame day was 3,300 cheaper with BA on Club World and in comparison was only slightly dearer than travelling Premium Economy with Virgin!! Only a fool would not consider it.

Could someone give me a comparison of the Upper Class experience versus the Club World experience from Gatwick. I have had a little read on the web and I know that the cabin will have the old flat beds, but if the actual service and amenities are still the same it seems very nice indeed. They also look like they offer an Elemis amenity kit, which is more than I can say for Virgin.

Anyway I would be grateful if someone could give me their opinion of both.

Many thanks,
Claire

For that much of a saving, I can't see how you could not go with BA. The VS product is not that great. Ok, the NNCW or whatever it is very nice and I've not tried the older product, but save the money, spend it when you get there instead,

I've been happy with CW over the last couple of years. The service has been fantastic and the food not at all bad .

I'm with locutus on this one - spend the money when you get there!

Mrs D

We have done several BA Club World flights this year. The seat gives more choice than VS UC in that you can recline without laying down and you can lie flat slightly raised, if you understand what I mean! IMO there is definately less storage space around the seat unless you are on the Upper Deck where there are storage bins as well. The only big gripe I have is that not every seat has aisle access which means climbing over someone else's legs. There are a few exceptions to this - I would check on SeatGuru.com or a similar site to find out which seats have complete aisle access on the particular flight you would be on. The food is ok - there is a little kitchen for Club World passengers - really only a fridge with snacks in it but its something. The amenity kit is nothing special - but nor is the UC kit either. No sleep suits - new or washed.We ended up taking the BA flights as the price difference was so much greater compared to Virgin. Yes UC is more 'fun' with the bar. The seats give more space and freedom but some people may prefer BA as you can sit next to each other or face to face and you can easily talk to one another, something that is harder the way the seats are configured on VS.

At the end of the day its down to you but really they are both good products and you should be happy with either. I have not flown BA CW out of Gatwick so cant comment on the lounges.

If I remember correctly there is no AVOD on Gatwick UC but I think there is on BA but ISTBC. Whatever you choose - enjoy!

Thanks for that; just one other question, not that it will affect my decision. I have been looking at the seat plans and the CW seats seem to have an alternating forward backward position, which to me means that you can get in and out of your seat without having to jump over someone else. I have found a few things that people have written and they all suggest that you have to climb over someone else to get out.

Could someone clarify this for me, if we go it will not change anything but it would be nice to know.

Many thanks,

I think my leg jumping question was being answered as I was writing it!

I will look on the seat guru.

Thanks again.

[Scrooge]

Having flown CW a few times, get any seat in the E,F column, it is a little strange taking off and landing backwards, but the seats are a lot easier to navigate.

VS UC and BA CW are both good - different, but good.

The most important bits of the Business Class flight are, for me, personal space and you get those with both airlines.

To me, niether is worth substantially more than the other - if one is considerably cheaper than the other, then it would be mad to go with the more expensive one (unless money is absolutely no object).

Whatever you decide, have a great trip [:)]

Boo

With a price difference that big I would opt for BA. However if the price difference was smaller(ie a couple of hundred ponds) VS would get my custom.

If in-flight service is important to you, then in my experience I have found BA to be more consistent in that area, especially the in-flight catering which I think is superior to VS's,though that's not too difficult to achieve!

BA Club in my opinion is not as good as UC from Gatwick. I flwe to Barbados in April and was not that impressed - 'BUT' it is still a good product compared to a lot of other airlines and at that price difference you would be crazy to go with VS unless money is no option. They use the older CW seats and the IFE has a tiny screen + its not VOD but neither is the older 747s VS use from Gatwick and you could be lucky that BA could have upgraded by the time you go. I found the best deals at the moment for CW is with Diall a Flight - They seem to be discounting J class flights with huge savings to be made - Hope this helpos a little.

For personal reasons we had to move our planned Barbados trip from April to August. Virgin Holidays had no return Upper Class availability so I went to Kuoni. I was offered the trip I wanted Upper Class return for £8,800 - they then offered BA Club World return for the same trip for £4,560. No contest. Even BA First was cheaper. Are VS so confident they can sell these seats at almost any price??

[Decker]

apparently

[Darren Wheeler]

Like anything where there is finite capacity, the seat will get sold as there will always those willing to pay (Michael Winner for example)

For the LGW to BGI route VS use a 747 which only has 14 UC seats in the nose of the aircraft. So it's more of a First Class experience. I guess the limted number of seats is the reason for the higher fares. Also Virgin Holidays only have an allocation of 2 upper class seats on that aircraft, which is the Z fare!

quote:Originally posted by s1990
For the LGW to BGI route VS use a 747 which only has 14 UC seats in the nose of the aircraft. So it's more of a First Class experience.

Not in my experience - it is a J experience through and through. Also we have had 5 seats (all Z) from VH so not sure where you got the 2 Z's from.

and I booked four Z seats from LGW to MCO


Sorry just re-read the post I replied to,did not book via VH but direct with Virgin atlantic

quote:Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
Like anything where there is finite capacity, the seat will get sold as there will always those willing to pay (Michael Winner for example)


I always imagined MW got given the seats/hotel rooms in return for the publicity?[?]