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#960859 by mitchja
11 Feb 2023, 23:54
Ground Staff
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When VS announced the new TPA route last year, I thought it was time to visit that part of Florida again. It's been ~11 years since I was last there. I used to fly to MCO and then drive across to the Clearwater area. Even better when I found out VS were op’ing this route using the new A339’s.

Did my usual and came down the previous day from Lancashire using the train from Skipton to King's Cross via Leeds, tube to LHR, over-night at the LHR T4 Crowne Plaza and finally Parker cars to the VS Upper Class drive-thru the following morning. All straight forward and no issues.

I received my meal pre-order email reminder at T-7days…..still the same menu since November! The FlyReady link also appeared in my booking at the same time. Interesting that after filling in my passport info, the COVID-119 vaccination section went straight to the green tick / completed status without me uploading anything? I last flew in Dec so maybe it’s intelligent enough now to remember my previously uploaded details?? The attestation and contact tracing sections can still only be done from the T-72hrs point.

As I was scheduled to fly on an A339, those 2 Retreat suites (1D & 1G) opened up at T-14 days and VS were asking £200 each way for those seats. You can select and pay for them using either the VS app or website. Nobody selected them before departure. I noticed that on the day of departure those 2 seats become blocked again (as I presume they were passed to airport control). They both showed as being occupied about an hour before departure.


The Upper Class Wing was reasonably busy with a couple of pax in front of me checking in. The check-in agent made a point of telling me they had attached a yellow priority tag on my checked luggage due to my VS AU status. Not long though before I was going through security which was interesting and slightly different to normal. I had to be scanned twice using the full body scanner and I was then sent for a manual private pat-down search and swap test. After being able to collect my bag that passed though the x-ray without any issues I was escorted to a private room for the manual pat-down and swab with 2 members of staff. It only took a few minutes bore I was good to go and TBH, I don't know why it needed to be done in private as it was nothing more evasive than other manual pat-downs and swap tests I had before in the public security area?

Anyway, headed up to the VS Clubhouse were I was warmly welcomed back. Headed straight for some breakfast before heading up to my usual spot in the loft area. A fellow V:Flyer - Seyre1972 was also flying today so they came and said hello.

Service was as good as ever in the Clubhouse today. I could see from the Flighty app that we were departing from gate 21 and the FlightRadar24 app showed G-VLDY would be taking me to TPA today.

The VS129 flight was called around 12:30. 5-10min walk to gate 21. The A/C wasn’t quite ready for boarding when I arrived at the gate but I didn’t have to wait long. I was welcomed by the gate agent after they scanned my boarding pass and I was also thanked for being a Flying Club Gold member.

G-VLDY was taken us to TPA today. I was welcomed on-board and directed to me 4A seat.

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There are also a set of seat controls lower down so you can reach them when in bed mode.

Menus and amenity packs were on the seat. As already mentioned, the menu was exactly the same as my previous 2 flights going back to early November 2022.

My initial impression of the new seat its that its a hybrid version of the existing A350 seat and the now retired refitted A332 seat. The seats all face forward and are staggered in each row. The even numbered seats have the seat directly next to the window / cabin wall and the fixed table where the movable table, seat controls and other bits are located. The odd numbered seats has this fixed table bit directly next to the window and the seat next to the aisle. All the suites have a door which closes almost completely.

If you have limited mobility I’d personally go for the odd numbered seats as those look to be easier to get in and out off especially when the seat is reclined.

The footwell is noticeably bigger compared to there A350 seat. I believe that the footwells in row 1 window seats are bigger still (similar to the A350’s).

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The suite door is locked in the open position for take-off so don’t try and force it closed. Once airborne the crew go down the aisles unlocking them all.

The little cupboard is used to store the headphones and the can of water. Other than wallets / purses etc. not much else will fit in there. Under the cupboard is the wireless charging point.

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This didn’t seem to be working for the entire flight; nor was the wireless charging point in the loft area. I didn’t get round to asking the crew about that as I didn’t really need it anyway. The USB & power sockets are easily accessible on all seats. UBS-C sockets are now an option along with standard USB sockets. There’s actually not much storage space in the seats for things like phones etc though they seem to fit OK in the magazine storage rack.

The IFE screen is fixed. It is slightly smaller than the IFE screens on the A350’s for some reason but it’s HD so nice and clear.

The top part of the seat cushion (the head-rest bit) can also be tilted forward to make things a little more comfortable if required.

As well as your movable table which slides out diagonally after pushing it to unlock it and then unfolds, there is also a wired remote control to operate the IFE. The IFE screen is also touch screen as well so you can use either. As with the A350’s you can link your own handset via the WiFi to your seat which allows you to use your own handset to control the IFE. The A339 IFE now also allows you to link your own BlueTooth headphones though this can only be done once airborne. It seemed easy enough to link my Bose NC700 headphones.

There’s no option to view the outside tail or belly cameras on the A339’s sadly as I love that feature on the A350’s.

The usual pre-departure drinks were offered. Boarding was soon completed and the door was closed. 249 pax on todays flight (the A339’s have 262 seats), 9 cabin crew and 2 flight deck crew.

We pushed back on-time at 13:25. Once airborne I linked my headphones and finished watching a film I started on a Delta flight in December. A good selection of films and TV programs along with games, music and the flight map.

Once the seats belt sign was turned off, a crew member went down both aisles and unlocked the suite doors so they could be closed if required.

Drinks were soon offered once the seat-belt sign was switched off, along with taking orders for dinner. I had the beetroot starter followed by the chicken & mushroom pie, which was actually very tasty. I’d had the salmon on the previous two occasions so I fancied a change for this flight. The crew working in Upper Class were as good as always on today’s flight. The Upper Class cabin was full.

After dinner I payed a visit to the loft. The seats seem a little high and are not very comfortable to sit in for long periods of time (I wonder if that is deliberate?); they do have foot rests. There are a couple of pull down arm rests which include drinks coasters. There’s another wireless charging point along wit h2 large touch-flat screens. All the seats do have seat belts as well. Snacks and fruit baskets available there as well. 2 fridges, one containing both soft drinks and alcoholic drink cans whilst the other was set to freeze and continued ice-cream tubs (which actually only appeared later into the flight after they had been served in the cabins). The loft didn’t seem to get used much on today’s flight.

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There are 4 washrooms for Upper Class, one at the front left of the cabin which is not well advertised ( and will probably get blocked for crew only use as the crew never seem happy for pax to use that forward one of any A/C config) and there 3 washrooms at the rear between Upper Class and Premium. The rubbish/trash bins have a hands-free foot pedal though it’s not immediately obvious what that foot pedal is actually for; curiosity got the better of me so of course I tried it to see what it did!! The water tap is also hands-free as per the A350’s.

I watched a couple more films during the flight. The crew came round to see if pax needed anything at regular intervals.

I used the WiFi during the flight. No option for Boingo log-in as this so I paid £18.99 for the entire flight. A 1 hour option was also available for £5.99. There is also a 20min free option as well; though not sure if there are any restrictions with that? It’s powered by Viasat and you can pay using ApplePay.

The afternoon snack was served around 90mins before arrival. Once that was cleared, it wasn’t long before the crew started securing the cabin for our arrival. The FSM came and said hello, thanking me for being a Gold Flying Club member.

We landed 34 mins early at 18:01. Said my goodbyes to the crew and headed to immigration. My first time using TPA; it was nice and easy with no queuing at immigration. Global Entry machines were available but none of them seem to be working properly as none of them would take a photo. An agent was sending all GE pax to a separate manual check. After taking my photo and having a quick look at my passport, I was waived though. The baggage carousels are immediately after immigration and the bags soon started coming off. You then head out and up the escalator to the monorail then once in the main terminal area, you follow the signs as head up a level to get another monorail which takes you to the car-hire centre. No waiting for any of the desks and as mentioned in another thread no navigation devices were available even though my V Hols gold package included one. Good job I have an EE mobile plan that includes roaming within the US!

Headed down the escalator and picked a car. Before long I was driving to my hotel at Indian Rocks Beach where I’m currently staying until Monday. It’s been over 10 years since I’ve been to this area and in general it’s exactly as I remembered it.

All in all another great VS flight and the A339 is highly recommended…..oh and I’ve just caved as I’ve just selected and paid for a Retreat Suite upgrade for the flight home ;-) 8-)
#960861 by ScoobySu
12 Feb 2023, 00:46
Hi James

Many thanks for your excellent comprehensive review - we’re on this route this coming Tuesday. We’re very much undecided about committing to the Retreat Suites so it would be great to hear your thoughts on your return!
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