WHY 73/75 A350 Manchester

Yes i know i am moaning but why did 73 get the A350 before 75 as this is the oldest 747 change over. I booked this to get the chance to fly on it, now i am sad i get the 330 which i waited for. I know its the luck of the draw normally. Moan over.

The boring answer is that the A350 is often switched in MCO with the LHR aircraft and the timing of the 73 allows for this. Also on Tuesdays and Saturdays the VS75 returns as the VS226 into EDI and this aircraft is A333 so the 75 needs to be the same.

On Wednesday and Saturday there is only one MAN flight which is the VS75 and on these days only it's A350 because the A333 is in EDI.

To add to this, it's also not always certain at the point of booking what the aircraft will be. VS can and do sometimes change aircraft types from the date the flights go on sale to the day of the actual flight.

At this time, with there being only two A350s in the higher density config specified for places such as MCO in mind, it's not a given every flight will be A350s like it was back in the days of the 747s where it was almost guaranteed.

[mitchja]

Also just to add to the mix, there's no more new A351's due until next year now. The next new A/C will probably be the first of the A339's which I believe is due by the end of this year and is also rumoured to have yet another different Upper Class seat on it!

Also just to add to the mix, there's no more new A351's due until next year now. The next new A/C will probably be the first of the A339's which I believe is due by the end of this year and is also rumoured to have yet another different Upper Class seat on it!

There was an announcement in December that VS would take 2 more A351s from Air Lease Corp, in 2022 & 2023.

Regarding A339 UC seating, let's hope it's just a variation of the A351 product, adjusted for the narrower cabin.
Since a number of airlines operate A333 & A339s with business class cabins 1-2-1 across in a \ /\ / arrangement, there seems no earthly reason why Virgin wouldn't fit their A339s like this!

My understanding from people involved in the initiation of the 339 project but who subsequently left is that the plan is a Virginised version of the DLOne Suite from the Delta 339s.

Regarding A339 UC seating, let's hope it's just a variation of the A351 product, adjusted for the narrower cabin.
Since a number of airlines operate A333 & A339s with business class cabins 1-2-1 across in a \ /\ / arrangement, there seems no earthly reason why Virgin wouldn't fit their A339s like this!

VS have done that before on the A330-300s when first built (except for the first three as the seats weren't ready) as the UCDS were configured in a 1-2-1 layout.

If it is a variation of the Delta One seat, I expect to see a 1-2-1 layout as that's how it's configured on DL's A330s. Here's a review on the seat: https://thepointsguy.com/reviews/delta-one-a330-900neo/

My understanding from people involved in the initiation of the 339 project but who subsequently left is that the plan is a Virginised version of the DLOne Suite from the Delta 339s.

So probably similar to when they ripped out the Air Berlin business seats on the A330-200s and fitted a customised version of an off-the-shelf business class seat to make it look their own.

[mitchja]

The question is though ...will we ever see a consistent cabin product across the entire VS fleet? Not something VS have ever been very good at unfortunately.

Let's hope they don't follow Finnair with their new non-reclining 'AirLounge' seat, in a bid to be a bit different!

The question is though ...will we ever see a consistent cabin product across the entire VS fleet? Not something VS have ever been very good at unfortunately.

I reckon in recent years the closest that happened was around 2017/18 when the A330s were having the UCDS seats ripped out and replaced with the old UCS seats. Then the -200s came along with their non-standard layout and then the A350s started arriving with the new Upper seat, the Loft instead of a bar and a new PE seat, with the higher-density A350s having the Booth instead of the Loft.

If the neo's are delivered without a bar, then I think that concept is doomed once the time comes to refurbish the 787s (which I imagine is only a couple of years away given the oldest is around 8 years old).

At least the IFE is now the same.

It does surprise me how VS with the size of fleet it has struggles to offer a consistent product.