V-Flyer

Hi there,
I'm new to this so please excuse me if this question has already been asked[}:)] I've booked a long awaited holiday with Virgin holidays to St Lucia on the 8th January next year for me, my husband and 2 years old boy(a long way off but at least i have ages to pay for it! [:0])I would like to upgrade to PE as a treat, are flights so soon after New Year to St Lucia usually very busy? I don't no whether to go ahead and upgrade now and pay the full price, or wait till the day and upgrade at checkin (do Virgin ever offer a discount if PE aren't full?)Look forward to hearing from anybody [:p]

Don't VH do special deals to upgrade? How much are they quoting? I assume you will then get a 10% FC discount off that, so probably best to do it now if you can.

Hi, thanks for your reply,
VH quoted £375 per adult and £284 for my little boy at the time of booking a few weeks ago [:X]

Is that price for a return upgrade to PE?

I'm not that au fait with Bucket and Spade fares (or loads either) but if it is retun I would say that was a good deal and probably be best to book that now.

Welcome to the site..

Dean

No that price is for one way, return is another £275 per adult and £184 per child on top of that [:$]

Hi Tippettowers and welcome to V-Flyer.

In my experience i would book in advance as VH only get a set no of allocation from VS.Mind you i normally book an upgrade a few months beforehand!

Where are you flying from?Gatwick or Manchester?

There is also for something to think about.... VS do upgrades at check in and also now on the aircraft depending on availability but these can be alot higher in price compared to Virgin Holidays.

PE seats on the B&S routes are becoming more and more popular and the Caribbean between Nov-March is also a very popular destination so I would advise that waiting until the day may result in you being disapointed due to lack of availability so if you really want to upgrade then I would suggest you do so in advance

The prices quoted are the standard VH ones but you should also get 10% discount if you are a Virgin Atlantic Flying Club member.

Oh and welcome to V-Flyer[y]

Neil

Hi TT

I've been to the Carribean each summer for the last 3 years, and only once have I seen a special upgrade offer at the check in.

If it's that special, I'd book ahead with VH. The added advantage is that you can then use the seat pre-assignment tool on VS to bag seats upstairs in the bubble.

We went to St Lucia last suumer, upgrading to PE on the way out. One top tip for St Lucia - if you're staying in the north of the island and are at all a nervous passenger, look to get yourself a private taxi for the transfer. It can be a hairy experience in one of minibus taxis....

Paul

Thanks for all your replies folks, (we are departing from Gatwick)i think i'll opt to upgrade just now, to avoid disappointment. This is a great forum, glad i found out about it, thanks for all your help [^]

Originally posted by Tippetttowers
Thanks for all your replies folks, (we are departing from Gatwick)i think i'll opt to upgrade just now, to avoid disappointment. This is a great forum, glad i found out about it, thanks for all your help [^]

Just don't forget your FC discount. If you need me to introduce you.... [:w]

How do i go about joining the Flying Club? I'm not a frequent flyer with VS so could i still join? [:?]

Originally posted by Tippetttowers
How do i go about joining the Flying Club? I'm not a frequent flyer with VS so could i still join? [:?]

I'm sure someone here will introduce you to the FC, if they haven't already....

To join FC, click this link and it will take you to the correct page on the VS website.

You do not need to be a frequent flyer to join, it doesn't cost anything and it will allow you to collect miles/tier points when you fly with VS (or partner airlines). It is also good if you book your holidays with Virgin Holidays as it gives you a 10% discount (if/when you book your flight upgrade give them your FC number and you will get 10% off that too)

Neil

Many thanks for all your help

If you haven't done anything yet then VH has a very good "manage your booking" site as a part of its web site. Its on the top right of the menu here. Simply put your invoice/ooking refernce into the box and complete the rest of the nfo and yoru whole booking will appear.

You can then upgrade flights, change accommodation, book extras - in fact everything that the customer services rep can do.

I'm a bit surprised at the price quoted because the web site is showing £275 for an upgrade from Economy to PE for flights from 9th December to 30th April 08 - I would be interested to know where they got the price of £375 from as this far out from departure there shoudl still be standard availabilty - I woudl ask them to check that out for you. And use the manage yoru booking pae to to check - or even try creating a "dummy" holiday on the VH web site to check the price - the VH people can and do get things wrong.

If the PE allocation has been boooked at teh lower price and you want to save the £200 then my advice woudl be to wait until you get nearer the holiday and then when seats get released they will be at the brochure price - you just have to log onto the VH site regularly to check.

And has been said - join the Flying Club using Neil's link and get 10% off the whole trip - just tell them you forgot to give them them the number!

Interstingly and maybe temptingly - Upper Class is showing as a £625 upgrade from economy on the dates you are travelling - I have to say I would be sorely tempted at this price!!! [:I]

Originally posted by MarkJ
If you haven't done anything yet then VH has a very good "manage your booking" site as a part of its web site. Its on the top right of the menu here. Simply put your invoice/ooking refernce into the box and complete the rest of the nfo and yoru whole booking will appear.

You can then upgrade flights, change accommodation, book extras - in fact everything that the customer services rep can do.

In my experience - and things may have improved - this has a nasty tendency to lose discounts in the recalculation.

Originally posted by MarkJ
I'm a bit surprised at the price quoted because the web site is showing £275 for an upgrade from Economy to PE for flights from 9th December to 30th April 08 - I would be interested to know where they got the price of £375 from as this far out from departure there shoudl still be standard availabilty

It depends on the class of ticket that has been issued in support of the booking. VH can, and do, issue N class, non upgradeable, Economy tickets. To get the "published" upgrade prices you first have to pay the difference between the non upgradeable and the upgradeable ticket and the upgrade price is then applied atop that. That may explain the difference here....(Edited)...though evidently I was wrong about that per TT's later posts [:I]

Paul

Hi, Thanks for that, i managed to upgrade for £275 & £184 (a bit better than £375!) Am now waiting for them to update VS so i can pre allocate my seats upstairs, although i know these are never guaranteed
[^]

Oh, forgot to say, thanks Locutus, got my 10% FC aswell! thanks

TT,
Before booking your seats look on this site for seat ratings. You'll find the link on the left hand side of this page.

Welcome to the site, there are some very knowlegable people around and they are all so helpful.

Hopefully you have seen enough already to show what I mean?

Originally posted by Tippetttowers
Thanks for all your replies folks, (we are departing from Gatwick)i think i'll opt to upgrade just now, to avoid disappointment. This is a great forum, glad i found out about it, thanks for all your help [^]

Hi, looked at the seat ratings and booked upstairs, so hopefully they wont change them!! Am not telling the other 2 till we board that i've upgraded them! Yeah this site is full of people in the know, by the way another quick question, it says people are supervisors, senior cabin crew etc after there name, how do they get that?? Is it the amount of questions they answer?? [:?]

Originally posted by Tippetttowers
Yeah this site is full of people in the know, by the way another quick question, it says people are supervisors, senior cabin crew etc after there name, how do they get that?? Is it the amount of questions they answer?? [:?]

It's the number of posts that they have made.