V-Flyer

Hi, Just founf the forum ,what a great source of info, thnak you.

I am booked on VS003, 25/5/10, to JFK, Upper Class.

Do Upper Class provide power converters for laptops, or do you need to supply your own?

Thanks for you help!

Ian

Hi Ian and welcome.

Virgin no longer provide power adaptors on any flights. If you want to use the power you will need to buy one yourself, I will need to be an empower adaptor.

Neil

You need to supply your own now, they used to supply them

HI Laner,

I believe you need an empower compatible lead and no they don't supply them. I'm currently debating whether or not to go to the expense of buying one - because I probably won't use it *that* much...

Blimey folks, that was quick!!

Thanks for the update, looks like another quick internet search and purchase then!!

Thanks

Ian

What laptop is it?

Remember to check the wattage as the Empower ports in the seats have a limit of 70w. Try drawing more and the port shuts down.

Ian,

You can find them on the Curry's website if you are in the UK or by pre-ordering them via the on board shopping facility from the VA website. They are about the same price give or take a pound or two.

Mine draws 90 w so all in all...

Cheers

No experience of these things,but at only £9.99 from Play will this do the job?

http://tinyurl.com/y2nd3sp

twosheds wrote:No experience of these things,but at only £9.99 from Play will this do the job?
http://tinyurl.com/y2nd3sp

Depends on if you have a power supply with a 12v connector. something like an aftermarket supply might, Kensington or iGo might. OEM tend not to.

Before I waste my money (incase it doesn't work) how do I find out if my laptop uses 70W or less ?|

-Steve

A quick Google for the model number and 'specifications' should reveal that I would have thought.

My laptop draws 90watts & I've got a Kensington 110watt power supply for use on planes. As long as I dim the screen backlight a little, it works just fine in UC.

Have not had the power port shut down on me for drawing too much current. (Have had the power port/supply be faulty - showing ON to the crew + the green light on the port, but not actually supplying any power).

James

Doesn't matter - mine draws more than 70 so I turn down the screen brightness and put it into energy save mode - that forces it below and it will stay on.

Hi All,

So did they stop this over a year ago in Upper?

On the Virgin Atlantic website http://virginatlantic.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/85 it states that The crew have Kensington power leads to distribute that support laptops and other electrical items, such as CD players and digital cameras.

It also points out that the question was last updated on; Updated 23/11/2011 03.25 PM.

Thanks in advance,
LG

I've got the empower adapator, but never really required anything charged when in UC, so I've no idea where it actually plugs in... I can't remember ever seeing a socket...

As for the play.com one, I'm taking a guess as far as I remember, that you need some form of cigarette lighter adaptor as well to connect it to any normally powered things...

I'd really like to know what the position on this issue is because on my last PE flight in December I was informed that it had been discontinued and I was surprised and told the CC that it was advertised on the website as available for PE and UC

The empower to cigarette socket adaptor is only £4.99 on eBay

Tinuks wrote:I'd really like to know what the position on this issue is because on my last PE flight in December I was informed that it had been discontinued and I was surprised and told the CC that it was advertised on the website as available for PE and UC

Like a lot of things (purple seats in PE for example, VPORT) it is not available on every plane.

FWIW, Apple's laptops communicate with their empower adapter cable such they they know to specifically draw less, using a trickle charge mode instead of bulk charging that would trip the seat's breaker.

For airlines that use regular power leads (NH and VX among them), Apple users need to buy the 60W power adapter that's intended for the lower end MacBook products. All Apple laptops actually support all adapters despite what the packaging says. In this case, again, the laptop is aware of the lower wattage of the adapter and goes into trickle charge mode. As a US-based user, I found that it was best to buy this adapter in the UK and thus get the long UK-style plug lead to go with it, which isn't separately available.

So how would one go about charging an ipad 2 in UC? Taking our first UC flight to LAX soon and I know my other half will probably want to use his most of the way. Do we need to buy a charging cable for this also?

To be honest, if its 100% charged before you get on the plane you probably won't need to charge it! They have very good battery life.

tontybear wrote:

Tinuks wrote:I'd really like to know what the position on this issue is because on my last PE flight in December I was informed that it had been discontinued and I was surprised and told the CC that it was advertised on the website as available for PE and UC

Like a lot of things (purple seats in PE for example, VPORT) it is not available on every plane.

Thanks for the confirmation tonty. Shame on VS for making it seem like it's available on every flight out of LHR v(

Carolynn wrote:So how would one go about charging an ipad 2 in UC? Taking our first UC flight to LAX soon and I know my other half will probably want to use his most of the way. Do we need to buy a charging cable for this also?

You can buy inflight power adaptors (empower) from e.g. Kensington that have USB sockets for charging USB devices ...

Carolynn wrote:So how would one go about charging an ipad 2 in UC? Taking our first UC flight to LAX soon and I know my other half will probably want to use his most of the way. Do we need to buy a charging cable for this also?

CC have provided me with a cable for my iPad, it "doesn't" charge it, but holds its power.

I bought a couple of these after someone on here posted about them, they are brill for anything which charges via USB and are small, light weight and only a fiver.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/empower-aircraf ... tor-543088