SEAT ALLOCATION B747-400 LGW/MCO

Hi, we're currently booked on VS027 and VS028 LGW/MCO return. Outbound we're on the new A330-300 which is ok - no problems with seats there, however on the return leg we're booked into seats 82D,E & F on a B747-400 which have a bulkhead directly behind them. I've tried to change seats today but have been advised by Virgin that I will need to wait until 24 hours before flight from Orlando departs before I can go into the Manage my Bookings section on their website to see if I can change my seat allocation. Am really ticked off. Has anyone else had this happen? We've paid what seems to be a fortune to us for PE seats only to find that they're really naff. Help!

[Nottingham Nick]

I assume your Travel Agent has requested (not booked) the seats you are allocated at present.

Do you have booking reference, which is a mixture of six numbers and letters?

If you have it (or get it from your TA) you can log into your Flying Club account - manage my booking, and access the seat maps.

Only 60% of the seats are available for pre-requesting - if this limit has been reached, others become available when OLCI opens at T-24hours.

Nick

Dear Nottingham Nick

Thank you for your reply. Sorry, my fault, yes I've already been online in the "manage my bookings" section but Virgin have reached their maximum of 60% pre-allocated seats. We only altered our flights to Virgin on Monday so our seats were all that was left. We now face the scrum for seat allocation 24 hours prior to departure from Orlando. What I don't understand is why the seats can't be swapped for 3 upstairs which are apparently held over until the day of departure? We've already paid for our seats - why not let us change them? Virgin would still have their 40% unallocated seats. Sorry, there's that word again,(sorry) I'm not usually a moaner but having looked forward to this for such a long time and persuaded my husband to change our original flights from BA to Virgin, the thought of being stuck in bulkhead seats for which we've paid a fortune really upsets me. I dread to think what my husband will say if we can't swap. I haven't dared tell him yet! Many thanks for your response though, it's good to "talk" to someone about this. If you have any other ideas please let me know. Many thanks. J

[Neil]

With PE on the LGW fleet, the front half of the bubble are held especially for Virgin Holiday customers. This is a special agreement they have negotiated with VS. So that impacts how many seats are available for pre-allocation upstairs, as row 75row can't be pre-allocated either. If the VH allocation doesn't get filled then some of that will become available at OLCI stage. Of course, there is no guarantee you will get a seat upstairs, so you should get used to the idea you might be downstairs.

A good tip is to check 2-3 hours before OLCI opens as quite often seats become free around that time.

Neil

Do the seats that the Op is talking about (82D,E & F ) not have the same recline as normal seats, even with the bulkhead behind them ?|

(which might make them better as you don't have to worry about reclining into anybodys lap )

David

Apparently not, they have reduced recline. Having spoken to Virgin they agree that there is restricted recline, however I've been advised that seats upstairs will become available at OLCI but it's a matter of first come first served. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Thanks for your reply.

[honey lamb]

Do check 2-3 hours before OLCI opens as often seats are released early. I was able to change mine on another flight 5 hours before OLCI opened on one occasion

Thank you so much for your reply. It's good to know that it's not impossible to change seats. I will follow your advice and check 5 hours prior to the opening of OLCI. Once again, many thanks.

[honey lamb]

Thank you so much for your reply. It's good to know that it's not impossible to change seats. I will follow your advice and check 5 hours prior to the opening of OLCI. Once again, many thanks.

If seats aren't opened then, keep checking. That was a return flight from JNB and I was truly shocked to see it opened as it hadn't been 30 minutes before. (In case you're wondering how desperate was I to be checking every 30 minutes I was at a family braai and there was a lull in proceedings as everyone refreshed drinks etc. I truly didn't expect it to happen. Equally I didn't expect to see some-one chasing and nabbing the third seat I was looking for v( )

Certainly though, I have seen seats released 2 hours beforehand and it costs nothing to try