August 2012.

Hi,

I am feeling a little bit out of the loop at the moment as I haven't been online for a while and so I hope this question hasn't asked previously.....

Our usual choice for flights is the VS075 outbound on the new A330 and return on the VS074 on the 747 preferably in the bubble.... We have booked these flights again for our Easter 2012 trip although we are not able to 'reserve' our seats on the 747 until OLCI.

In the next few weeks I will be looking to book flights for August 2012 and at the moment both legs of the flight seem to be operated by a 747?

We found the IFE on the new A330 a godsend as it kept our two girls occupied the whole time and made a real difference to our flight...... At this point, does anyone know if the August 2012 flights on the 747 will be the refurbed ones? or will we not know until the day of travel? and what happend to the A330 that was used for the VS075....

Any info would be appreciated.

Many thanks.

Ali

[Neil]

Hi,

It does seem that a 747 is going to operate some of the VS75 during August next year. This will probably because of the demand ex MAN during the busier summer months, it could also be linked to scheduled maintenance for one of the A330's or them being used on flights out of say GLA where the demand might not be so high.

As you are obviously aware, the 747's are being refitted from April next year and all of them should be complete by late October. Unfortunately there is no way of knowing if you will get a refurbed 747 or not, as come October, there will still be 3 or 4 left to do.

Neil

Is there a possibility upper class may be fitted to the A330's during that time hence the change to a B747

Is there a possibility upper class may be fitted to the A330's during that time hence the change to a B747

I doubt that VS would take a plane out of service for something like this during the peak summer travel period especially with the Olympics and Paralympics boosting demand.

As Neil says the switch is probably more due to demand for seats on MAN-MCO flights.

Using the search tool you'll find lots of recent topics on refits, dates, what, where, when - as much as is known. For example here, here, here, here, here, here, and here - all in the last few weeks.

Using the search tool you'll find lots of recent topics on refits, dates, what, where, when - as much as is known. For example here, here, here, here, here, here, and here - all in the last few weeks.

It's turning into a hot topic! ):

It's turning into a hot topic! ):

Oh I yearn for a master or mistress thread on this ...

I agree - we need a 'sticky' thread called "all re-fit issues here please!" or something similar!

I agree - we need a 'sticky' thread called "all re-fit issues here please!" or something similar!

I agree too.

I think on a different thread one of the mods said that they'd thought about this and decided against it, but maybe I'm misremembering.

seconded here too!!!!!!! mods are you listening ^) ^) y)

alex

Apologies.

Clearly if I had performed a search I would have found that my question had indeed been asked many times. Laziness on my part.

Again, apologies but thank you to Neil for your reply.

Ali.

[Neil]

The mods have discussed the idea of having a sticky thread for this, and other regular repeat topics. It was decided that we would not adopt that system and are happy with the way repeat topics are handled.

There will always be repeat topics, and whilst some are very basic, many are quite unique to the person asking it and requires a more specific reply. Also, whist many topics are initially similar they often drift and result in new/different info and discussions being made.

Having large threads are quite difficult to keep up to date with, and important information can get lost very quickly, which causes more confusion.

If members don't like repeat topics there is no requirement for them to reply or even read them if they don't want to, the good thing about V-Flyer is that there is always someone willing to reply and help.

We will continue to monitor the situation and make any changes if we feel they are needed.

Thanks,
Neil

Having large threads are quite difficult to keep up to date with, and important information can get lost very quickly, which causes more confusion.

Thank you for replying, Neil. I agree that enormously long sticky threads become very unwieldly and virtually unusable.

Have you considered, though, having a sticky FAQ post (which could be locked so no replies). It could contain the current FAQs and answers. (e.g. Refits, seat requests, which aircraft?, when is the next sale?, etc.)

I know some FAQs are accessible via the link at the bottom of the home page, but it is not particularly visible. I looked recently and it felt like they might be a bit out of date -- for instance, the fleet page didn't have the A330s listed, if I remember correctly.

Apologies for going off-topic.

Could you 'phone VA & do a dummy booking & ask them which planes are scheduled for those flights?

Would that be of use to you?

R-P

Thank you for replying, Neil. I agree that enormously long sticky threads become very unwieldly and virtually unusable.

Have you considered, though, having a sticky FAQ post (which could be locked so no replies). It could contain the current FAQs and answers. (e.g. Refits, seat requests, which aircraft?, when is the next sale?, etc.)

I know some FAQs are accessible via the link at the bottom of the home page, but it is not particularly visible. I looked recently and it felt like they might be a bit out of date -- for instance, the fleet page didn't have the A330s listed, if I remember correctly.

Apologies for going off-topic.

This is a good suggestion - especially as it's already done with menu listings.

The mods have discussed the idea of having a sticky thread for this, and other regular repeat topics. It was decided that we would not adopt that system and are happy with the way repeat topics are handled.

There will always be repeat topics, and whilst some are very basic, many are quite unique to the person asking it and requires a more specific reply. Also, whist many topics are initially similar they often drift and result in new/different info and discussions being made.

Having large threads are quite difficult to keep up to date with, and important information can get lost very quickly, which causes more confusion.

If members don't like repeat topics there is no requirement for them to reply or even read them if they don't want to, the good thing about V-Flyer is that there is always someone willing to reply and help.

We will continue to monitor the situation and make any changes if we feel they are needed.

Thanks,
Neil

Why not have a Wiki-like master thread that is moderated - i.e. the first post contains the latest information, people can discuss after ... like FT does for important and repeat topics? This gets over the point about things being lost in a crowd, and allows for a single thread on this topic, while still allowing repetitive questions?

[Neil]

Wiki style threads/pages have also been discussed very recently, to cover a whole range of topics, but was unanimously voted no by all the mods, for a number of reasons.

A new basic FAQ's are something we have been working on, but they take a lot of time and upkeep. The LGW/MAN refits is an ever changing situation with new information popping up all the time, so just keeping that one small part of an FAQ current would be a task, let alone one on every regular question. A new basic one should hopefully be live at some point.

As I said before, we are constantly looking at the site and how it is working and discussing possible changes. We do listen and discuss any suggestions but ultimately we have to do what we feel best for the site.

Thanks,
Neil