V-Flyer

Hi,

I have just selected my seats for my forthcoming first flight on Virgin from LHR to SFO at T-90. Was a bit surprised that:

a) no seats were greyed out anywhere in UC. I thought that Virgin only pre-released 60% of seats in advance.

b) almost 12 hours after making my selection for 2 of us no one else as far as I can see has selected any seats.

If I log back on via the Flying Club link (it wont find my flight through the Manage my Booking link I assume because I booked it on Delta's website - flights were a lot cheaper through them when I booked) it finds my flight ok and shows my seat selection next to my name when I click the select seats link so I guess it worked OK as it seems to remember my previous selection. Went for 16K & 17K. Maybe the flight may be a bit empty - if I'm lucky as it's the day after Boxing Day.

I'm flying the same day as you, to LAX, and also requested my seats as soon as they became available this morning.

Only one other seat's been taken in UC so far, proving once again that it's a V-Flyer myth that there's always a huge scramble for seats at T-90.

Despite all the angst-ridden debate on here about the fairness of the T-90 system, it's pretty obvious that on the majority of flights it's only a tiny proportion of passengers (mainly V-Flyers, and I include myself) who request seats as soon as it's possible when there's usually no need to whatsoever.

Maybe that's why VS haven't started charging for seat requests - there simply isn't the demand.

I had the same experience on my last trip to SYD, but I wouldn't call the seat scramble a myth - especially for those travelling in family groups, and in particular those on the MCO flights.

You only have to read the regular diatribes against VS on their facebook pages and on other websites, to see the angst that moving some people out of their requested seats causes. :0

Nick

AFAIK (only have experience of upper). Virgin don't hold back 40% of the seats, it's when 60% have been chosen they block the rest. But I have never seen this happen in UC. Seen maps go from empty to full at a seat or two at a time.

I think the 40% rule may be mainly in Y. I never notice it when I fly W and J.

Regarding the T-90 'myth', we are flying to MCO just after Christmas and our seat map opened yesterday and I would say that at 90 days and 3 hours, at least 1/3rd of seats had already been selected and when I looked again a few hours later I would say a good 50% had been selected (this is in Y).

So, it really is route dependant on how keen pax are to select seats, with the B&S routes, and especially MCO being in high demand, while the business routes seem to be the opposite.

Think you are right Neil.

On our forthcoming flight to LAX in UC next weekend, we were the only ones requested seats for many weeks and even now with less than 6 days to go about half have been selected. I expect it will be full when we get on board.

On the return in about 3 weeks from now there are only about a third of seats selected.

I remember a couple of years back when flying into Vegas it was as usual a fight to get any seat on the top deck, and you had to be there poised when VH released their seats the day before. linda

Yesterday was T-90 for my flight from LAS back to LGW in January.

According to Flightstats it's completely full in UC but, 30 hours after seat requests opened, I remain the only person to have done so.

Yet again the T-90 "scramble" failed to materialise. Is it solely a Y/PE phenomenon?

gumshoe wrote:Yesterday was T-90 for my flight from LAS back to LGW in January.
According to Flightstats it's completely full in UC but, 30 hours after seat requests opened, I remain the only person to have done so.
Yet again the T-90 "scramble" failed to materialise. Is it solely a Y/PE phenomenon?

Or could it be that a lot of people just don't know about T-90 yet? If so long may it continue for those of us who do enjoy requesting the seats they like best ):