V-Flyer

Hi All-

Thanks for all the positive feedback on my last review (linked below) ....

http://www.pointsinstyle.com/#!single-p ... B983B8C62F

As a small update to that, I wrote into Virgin with a relatively nice message but highlighting some of the service issues. They came back with an apology and 8,000 flying club points .

I recently took the return trip from Atlanta to London. As it was a night flight, theres not as much to write about, but I did review the flight and Delta's Sky Club Lounge in Atlanta (note: It has NOTHING on the Clubhouse, $10 for a cocktail, utter madness!).

You can read here the review/report here:

http://www.pointsinstyle.com/#!Review-V ... 2BB3C6CFA7

I thought overall the service on this flight was better than the outbound, but not by much. The food service is by far the highlight of the Virgin experience. Virgin is impressive to offer a full English breakfast on an east-coast redeye. The downside being the rough timing of this flight, a 5:30pm departure gets into London around 6-6:30am. Which works out if you've got a full day of work ahead, but not so much if you want to beat jetlag.

As always thoughts/comments/questions etc. are much welcomed!

Happy 2015

Nice TR, I prefer the A side too it's much easier to sleep on that side, plus on the UCDS I think its hard for anybody to sleep above 5ft5 and an adult

thanks for the comprehensive report.
Its making me seriously consider Atlanta for 2016.
I thought I would go there over Orlando but then a lot of negative comments on the 330 put me off.
Now I'm back in the undecided camp.
The timing would actually suit me as I tend to get up before 5.30 anyway.
Dick D

dickydotcom wrote:thanks for the comprehensive report.
Its making me seriously consider Atlanta for 2016.
I thought I would go there over Orlando but then a lot of negative comments on the 330 put me off.
Now I'm back in the undecided camp.
The timing would actually suit me as I tend to get up before 5.30 anyway.
Dick D

Why don't you fly to Atlanta as it has good reward avaliability and suits your times, then connect to Orlando for a few days then back up to Atlanta to fly back so have a few days in Atlanta and a few in Orlando. That's where Delta mainly fly from so you'll get plenty of options and miles

GasMonkey98 wrote:

dickydotcom wrote:thanks for the comprehensive report.
Its making me seriously consider Atlanta for 2016.
I thought I would go there over Orlando but then a lot of negative comments on the 330 put me off.
Now I'm back in the undecided camp.
The timing would actually suit me as I tend to get up before 5.30 anyway.
Dick D

Why don't you fly to Atlanta as it has good reward avaliability and suits your times, then connect to Orlando for a few days then back up to Atlanta to fly back so have a few days in Atlanta and a few in Orlando. That's where Delta mainly fly from so you'll get plenty of options and miles

I have done a separate thread on whether I choose Atlanta over Orlando. My destination is South Carolina and have flown into Orlando and driven up twice, and will be doing it again soon.
Now that Virgin fly into Atlanta I was considering it but got put off by negative reports on the 330. I absolutely love the 747 Upper suite from Gatwick. It's so cosy.
I'm still undecided.
Dick D

If it's as empty as it is in this report I can see it being much more comfi. If it's completely (or mostly) full UC it's a big difference. Hardly space to walk around and everyone is super close to you.. Plus seriously lack of space next to seats for personal stuff. the Gatwick layout is awesome and wish they never got rid of it for these slick looking planes. It's like windows OS and other things. They 'improve' it but it's not really easier to use for most. it just looks better in the PR campaigns. I changed my LHR-ATL for the LGW-MCO -DFW (SW) route for next time just based on the seats of the plane. Cheaper too

itisme wrote:If it's as empty as it is in this report I can see it being much more comfi. If it's completely (or mostly) full UC it's a big difference. Hardly space to walk around and everyone is super close to you.. Plus seriously lack of space next to seats for personal stuff. the Gatwick layout is awesome and wish they never got rid of it for these slick looking planes.

I think it's the costs of the aircraft rather than the looks. That said, the 4 across combo on the 330 is suboptimal and the 787 is way better, but still the 330 UC is for me) a better J class offering than (say) EK's non 380 fleet.

The simple fact is we've been spoilt by UC in the nose of the 747s. Since the in-flight massage service ended many years ago there's been lots of empty space which, while great for us, is effectively losing money for VS. BA, for instance, also fit 14 seats in the A zone - but they're much larger First Class suites!

So enjoy the A zone while it lasts and consider it a bonus. And kudos to VS for listening to the feedback and not rolling out the UCDS on the 787 and making it 3 across rather than 4.