VS policy for on exit seats??

When flying in Economy I am increasingly frustrated over the VS policy on legroom / exit seats as being 6'5" with v. long legs make a longhaul flight a real nightmare. I flew to Barbados in December only to discover the new policy of charging a £50 suppliment to secure an exit seat which I loathsomely paid! Previously I just truned up over 3 hours before the dept. time to ensure I got an exit seat.

Is there any other known route / method to get myself more legroom in Economy (except paying to upgrade or expensive surgery to shorten my legs!) that anyone can recommend. Can being an FC Silver Member be used to my advantage in any way??

Redfox
FC Silver

[Pete]

Silver may give you an advantage if the seats aren't snapped up by those willing to pay. Your height is also advantage, and check-in will take it into account if those seats remain unsold. If you make it to Gold, there's more chance of getting an operational upgrade but can never be expected or demanded.

The whole subject of getting more space because of your own physical dimensions (be it tall or wide) is a touchy one, and I'd hate to offend anyone. Unless Virgin introduces a new Economy cabin (see the separate thread for speculation about this), the seat pitch as it stands is not really that suitable for everyone. However, they clearly advertise it, so as a paying customer your potential choices are to (a) endure it, (b) pay extra for exit rows or the next class up, or (c) choose a different carrier that offers product more fitting with your needs.

The VS policy on charging for those prime seats has had a mixed reception. I can't say I'm totally thrilled by it myself, but then if there weren't people prepared to pay for those seats then they wouldn't have the policy.

Maybe it's better to look at it this way. Virgin now have 4 classes; Upper, Premium & Economy plus this new Economy-with-legroom available for £50 each way over the base Economy fare.

Aviation generally is pretty unique in the way products are sold. In the economy cabin of every aircraft there are some good seats and some bad seats. However, you buy tickets not based on their position in the cabin but by seasonality, length of time before booking, capacity, monopolies and a hundred other factors. When you get to check in, the seat you get allocated has nothing to do with the fare you paid - so someone on an N-class fare who paid £195 could be sitting in a much better seat that someone who paid several hundred more for a full-Y fare but be sitting in a mid-section with a entertainment system under the seat in front. Is that fair practice? Probably not, but it's the way all airlines operate. Charging for the premium seats in the cabin allows those who want to pay for more space to have it without going the full step of Premium Economy.

Just my 2 Euros worth...

Pix

In economy and on 747s, your best bet is to try and reserve one of the seats at the back where one of the three seats (at the sides) is removed. In the window seats here, you get more legroom to the side of the seat in front. These seats go quickly; you can get these pre-assigned up to 180 days prior to departure by calling the airline. This may be a better approach than the expensive surgery!

As a general rule, if space in coach is important you should probably look at American. They took out a shedload of seats and so you get maybe 50% more room than you do in a typical Virgin seat. Virgin is far better than AA in every other sense, in my opinion, but AA is good for leg space.

Personally, I think the £50 policy is reasonable and have paid for it a few times. A charge tends to discourage people from taking it who don't really need it and I agree with Pix - if people are prepared to pay, it is reasonable to charge for it.

The £50 you pay at check will GARANTEE you a seat with extra legroom if you want take a regular and take a gamble.

At the boarding gate any unsold exit seats are given to people first come first serve!!!

I have travelled on numerous airlines and am 6'2" and have always got an exit seat or extra legroom. My secret is 1. Ask for it 2. Be usefull in that I am a trained nurse and currently a police man . Both have proved usefull to cabin crew with some "difficult " passengers.

[Nottingham Nick]

Welcome Tim,

Getting an exit row seat on VS used to be fairly simple, if you checked in early ( I am also a 6' 2" - cop) and asked nicely you were usually lucky.

Now it seems to be a simple matter of economics - if they can sell all the exit row seats at £50 a throw - they will do. If they can't -then they are up for grabs at the gate - certainly registering your interest at check in helps, but there are no guarantees.

Nick

The other option would be trying for a bulkhead seat. Not as much legroom as an exit row seat, but definetely better than a regular economy seat as you have no-one in front of you.
I recently did LHR-SFO and was lucky enough to have two bulkhead seats to myself.
If you do opt for an exit row seat, may I suggest you don't take 38C/equivalent (if you're on a 747). People always pushing past, treading on your feet, etc. Not worth the £50 at all.

Bulkhead seats ffer more knee room but not legroom!!!

Bulkheads are aslo there for baby cots to be attached to so remember you may end up with one or two babies by you if you opt for an exit seat.

A340-600 row 33ACDEFGHK is the only row not by toilets or a galley so best seats.

On the 744, 343 and 346 all exit seats are either by a toilet or galley.

You pays your money and take your choice.

I tend to agree with Snoz, if legroom is top of your criteria, and you are flying economy, then AA has to be top of the list.

I have a list of things that I'm looking for in a flight; legroom, service, schedule, (free) booze etc.

Depending on the length of flight, who is paying (work or leisure) and whether I'm travelling alone then I make my choice of airline.

Generally VS wins, but on a few occasiosn in the past I have chosen AA for a west coast flight, simply because I know I'll have the extra legroom in economy.

Space on a plane carries a premium, its a scarce resource, therefore paying for extra for an exit row seems reasonable to me, as long as the safety criteria of fit and able is met.

VSlf

I also booked some AA flights for travel to Colorado Christmas 02. I wanted to see if the additional space made flying ecomomy tolerable.
At check-in I showed my VS AU card and we (4)were upgraded to business. So, I would have to wait until the return flight to evaluate the increased ecomomy legroom. My luck was out again (?) as they upgraded us on the way back also. Life can be hard....

The business seats were fine but the service uninspiring. As my kids no longer holiday with us, we now fly PE on leisure.