August 2010?
Tickets via Virgin Atlantic will available about 11 months before - so October 2009 some time depending on your return date.
Best time to book? THE question!
MAN flights have just 14 UC seats - at the very front of the aircraft. Because there are so few, they are not often included in sales. The cheapest I've seen UC class from MAN not in a sale was about 1650 for Feb/Mar 2010 flights.
At the moment, May 2010 are about 1750.
Personally, I would check the prices as they come up on the VA website. Often, they will be at silly high prices for the first few days, then they come down to more reasonable levels.
When I see a price I can live with, I go for it - book the tickets choose me seats and then forget about it until the big day.[8D]
It depends on your nerves if you like[?]; the risk is you longer you wait for that better price, the more the chance you may not get a seat - and you want 5.
Look at seat ratings on this site for info about each seat.
Good luck.[y]
Stephen.