LGW-LAS

Hi, I have only just discovered this highly informative forum. Consequently I am getting rather concerned about our recently booked economy flights to Vegas next April. I have read horror stories about alcohol running out and IFE not working for parts of and even entire journeys! These are things I thought never happened having flown transatlantic around a dozen times on various airlines including VS. I assumed that flying with VS again after 10 yrs instead of one of the US airlines would mean an improvement and a little treat, perhaps I was wrong!?

My major concerns are obviously the above but also the fact that the planes are due a refit and this is due sometime next year? Does anyone know when this will be taking place and whether it will be completed before I fly on 9th April? Do some of the planes have the v-port already on this route? I daren't tell the wife of these issues, we have kids and grandparents in our party and it would be a disaster if any of these issues occurred, I would be in the doghouse for months!! Any information is very greatly appreciated.

[Nottingham Nick]

The problem with the LAS route is that Vegas is a 'good time' destination - therefore it will always attract parties - be it hen parties, stag parties or just groups of people intent on enjoying themselves.

The majority of these parties can be perfectly well behaved, but unfortunately, not all of them will be. You will hear lots of stories of problem free flights - and you will also hear ones of rowdy behaviour.

I must confess that, whilst I enjoy Vegas, I have always shied away from the direct flight. I prefer to go via SFO, though I have been via LAX a couple of times. San Francisco is a wonderful city, it is my second favourite after Boston. Flying from LHR has meant I can enjoy the clubhouse and revivals and you have been almost certain to get V-Port. I realise this advice comes too late, if you have already booked.

I hope you get a hassle free flight - and a very warm welcome to V-Flyer.

Nick

We did try to get LAX flights but the dates werent available at the good rate we got. At the time I didnt think it would be an issue and a shorter flight time seemed a bonus! I am still not sure whether the extra time taken going via SFO or LAX outweighs the benefits of a better plane? I just hope that the refit has happened by the time we fly or at least that we have enough drink and IFE to get us through it!

I think that you would be pretty unlucky for something like the IFE to go break or the plane to run out of alcohol.

Of course VS don't want that to happen, so the chances are you will be fine. The IFE breaking can happen on any airline, I don't think that you could single out it happening only on VS.

I think I've done 12 long haul flights in the past 8 months, and goodness only knows how many short haul. Of that, I think I can safely say that none ran out of booze and the IFE broke down in certain parts of the plane on one journey.

It's life. We hope that nothing untoward happens on any flight, but on the rare occasion, it may.

I have done the flight about 4 times in the last 6 years and have never had a flight thats been very noisy, some times the IFE hasnt been up to scratch but still watchable. As for the drink again none of our flights have ever run dry, although im not a big drinker when flying so prob stop a few hours from landing.

I think that you would be pretty unlucky for something like to run out of alcohol.

. Of that, I think I can safely say that none ran out of booze and the IFE broke down in certain parts of the plane on one journey.

.

I have done the Vegas flight a fair few times over the last 3 years for business and have witnessed but bar closing on most of these (closing in Y and W not J). The reasons are mainly hen, stag parties etc getting rowdy or simply the aircraft may not have enough for the return journey (VS can not re-stock in the USA unlike BA - I dont know why). Also the bar has been closed to recent flights to LAX and SFO in both of the economy product cabins so it is not just Vegas that is effects - I assume it is because Virgin may be cutting down on carrying too much alcohol to save on weight - it is not aircraft specific.

Hopefully then it won't happen! Does anyone know about the refit that is due soon?

[mitchja]

The LGW/MAN 744 re-fits are not due until the end of 2011, completed by early 2012 I'm afraid.

Gutted! Oh well, do you think there is much chance of getting v-port on lgw-las?

We are booked on the LGW to LAS in December, the seat map is currently a LHR config plane so we will hopefully get V-port, however I have been informed this may change nearer the time. Have you checked the seat map to see wich configuration you are on, if there are Upper class seats upstairs it will be the LHR plane?

Danny

[Neil]

Gutted! Oh well, do you think there is much chance of getting v-port on lgw-las?

As Danny has posted below, there is now one of the LHR 747's with V-Port working out of LGW most of the time now. This a/c mainly does the BGI flights, but it has done MCO and LAS also, so there is always a chance, albeit not a large one.

If you take Danny's suggestion to look at the seat map in the manage your booking section, then that will show which a/c type is currently due to operate your flight.

I have been concerned about this for a few days actually. When I go to manage my booking it says that 'where's my seat?' is currently unavailable.( Could this be either because a)We are still 248 days from flying or b)I purchased the flights through and employee scheme which save me around 15% on the online price, our first choice LAX was unavailable for our dates so we are driving to Disneyland before having 9 days in Vegas afterwards).
I was very keen to try to pre-book seats as we have a baby and a party of 5, but the lady I phoned at reservations said that I cannot choose my seat until 24 hrs before the flight. She did however book the sky cot but said that only one adult was guaranteed to be in the bulkhead. She did say though, that VS do try to seat the whole party together!

I understand that VS now sell seats with extra room, does this include bulkhead seats? I cannot imagine that they will give away 4 extra bulkhead seats to us when they can get revenue from them! I was really looking forward to our flight, now I am very concerned! I have also just read numerous reviews on 'airline quality.com' and they were ALL very negative! I am new to this so please tell me if I have gone wrong or reading too much into it!

By the way, thanks for the help and info received so far!

James

[Neil]

Hi James,

The extra leg room seats that VS sells are *not* the bulkheads. They are situated at various locations in the a/c, but it does vary on each a/c. They do also sell the exit row seats.

The reason why you cannot select your seats could be one of many. Quite often it is because all the seats that are available for pre-selection are already taken, as only 60% of seats are released for this, the remaining 40% become available at OLCI stage. It does sound though, that it is more likely the way you have booked your tickets. I know from reading other forums, that people who didn't book direct with VS, maybe through say a travel agent, cannot now pre-select seats, although I can't 100% confirm this.

I would maybe give VS another call back, quite often a different agent will give you a different answer/reason, or maybe even let you select your seats.

I know, it is hard to ignore some of the stuff you read on the internet, but more often than not it is usually the negative stories that get reported, as people are always more likely to make noises after a bad experience rather than a good one. Have a read through some of the TR's on here from the Vegas flights and you will find many a good report.

I know from personal experience I have been worrying about something I have read only to find my personal experience was the complete opposite. You have to remember, everyone has different expectation levels, the amount of people who pay from an economy seat and service yet expect to receive Upper Class seats and service still amazes me.

If you have any more questions or queries, just shout and I am sure someone will be able to help.

We have flown LGW/LAS 8 times in the last three years and have never had cause for serious complaint. Mostly, we have flown PE, but our last trip was in ECON. We were really pleased with the service - no ife issues - and no one had any difficulties with drinks. I think it's true that people with complaints are more likely to post than people who are happy - this tends to distort the reality.
Enjoy Vegas - it's a terrific place.

Thanks quick hits and Neil, your posts have made me feel a lot better! I'm sure that it will be fine, we don't have too high expectations. Just that the IFE works and drinks will flow! I will contact VS customer services again as I am sure that they can offer more than was offered up last time. We will do a full report of the flight upon our return, which is still quite some way off!!

i flew lgw-bgi early last month and was pleasantly surprised to see v-port (wasnt there when i used vs in Aug 09 on the same route)

interestingly my co-passengers were not provided drinks after about 3 or 4 beers and 6 hours into the flight under the pretext that they would not have enough for the return leg and the couple were not in any way drunk or boisterous (there was no reason to deny them a drink) - the co-passengers were quite sporting about it and didnt really display any annoyance

flying back next week and the seating chart shows UC in the bubble so hoping for v-port again

Its not a 'pretext' that they would not have enough for the return flight.

The flight is stocked with booze for both outbound and inbound legs and so the crew do have to make sure there is sufficent stock for the return leg.

Hi Everyone!

I do the LGW to LAS route about 6 times a year and it is a regular thing that the IFE does not work, so far this year, I have taken 3 flights and on 2 of them the IFE was not working.

With any luck, the much needed upgrade to the LGW fleet will solve this issue. Still not sure on the new livery tho!

Thanks for your comments guys. Getting a much better picture of what to expect. It doesnt bode well for my flight it seems! Thanks for your comments Jay, IFE not working is the biggest issue really for me! Did you find they ran out of alcohol on any flights,Jay? Is it generally the outbound leg that restricts the alcohol?...obviously trying to gauge how much will be needed for the return leg. I must say though I am completely in shock about what I am reading though. Planes that are zero star rating on delays, weary planes with poor IFE and possibilities of drinks running out. Still it seems like I have a 50/50 chance that these things won't happen and I will just hope its OK! Do the LGW fleet rotate destinations and are there any planes in the fleet that I should hope to get or hope to avoid getting? Thanks

Thanks for your comments guys. Getting a much better picture of what to expect. It doesnt bode well for my flight it seems! Thanks for your comments Jay, IFE not working is the biggest issue really for me! Did you find they ran out of alcohol on any flights,Jay? Is it generally the outbound leg that restricts the alcohol?...obviously trying to gauge how much will be needed for the return leg. I must say though I am completely in shock about what I am reading though. Planes that are zero star rating on delays, weary planes with poor IFE and possibilities of drinks running out. Still it seems like I have a 50/50 chance that these things won't happen and I will just hope its OK! Do the LGW fleet rotate destinations and are there any planes in the fleet that I should hope to get or hope to avoid getting? Thanks

Personally I think you're worrying too much.
It will be what it will be, there's nothing you can do about it so why get so worked up especially so far in advance?
If they run out of alcohol surely you can cope without a rink for a few hours? You can play catch up in vegas surely? y)
Anyway, just relax and stop fretting.

Hi JB - like daywalker said, i wouldnt worry too much, it used to bother me when i started flying to Vegas often, so in the end, i loaded my ipod with a few episodes of father Ted and Top Gear and brought a good mag in departures, now im not fussed if it works or not!

Alcohol - the flight is loaded in the UK to cover both legs, so if people are drinking like fish and believe that the VA service is an all inclusive deal, then cabin crew do tend to restrict the service, also, its Vegas baby, so everyone wants to start early.

Seriously, dont worry, get a good book, have a couple of drinks in the bar before you go and enjoy the ride!

Your right! Im going to load up the iPhone with some films and games and that'll kill a few hours! Thanks guys

I fly this route each year in PE or UC ... I barely watch the IFE, preferring to enjoy the wonderful views of Greenland and the scene-scape that is mid USA and enjoying the great service that I have ALWAYS received on this flight

You're eating and drinking too much to worry about it

And never lose track that at the end of your LGW-LAS flight is LAS VEGAS !! ^) ^) ^) ^) ^)

[Nottingham Nick]

....And never lose track that at the end of your LGW-LAS flight is LAS VEGAS !! ^) ^) ^) ^) ^)

A very good point, well presented. 8D

Nick

....And never lose track that at the end of your LGW-LAS flight is LAS VEGAS !! ^) ^) ^) ^) ^)

A very good point, well presented. 8D

Nick

Hear, Hear! y)