Seating advice - flight with toddler

Hello,

This is my first time posting here so apologies if I am breaking forum/website rules of some sort

Myself, my husband and our (then will be) 16 months old are flying (economy) on the VS005 in Feb. We have bought the tickets online but the system will not allow us to select seats, I assume this is because we are with a baby. We did not buy her her own seat, in the hope that the flight will not be too full and that we'll be able to get a trio of seats, as we have done travelling with her in the past. This is our first time flying Virgin.

We are arriving in LHR on a BMI flight from MAN earlier on the morning of the flight.

My questions are therefore:

[*] Is it possible to somewhere/somehow find out how busy economy class is on that flight?

[*] How can we get good seats? really do not want to seat at the bulkhead with the immovable armrests, even occupying only two seats between us, she will not be able to sleep = hell for everyone.

[*] Which seats would you recommend, assuming it will be the A340-600?

[*] What do I need to do to get those seats?

Many thanks

Firstly welcome, there are a good selection of child touting pax on this forum who've had a variety of experience in all cabins...
Best suggestion is get onto online check-in ASAP at 24hrs before, you may get the opportunity to snag seats (suggest as far forward as possible- to aid quicker exit at t'other end..)
The fact you are with child, may mean you can't check-in online, however once you arrive at LHR, check-in are usually fairly good at selecting appropriate seating.
Others maybe able to get you Expert Flyer run down on loading, unfortunately I'm not in position today to do for you..

Sounds like you've flown with little one before..and on the basis you've got the MAN-LHR on the VS ticket you should be able to chk bags through from MAN, saving some hassle on the inter terminal transfer at LHR.
I was always keen on keeping pushchair etc, and taking to gate, as although there is an option to check in, advise against it.
Remember the dvd player with Cbeebies loaded disks (always a life saver).... :w
NH

Having travelled with young children for several years I must say I find the whole process hard work trying to get reasonable seats or even seats together.

We have had situations where they have split us (parents) up – totally impractical on a long flight.

You won’t be able use on line check in flying with an infant, my recommendation is you ring customer services now and request a bulk head seat where the bassinets (cots) are located whilst your child may be too large to use the cot the extra space is very useful.

But even ringing customer services and asking for the request to be added to your booking is hit and miss, one because these notes never actually seem to get added to the booking and secondly it relies on somebody reading the note when the flight opens and seats are allocated

Best advice get to the airport as early as possible when travelling with an infant.

One positive when on board with kids / infants crew have always been superb

Hi,
I'd agree with the previous post ref requesting the bulkhead, though at 16 months your toddler may be a bit too old for the bassinet however there is a bit extra room and there is no one in front of you.

Failing that and depending on loads I'd be inclined to go to the back of the plane - if there is plenty of free space it is usually to be had at the back. The downside of that is you're at the back of the queue ref immigration, and Miami can be hellish, just typing this reminds me of my own experiences there, though I understand it has improved.

I'd agree ref the crew and their attention to children, we recently flew LGW - MCO in PE and the crew were sensational, they made the flight and made such a fuss of our little girl (who's nearly 3). They even dressed her up with scarf and VA jacket and let her give out sweets pre landing in the UC cabin (we were downstairs in PE).

Good luck and enjoy the flight and go with the flow...

Andrew

Thanks everyone.

I appreciate your comments re bulkhead, however I am not sure the extra floor space compensates for not being able to lift the armrests out of the way for our daughter to sleep lying on a seat and/or us. difficult...

Since we will be checking-in for the whole journey in MAN very early that morning (5.30am ish ][|) ), I suspect it'll be before most passengers so hopefully we'll have greater choice if needs be.

I will try to call reservations, but need to decide which seats we want to ask for first!

Would appreciate further advice re seating.

Thanks

[Nottingham Nick]

IMHO, as others have alluded to, the best seats for you will depend entirely on loads.

If the loads are light, get towards the back of the plane in the unpopular middle sections and try to spread out.

If loads are heavy, then I agree the bulk heads are the best bet - not ideal, as you say, but travelling with three people, who only have two seats between them is never going to be a walk in the park.

Nick

So how do I find out what the loads are, at the moment?

I suppose I can try to ask for the bulk head seats now and get the check-in crew at MAN to check the loads and review our position then...(assuming BMI could do that at check-in?)

[Nottingham Nick]

You can use expertflyer.com, or you can ask on here.

Paid members of this site get a number of free expertflyer checks and discount on a subscription, but if you are not a regular flier, and just want to know these flights - it may be easier to post details and see if someone will use their subscription to help out.

Nick

interesting website...

Anyway, it would be great if someone with access could check for us the VS005 LHR-MIA on 20th Feb returning on the VS006 on 9 March. Muchas gracias

[honey lamb]

Feb 20
J9 D9 R9 Z5 W9 S3 K0 Y9 B9 L9 M9 Q9 X9 N9 O9

Mar 9
J9 D9 R8 Z1 W9 S9 K8 Y9 B9 L9 M9 Q9 X9 N9 O9

Wide open in economy

Thanks honey lamb!

If I understand that info correctly, there are quite a few tickets left, though there are also 4 weeks to go still...

decisions decisions!

Are you intending your child to have their own seat?

If so, it is possible to request a child seat- this is just like a car seat, sits on the regular seat and the little one is strapped in jumpseat style, and won't slip off the seat.

They are in limited supply, but I found it was great for my child who was about the same age. It made the whole process a lot easier. You need to ask about this when booking, and they will try and book a child seat for you. (you have to phone- If you try to book on the web site it will assume anyone under 2 is going on your lap- a child seat is (or was) I believe 50% of the adult price, whereas a lap child is 10% of an adult price)

If you are intending that they do not have their own and are to be on your lap then obviously this is a not an option, but its a lot cheaper!

Thanks again to everyone for their incredible advice!

Will contact Virgin regarding their infant seats because when looking at the cost of child seat on the website, it appeared to have been (much) higher than 50% of the adult cost, which is why we didn't buy her her own seat.

Also - is it worth trying to get seats on one of the extra legroom seats? get the benefit of more space without having to go for the bulk heads...

Thanks again to everyone for their incredible advice!

Will contact Virgin regarding their infant seats because when looking at the cost of child seat on the website, it appeared to have been (much) higher than 50% of the adult cost, which is why we didn't buy her her own seat.

Also - is it worth trying to get seats on one of the extra legroom seats? get the benefit of more space without having to go for the bulk heads...

Wouldn't get your hopes up about that route, as many if not all the extra legroom seats are based around emergency exits, as such can't have a child/infant sitting..

Thanks again to everyone for their incredible advice!

Will contact Virgin regarding their infant seats because when looking at the cost of child seat on the website, it appeared to have been (much) higher than 50% of the adult cost, which is why we didn't buy her her own seat.

Also - is it worth trying to get seats on one of the extra legroom seats? get the benefit of more space without having to go for the bulk heads...

Wouldn't get your hopes up about that route, as many if not all the extra legroom seats are based around emergency exits, as such can't have a child/infant sitting..

The purple seats that have a few more inches of legroom are not situated at exits so children can sit in them.

Hello again-
I wonder if anyone can do a load check on the vs005 20/2 and vs006 9/3 for me? Would be ever so grateful as am going to ring customer service tomorrow. Cheers

Hi Stevie,

Below is the info you asked for:

VS 5 0 LHR
02/20/11 12:30 PM MIA
02/20/11 5:20 PM 346

J9 D9 R9 Z9 W9 S6 K2 Y9 B9 L8 M5 Q5 X0 N0 O0

And the return...


VS 6 0 MIA
03/09/11 9:35 PM LHR
03/10/11 11:05 AM 346

J7 D7 R6 Z0 W8 S7 K6 Y9 B9 L9 M9 Q9 X9 N9 O9

Luke

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to update and post some info here which may help someone else.

Well, when you fly with an infant (may be different if with children in their own seats) you are unable to select your seats in advance via the booking system for security reasons, you are also unable to check-in online for the same reasons. What I did then, was speak to reservations and they have put a note on the reservation with our preferred seating so that when the flight opens and seats are allocated it could be acted on.

So, we arrive at MAN only to be told we have been allocated the bulk head (which we did not want), BMI could not change that, we had to do it at LHR when we got there. Really annoying. I understand whoever allocated seats did the right thing, but what's the point of notes on reservations? Anyway, we get to London and dash to the Virgin desk where they thankfully, are able to change our seats to row 36 which is free otherwise. In the end, there was only one other passenger with us on our row as flight was 3/4 full, so our little girl could (try) to lay down and sleep. Otherwise, flight was okay - no kids bag for her, quite disappointing but may be this is only given to older children?

Thanks again for all your help!

Otherwise, flight was okay - no kids bag for her, quite disappointing but may be this is only given to older children?

I don't have any kids (not long since I was one!) so I'm not sure on this, but I have seen people requesting them and getting them at the gate before they have boarded.
Maybe you need to ask sometimes?

Glad to hear the flight was OK and you sorted out the seat problem.

Otherwise, flight was okay - no kids bag for her, quite disappointing but may be this is only given to older children?

I don't have any kids (not long since I was one!) so I'm not sure on this, but I have seen people requesting them and getting them at the gate before they have boarded.
Maybe you need to ask sometimes?

Glad to hear the flight was OK and you sorted out the seat problem.

From our understanding, haven flown with DS a few times with VS, lap children don't get given the bags, however, when we enquired about it on our last flights when he was just a couple of weeks off having his own seat, some small coloured pencils and a colouring book appeared for him - as if the cc have a secret stash!

What I did then, was speak to reservations and they have put a note on the reservation with our preferred seating so that when the flight opens and seats are allocated it could be acted on.

So, we arrive at MAN only to be told we have been allocated the bulk head (which we did not want), BMI could not change that, we had to do it at LHR when we got there. Really annoying. I understand whoever allocated seats did the right thing, but what's the point of notes on reservations?

That's interesting as I had the same experience. At booking I was told our group of seats (including 2 children) was locked and would not move. At OLCI, I could not see what was allocated, checked in and found we were moved. This was annoying until I worked out the new seats allocated were better!

no kids bag for her, quite disappointing but may be this is only given to older children?

We didn't get one either, despite the promise of one on the website. It didn't matter. We took stuff to keep them entertained, but the combination of v-port and ipod worked wonders.

Hi All,

Sorry I am asking for help again but I unfortunately now need to send an epic complaint letter to Virgin and can only find the POBox address for Customer Relations. Has someone got a name by any chance?