VS076 MCO-MAN 10 APR 11 (Premium Economy)

This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

The problem may be a shortage of UCS on the LGW 744 fleet - where would you expand the UC cabin in these aircraft? - the downstairs PE area has never been popular and might not be acceptable. So some of the upstairs PE could be replaced - such as those you cannot book (the area currently "reserved" for VH?)

I see lots of options here - put 10 UC seats in the front upstairs with the back PE, like the LHR fleet was. Keep UC in the A zone downstairs but more PE from the B zone backwards.

I have never flown on a LGW aircraft. I see all to frequently from LHR that UC and PE is fuller than Y, but by repute that does not hold true on LGW planes, or does it? If it does, then there's surely an argument for more UC. And, then, occasionally a LGW plane could sub for a LHR plane if need be without to much stress, which simply could not happen right now.

Thank you for the great TR and pics, it's great to read about the 330, sorry to read that that your experience about the seat wasn't a good one.

I did email customer services with some comments & suggestions on my return. I was contacted a few days later by telephone and asked about how things could be improved and I gave my opinion i.e. 2-2-2 seating & maybe 1 or 2 rows removed. I was given 2,000 miles on my flying club account. I also said that I'm make sure we flew on the 747 in future, purely due to my husbands height & the leg room available.

Katie

Hi
We are flying out on Sept 1st on the A330-300, can anyone please tell me if the PE seat arms lift upor fold away? In the 747's they were rigid, have they changed them?
Thanks

Thanks for the TR, hope you had a good holiday. My favourite PE seats on the VS Airbii are 18 AC/HK - it's always worth asking at check-in to see if they are available.

Hi
We are flying out on Sept 1st on the A330-300, can anyone please tell me if the PE seat arms lift upor fold away? In the 747's they were rigid, have they changed them?
Thanks

AFAIK they are fixed as the tray tables are inside the armrests?

I can confirm that they are definitely fixed.

Katie

Just done a TR on the A330 and can comment on the seat pitch compared to 747 bubble in PE.

Simply, the A330 is terrible. The layout has been rushed to market, and that is a mistake. The IFE is great, but IMO will not last hundreds of people pounding on the screens & yanking the remote lead.

And the seat footrest thing for bulkhead row - boy oh boy - which lemon came up with this idea? Probably the same one who put the forward toilet where it is.

As we use GLA - MCO we are restricted to whichever aircraft VS release from the LGW or MAN fleet for our flight. Fingers crossed for 747 bubble for future, even with the tired seats, and nova IFE, it is a far more enjoyable experience.

Now put JAM into the bubble, & leather covered new padded seats (do not screw around with pitch, placing) and you have a winner.

I find this hilarious - for years LGW/MAN/GLA fliers have been bleating on about wanting their planes upgraded. As soon as they get to experience the exact same seats and pitch as used from LHR for the last few years we get more moans.

Who knows, perhaps one of the reasons that UC is so small on these routes is that PE is better spaced then it probably deserves to be on the 744s given the price differential.

Just because the seats have been in use on the LHR fleet (have they - I don't know) does not mean that they should be fitted across the fleet- surely new aircraft, new IFE gives you a perfect chance for new seating.

After all when the next A330 arrives, in the 3 class layout, the old UC suite will not be getting fitted, will it?

Frankly, if it had been the other way around, and all the LGW / MAN / GLA fleet had the A330 PE seats for a few years, I would have switched elsewhere already. I only pay PE for the extra space. Take that away, and it ain't worth the "P" part of "PE", IMO.

[Neil]

The issue is that people keep comparing the seat pitch in the bubble with the new A330 PE. The bubble is a very unique cabin that gives way more space and pitch then any other PE cabin in the VS fleet and more than 38" they advertise. Yes, the new A330 doesn't have the same seat pitch as the bubble, but it does have what every other a/c in the VS fleet has, and what VS say it will have.

That as may be, but to be brutally frank, stats mean nothing if they do not hold out in reality.

For example, from the back of my backside, to my knees, when sitting is 25". I know this as I have just measured it.

As seat pitch is the distance between a point on one seat and the same point on the one in front or behind, I refuse to believe that there is another 13" on the A330 PE seats, including the free space and the thickness of the seat.

I also know that given the squeeze on the A330 PE seats, someone of my size would struggle to actually get my backside on the seat in the EC seats, if they have 5" less seat pitch. I am 6'2" and 15 stone and not at all fat. And of course, an aircraft cannot take off is pax cannot sit down.

Brilliant - got it - I just book EC and then when I cannot actually sit down, I'll have to be upgraded - fantastic....

OR, we could actually get what we pay for.