VS075 MAN-MCO 10 SEP 12 (Premium Economy)

This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin

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Madammoiselle Rouge Vs075 10/09/12 PE First time on Airbus, been 5 previous times upstairs on 747. First conclusion Airbus has less PE leg room then PE legroom 747 upstairs. If travelling from Manchester go for the second flight, it's still a 747.
On boarding the Airbus in PE cabin noticed the temperature was extremely hot. Asked stewardess who said ACU broken and it would be ok when airborne. Temperature continued to climb, my watch said 38degrees. Pilot came on tannoy and apologised for heat and said it would be better when engines started. 20/25 minutes later the engines were started and slowly slowly the temperature came down, and passengers stopped sweating. Later in the flight one of the aircrew said the ACU had not been working for a while. The passenger in front of us was an extremely large gentleman, this meant that he couldn't get out of the seat. One of the aircrew lifted the outer arm rest (this was a wheelchair access seat) so that he could sit comfortably. However, this dropped back over my seat access and I believe caused a safety issue, had we had needed to evacuate quickly. It remained like that for the entire flight. Also for the majority of the flight the aircrew pulled the curtain across the front toilet rendering it unavailable making only one toilet in the middle section for PE.
Slightly disappointed with Airbus and crew

Thanks for this TR - have not been on a 2 class A333 yet and don't think I will have the opportunity to do so tbh, so thank you for the insights.

In terms of the front lav, could you not have simply pulled the curtain back and utilised this hidden washroom?

I am also fairly certain the outer arm is not supposed to do a 180... broken already?? what a shame VS, although again, you could have moved it Rested it against the gentleman in front perhaps - who knows he may not have noticed..

Cheers for posting

Shame about the dissapointing flight. Hot cabins are horrible.

Apparently some seats in PE are made for wheelchair access and the large outer arm lifts up to allow for the sliding off the wheelchair into the seat. Doubt if I could have moved arm back without the gentleman realising, he was so huge the arm would have sliced his thigh off LOL.

having flow PE last year felt Airbus cabin very cramped,thought front toilet was in a strange place,but just pulled the curtain back

I flew the airbus a333 to orlando and back this year from gatwick on VKSS and must say it did seem a little more cramped that what I was used to on the 747 but as it was an airbus I knew there was going to be differences.

i think overall the width of the cabin, height of cabin, and general quality was a lot better than the 747 (pre re-fit 747).

The A333 I found to be quite quiet also engine wise compared to the 747 and that the A333 was quite smooth as well in comparison but I believe size and engines may have something to do with that also.

But I have to say the thing with the curtain happened on our flight's there and back but a simple walking behind the curtain wasn't a problem and the cabin crew were happy to assist in moving out of the way.

Sounds a bit odd for it to be boiling on board as was quite chilled when we went but this was some 6 months ago now but as we all know the ACU on some aircrafts due to the frequency of use can be a bit picky as whether they wish to work or not.

Hope your next flight is better but hope it did not spoil your time in the amazing destination that is Orlando.

Thank you benchsmith that was a lovely reply

Sorry benchsmith meant to also say we are still in Orlando and due to fly home on Tuesday, we will be rippin' that curtain back on the return journey have no fear. We are going to fly again from Manchester within 3 months and will next time pick the second flight VS73 because that's a 747. Yes, we having as usual, the best time ever in Florida.

I flew over on the vs73 same day as the OP on Ruby Tuesday & had a great flight in seats 74a&c. Our cabin crew were excellent; friendly & attentive throughout the flight. I would go for the 747 anytime over the Airbus 330 but that's just my preference.

Katie

Do you not find the IFE on the airbus so much better though?

Do you not find the IFE on the airbus so much better though?

I did but once the refurbs are finished I would then prefer that plane

Sorry benchsmith meant to also say we are still in Orlando and due to fly home on Tuesday, we will be rippin' that curtain back on the return journey have no fear. We are going to fly again from Manchester within 3 months and will next time pick the second flight VS73 because that's a 747. Yes, we having as usual, the best time ever in Florida.

That's great to hear, enjoy your time whilst your there and I understand that the weather is amazing at this moment in time , as always in the Sunshine state. Ah cool sounds great, I am booked hopefully on a 747 for when I fly next April can't wait 199 days and counting.

Home now, boohoo! The return journey was totally different which was all down to a much better flight crew. As regards to the plane, I will pick a 747 every time, even one that hasn't had a refit. The return journey is always a nightmare of sad because the holiday is over, sleep depravation, too hot, too cold, not enough oxygen in the cabin and jet lag, a 747 with a little more leg room eases some of those issues. We always fly PE, for a 9 hour flight its worth every penny. So to fly for the first time on an Airbus it was instantly noticeable the smaller seat and leg space. Next flight, for the same money, a 747 please.
Having seen the refitted 747's upstairs, it isn't exclusively PE, half is Economy. Please don't tell me the PE seats are like the Airbus, i,e, same money, smaller space. Somebody please tell me different.