LGW Refits FAQ

[Neil]

Does anyone know if VTOP will stay flying out of MAN for the foreseeable future??

Nobody knows for certain, although going on history, a 747 tends to stay at MAN for between 3 and 10 days before swapping out with another a/c in either MCO or LAS, very unusual for one to stay longer than that.

Looks like V-TOP back to MAN tonight...great!! Lets hope 7A is working fine!

Based on previous refits G-VXLG should be making its way back in the next couple of days.

Hi

I am booked in PE 22nd August 2013 MAN to MCO
supposedly on the airbus 330
I know the seat plan is unavailable due to the refurbs.
Manage your flights states "The facility to request seats is now available from 90 days prior to departure"

Previously Virgin had the seat map available for a limited number of seats from the date you booked.
Will Virgin ever return to this or will they continue with the 90 days

[Neil]

Hi

I am booked in PE 22nd August 2013 MAN to MCO
supposedly on the airbus 330
I know the seat plan is unavailable due to the refurbs.
Manage your flights states "The facility to request seats is now available from 90 days prior to departure"

Previously Virgin had the seat map available for a limited number of seats from the date you booked.
Will Virgin ever return to this or will they continue with the 90 days

It is unknown when / if selecting seats from the time of booking will be available again. The 90 days is supposedly while they are sorting out their new computer system, but that has been going on for months now. I guess 90 days is better than none and for the time being at least it is still free.

You might find your flight changes to a 747 as it was mentioned on here that at some point next year MAN is going back to two 747's a day rather than one A330 and one 747.

You might find your flight changes to a 747 as it was mentioned on here that at some point next year MAN is going back to two 747's a day rather than one A330 and one 747.

Must have missed this announcement Neil - guess it was a senior moment. IMHO this will be a backward step - I love the 330. Do you know if any timescale been finalised for this to happen?

You might find your flight changes to a 747 as it was mentioned on here that at some point next year MAN is going back to two 747's a day rather than one A330 and one 747.

Must have missed this announcement Neil - guess it was a senior moment. IMHO this will be a backward step - I love the 330. Do you know if any timescale been finalised for this to happen?

I don't think it has been announced but it was mentioned by a contributor in a thread dealing with 3 cabin a330s.
I enjoyed the a330 man MCO as well but reverting will provide more uc seats.

Just flew on a refit in PE both ways. I think that 19A/C is my preferred seat - 19H/K are nex to the toilet and I think that would get annoying with the light, the noise, and the traffic.

The refits are soooooo much better that the tatty old ones. Even economy seems to have more room. I sauntered up to the bubble where a friend was in economy and I am not sure I would do PE up there again. It doesn't have that intimacy that it used to have for me any longer.

Might be a daft question, but I see people saying that a couple of days before they fly, they are seeing an indication of the aircraft they 'could' be flying on.

I just wanted to know where to look to find this so I can keep an eye out for my flight on 7th Dec to Barbados.

Any ideas ?

Manage my booking worked for me. Not sure there is anything outside of this that I would set any credence to.

You might find your flight changes to a 747 as it was mentioned on here that at some point next year MAN is going back to two 747's a day rather than one A330 and one 747.

Must have missed this announcement Neil - guess it was a senior moment. IMHO this will be a backward step - I love the 330. Do you know if any timescale been finalised for this to happen?

I don't think it has been announced but it was mentioned by a contributor in a thread dealing with 3 cabin a330s.
I enjoyed the a330 man MCO as well but reverting will provide more uc seats.

oo) ^) oo) ^) oo) ^)

Does anyone know when VXLG is coming back

Hopefully soon. I'm checking the aircraft database regularly myself.

I think I know the answer, but can anyone confirm the following.

On VS074 last night, at least four of the crew said the VTOP is going to be the 8th and final aircraft from LGW to be refitted??

True?

Did you bother to read post #1 on page 1 of this thread which says:

What about G-VTOP?
G-VTOP will not be refitted, at it is leaving the fleet in early 2013.

If I go to manage my booking and click on the flight code, it shows as being:

Boeing 747-400

Sorry for being thick but as it gets closer to my flight, how would I know if it will be refit or old school plane ?

Might be a daft question, but I see people saying that a couple of days before they fly, they are seeing an indication of the aircraft they 'could' be flying on.

I just wanted to know where to look to find this so I can keep an eye out for my flight on 7th Dec to Barbados.

Any ideas ?

if you keep an eye on the manage my booking page on the Virgin Atlantic website and look at the 'where is my seat' page you should be able to see a seat map for the flight.
if there is economy at the back of the bubble (upper deck) then it is one of the newly refitted aircraft. if it is all premium economy up there then it is G-VTOP.
if there is no upstairs then you are on an A330 (unlikely on your route)

it is also possible to Barbados that there may be upper class upstairs which would indicate a LHR based 747-400 will fly the route. this is common over busy times when they can sell more upper seats.

[Darren Wheeler]

If I go to manage my booking and click on the flight code, it shows as being:

Boeing 747-400

Sorry for being thick but as it gets closer to my flight, how would I know if it will be refit or old school plane ?

Depends when it is. You won't really know until the day, but a guide will be is there Economy on the upper deck or, if appropriate only PE in the front section of the upper deck.

Thanks very much for the replies.
Turns out I was being thick !

Did you bother to read post #1 on page 1 of this thread which says:

What about G-VTOP?
G-VTOP will not be refitted, at it is leaving the fleet in early 2013.

Of course I've read the first post, and I'm fully aware of its contents!

However, my question was (or should have been) why are 4 seperate crew members (FSM being one) telling to several pax (me included) in UC about VTOP, all saying the same thing?

[Neil]

There has been no official communication from VS either way, but a number of insiders at VS who often pass on information from here have confirmed TOP is leaving at the end of February when her current lease is up.

There is no reason to disbelieve this information and we should know for certain pretty soon when XLG returns, if TOP doesn't head out for a refit then we can pretty safely assume all is still as originally planned and she will be leaving the fleet.

There was a communication about TOP leaving on the crews internal website but it was easily missed so not all crew may have seen it

just checked to see if OLCI available for the 63 to Havana on Monday , it is and looks like a refurb, no PE in the bubble left though, must be some folk keener than me!

just got the bubble booked, must have opened up overnight

just checked to see if OLCI available for the 63 to Havana on Monday , it is and looks like a refurb, no PE in the bubble left though, must be some folk keener than me!

sorry manage booking not OLCI

We deliberately avoid the bubble on a refurb now. Just doesn't feel as intimate/exclusive any longer.