Just how bad is VTOP

Hi All

This is my first post here. Me and the Mrs are off to Mexico for Xmas and will be flying UC on VS93 in mid-December. I've been watching which 747 has been used on this route for a month or so and am worried that we'll end up on the VTOP crate.

So I was wondering, in an attempt to manage the other half's expectations (and mine tbh), if anyone can tell me what to expect if we end up on the oldest of the old girls?

We've managed to get 6A & K going and 7 coming back, if that makes any difference. I haven't flown with Virgin since the mid-90s when I used to fly PE to SFO regularly.

Thanks in advance.

i flew on v-top in June PE in the bubble and i must say it is pretty grim, seats uncomfortable and worn, generally very tired, i also flew upper last Feb and it is of course far more comfortable than PE but still tatty, the seat was so overworn it was starting to collapse in the middle, also.....a little message to virgin,
DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF TAKING YOUR EYE OFF THE BALL WHEN IT COMES TO PASSENGER COMFORT !
i have been loyal to Virgin for many years but the competition are starting to get the advantage on you in some area's , i am sad to say !

It's not that bad at all.

Perfectly comfortable and the aircraft including seats are well maintained. Sadly because everyone knows its leaving the fleet soon it's getting a hard time.

But seats and cabin are fine. It's gets the same amount of love and care as the test of the fleet...

To say that it is perfectly comfortable you must work for Virgin ?

We flew V-TOP on the same VS93 flight a few weeks ago in the same seats outbound 6A & 6K. To be honest if I hadn’t been for all the hype leaving me panicking about getting V-TOP for weeks before hand, I probably wouldn’t have noticed.

In truth, the only thing of note is obviously the IFE system, which is the old loop variety. The picture quality on the screen was not great to say the least, albeit watchable, and the sound was fine in the 6K suite. That said, the system as a whole worked continuously throughout the flight, without the need for the dreaded re-boots and associated downtime, and I watched at least 3 possibly 4 films, so it could not of been that bad!

The suite was a bit scuffed where the TV screen gets pulled out from, but only really noticed it because I was paranoidlly looking for shoddiness. The suite functioned as it was supposed to, and the shelf in front is handy for putting stuff.

There was no obvious sign of things being held together with gaffer tape and blue tack as I was fully expecting.

In summary, it was not as bad as I was expecting considering the bad press Virginia Plain has been getting. The IFE is not up to standard for an UC product, but it’s probably not much worse than the system onboard the A340-300’s being flown out of LHR……

In truth, you only have about a 1 in 7 chance of getting V-TOP anyway, and if you do, well it’s not the end of the world. (in UC anyway, I can’t vouch for the other cabins)

I would worry more about the arrivals situation at CUN airport. CHAOS! But that needs a thread in it’s own right…….

In UC, the aircraft will be exactly the same product as any of the other 747's except for the looped IFE.

Flying regularly from LHR the LGW fleet was always a bit of a shock pre refits. The differences between the old and new PE are quite substantial IMHO.

That said I flew VTOP in October and November in PE and UC. Personally I found the PE seat in the bubble very uncomfortable which was made better by removing the headrest and also the seats didn't seem to recline very much compared to the purple leather ones. It was a little scruffy. The back of the seat in front surrounding the screen was all frayed and the screen was falling out. That said the crew were fantastic which more than made up for the older interior.

Thanks, All. Expectations set......at least until we get to Cancun.

Ciao for now.

flew to Havana in the bubble on TOP at the end of November , to be honest i was worried about getting the old donkey of the fleet. to be honest the seat has seen better says, the ife a bit prehistoric, but i think the all PE upstairs a good thing and enhanced the experience. at the end of the day there is nothing you can do about the aircraft choice. in all honesty she aint too bad. had friends flying in economy and the weren't too dis chuffed either,

Looks like we're on Ladybird, which is good. But not sitting together, which isn't good!
Happy hols everyone

We had a terrible time in 7A and 8A. table keeps popping open, the small personal item holder wouldn't stay down, the whole thing was scuffed and 3 of the IFE screens wouldn't work. The service wasn't great either. Our experience was REALLY let down by this plane. If i found out I got it, I would actually ask to change flights, as for the Upper Class you pay out, just isn't up to scratch. If it was a freebie, I would understand, but it just isn't up to the advertising that Virgin suggests.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a die hard Virgin fan, but this plane is just not fit for purpose.

Whilst I can understand why people are frustrated by the internal state of G-VTOP (not been on it so can only go by people's reports), I think a sense of perspective is required here. It's about to leave the fleet so it's natural that it'll look shabby compared to the planes that are staying, and if a plane is leaving the fleet it doesn't make sense to spend more money than is necessary as long as it's airworthy and can seat the full amount of passengers booked on.

Whilst I can understand why people are frustrated by the internal state of G-VTOP (not been on it so can only go by people's reports), I think a sense of perspective is required here. It's about to leave the fleet so it's natural that it'll look shabby compared to the planes that are staying, and if a plane is leaving the fleet it doesn't make sense to spend more money than is necessary as long as it's airworthy and can seat the full amount of passengers booked on.

True but in UC there's not too much difference IMHO but in PE it's a world away from a refit and not quite as easy to justify the additional cost over Econ again IMHO having flown on VTOP a few times since the refits started (and over the LHR fleet)

How about when you fly on this aircraft you get some kind of rebate say £50.00 voucher to spend in duty free

How about when you fly on this aircraft you get some kind of rebate say £50.00 voucher to spend in duty free

I think VS would lose quite a lot of money very quickly on that. You could perhaps justify such a credit if the interior was non-standard compared to the rest of the fleet, which until recently this aircraft wasn't. But as this is due to leave the fleet shortly I can't see this happening and nor can I see it viable.

Seems to be doing the LGW flights quite abit at the moment... I'm hoping the good people of Manchester get to enjoy the non purple leather seat luxury for a bit soon! (I'm flying from LGW on the 4th!). I never thought I'd get so obsessed over a seat!

Due to fly tomorrow LGW-HAV in PE VS063, saw on here that the seating page sometimes pops up before OLCI. So, logged in quickly and I could choose my seat. Bad news is that it is all PE upstairs which must mean V-TOP. Slightly disappointed having read reviews. Managed to get 61k in the bubble, but would still prefer downstairs on a re-fit. Fingers crossed for a last min change (or the release of some UC seats to use my miles to upgrade on).

Check in in 2 hours.....

Due to fly tomorrow LGW-HAV in PE VS063, saw on here that the seating page sometimes pops up before OLCI. So, logged in quickly and I could choose my seat. Bad news is that it is all PE upstairs which must mean V-TOP. Slightly disappointed having read reviews. Managed to get 61k in the bubble, but would still prefer downstairs on a re-fit. Fingers crossed for a last min change (or the release of some UC seats to use my miles to upgrade on).

Check in in 2 hours.....

Update: Just called flying club hotline and managed to clinche the last UC seat left - they had only just released it for reward miles (had been trying all this week but everyday they said it was for a full fare revenue ticket). First time in the UC lounge at LGW - officially rather excited now!

This was the armrest I was greeted with at Vegas for our flight back to Gatwick. It really was as awful as it looks.

This was the armrest I was greeted with at Vegas for our flight back to Gatwick. It really was as awful as it looks.

i rest my case, a picture tells a thousand stories as they say,
i don't consider my self the hard to please type, but my last flight on v-top in pe felt like going back in time to some crummy worn out plane on a charter flight.