Orlando - Upper Class Reward - Family of 4

Hi

I used to fly with BA, however changes to their FFP made me switch over to VS. I have just taken my first reward flight as a family of 4 from econ to Upper Class to PVG.

Next May we are going to Orlando, I have fixed dates at the beginning of the month. I understand that the aircraft only has 14 Upper Class seats, therefore upgrading with miles can be hard.

Any tips or is this basically impossible to get 4 seats upper class using miles to upgrade?

Paul.

Hi and welcome.

Not impossible, no, but definitely not easy. And the chances of four Gs all being available at the same time are even slimmer, so consider snapping up one or two at a time, if you're willing to take the risk.

You could also consider splitting your party into two and travelling on different flights (VS normally have two a day from LGW to MCO at peak times, only a couple of hours apart). Also look at starting at MAN or GLA, if you're willing to travel, as they sometimes have more Gs than LGW. Or consider the LHR-ATL route, which uses A330s with a much larger UC cabin, then a short hop on DL down to MCO.

None of which are ideal but may be an option for you.

Good luck - the key to finding Gs is patience and persistence as they can and do pop up at any time.

I've never tried it for four people, nor in May. But I have managed two seats in Feb/March four times now.
I've done it by booking early.
But, this year it's all gone a bit funny on the LGW MCO page, recently for March it just said, 'there are no flights available for March. Try another month.' Now there are economy rewards in March but no other cabin and April is now, 'No flights available try another month.'
Currently there are no upper reward flights shown at all on the VS site for LGW/ MCO in any month.

I have ended up booking our flight home from Atlanta instead which is not too inconvenient because we drive up to South Carolina anyway.

I know some people fly to Orlando via Atlanta and that plane has a larger Upper Class cabin and may be worth looking at.
Also worth considering is whether it's better to buy Economy and upgrade or do a full reward flight.
It now costs 40000 miles each way to upgrade the Orlando flight, which is the same as a reward flight to Atlanta in Upper.
If you do go on a full miles upgrade it also means you can book each leg separately so you can bag the outbound flight as soon as it is released at T-335 if there are rewards available and then your return when they are released.

Best of luck,
Dick D

To get 4 UC reward seats in a cabin that only seats 14 would be very lucky. Am not saying it won't happen in low-season, but I doubt it will when demand starts to build up - those seats are valuable to Virgin.

We have often gone to Orlando in May (was there this time a year ago & wish I was now!) and 3 years on the trot we managed to get 2 UC miles reward tickets on the same flight when the seats were released at 330 days, or nearby. This year we're going in early November (so lower season) and can't get 2 tickets. Only one UC seat released for miles, which I nabbed. Other ticket is in PE - where again, availability is seemingly limited. We keep on checking every day for G's to appear, but don't hold much hope out.

I managed to get 4 G's for 24th July LGW to MCO ;) You just need to be flexible and check as often as you can. Miami sometimes is a better option as more UC seats on that route.

Thank you for all the information.
I will consider flying into ATL and connecting.

What happens if there is seats left on the day of departure? Do all of these seats become possible to upgrade with miles at the airport?

It's not guaranteed - depends if VS thinks it can sell them for cash on the day - but it's often possible, yes.