Ex-Air Berlin experience

Has anyone recently flown on the ex air Berlin planes to/from the Caribbean? Did you know before you checked in that the aircraft had been changed? We are due to travel to ANU in November and the lack of any PE on the outward journey suggests newer configuration - despite being married to my lovely husband for 31 years would hate to be put in a ‘love seat’! How do they determine where to seat people? Need a window seat for my sanity!

The ex-AB A332s may or may not have been refurbished by November, so it’s very hard to say what you’ll get on the day.

But I don’t understand why you’re worrying about how they determine where to seat people. You do know you can choose your own seats right now on the VS website?

(With a caveat that you should keep checking in case of an aircraft or configuration change, which is quite possible.)

you are able to select any available a seat you want and so can your beloved husband . No need to wait until you check in - you can do it via manage my bookings on the VS website / app anytime

The booking still shows the original aircraft but I have seen that others have turned up to check-in and have already been allocated seats on the alternative AirBerlin version even though they had not been informed of the change of aircraft via their booking

Ah ok, now I see what you’re asking. Yes, unfortunately in the event of an aircraft change you will lose your seat request. Often they seem to try and move you to the same seat number on the new aircraft but of course that may not be what you want. Otherwise it just seems to be random, and your party may well get split up. And, annoyingly, you will never be proactively informed about a change of aircraft or if they’ve moved your seat.

The key here is NOT to let it get to the stage where you get a nasty surprise at check-in. At that point you’re left with the dregs of what hasn’t been chosen in advance. If you get into the habit of checking your seats via Manage My Booking every week or so, you should pick up any changes before most other people and be able to choose new seats if you’ve been moved somewhere you don’t want.

Changes are most likely to happen in the week or so before departure, when VS has rostered the specific aircraft for your flight. At that point I’d be checking for changes daily. But they can happen at any time, particularly at the moment as VS is playing aircraft roulette due to the 787 engine issues.

Thanks for the advice - will do that!

I check my seats virtually daily!

I'm flying on an A332 to ANU at the end of this month. I debated wether I wanted to blow all my airmiles on this seat, but am now rather looking forward to it. This seat wont be around forever so I'm just interested to try it once, also as a solo traveller I quite like the look of the solo suites on the side, they appear to be very private and you get a good window view. I've read a couple of reviews online and also heard back from a friend that they actually prefer this cabin for a solo traveller, even as a couple it looks perfectly acceptable. Of course I will write a detailed TR

I'm flying on an A332 to ANU at the end of this month. I debated wether I wanted to blow all my airmiles on this seat, but am now rather looking forward to it. This seat wont be around forever so I'm just interested to try it once, also as a solo traveller I quite like the look of the solo suites on the side, they appear to be very private and you get a good window view. I've read a couple of reviews online and also heard back from a friend that they actually prefer this cabin for a solo traveller, even as a couple it looks perfectly acceptable. Of course I will write a detailed TR

Hi Seany,

I'd be very interested in your TR if you get around to doing one...I'm off solo to ANU in August and would appreciated feedback on the A332 UC cabin and seat, please.

Me too, I’m off to ATL solo in September and would love to hear your feedback on your TR. I’ve chosen 5A for my seat.

I'm flying on an A332 to ANU at the end of this month. I debated wether I wanted to blow all my airmiles on this seat, but am now rather looking forward to it. This seat wont be around forever so I'm just interested to try it once, also as a solo traveller I quite like the look of the solo suites on the side, they appear to be very private and you get a good window view. I've read a couple of reviews online and also heard back from a friend that they actually prefer this cabin for a solo traveller, even as a couple it looks perfectly acceptable. Of course I will write a detailed TR

I look forward to the TR
How long ago were you advised of the aircraft change? Did you find out via the seat plan on My Booking or did they advise you in a different way?

I only booked today so was aware I would be on the A332 prior to booking.

My wife and I returned from Grenada earlier today on 'Daydream Believer' (A332) in UC.

We knew well in advance of the allocation of the A332 on the return leg.

We'd booked 3A & 5A. The seats seem narrower than the normal UC seats and once in bed mode seem shorter. I'm 5ft 11" and couldn't lie fully extended. The seats have a better range of movement options than other UC cabins and seemed to me to be slightly softer and easier for me to sleep in. The massage options on the seats are ok, but I wouldn't say they are innovative or add something positive to the experience.

Access into the aisle from the seat once you've adjusted the seat into any configuration, other than the upright take off config is very awkward as the 'gap' available narrows as soon as the seat moves. The IFE is a different set-up and for me isn't as intuitive as the usual system. The touchscreen is a stretch from the seat and the remote control option was as good as useless.

My wife's IFE wasn't working at all, miles offered and accepted. Another seat in UC wasn't able to be used at all as there as an issue with it.

Not particularly impressed personally, to the OP seats 3A & 5A offer three windows and therefore would fit your need for a window. The seats and cabin do show a good deal of wear and show the Air Berlin 'heritage' I.e. Lots of signage still in German. VS not wasting money at this stage when they plan on refitting the cabins later in the year. The crew confirmed this refit would happen.

Crew/s were both wonderful and seem to be getting adjusted to the layout themselves.

Thanks for that info

Thanks. That's a useful summary. Are there any photos out there of the upper class cabin??

Has anyone recently flown on the ex air Berlin planes to/from the Caribbean? Did you know before you checked in that the aircraft had been changed? We are due to travel to ANU in November and the lack of any PE on the outward journey suggests newer configuration - despite being married to my lovely husband for 31 years would hate to be put in a ‘love seat’! How do they determine where to seat people? Need a window seat for my sanity!

We are due to fly over the summer and NO, we were not contacted by Virgin. We just noticed a change in seat numbers and layout on the booking! As you’re flying in November, you’ll likely benefit from the refurbished planes...

We fly in third week of November. Following reading a comment on this forum I checked our booking on Saturday to find out that the seat plan had been changed on the outward flight and that I was able to change our booking to seats 5A and 3A. This is on an aircraft with no PE so I guess it will be pre-refit. For the flight coming home the seat plan does not show the full width of the cabins so we cannot see what seats are available - it does however show that there is PE available on board. An e-mail advising to check the booking would probably been enough to appease us at this point in time.

If long established couples are avoiding the "love seats", I'm just wondering who will be happy sitting in them?

EC