747 Phase Out LGW - MCO

Hey all

Just wondering about 747 UC etiquette. I’ve booked (with VHols) myself and extended family (13 of us) to go to MCO next Halloween and intention is everyone will fly UC - right now due to release only 60% of us are in UC, the rest are in PE lying in wait for further UC seats to be released. I know the 747 operates this route right now and has the smaller UC cabin - Is this rude of us to take most of the seats or should we not worry?

Also read somewhere the A350 May come in before October 2019 but assume if they do the LHR > JFK etc runs will get them to start with?

Anyway looking forward to sampling UC again, it’ll of been 2 years by flight time since I last went VS and UC so really excited to see what the extended family make of it all...

Not rude at all of you to take most or all of the UC seats. With only 14 UC seats on a 747 I would guess that you have already purchased the entire VH UC allocation on your flight.

[mitchja]

All V Hols will be able to do is request more availability from VS. It's then down to VS to decide if they will release any more availability in Upper.

There is still nothing confirmed about when the B744's are starting to get replaced. The A350's are apparently going to LHR first though and again apparently there will be 2 different configs. One for LHR and the other for leisure routes as well.

Thanks all

Yep to be fair to VHols they’ve said now nothing they can do right now, they’ve got to wait until 331 days before the flights before they can grab the other seats needed.

I’d prefer they kept the 747...couldn’t think of a nicer way to start and end this trip!

Would VS allow VH to sell every seat (well, almost) in the UC cabin at the same fare?

Surely VS’s business model relies on selling a certain number of full price, fully flex tickets (albeit far fewer to MCO than, say, JFK or LAX)?

They seem confident

Thanks all

Yep to be fair to VHols they’ve said now nothing they can do right now, they’ve got to wait until 331 days before the flights before they can grab the other seats needed.

I’d prefer they kept the 747...couldn’t think of a nicer way to start and end this trip!

I have a feeling it will continue to be 747's for at least another year and probably around the time you're going to fly, particularly if the first few are all LHR-bound. I could be wrong and I've no idea what VS are planning at this stage, but part of me suspects MCO will be the last route to switch over to A350's as the 747's capacity comes in useful on that route.

Would VS allow VH to sell every seat (well, almost) in the UC cabin at the same fare?

Surely VS’s business model relies on selling a certain number of full price, fully flex tickets (albeit far fewer to MCO than, say, JFK or LAX)?

I doubt it. In my experience, they often have to call VS ticketing to request special options for these kinds of things.

But in this case, I suspect VS would give VH the same pricing a group of the same size would get going directly to VS.

I’ve had twelve in UC on a previous family holiday with VH and they held the price £1296 to Montego Bay so I would think you would be okay. I felt sorry for the rather quiet elderly couple that had to share the cabin whilst my grown up kids partied all the way, especially on the return when they arrived at check in just after our party. The look of dread on their faces. Lucky for them my lot were partied out and quiet on the overnight return

I mean, its easier to sell all of the UC tickets to one party for a reasonable price. The holiday routes aren't really known for selling lots of C/D/J tickets. They are usually Z and I almost exclusively.

The business heavy routes are another matter.

Hey Shane! I've pm'd you as we're doing UC LGW/MCO next halloween too .... want to check your dates so that I book accommodation accordingly as I doubt we'll get availability in UC on the days you're travelling lol and our dates aren't locked in yet