A350-1000 Inaugural V-Flyers

My question to the lucky few inaugral flyers is 'does the TV fold away - can you buddy dine?'

Thanks in advance

Peter

My question to the lucky few inaugral flyers is 'does the TV fold away - can you buddy dine?'

Thanks in advance

Peter

The TV does fold away, but there’s no space to get a second person on the ottoman, as it goes under the counter beside the person in front of you.

[buns]

Hot of the press, here is the video from yesterday’s flight over on YouTube

Excellent Vlog (as Always ) - Very informative!!

Thank You

buns

Thank you very much for the quick turnaround on the video! Happy to see also that the physical menus have been given a bit of an improvement.

May I ask though - are you certain about the seat width being 18.5" ? The website lists the width as 20"...

May I ask though - are you certain about the seat width being 18.5" ? The website lists the width as 20"...

You are correct. In my rush to published quickly I misread the information. It is 18.5” in Premium and 20” in Upper. But the point remains that it didn’t feel too enclosed, unlike the old A330 Dream Suite. It was pretty spacious.

We're flying UC on the A350 on the 26th Sept

What's the menu at the moment? - can someone take a snap of it? - and did you get to choose before flying?

Thanks

Peter

Here you go:

266286F8-F29B-44D2-B2A3-D12079CC6C95.png (214.46 KiB) Viewed 2514 times

I think it is pretty much the same as other East Coast flights, just with a new format of menu.

I did pre-order, but they didn’t seem to have that information on board. Might just have been an inaugural flight gremlin. I got the dish I’d pre-ordered in any event.

Loved the video! Thank you! I arrived rather late to LHR T3 and was one of the last people to board.
I took the tube to LHR so I did pass through the main check-in area of VS/Delta and economy section was CROWDED (I think it's because of the BA pilot strike!) Did you see the 2 VS employees giving out A350 cupcakes? I took one and ate it before going to security. I also thought it was a nice touch to give red velvet flavored cake pops and a souvenir salt/pepper shaker.
I'm no good with video photo/video but am thankful that you are so I can at least relive some of the moments up in the air.

Great video! Thanks for posting.

Shows very well how the cabin and seat is in real life, rather than the marketing pics.

Looks great, can't wait to try it. Love the on-screen ordering function, especially as someone with a healthy appetite (for both grog and food) who doesn't like to keep asking...

And what nice clean plates, mother would be proud!

Bizarre that they still have an ashtray in the toilets. Surely there are no airlines that still allow smoking on-board?

Aren't ashtrays needed so if someone does break the law there's somewhere safe to stub it out and dispose of it? The bins are likely to be full of things that burn.

Yep legally there has to be somewhere safe for a cigarette to be put out

Did any of you have a play with with the Bluetooth connectivity between your device and IFE? What's actually achievable? It'd be cool if I could play stuff downloaded in my Sky app... Also interesting to hear you can connect to the screen in the loft area - seems, risky.

Yep legally there has to be somewhere safe for a cigarette to be put out

Ah, OK. Though if a situation arose, I cant imagine anyone running round the plane looking for an empty toilet to find an ashtray to extinguish a cigarette!!

Brilliant video, loved it, thanks for sharing.

We’re on the A350 on 23 October and enjoyed this taster of what to expect. Not sure about the Loft, doesn’t look inspiring and definitely lacks the “stand out” differential of the bar.

Loved the video - looking forward to travelling on the A350 some time in the future.

Hot of the press, here is the video from yesterday’s flight over on YouTube

Looks fantastic, cant't wait to try it out.

Small point, but they've had to edit the safety video to include the new seatbelt in Upper Class.

They have but the crew announcements haven’t been updated to feature it, unless my crew were doing the announcements away from their iPad and forgot. Crew had to come through and remind everyone.

On another point. They need to be clear with pax on what needs stored for landing. No wording anywhere. The privacy divider should be put back but does the arm rest also need lowered as it does on BA. Also the IFE is apparently ok to stay out, but that was never specifically mentioned on my flight.

Quick observations:
- New seat great and very private but the table issue needs resolved it’s uncomfortable for everyone.
- seat storage isn’t great.
- Cabin looks great
- IFE is a huge step up
- Loft is a great idea and was well used on my sector
- new PJs - arms too short but bottoms better
- new meal service mat is far far too slippy; my glassware and plate kept sliding. Design is nice though (it’s shaped like the 350 window)
- new Amenity Kit - what is inside is good. It looks very cheap though
- the champagne still being Served in flutes - stop this, even BA have gone back to more of a champagne glass. This cheapens the experience.

[buns]

They have but the crew announcements haven’t been updated to feature it, unless my crew were doing the announcements away from their iPad and forgot. Crew had to come through and remind everyone.

On another point. They need to be clear with pax on what needs stored for landing. No wording anywhere. The privacy divider should be put back but does the arm rest also need lowered as it does on BA. Also the IFE is apparently ok to stay out, but that was never specifically mentioned on my flight.

Quick observations:
- New seat great and very private but the table issue needs resolved it’s uncomfortable for everyone.
- seat storage isn’t great.
- Cabin looks great
- IFE is a huge step up
- Loft is a great idea and was well used on my sector
- new PJs - arms too short but bottoms better
- new meal service mat is far far too slippy; my glassware and plate kept sliding. Design is nice though (it’s shaped like the 350 window)
- new Amenity Kit - what is inside is good. It looks very cheap though
- the champagne still being Served in flutes - stop this, even BA have gone back to more of a champagne glass. This cheapens the experience.

Thanks for the observations - I bet you are not the only one to comment on the meal service mat
From watching Worrella's excellent video, I got the impression the ailes are rather narrow - especially when the meal service is in full flow.
As a V-Flyer who has yet to get aboard a 787, let alone the A350, I suspect I can continue to enjoy the joys of the 747 for tyhe time being

Thanks oncve again

buns

From watching Worrella's excellent video, I got the impression the ailes are rather narrow - especially when the meal service is in full flow.
As a V-Flyer who has yet to get aboard a 787, let alone the A350, I suspect I can continue to enjoy the joys of the 747 for tyhe time being

Thanks oncve again

buns

My thoughts too - you would have thought they would have learned from the A330-300's and the stupidly narrow aisles when the Dream Suite was installed. People (both passengers and on occasion crew) were bumping into those Upper Class seats as they walked up & down the aisle.

Looking at Mr Google, it appears the internal cabin width of the A350-1000 is 3cm narrower than the A330-300. So yes, the aisles are going to be narrow. Whilst I appreciate more seats = more revenue, the Dreamliner is 12cm narrower than the A350-1000 & VS stuck to 1-1-1 in Upper on the Dreamliner. Whilst 12cm may not sound much, it would have made for impossibly narrow aisles in Upper had they tried to shoehorn 1-2-1 in.

When it comes to space in Upper Class, you cannot beat the A-zone of the 747. OK, the seat may be a bit old, but you've got space galore in the nice small & private cabin. I'll be sorry to see the 747's leave the fleet, but will get a few more trips in on them first!

The aisle is just wide enough for them to bring the cheese trolley through and no more. This makes passing in the aisle very interesting as you have to step into someone’s suite usually...

Cabin doors are white and don’t have any protection from scuffing, so yep. It will show every mark as people bang suitcases but past them.

The aisle is just wide enough for them to bring the cheese trolley through and no more. This makes passing in the aisle very interesting as you have to step into someone’s suite usually...

Cabin doors are white and don’t have any protection from scuffing, so yep. It will show every mark as people bang suitcases but past them.

It sounds like it has got "Dream-Suite MK2" written all over it! Have VS succumbed to the bean-counters again & let them cram too many seats / impractically narrow aisles that will take their toll - in a premium cabin?

Time will tell, but you would have thought Virgin would have thought of the A330-300's. I've no idea what new seats & a cabin re-fit costs - but it will be far from cheap. Planes only make money when in the air.

This seat won’t go onto the 789s or 339s. For those, I would look at the DL 339 seat - in my opinion, that would be a logical seat for VS.

It sounds like it has got "Dream-Suite MK2" written all over it! Have VS succumbed to the bean-counters again & let them cram too many seats / impractically narrow aisles that will take their toll - in a premium cabin?

Time will tell, but you would have thought Virgin would have thought of the A330-300's. I've no idea what new seats & a cabin re-fit costs - but it will be far from cheap. Planes only make money when in the air.

Exactly what I thought ever since we saw them unveil the new seats. Even the cabin aesthetics/colour palette scream dream suite; from the gold trim on the seats to the frosted glass in the loft. It's a shame as I really liked the colours and aesthetics of the 787 and retrofitted a333.

Great video - I love the new cabin layout and cannot wait to try it.

Next UC experience is to MIA in around 6 weeks...I wonder will the menu posted above be sticking around for that or will there be a change?