332 v 333

Weirdly, or maybe not, the A332 has ended up on LHR - MIA later this year. The earlier flight in the day is operated by the A333.

I’ve never flown on the A332 and wondering if I should change? I think I’d miss the bar area. We’re on full G’s and reward open on both flights. It would just be the admin fee to change flights.

I appreciate that it can all change between now and then.

I prefer the 333 due to the bar and it feels less cramped. Done the 332 a couple of times and every time I said never again.

VS have done a good job on VS’ifying the aircraft but they still lack the sparkle in my opinion.

I was looking so forward to flying the 332 in UC and where changed to 333 on the outbound and remained the 332 on the return. I can safely say that the 332 was absolutely horrendous compared to the 333.

As you enter the aircraft it is like coming aboard an easyJet flight, no bar, no sparkle. The aisles are so small and you struggle to get down them, I am very slim and even I felt cramped.
The seat was so hard , lumpy and cramped into the smallest space. It was near enough impossible to find a comfortable seating position. Once the table was down it was like being on lock down. The only saving grace was the screen.
Once in bed mode, I was in seat 3k, you felt like you where going to fall down the massive gap between the seat and the wall of the aircraft.
The crew(one a family friend) all admitted they hate the AC as it is so small, the food was horrendous due to the crew having no flare for the AC and being limited in the equipment they have(very old and outdated)

The 333 is so spacious. The aisles are wide, the seats are perfect. I could see out the window not a problem. The bar area was amazing, even if you don't drink it's a great space just to relax and mix with other people and the crew.
The seat was so comfortable and once in bed mode it was being like in a luxury hotel single bed with he amazing bedding and mattress topper.

In my opinion I would avoid the 332 at all costs.

We flew GLA-MCO and as we live local this was ideal that they extended the winter flights and would have sued them again. Now I will avoid at all costs and go through LHR to MIA just to use the 333

In essence the 332 UC is not an UC product and three aircraft need to go asap into retirement.
If I was virgin I would kit have brought these into service and waited for the new AC to arrive before extending the network. I am sure that of people flew VS for the first time on the 332 it would be there last.

[mitchja]

Yep another vote to avoid the 332’s here. That gap between the seat and the cabin wall is not good as previously mentioned. I also got the feeling I was going to roll off the seat when it was in bed mode.

The whole cabin feels cramped and the seat numbering is very confusing.

Whilst the screen is good, the IFE is pretty fiddly to use.

The 332 is also heading to some of the LHR>JFK routes too, from routesonline:

Virgin Atlantic in winter 2020/21 season scheduled Airbus A330-200 aircraft operation on London Heathrow – New York JFK route, operating 3 times weekly. The A330-200 will join A330-300, A350-1000XWB and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner serving this route.

Planned A330-200 operation from 25OCT20 to 27MAR21 as follows.

London Heathrow departure:
VS137 Day 25
VS009 Day 3

New York JFK departure:
VS046 Day 5
VS138 Day 2
VS010 Day 3

Shai Weiss said in one of his instagram posts that the 339s begin arriving this year...perhaps the 332 is just a placeholder for future schedule changes?

Oh interesting - will the new 330-900’s have the new UC product?

Shai Weiss said in one of his instagram posts that the 339s begin arriving this year...perhaps the 332 is just a placeholder for future schedule changes?

I think they are off lease this year.

I think the stated plan is to replace the 10x A333s and 4x A332s with 14x A339s

I strongly suspect the actual plan will be to keep some of the A333s for longer, and perhaps take a decision on the A339 options based on how profitably the retained A333s operate...

It's worth remembering though that aircraft can change between now and time of depature, so you could pay to change flights and the A330-200 is eventually swapped out from your current flight, or alternatively the MIA flight you switch too ends up having the A330-200 listed.

Shai Weiss said in one of his instagram posts that the 339s begin arriving this year...perhaps the 332 is just a placeholder for future schedule changes?

I think they are off lease this year.

I think the stated plan is to replace the 10x A333s and 4x A332s with 14x A339s

I strongly suspect the actual plan will be to keep some of the A333s for longer, and perhaps take a decision on the A339 options based on how profitably the retained A333s operate...

I thought they were on 5 year leases that started in 2018 so a couple of years left on them. Plus VS spent a lot of money on the refurb so will want to get full value out of that investment

4 year leases starting in Jan 2018 from memory so they aren’t going anywhere until 2022. I thought the 339s started arriving in 2021-24. They may enter construction this year though with delivery to VS early 2021? I think you’ll find some of the 333s will leave earlier as they were on 10 year leases (As we’re cover for the delayed 789s)

Thank you all for the incredibly thorough replies.

I’ve decided to swap and fingers crossed it doesn’t change again. It’s a long way off, so anything might happen, but grateful for the earlier flight as there’s only a 4 hour time difference when we fly.

The agent made a note on my booking that if it was to change again, and there was reward availability, they’d waiver the fee.

In essence the 332 UC is not an UC product and three aircraft need to go asap into retirement.
If I was virgin I would kit have brought these into service and waited for the new AC to arrive before extending the network. I am sure that of people flew VS for the first time on the 332 it would be there last.

It's worth remembering the reason why the 4 A330-200's were brought into the fleet was when VS were affected by the issues affecting 787's with Rolls-Royce engines - they weren't the only ones and nor does it seem they're out of the woods yet. They just happened to be available at the time as Air Berlin had gone under and there really wasn't much choice on the used widebody market at the time. It was either these or cancel services, and I know which I'd prefer! I also think RR were part-funding their entry into the fleet as well.

I'm certain that in an ideal world they would never have been taken on and we wouldn't be having this conversation today. They were initially touted as being dedicated to MAN, but that plan went out the window quite quickly and can be seen elsewhere, even out of LHR.

I've not sampled them so can't really comment on the quality of the interiors and will leave that to others. What I will say though is that VS have at least made some effort to make them different to what they were like when they were with Air Berlin.

4 year leases starting in Jan 2018 from memory so they aren’t going anywhere until 2022. I thought the 339s started arriving in 2021-24. They may enter construction this year though with delivery to VS early 2021? I think you’ll find some of the 333s will leave earlier as they were on 10 year leases (As we’re cover for the delayed 789s)

Makes sense as the first couple of A330-300's (G-VKSS and G-VSXY) were delivered during Q1 2011 and would have about a year left on their leases unless they've been extended.

There may also be scope for earlier -900 deliveries as Air Asia X were reportedly looking to defer deliveries of their large order. That would depend how set in stone Airbus' production schedule is and if they can come to an agreement with Airbus over deferrals.

I strongly suspect the actual plan will be to keep some of the A333s for longer, and perhaps take a decision on the A339 options based on how profitably the retained A333s operate...

It wouldn't surprise me if some of them are kept on to service growth, especially as they are less than 10 years old and a lot younger than the -200's. That said, the neo order also came with options.

VS075 wrote :

"Makes sense as the first couple of A330-300's (G-VKSS and G-VSXY) were delivered during Q1 2011 and would have about a year left on their leases unless they've been extended."

Also remember the first 2 or 3 delivered were leased out to (I think) a Chinese airline and possibly a military airline for the first year or so. They were delivered economy / premium / economy and were only fitted with upper seats after they had been in service with VS for a while. That might also have extended the lease period a bit

David

I might be alone here but I really don’t mind the A332! After reading so many horror stories I was expecting it to be atrocious but its not bad at all IMO. Yes, it does lack the ‘sparkle’ and bar of the A333 but the refurb has greatly improved things. I like the fact you can recline your seat straight into a bed. I hate having to commit to making up a bed on a daytime flight when I prefer to snooze for a bit and sit back up. I also hate lying completely flat and this gives you the option of having your head elevated to whatever position you like whilst in bed mode. I always try to book the seat closest to the window and I can see how having your bed near the aisle is not ideal.
Of course its not as good as the new A350 but basically, if your aircraft does get swapped over, try to go with an open mind!

I might be alone here but I really don’t mind the A332! After reading so many horror stories I was expecting it to be atrocious but its not bad at all IMO. Yes, it does lack the ‘sparkle’ and bar of the A333 but the refurb has greatly improved things. I like the fact you can recline your seat straight into a bed. I hate having to commit to making up a bed on a daytime flight when I prefer to snooze for a bit and sit back up. I also hate lying completely flat and this gives you the option of having your head elevated to whatever position you like whilst in bed mode. I always try to book the seat closest to the window and I can see how having your bed near the aisle is not ideal.
Of course its not as good as the new A350 but basically, if your aircraft does get swapped over, try to go with an open mind!

Nope, I too don’t mind the A322 and quite like the seat

Oh interesting - will the new 330-900’s have the new UC product?

Absolutely not.

That catastrophe is worse than the Dream Suite. I can't stand flying it. They are meant to be taking all the feedback from the 350-1000 and making adjustments. The suite on the 350 is packed in too tightly as it is, so they'd be well pushed to install it on the Neo.

They won't have the A350 suite as it is too large to do 1-2-1 on the 339s, instead there will be "something" new, to be applied to the 787s once they go for their mid-life maintenance.