TO UPGRADE OR NOT ?

Please help.
I am flying (our 1st time with virgin) from manchester in november to florida with my husband and 2 well behaved children aged 6 & 8
we have got seats 61,62 h & k reserved. we would love to upgrade to prem. econ but are not sure if it's worth paying an extra £1700.00 for this. our travel agent said we shouldn't bother!
also are you able to upgrade at the airport at a reduced rate.
any help with this would be very much appreciated.
thanks
jo. [:X]

[Pete]

Hi Jo, Welcome to V-Flyer.

Difficult to say whether you should or shouldn't upgrade, as it's really whether the benefits are worth it to you. Personally, I would, but my reasons may differ from yours. I'm sure some people will chime in with the pros and cons either way.

I'm surprised your travel agent was so convinced you shouldn't bother. I wonder how many times they'd flown in PE themselves, and what specifically they didn't like about it? Perhaps they're just looking at the cost and have no idea about how the little extras in PE can turn a stressful part of the holiday into something to be looked forward to?

As for the cost, it *can* be cheaper at the airport, but that depends on many things stacking up. The greatest risk is that there just won't be availability if you leave it that late, as the PE cabin typically oversells first. If you think you are going to go for it, and the £1700 is a price you're prepared to pay, then do it now. If you leave it to the airport and it's not available, then you'll be left thinking "what could have been".

Pete

Hi Jo,

Others in this forum will know more about the planes at MAN, particularly with regards the in-flight entertainment. The reason I say this is that if you get a 747 with V:Port, to be honest, your kids would not care where they sat, as there will be so much to keep them entertained, in my opinion. Most of the entertainment systems on Virgin flights from Manchester have childrens entertainment, but not all, I think. It may be a different story when they get tired though?

Upgrading will be more in your interests I think. You will benefit more from the extra leg room and wider seats. Make no mistake, PE is a big step up from standard economy. And if you book early enough to be able to choose, I think you will find the upper deck much more peaceful.

I have never flown from Manchester, so i may well be corrected by my peers here. Whatever you choose to do, have a great flight!

[Neil]

If it was me, then Yes, I like PE, apart from the extra leg room, which is obviously the biggest benefit, I personally like the little extra's, seperate check in, proirity boarding, glass of champers when you board, priority baggage, but thats just me....

As Pix mentioned, waiting to upgrade at the airport could be risky, the chnaces of actually been able to upgrade will be less and also the seating options will be less as a lot of pax could of used OLCI, wher as if you upgrade before hand then you will be able to pre-select your seats to ensure you are all together.

Radar is slightly wrong because the LGW/MAN a/c do not have V-Port, the best IFE you will be able to get in Odyseey, here are the details of Virgins IFE and which a/c they are on.

I guess at the end of the day its down to your choice if the cost s worth the extra, only something you can decide, however after our first PE flight we haven't flown Y since[:I].

Also, where are my manners, welcome to V-Flyer[y][y]
Neil:)

Originally posted by joanne
Please help.
I am flying (our 1st time with virgin) from manchester in november to florida with my husband and 2 well behaved children aged 6 & 8
we have got seats 61,62 h & k reserved. we would love to upgrade to prem. econ but are not sure if it's worth paying an extra £1700.00 for this. our travel agent said we shouldn't bother!
also are you able to upgrade at the airport at a reduced rate.
any help with this would be very much appreciated.
thanks
jo. [:X]

Welcome Jo.

[:?] A conundrum. As others have pointed out PE is a different experience (particularly upstairs on the 747 LGW/MAN aeroplanes) and has a lot of the touches (when done properly) that adults appreciate - shorter check in lines, the pre flight drink offering, more drink runs and baggage off first.

I'm not, however, convinced that it'll make that much difference to your children. At 6 & 8 they won't be pushing themselves into odd shapes to get their legs to fit in Economy, you've got yourself in line for the best seats in Economy on the 747 and there is no difference in the IFE between the PE and Economy. After a few years flying VS with out two offspring, I've just started being able to stretch the holiday budget to some PE upgrades. As they are now 19 and 15 and tall with it they appreciate the greater legroom but looking back I don't think they'd have cared on our earlier trips as long as they had a decent IFE. In fact out 19 year old expressed a preference for travelling in Economy with the V:Port to travelling PE with Nova / Odyssey - not an option likely to be open to you from MAN, but just an illustration of what makes the experience for different people.

If you do decide upgrading sounds good, then make sure you do it advance and don't gamble on there being offers on the day. If you decide against upgrading, make sure you use OLCI the day before to ensure (as far as humanly possible) that you do get the 61/62 H&K combination on the day.

Paul

Tough question!

On the one hand, it is an awful lot of money. On the other hand, if you really feel too cramped in a Y seat it is well worth it. As other's have said, it is unlikely the children will appreciate it - they don't need the space or a pre-flight glass of bubbly. I think it is debatable how much benefit you would get out of it too (I am making all sorts of assumptions about your size, but women are on average smaller than men). Maybe your other half would really love it, particularly if like me he is a big man.

My other half and I have booked in a PE equivalent for our upcoming holiday. But the premium is not as great as you are looking at and it is an 11 hour flight. If I were looking at £1700 for a comparatively short flight and I was traveling with children, I think I would save my money for a real blow out meal when on holiday and maybe a room upgrade for the adults.

But at the end of the day it can only be your choice - how much is the extra space worth to you?

IMHO £1700 isn't very good value for an upgrade to PE. Right now you could buy 4 PE seats for £2594 in Nov, so unless you paid less than £894 for your Econ seats you'll be paying more than you need to! If you join the FC and collect some miles then using a combination of companion tickets and MPM could get you all in PE for £1700-£2000.

Don't get me wrong I personally prefer PE; so £1700 for 4 PE seats = yes; but £1700 for an upgrade on top of what I've already paid = no! £1700 would go a long way out in Orlando versus the 9 hours on the flight!

Why not try it one way for a treat.

My opinion is a seats only worth as much as your willing AND able to pay. If the cost is a big deal to you then don't and use the money for your next holiday.

If its a very good service you want and comfort throughout and thats the price your willing to pay for those priorities then go for it.

I think UCS is better value than PE personally £ for £, but thats big money.

If I think back to when my boys were of a similar age then I wouldn't have even considered upgrading my flight with them.
The were so excited at the prospect of being on holiday that 'just being there' was enough.

I think Sailor has a point regarding space, and if it's for yourself and/or your partner then that is a different matter.

In your position, if you have the extra £1700 to spend, I would book some extra special treats for once you get there, such as character dining, airboat rides, seaworld tours etc. If you have the money for both then great, but if it's one or the other I know which the children will remember the most.

Why not travel out in economy, see how happy you are, and if you want extra space for the return then try and upgrade at DTD or MCO airport.

Jilly

[fozzyo]

I'd look at what else you could do with the £1,700 while away on holiday. See which you think you will get more out of. PE or the extra stuff you could do.

Just to add, if you decide to do it check the seat availability. If you can only upgrade and be seated downstairs on a 747 then personally I wouldn't suggest you upgrade - it isn't as good as upstairs.

Hi

Just to give you the idea of the cost to upgrade at the airport, we did it back in June at Manchester and the cost was £199 per person one way, not sure of what the cost would have been for a child upgrade.

For me, as well as the benefits already described three big pluses when travelling with two young children are shorter lines at check-in, first (ish) off the plane so first in line at immigration and priority bags. (I know the double drop at MCO can be a hassle, but priority bags has always worked for me. It still saves some minutes hanging around with two kids who by this stage have had enough and are ready for bed, no matter how excited they were when you left home for the airport.)

It is easier to help the kids with things like meal trays and headphones because you've got more room to move about. There'e plenty storage space upstairs and more space for them to put their stuff.

You'll spend enough time in lines when you're there so I think it's worth reducing waiting as much as possible.

Have a good trip,

David

I would have to temper some of the comments here about the advantages of PE at the airport (both ends). Firstly, if you book and stick with economy, you can still check in online, or DIY at the airport, so queues not such a problem.

Secondly, because of the recent security scares, many flight are no longer doing priority boarding to the US, because of the extra security at boarding. I don't understand the logic behind this, just telling you what I have experienced. It may be different at Manchester, and of course, by November, we can only hope that situations will have improved somewhat.

Thirdly, priority baggage is, in my experience, a bit hit and miss. On my flight to Miami this week, flying UC, my bag was one of the last out, along with all the other UC bags. This is not the first time it has happened either. For some reason, a good deal of the Economy bags were marked 'Priority', and that seems to be exactly what they got!

I think, for £1700, if you and your husband can put up with Economy, and manage to book seats towards the front of the Economy section, like others have said here, the £1700 will probably go a lot further when you are in Florida!

My comment in the earlier post regarding being lucky and getting a plane with V:Port was based on recent reports of a shortage of aircraft meaning that some LHR aircraft have been seconded to other airports, but that may have been just to Gatwick. In any event, Odyssey, Arcadia and Nova IFE systems all have entertainment for children, though Nova does not have games. But I think all those 744s are at Gatwick?

[Neil]

I must say after thinking about this a bit last night, I actually think you might not be better upgrading, the kdis won't feel the benefit at all and it is hell of a lot of money, if you are unsure, which I guess you are by the fact you made this posting, then why not see what happens on the da. The PE sections on the MAN/LGW a/c is quite large and if you can get the upgrades on the day for half the price then job well done and if not, I am sure you will still enjoy the flight[y]

Andrew - the Y bags that got priority may of been Au card holders as AFAIK they get priority baggage whichever class they fly in (jsut a side, what priority markings did they have on them as I thought the priority stuff wsas done on the ticket barcode and have never seen any stickers etc). The Arcadia IFE system is no longer on any VS a/c, G-VAEL was the last to have it and that has now left the fleet, also LGW does not have its on a/c, MAN/LGW config a/c operate out of both airports and rotate on a regular basis, so there is a chance of getting the Super Nova a/c ex MAN.

Ne:)il

Originally posted by Attitude23
I must say after thinking about this a bit last night, I actually think you might not be better upgrading, the kdis won't feel the benefit at all and it is hell of a lot of money, if you are unsure, which I guess you are by the fact you made this posting, then why not see what happens on the da. The PE sections on the MAN/LGW a/c is quite large and if you can get the upgrades on the day for half the price then job well done and if not, I am sure you will still enjoy the flight[y]

Andrew - the Y bags that got priority may of been Au card holders as AFAIK they get priority baggage whichever class they fly in (jsut a side, what priority markings did they have on them as I thought the priority stuff wsas done on the ticket barcode and have never seen any stickers etc). The Arcadia IFE system is no longer on any VS a/c, G-VAEL was the last to have it and that has now left the fleet, also LGW does not have its on a/c, MAN/LGW config a/c operate out of both airports and rotate on a regular basis, so there is a chance of getting the Super Nova a/c ex MAN.

Ne:)il

Neil,

It seemed to me that around 50% of the Y class bags were marked with a stripy bag handle sticker saying PRIORITY. I doubt 50% of Y class on that flight were AU holders, but you never know. In any event, the 'priority' Y bags came out with the normal Y class bags, then Premium, then UC [:0]. It definitely seems as though they unloaded the bags back to front. I can tell you there were a few 'duts' and shaking heads amongst the UC pax. Fortunately the flight was only about half full, so it wasn't too bad. Had the flight been full and my UC bag came off amongst the last, CR would have had a letter from me by now..[}:)]

[Neil]

50% of Y bags with prority on them? How strange...

joanne,

I think the deicsion is solely up to you. You're right that £1,700 is a lot of money to upgrade on top of what you've already paid and if you get ODYSSEY as your IFE then your kids won't give one where they sit as long as they can play on games. No V:PORT on MAN flights unless a LHR plane has to be hired in.

Unless you're in UCS where you can get personal DVD players, the IFE in PE is no different to Economy and UCS without DVDs. The only benefits of PE is the extra legroom, wider seats, champagne, priorty check-in/boarding. If you want extra legroom then you and your partner could easily upgrade to exit seats on the day.

Travel agents do know what they're talking about (most of the time) so if he/she said don't bother then its for the best.

Anyway should you upgrade to PE, well its up to you. If you were flying solo then its worth it, but otherwise hold on to your hard-earned cash and enjoy the Virgin experience.

Good luck and please post a TR after your hols!

thanks everyone for your helpful advice,i we think we'll stick with economy and maybe ask on the day for a reduced price upgrade. if no upgrade then florida mall here i come
thanks again everyone
jo [y]

Originally posted by Attitude23
50% of Y bags with prority on them? How strange...

Indeed. My best guess is the tags were not put on at check-in, but by the handling staff, because there was a problem somewhere 'down below'? It would make more sense, because of the bags got 'mislaid' temporarily, they could well have been the last on the plane.

[preiffer]

Umm - the tags themselves do not dictate whether the bag goes into the priority BINS or not. It's all done by the barcode on the baggage label, connected to the PNR.

If the passenger is flagged as "priority" on the system (PE/Upper/Gold), then regardless of what silly little pieces of carboard are connected to the bag or not, it'll go into one of the priority bins.


Likewise, you can decorate your bag with all the Upper Class/PE/"I'm important REALLY and need a piece of paper to prove it" tags you like. Unless the barcode associates you with a priority PNR, your bag's off into the regular bin at the back of the queue.


Sorry [:I][:p]

Originally posted by preiffer
Umm - the tags themselves do not dictate whether the bag goes into the priority BINS or not. It's all done by the barcode on the baggage label, connected to the PNR.

If the passenger is flagged as "priority" on the system (PE/Upper/Gold), then regardless of what silly little pieces of carboard are connected to the bag or not, it'll go into one of the priority bins.


Likewise, you can decorate your bag with all the Upper Class/PE/"I'm important REALLY and need a piece of paper to prove it" tags you like. Unless the barcode associates you with a priority PNR, your bag's off into the regular bin at the back of the queue.


Sorry [:I][:p]

Good point. Still, the Y and W bags came off before the J, which was still annoying. Maybe I was reading too much into the 'Priority' tags, but there were a lot of them, too many IMO to account for AU alone. Maybe there was a large group of transfers, and the tage were associated with their previous flight? Either way, would still like to have got my bags before Y!

Originally posted by joanne
thanks everyone for your helpful advice,i we think we'll stick with economy and maybe ask on the day for a reduced price upgrade. if no upgrade then florida mall here i come
thanks again everyone
jo [y]

No problem. Enjoy Orlando and the Florida Mall. You will find that the Florida Mall is a great place for shopping, I always go there whenever we're over there.

Enjoy[y]