Special Assistance and upgrade?

Hi there,

I have just found this forum and I have to say i'm rather pleased.[:)]

I suffer with M.E/Fibromyalgia and my husband and I are booked to go to Orlando in November on the vs 27. This will be my first holiday abroad since I became poorly so I am rather anxious about the check in and flight etc.

I have received a form from Virgin customer care which I need to fill in regarding my condition and tell them about what kind of assistance I will need. I understand that they cannot pre-allocate seats with extra legroom until the day of departure.

My problem is that a friend of my husband is a pilot for virgin and has said that he will put us on the upgrade list, which would be really wonderful, however I am not sure how this process works? Would this mean we would have to wait until the whole flight is checked in before they can look to see if there are any spare seats in either upper class or premium? If this is the case I don't think it would be very wise as we will probably have missed out on the extra legroom seats that we may have got if we had checked in early.

Any help/advice would be much appreciated.

Warm regards

Charlotte

[Nottingham Nick]

Welcome to V-Flyer Charlotte.

The mysteries of the upgrade list for friends of people at Virgin Atlantic is an often discussed great mystery among people on here who regularly pay for premium seats. People who work in the industry have said it doesn't happen, but there are a lot of anecdotes from people who say that it does happen.

There are only 14 UC suites on most of the Orlando flights and PE is also very popular.

Any op-ups will be decided before you get to the airport. Bulk head seats are normally reserved for families with babies, and people such as yourself with special requirements. Exit row seats should only be allocated at check in and then only to people who are physically fit and are willing and able to open the emergency doors should this be needed. I am not familiar with your condition, so don't know how that would affect you.

Personally, I would put my faith in Special Assistance, but I don't know how good a friend the pilot is, so the views of others may vary.

Nick

Captains can work wonders with upgrades - only last week I talked to someone who had flown on BA with a friend in the cockpit and lo and behold seats in first class materialized. Anecdotally I have heard the same on VS.

That said, as Nick says, how this works and how guaranteed this is, is a mystery to which you may not find an answer here.

Certainly, also as Nick says, if people have paid to sit in PE or UC (which is limited in numbers) then you are not going to get their seat.

If your friend has worked some magic, you'll find out at check in. Other than that SA will do their utmost to accommodate you.

What is this mystery that you speak of? Is it something beyond the contractual perks or is it not allowed to be spoken of on here?

I know that pretty much most senior/long-term staff, even including non-FSMs, can wait-list people for upgrades (or the jump seat). It's no guarantee they'll get it though.

A friend of ours is a captain for BA and he can get an upgrade if available. He has a friend and family list.

Hi Lottiex

Welcome to V Flyer.

It would be great to receive a Trip Report highlighting the Special Assistance and if it was a help for you?

Enjoy the holiday.

Ian

Hi

as someone who's wife has suffered from Fibromyalgia for a number of years, let me reassure you that we travel to Orlando every year on VS without any problem. Fortunately my wife doesn't need Special Assistance but we do try and do the following. We always use OLCI and if flying economy (as we do mostly these days) then try and get seats in rows 21 to 23, which is the small economy cabin behind premium. The advantage at MCO is being able to get off the aircraft with PE & UC and avoid the crush.

We nowadays tend to stay at a hotel near LGW, to avoid the stress of getting to the airport in good time for the flight. (stress being a factor with my wife's condition)

By getting an aisle seat, (we usually choose 2 seats from the middle section of four, as we not worried about looking out of the window), my wife can get up and walk around without disturbing anyone, and that part of the cabin is not too busy (apart from crew).

The big bonus is once in the warmth of florida, my wife's health improves and it seems to perk her up to cope with the rest of winter when she gets home.

Hope it all goes well for you and even better if you get an upgrade!