2 single upper class reward seats to New york help needed

Hi all

So I have finally saved up enough miles to go first class to new York for me and my partner. We have a cruise in April 2020 which we are sailing back on.

My question is, when are the reward seats released, is it the same time as when they release all flights? which brings me to my next question, when do they release the flights? and at what time if possible so I can stay up if need be to make sure I get 2 first class tickets!

Thanks for all of your help! im hoping with your help I will finally be able to book my dream flights!

Hello & welcome to VFlyer.

To begin, Virgin Atlantic don't have a First Class cabin. They have an Upper Class cabin which is comparable to business class on most carriers. That said, with the fantastic Heathrow check-in area, Clubhouse and generally great onboard service, it will certainly feel like a First Class product. It's certainly my favourite carrier to fly West. </Pedanticism Over>

VS and DL flights are released 335/334 days before departure. NYC is their most frequent route so I'd doubt you'd have trouble achieving two UC rewards seats. If there's an ounce of flexibility with your travel dates, I wouldn't be staying awake trying to book tickets. I need to caveat that with Easter falls on April 12th. When is your ideal travel date(s)?

With your travel date in mind, if it is around the Easter break, you will fall into peak ticket pricing. This is 57,500 miles rather than the usual 47,500 miles per passenger. It will also cost around £450 in tax each.

A final caveat, Virgin Atlantic don't promise to release any flights as reward flights as some other airlines do. Don't get hung up on this - if there is one place you can often get a reward flight to, it's NYC.

You get great flexibility when booking reward tickets. For £30, you can cancel or change your booking. I mention this as you may originally book for an earlier or later date than you'd ideally like, but when your date or time or aircraft choice appears, it's a relatively small change fee.

Unsure how familiar you are with Virgin Atlantic, but there's a few aircraft on the NYC route. Currently mixed between A330, B787 & A340. This will probably extend to the A350 by the time you fly (note: not by the time you book). Whilst it sounds somewhat insane to book your travel on a certain plane type (it can and often does change), a lot of us do. There's a recent thread discussing this... Whilst I quite happily fly the A340 as I prefer the bar layout onboard, a lot of members opt for the A330 or B787 for the better in-flight entertainment and generally better-looking cabins. You've got quite a while until you're booking, so you have plenty of time to read, watch YouTube and make your own mind up. Whichever aircraft type you're on, the food and service will remain the same.

Welcome to VFlyer!

Mike

Argh I think my last message disappeared in the internet ether!

Ok first of all I want to say thanks Mike, I feel welcome and have more information than I can shake an airport at! I really appreciate it!

I’ve flown emirates business class before and I had a sneaking suspicion upper class was the same level when I compared it on pictures, but emirates business class was wonderful so I know it will be amazing!
The dates we can go are the 8/9/10 April, as the cruise leaves on the 12 April so we don’t have much wriggle room! I feel much more confident though after speaking to you about this! I have no issues staying up late for the reward seats if it means my other half gets to have the time of her life!

So I have 2 questions now which I’m confident your encyclopaedic knowledge will answer! Does virgin release reward seats randomly throughout the year? If so I take it it’s worth checking every day and not being disappointed if they are not there Day 1?

Also can we use our air miles to go on delta 1(I believe that’s the name of it?) I have been reading the reviews on here and it has got me curious to try

Thanks again for the warm welcome and I will be hanging my hat here a lot in the future and getting to know everyone!

The way to check when reward flights are released is to do a dummy booking.
Put in that you want to pay with miles.
Make it one way and one person.
Give a wide date window.
You should get a good idea when rewards are starting to be offered.
Dick D

Currently you could book up to 15th December for money or miles to New York so it looks like rewards are being released on the same day as the money fares.

</Pedanticism Over>

Pedantry

We are dong a cruise from NYC this April and had no issues getting two upper class seats, in fact there were at least two available everyday the week we wanted to book, so i'm sure you will be fine

Yes you can use VS miles for a reward on DeltaOne (which is how they write it rather than Delta 1 which is a flight number)

The taxes and fees appear to be around £100 cheaper on Delta because they don’t charge the same level of ‘carrier surcharge’ as VS on their flights (APD and airport fees are the same)

I do prefer the DeltaOne seat as it fully reclines without having to get up and flip it over (though that could change with the new VS seat we are waiting for)

You’d still get the Drive Through Check In and Clubhouse when flying on Delta as well.

Given the number of flights DL and VS have on the LHR- JFK route I would be fairly relaxed about booking them with no need to stay up to do it or be there the day they release the flights.