V-Flyer

Check out

http://www.flightdailynews.com/farnboro ... irgin.shtm

but only 5 out 9, looks like they will be the Oydessy ones and Arcadia will be going.

Thanks for the link Declan, any early confirmation on the fate of the remaining A340 aircraft would be appreciated.

Apparently the config is going to change to J34/W36/Y171 (currently J40/W28/Y187).

hmmm ... an extra how many in PE? Where are they going to stick those?

I do hope that with the refits they will make plans to add toilets to PE!!!!

As a side note, i asked Virgin when the UCS would be available on CPT/JBG routes and they advised ...

Thank you for your email, I apologise for the delayed response.

At this time I am sorry to advise that we do not know when the Upper Class Suite will be available on the Johannesburg route. We will be using the A343's for the foreseeable future.

If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to contact me.


I take that to mean that when the A343s get suites, they will likely carry on with those routes. (Unless anyone here thinks different?)

quote:Originally posted by HighFlyer
hmmm ... an extra how many in PE? Where are they going to stick those?

It's only one extra row of PE. That could be accounted for by the reduction in Y seating, or the reshuffling of J, or a bit of both.

quote:I do hope that with the refits they will make plans to add toilets to PE!!!!

Yep, same here!

quote:
As a side note, i asked Virgin when the UCS would be available on CPT/JBG routes and they advised ...

Well, it could be when the 343 gets it's makeover, or if JNB switches to a 744 like it did last (Northern) winter.

Mike

Great news for those of us travelling to South Africa. Sadly I guess none of them will be ready for when I go at end of October...

Or will they?

Is the present status to do the LGW planes first before these 343's?

Thanks,

David.

does anyone know if the A343 bar will be re-designed/re-positioned too?

quote:Originally posted by David_Doyle
Is the present status to do the LGW planes first before these 343's?

VS are using multiple contractors to do the interior refits. The Boeings are going to Dublin - so that deals with the Gatwick 744s, while the Airbus fleet are being done by EADS in Toulouse.

See this thread...
http://www.v-flyer.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1992

This means that as long as VS have enough aircraft to operate the service, they can have at least one aircraft of each type out for refit.

Mike

It will be interesting to see the layout of the A343 when the UCS is fitted, especially the location of the bar. Due to the position of the galley on the A343 it is not possible to locate the bar in a similar place to the A346 or B744.

As suggested above the JNB is likely to be operated by the B744 for the South African summer season. At the moment the plan for Cape Town is to operate twice a week on the A346 and once a week on the A343 so there is a good chance of getting the UCS.

The LGW B744s will get the UCS before the A343s. Refits of the A343s are due to commence in Summer 2005 although this may be brought forward.