VS007 - 16/09/04

I wonder if any of you could help me please.

I'm flying to LA on Thursday (first time on a 747 and first time with Virgin - I'm as excited as a five year old at Christmes) and wondered if any of you have an idea as to which aircraft might be taking us there.

I'm not as rich as some as you guys and will be flying economy with my wife, parents and 23 month old daughter.

We have seats 63a, 63c, 64a and 64c. Our young child has a lap seat.

Any tips on what to expect, levels of service etc would also be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance to anybody who replies.

[Nottingham Nick]

Bellsview,

Welcome to V-Flyer.

Despite what you may think, us economy flyers make up a large proportion of V-Flyers:D We don't all turn left on boarding;)

For security reasons, VS staffers no longer give us the heads up about which aircraft you will get. As it is a LHR 747, there is a reasonable chance of VPort IFE. (73% according to the cahnce page below)

What aspects of the flight would you like to know about?

If it is the aircraft, look here:-

http://www.v-flyer.com/chance.asp

Details of the IFE here:
http://www.v-flyer.com/entertainment.asp

You can do a search in the trip reports section of this forum using the term 'LAX' to get a lot of details of V-Flyer's past experiences.

If none of these help you, and you have specific queries, fire away and we will do our best.

Nick

Thanks for that Nottingham Nick.

I suppose my main aspect (fear/concern) about the flight is to do with my daughter, and how she will cope for 11 hours. My wife is worried sick about it.

For example, how will the stewardesses be towards her? Also, we've ordered a child meal for her but what happens if she doesn't like it? We've deliberately picked the seats we have in order to inconvenience as few passengers as possible, should my daughter become distressed in any way (although my father wanted to be on the right hand side of the aircraft for the view over Greenland - but he could not pre-book the rear seats on that side of the aircraft for some reason).

Also, I have studied seat plans etc (thanks to this site, which I have viewed with interest since we booked our flights) but I don't really have much idea as to how much room there is behind our seats. I'm interested to know this because if there is a little room (I notice that WC's are located behind us though) would the stewardesses allow my daughter to play in that area? By play, I don't mean anythng too hectic, merely sit down with her crayons and drawing books etc.

Another fear my wife has is one of settling my daughter down. If she does create do the stewardesses have anything which might calm her down in anyway? We are thinking of taking some sort of mild relaxant for her anyway (calpol usually does the trick). As this is something which can be bought over the counter of any chemist am I safe to assume carrying this will be ok? Not just on the plane but also when we enter the USA?

Sorry for so many questions.

And I will definitely be writing a trip report which I will post on here in order to let you know how we get on. Maybe some people with young children might find it useful.

I'm neither a parent nor a member of staff, but in my experience the flight attendents are very welcoming of children. Most of them probably have more expereince of flying with children than most parents.

I believe the general advice is that giving young children something that they can suck (a boiled sweet, a 'sucky' cup/bottle) on take-off and landing minimises the discomfort that comes from the pressure changes. I can't see that there would be any problem with you taking calpol in your hand luggage.

The seats you have have some extra space between the seats and the window, which will make it a bit easier for you to keep things handy. I'd have thought that taking some snacks that you know your daughter likes would be a useful precaution against her refusing her food, even if you have to throw them away before going through customs.

Staff members will probably be better placed to comment on whether playing behind the seats will be OK, but don't forget the V-tots channel on the IFE, which is aimed at pre-schoolers.

Hope you have a great trip.

A few answers based on observation and experience:

quote:For example, how will the stewardesses be towards her?

They will be great, I can pretty much guarantee that. But probably better to call them cabin crew as the males amongst them might take offence!:)

quote:Also, we've ordered a child meal for her but what happens if she doesn't like it?

Then you may have a problem (maybe take some food of your own), but ask the cabin crew nicely and explain the problem and they will hopefully do their best to help. There may well be an adult meal left over, for example.

quote:I'm interested to know this because if there is a little room (I notice that WC's are located behind us though) would the stewardesses allow my daughter to play in that area?

Unfortunately this may be difficult since (a) a queue forms in that area for the WC, and (b) for obvious reasons having a small child underfoot is not good news! Sorry to be brutal, but a lap seat is just what it says. However, you can always stretch your legs with her around the cabin, just be aware that causing any kind of obstruction is not going to be allowed.

quote:If she does create do the stewardesses have anything which might calm her down in anyway?

Nothing medicinal, but I'm sure they will quickly fetch a drink or anythng else you might need.

quote:am I safe to assume carrying this will be ok? Not just on the plane but also when we enter the USA?

I think that will be fine. Don't forget that the cabin crew will have had hundreds of kids of all ages to deal with, and they are pretty experienced in the sort of things that tend to come up.

BC

[Nottingham Nick]

Totally agree with Helen's comments.

There have been several discussions here about children flying, again it is worth doing a search in the forum. Many years ago[:I] when we were faced with the problem, we found that familiar toys / story books and a walkman work wonders;)

As Helen says, the VS staff are very good with children and calpol shouldn't be a problem, though I may be tempted to decant some from the glass bottle into a plastic one to prevent problems with over zealous security.

Don't concern yourself too much, don't forget - your daughter will have the captive attention of both parents and two grand parents for 12 hours and I hope you will be pleasantly surprised with how she adapts.

Best of luck, and let us know how you go on.

Nick

quote:Many years ago . . . . . calpol shouldn't be a problem, though I may be tempted to decant some from the glass bottle into a plastic one

You can get Calpol in hnady travel sachets these days

Since there is four of you travelling I would suggest getting to the airport early and try changin your seats to a bulkhead seat.

Try to Get Row 30defg, 40defg or I think 54defg, these seats are on the bulkhead and will give you plenty of space on the floor area in front of you for your child to sit and play.

Rows 61achk and 62achk give more room by the side of your seat for your kid to play, the fuselage narrows at row 63 and 64 so not much 'extra space'

So go for the bulkhead is my advise, LHR aircraft have very good space at the bulkheads.

Many thanks for your replies guys, they are very much appreciated.

Now, I wonder how I'm going to dispose of those in-flight dirty nappies!

quote:Originally posted by Bellsview
Many thanks for your replies guys, they are very much appreciated.

Now, I wonder how I'm going to dispose of those in-flight dirty nappies!

Take a handful of those anti-odour nappy sacks, wrap the stinky old one in the nappy sack, throw it in the regular waste bin in the toilet, and give it a push down in the bin so it doesn't float out again as a surprise to the next person!

This also keeps the lav smelling OK for the trip too. I found an open disposable nappy in the bin once - the parent hadn't folded it and taped it shut. Yuck!

As you've already guessed, aircraft lavs and nappies don't mix.

Cheers,
Mike

Or ask the crew for some white gash bags (crew talk) and dont try to flush them down the toilet cos they wont go!!!!!!

Bellsview,

Don't worry, your child will be fine. In my experience the children are normally better behaved than the adults!

Have a great flight and enjoy your holiday!

For security reasons, VS staffers no longer give us the heads up about which aircraft you will get.


When did this happen????