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sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 03 Oct 2015, 17:54
by stinky minky
sorry for all these questions. I'm trying to justify booking uc , which will probably sound crazy to some!

If you fly return from man to las vegas and fly upperclass, you miss out on the club house in man and vegas.

so would you if you have never done it before and doubt you will again fly with out the club house experience?

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 03 Oct 2015, 18:05
by Penny_L
to Vegas, I fly from Heathrow to SFO, then a short hop with Virgin America to LAS

So LHR clubhouse outward and SFO clubhouse on return...

Do you have to fly from Man?

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 03 Oct 2015, 18:19
by Maximus
Don't apologise, that is what the forum is for. We want you to post :)

Well, for me the flight is the importnat part and I would not want to fly to LAS in Economy. I am spoilt now though :-P

The lounges are nice to haves. If they are very nice, like the LHR Clubhouse or BA First, I will actually go to the airport early and make the most of what they have to offer. The LAS lounge is mediocre at best and I shall therefore only go to the airport 90 mins pre-departure. I may not even use the lounge and just duty-free shop and then board.

I would still fly UC though. Why spend 10 hours in a cramped seat because you have missed out on a lounge? And you do still get lounge access of course, just not the Virgin Clubhouse.

If you can get seats, you can afford it, and you want it, go for it. As I say time and time again: Life is for living, this is NOT a dress rehearsal, there are no pockets in shrouds.

Of course if you have a significant other, discuss it with them before booking ;-)

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 03 Oct 2015, 18:21
by Eggtastico
If you're desperate to experience the lounge.
Fly out from Heathrow & back to Manchester.

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 03 Oct 2015, 18:30
by stinky minky
this is my dilemma I am using my flying miles. the only seats from man to mcc are upper and lon to mcc are ec. no seats to sfo or lax. I am trying to book 4 seats in august next year. kids dont deserve it as they are 13 and 10

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 03 Oct 2015, 18:31
by stinky minky
Penny_L wrote:to Vegas, I fly from Heathrow to SFO, then a short hop with Virgin America to LAS

So LHR clubhouse outward and SFO clubhouse on return...

Do you have to fly from Man?


no but live up north!!

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 03 Oct 2015, 19:16
by Blacky1
stinky minky wrote:
Penny_L wrote:to Vegas, I fly from Heathrow to SFO, then a short hop with Virgin America to LAS

So LHR clubhouse outward and SFO clubhouse on return...

Do you have to fly from Man?


no but live up north!!

Start your holiday a day earlier by coming to London , a nice evening in the Sofitel at T5 and a great LHR CH experience

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 03 Oct 2015, 19:21
by Penny_L
stinky minky wrote:
Penny_L wrote:to Vegas, I fly from Heathrow to SFO, then a short hop with Virgin America to LAS

So LHR clubhouse outward and SFO clubhouse on return...

Do you have to fly from Man?


no but live up north!!


so do I :D

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 03 Oct 2015, 21:34
by stinky minky
its a great place x

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 04 Oct 2015, 02:02
by mikethe3rd
I'm actually going to disagree with quite a few posters and my upcoming comment will probably get me banned from VFlyer...

As far as airport lounges go, the CH is superb, however it is still just an airport lounge. I personally find the LHR CH is the best airport lounge in the world. That said, I could list many many bars I would prefer to spend my time in.

I choose to fly UC for the very comfortable seat, superb service and on board bar.

If this was going to be your first and only UC experience then go for the CH at LHR but I think you might find yourself hooked to UC and will always find some way of flying it in the future.

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 04 Oct 2015, 12:03
by Maximus
I agree entirely Mike. We do need to put things in to perspective. The Virgin CH is fantastic, but it is still, at the end of the day, a lounge. The best I admit, but a lounge none-the-less. The flight is more important, and the holiday more important still.

Lots of alternatives offered above. Flying from London is a possibility but you would need to depart from LGW I believe for a direct LAS flight from the capital. So again no LHR Clubhouse (though the LGW one is good too I hear). Reward flights to SFO are possible but 4 on one flight? Difficult I'd say. Staying at the Sofitel Heathrow? Lovely, but not cheap for a family of four.

In your shoes stinky minky I think I would take the UC seats from MAN-LAS and make the very most of what will be a wonderful experience, even without the LHR Clubhouse. And never say never, you may have opportunities in the future to try Upper Class flights with Virgin (other airlines are available!).

Let us know what you decide.

Edit: and if you decide, book soon, they will not stay available for long i expect!

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 04 Oct 2015, 20:03
by stinky minky
ok just found out that I am totally wrong with what I was thinking. I thought I could use my pe ugrade then upgrade in miles to uc. but apparently I can't:(
so back to the drawing board .
I still have enough miles to fly uc but that will use up all my miles. and I will waste my free upgrades.

ho hum

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 05 Oct 2015, 09:13
by Eggtastico
you can split your PE vouchers one way.
So if you have 2x PE vouchers, 4 could fly PE one way & then you could fly UC the other.

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 05 Oct 2015, 12:08
by stinky minky
Eggtastico wrote:you can split your PE vouchers one way.
So if you have 2x PE vouchers, 4 could fly PE one way & then you could fly UC the other.


thats what I thought too...... but i still can't get the flights to work for me at the moment.

I try
man to vegas uc only
vegas to man uc only
man to altlanta then delta to vegas then vegas to man works out the same price as paying uc round trip
london to vegas only ec
vegas to london only ec
man and london to la no reward flights
man and london to sfo no reward flights

I feel I need to use the rewards as I have paid £140 for the amex card!!!

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 05 Oct 2015, 12:49
by cks9865
Off to Hong Kong on a red eye in November in uc and all the wife cares about is being able to lay down in an airplane !!! Everyone wants something different so go with your gut instincts

Re: sorry more questions - flying uc and no dedicated lounge

PostPosted: 06 Oct 2015, 08:48
by Eggtastico
stinky minky wrote:
Eggtastico wrote:you can split your PE vouchers one way.
So if you have 2x PE vouchers, 4 could fly PE one way & then you could fly UC the other.


thats what I thought too...... but i still can't get the flights to work for me at the moment.

I try
man to vegas uc only
vegas to man uc only
man to altlanta then delta to vegas then vegas to man works out the same price as paying uc round trip
london to vegas only ec
vegas to london only ec
man and london to la no reward flights
man and london to sfo no reward flights

I feel I need to use the rewards as I have paid £140 for the amex card!!!


all you can do is keep checking. Also if your dates are flexible try to make sure it does not cross with a big event like boxing, etc.
At the end of the day, Virgin would rather sell the seats for cash than to give them out as rewards.

You need PE reward seats available to use the PE vouchers.
Phone up Virgin & tell them you want to use your PE voucher, as it cant be done online.