V-Flyer

Anybody know why VS 91 Lhr - Mco is still on the ground, looking at flight radar it touched down and did a go around?

G-VGBR was supposed to leave MCO as VS76 that Saturday evening. The flight was cancelled.
I wonder where all the passengers went?

I was looking because we are booked on VS76 next Saturday. I too noticed the touch and go on playback on FR24.

G-VGBR is still on the ground at Mco after landing on Saturday, no information what is wrong?

Apparently 2 of VS A330's Golden Girl and Uptown Girl are off to Thai Airways

G-VGBR is currently positioning MCO-ATL as VS807P. As ATL is Delta’s main hub it will likely get maintenance done there as opposed to MCO.

After 2 weeks sat at MCO, she flew to ATL today at 250kts and not above 8000ft.
Anyone know what the fault is?

Staying below / at 8000ft - pressurisation issue? As the cabin normally pressurises at about 8000ft.

So VS get an aircraft back from maintenance and then loose another. I see FAN is back in service after 5 months without engines, but DIA is still out of service following her wing clip at LHR

VS could do with those back…..

We should have been on that vs76 flight, ended up being shipped out to Atlanta the next morning with a 9.5 hr layover in the lounge. Rumour from a friend of mine being a hydraulic issue which meant landing without flaps….seems serious if she’s sat there 2 weeks!

To add to all this (and sounding like a broken record now!), G-VRAY spent 48hrs on the ground at St Lucia Fri-Sun and VS221 is cancelled again today. Seems to me there’s next to no resilience in the fleet at the moment.

Indeed VS seem to be having issues with some of their fleet recently.

The B789 (G-VDIA) that clipped the BA A350 at the beginning of April on the ground at LHR T3 is still out of service (as is the BA A350). As least G-VFAN is now finally back in service after being grounded since Dec last year.

I flew on G-VTOM last month with a none-functional APU in both directions.

There’s another A350 + A339 due for delivery pretty soon which should give VS a little more wiggle room.

More A333 issues today with the VS157 to BOS delayed 2 hours and the VS11 cancelled completely.

Just back from MCO into MAN on VS76 this morning on A330 Lady Love - thankfully on time.
She was looking a bit shabby though. Whilst queuing to take off there was a strange clanking noise coming from underneath, don’t know if it was brakes or undercarriage and on landing the central overhead bins in PE were screeching as if they were coming loose. I could tell that Mrs M was panicking by the nail marks on my arm !!!

Mrs Buns and I flew out to MCO on May 7

At 3am, received a message from VS stating flight would be delayed by 90 minutes

Whilst it provided some additional time in the Clubhouse, it was a bit niggling.

We were on G-VINE (Champagne Belle) it too was in a sorry state with liberal use of gaffer tape throughout and a number of non working IFE screens in a full PE Cabin.

Fortunately, an excellent FSM and crew did their best to make it an enjoyable flight, both for Mrs B and myself and family members travelling in PE

Buns

Are there any A333s in a good state now?

buns wrote:We were on G-VINE (Champagne Belle) it too was in a sorry state with liberal use of gaffer tape throughout and a number of non working IFE screens in a full PE Cabin.

Similar story with IFE on G-VLUV which generated a complaint to the FSM from the US passenger across the isle from me, she was really laying it on - I’ll elaborate when I get round to the TR.

buns wrote:Mrs Buns and I flew out to MCO on May 7

At 3am, received a message from VS stating flight would be delayed by 90 minutes

Whilst it provided some additional time in the Clubhouse, it was a bit niggling.

We were on G-VINE (Champagne Belle) it too was in a sorry state with liberal use of gaffer tape throughout and a number of non working IFE screens in a full PE Cabin.

Fortunately, an excellent FSM and crew did their best to make it an enjoyable flight, both for Mrs B and myself and family members travelling in PE

Buns

We flew back to MAN on KSS (Mademoiselle Rouge), with No IFE at all throughout all cabins, but to get rid of the home screen, power had to be cut to the seats, resulting in the FSM in upper getting a real workout manually turning seats into beds. (Not an easy job with the tools provided) and obviously back to seats later. Really did feel sorry for him.

We were told that the fault was not an easy fix, and rather that delay the flight by up to 8 hours, the plane came back on time with no IFE.

I did notice that the plane went out to JFK later in the day after arriving in MAN. Wonder if the fault had been fixed.

Just heard an announcement in the Clubhouse that today’s VS21 flight to IAD has just been cancelled.

Onboard G-VGEM in 8A and she looks in good condition. Everything appears to be working and the seat looks in good shape.

747G-VXLG wrote:Are there any A333s in a good state now?

With their withdrawal from the VS fleet looming over the next two/three years, it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s some neglect of their condition, particularly the interiors. It shouldn’t be an excuse though.

I’m supposed to be flying on one tomorrow evening, so will report back some time over the next week in my TR.

The A333 Upper Class cabin is actually newer than what's on the B789’s as if you remember VS ripped out the original A333 ‘dream suite’ 5 or 6 (?) years ago now (the seat photo that’s also still one of the V:Flyer forum header pics lol).

The Premium and Economy cabins are original though. The A333 actually has the best Premium seat IMHo and it’s the first generation of the current type which has got thinner and smaller with every new A/C launch.

Yes, that thought crossed my mind, so by rights the Upper cabin should be in better condition than the other cabins. I do recall the PE cabin on G-VUFO looking tatty two years ago.

Agreed about the PE seat. It’s one reason why I’m reluctant to book PE now as it’s becoming less distinguished from Y and gradually offering less value to justify the price uplift compared to Economy Delight.

G-VGBR is scheduled to leave ATL in around an hour and position back to LHR. Due in around 8:20am. It’s unclear whether she will immediately return to service or undergo more maintenance at LHR.

VS075 wrote:With their withdrawal from the VS fleet looming over the next two/three years, it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s some neglect of their condition, particularly the interiors. It shouldn’t be an excuse though.

I’m supposed to be flying on one tomorrow evening, so will report back some time over the next week in my TR.

They're not leaving the fleet in totality until 2028. The issue VS are having is two fold:

Firstly their operation is now demanding a lot more of the fleet than pre-covid - this is leading to additional wear and tear and they're having parts issues due to supply chain issues.

Secondly, the 789s are due engine overhauls and RR are having supply chain issues - you only need to see the mess at Air NZ over their 789s to see some of the issues.

What is really disappointing is however the fact the NEOs are already showing such signs of wear and tear - every one I have been on has had 'Sorry! I'm broken' stickers everywhere. The 350s ain't much better.

G-VGBR has returned to service today on the VS197 LHR-BGI-SVD.