LGW 747-400s

Hello,

I'm going to be flying MCO-LGW on 12/12/04 which is quite some time away and have booked for VS16 and then return on 1/05/04 on VS28 I believe. Can I expect V:Port for my IFE...as far as I know, Nova is the current IFE on the LGW 747s and they're not as good as V:Port or Odyssey. Thanks.

Correction, return is VS27.

It depends on how quickly the Upper Class Suite is rolled out on the LGW fleet.

At present all LGW based B744s have Nova entertainment. This will be changed to v:port when the UCS is fitted.

It is anticipated that 2 LGW aircraft will be done before the end of the year although there are no guarantees.

Best to check again a bit nearer the time.

Any idea which registrations those may be that will be the first to be fitted with v:port at LGW? And is Nova just not a good IFE system...I've seen V:Port, I've experienced BA's IFE which is fairly good...but I haven't experienced Nova or Odyssey? Chances are, I'll be on something with either Nova or V:Port by the time I travel. Right now I believe VS has 4 flights out of Orlando, which looks like a Virgin mini-hub in the summertime. But in December, it should be back to 2 flights.

Sorry! No idea at the moment which order the LGW fleet will be fitted with v:port.

There is lots of information on this site about the different IFE systems.

In brief, Nova is the most basic and v:port is the most advanced with Arcadia and Odyssey in between.

As soon as more information becomes available about the refits, I'll let you know.

I just flew on a Gatwick airplane from LHR to BOS (long story + four hour delay ::: what it comes down to is that there was a major airplane change and we were placed on this plane). It is definitly different than a LHR plane and is somewhat "retro." This means that the entertainment system was dated. This however does not mean that there is not a new selection of movies...In fact, the movie selection was better on this plane than it was on the LHR 747 on the way over. I believe that the system was NOVA and I have a feeling that they will do the UCS outfit last on the Gatwick planes. I hope that this helps...

OWEN

Wow...if Arcadia is ahead of Nova, that can't be too good. I know that the Arcadia system has a small screen size...I'm hoping Nova is at least a little larger, otherwise it could be snoresville for me in December.

It seems that LGW is a second Class airport and also the routes that VS flies to are the non-important non trunk routes. I never travelled to LGW before so can't comment on that but from the pictures I saw about that so called CLUB Orlando, it really puts people off travelling in J Class

In the past between Orlando and London I've used BA, which uses the LGW 777s...and those in itself aren't as good as the LHR based 777s. Last year when I travelled...NONE of the IFE systems on board the 777 were working...how sad is that. Trip was a major disappointment...I hope Virgin can reverse that trend.

quote:Originally posted by vssyd123
It seems that LGW is a second Class airport

I fly LGW a lot;
its not a second class airport at all
Its easy to get to, is less busy than LHR I really prefer it..
CLUB orlamdo operates from Manchester only

The only things you dont get from LGW are:
Revivals lounge
In Flight bar
IFB

They are all UC products so doesnt effect Y/W classes
The latter two will be added after the refit of the 747

as for the IFE system NOVA is OK the worst of all the VS IFE's but still better than many other airlines IMO

How is screen size...is it bigger than Arcadia? From what I've seen, Arcadia is very small.

i'm really bad at perception of sizes but will make a point of checking on my flight later today!

I think its about 4-5" sq though..

quote:Originally posted by Jonathan
i'm really bad at perception of sizes but will make a point of checking on my flight later today!

I think its about 4-5" sq though..

I had the LGW 744s a few times on the LHR-BOS route last year. I agree that if you are in Y or W it is not a big deal (although I would not be happy if I had a J ticket). As for the IFE, the screen is definitely far larger than Arcadia's (I think it's even larger than Odysseys), but there are fewer channels (I think there is only one or two TV channels) and no games at all.

Well it supposedly has only 8 channels, which isn't too many by todays standards. We'll have to see what happens...my trip isn't until December 12th on VS16 (most likely), and on the way back VS27 (most likely), so I may get a V:Port!

quote:Originally posted by stylo4444
How is screen size...is it bigger than Arcadia? From what I've seen, Arcadia is very small.

I was on the VS28 today

the economy screen was 4"
The UC screen was a bit bigger maybe 5"
Fairly good screen size

8 chanels isnt as good as V:port etc but as long as there a few good movies 8hrs goes fairly quick.

United only offer 6 movies ie:

50 First Dates S/P
The Big Bounce F
Envy F/D
Hidalgo S/P
Laws of Attraction F/D
Road to Perdition F/D

BA

has 12 video channels but the website doesnt list the choices

8 channels isnt that bad at all and thats the least of the VS IFE's

[HighFlyer]

I think we have to wait and see with the LGW situation.[V] Once its underway we will get a much better idea

I am flying to BGI on 3rd Sept so i can let you know the situation as i saw it on my return. There will always be the chance of being on a LHR plane while the LGW planes are out being refitted dont forget.

By December i hope that there will be more planes than less refitted, they should hopefully all be done but its down to the schedule and any unforseen delays.

Keep your fingers crossed anyway

What registration was VS28 for today? I know that one of the flights out of Orlando was G-VXLG which is Ruby Tuesday which should have the Odyssey system. 4" for a screen size isn't too bad at all...but I believe Odyssey is bigger. Not sure though.

The VS49/50 on Saturday 17 July was operated by an LHR 400 - GVXLG.

I believe this was a last-minute aircraft change.

GVXLG has the Odyssey IFE and the screens are roughly the same size in economy as the Nova system.

The Nova system has no computer games however it is a very reliable system with very few (if any) inop screens per flight.[8D] The VPort entertainment is a fantastic system however it is not without its problems as it can be very hit-and-miss as to whether it works or not (though it usually does after a few resets)

You have to remember that there are still some long-haul airlines in the world that have no individual PTV's so surely having any TV screen of your own (no matter how many channels/screen size etc) is preferable to having nothing. Just my thoughts

You're right...there are quite a few airlines out there that still don't have IFE PTVs. I travelled on a British Airways Boeing 777 out of Orlando early last year and NONE of the PTVs in World Traveller Class were working...it was honestly a big disappointment. It was also one of the older 777s, reg. was G-VIIP and the screens were not very big at all...maybe Arcadia size.

The latest information suggests that G-VROS will be the first LGW B744 to have a cabin refit in September. It is possible that all five aircraft could be completed before the end of this year.

Having just flown back from Orlando and watched a couple of movies, I can confirm that the Nova screen size is bigger than Arcadia and slightly smaller than Odyssey. It certainly big enough to watch at such close proximity.

having just flew back monday morning on the VS28 I can also state the screen size is very good
I'm not really a games person although seat to seat games would be fun!
Nova needs more than eight choices esp if you fly out of LGW often!!

Well I'll have to wait and see what happens in December...I'm looking forward to it though. Hopefully the VS 747s will give me a more enjoyable service than the older BA 777s did.