NEW A340-600 G-VWIN Lucky Lady: New Config & Seats

G-VWIN "Lucky Lady" will enter service on 26th Feb 2006.

There will be major changes to the cabin layout:

1)Galley 3(doors 3) economy galley will be removed and replaced with a cross aisle with self service water fountains.

2)Premium cabin will INCREASE from 28 to 38 seats. There will still be 2 dedicated Premium toilets. There will be a new designated crew member looking after premium only.

3)Economy cabin will DECREASE from 233 to 225 seats. The BRAND NEW ecomony style seats will be installed and seat pitch increased to 31 inches for all seats (a 2 inch increase for some seats)

3)Upper Class will have more stowage space with the removal of the right hand side galley at door R1, this will be replaced with a wardrobe.

All the other A340-600's will have the above changes done between May 2006 to Oct 2006.
Galley 3 will be loaded empty on all 600's from 14th Feb in preperation for the removal of this galley.

Exciting stuff!!

[HighFlyer]

Thank-you for the heads up, all sounds very good stuff to me!

As always vscss, thanks for the info. Will have to think about how this will affect things. The first thought though is 31", well at least its a move in the right direction, although it still leaves VS off the pace IMHO. I didn't realise that some seats were 29" - for an airline of VS's stature that is awful!!!

[preiffer]

Thanks vscss. [y]

Just one thing - aren't SOME seats 32" at the moment? (VS seat pitch charts indicate minimum 29", max 32"?) So that would mean some are decreasing..... [:?]

[fozzyo]

Ooh fantastic! As you say, all very exciting stuff. Sounds good - and the new seats and pitches will be very welcome I'm sure.

Really starting to sound like VS are investing in their mid and lower priced products now, new improved PE seats and more of them and the new FC bonus for Silver members.

Thanks for the input, as always its very welcome and appreciated.
Mat xxx

[mcmbenjamin]

Very good vscss. Sounds great!

Thumbs up from the back of the bus for VS!

These are real benefits for the pax like myself who cannot afford to get in U.C on a regular basis. [y] More P.E seats is also a big improvement for people who travel on short notice. For EC, a couple of inches can be percieved as next to nothing, however, I'm just glad VS are focusing on PE and EC for once in a while....

Will be interesting to read the first trip reports on the new seats!!


Thanks vscss....

A step in the right direction:D thank you for the heads up.[y]

Are the PE seats going to be replaced with the new ones???

BTW, I am astonished that Y seating pitch is 29" - that appalling for a major long haul carrier. No wonder so many people complain, although if I ever have to travel Y for any sort of distance it is never on VS anyway; there are alternatives.

[mitchja]

Thanks for the info vscss [y]

Regards

Wow! A lot of good news, but I like others are amazed that some of the VS seat pitches where as little as 29" (whether or not this does actually appears in any charts). So I believe the new style Econ seats are thinner that the old ones, so with the 'increase' in pitch and a thinner seat does that mean that VS econ seats are now a little bit easier to use for those over 6ft? I am tempted to book a ride on one just to see.

Paul

There's some really good news in that post, thanks for the info.

It's especially great to see that PE on the 'bus will finally be approaching the PE experience on the 744, with a dedicated FA and dedicted lavs.

It's the way it should have always been, in all honesty, but I'm glad that this has been sorted out now.

The end to the "seat lottery" in Y is good news as well. I seemed to get the impression that the seat pitch on the window seats on the 600 was tighter than the middle seats, along with the other inconsistencies depending on row and section.

The help-yourself water fountains sound like a good idea too.

Cheers,
Mike

Really good news - although like everyone else I am amazed that such modern a/c ever had seats with 29 inch pitch. The industry standard seems to be around 32.

Now all we need is a schedule of the upgrades and a new seat map.

Are there any plans to replace the Y seating in the 747's?

Phil

Originally posted by BuffyTVS65

Are there any plans to replace the Y seating in the 747's?

And tha A343's too?

great news on the A346's - would be nice to see similar roll outs to standardise VS product across the whole fleet.

VSCSS thanks for the news and it's great to hear from you with these updates.

I am most pleased about the PE news - new seats, dedicated bog and flight attendants ... that is fantastic news and really differentiates the service so well done Virgin. Of course, when this is done we'll want more, like the next step to introduce better food and drink?

Slinks

Thanks for that!:D

Dedicated toilets and FA for PE! Wow!:D

The only person I know who has seen the new PE seats is my Dad who saw them whilst walking back through the cabin on an "inflight-stroll." Unfortunately, however, I don' think he paid much attention so there wasn't much info to give[:#]

Cheers,
VS045

Thanks for the info.
Nice to see that VS are making a start to improve both PE and Econ.
If only VS would relocate the IFE boxes then we could all benefit from the extra 2".

Great news, I'd still like to see pictures though! I wish the EC pitch was maybe one or two inches more, however I'm more concerned with the legroom situation. I like the water fountain idea, as long as the water is cold and tastes okay then I will definitely use it, as I tend to get quite dehydrated during my flights.

Thanks for the heads up on these exciting new changes. I can't wait to see some pictures now!

Just to fill you in on more details:

1)Water Fountains:
The "water fountain" will be like a tap with cold water from the water tanks. there will be cups for you to help yourself and a bin for rubbish.

2)New Seating:
The BRAND NEW economy seats are much better. They are on display in our crew room @ LHR.
They have a lumbard inflatable support for your back, and one for your bottom!! That you control to suit yourself, the seat is more padded and thick and has adjustable headrest.

Im not sure when the BRAND NEW premium seats will be fitted, but they are AMAZING!!
Purple leather same as UCS alot bigger than the seats just now and have all of the above that the economy seats have.
You will all love them, they are as good as a business class seat in size and comfort.
Don't wanna give too much away in case our competition read this!!
But trust me you will not be dissapointed!

3)New Service and Food:
We are having a major shake up to our inflight service in all cabins, but especially ecomony and premium. This is called "Magic Service"
New food is being sorted too, especially in J class as they realise the standard has dropped. Look out for the new menu "Best Of British" coming soon!

IF any one has any ideas regarding the service let me know, they are asking us for input, so now is your chance!!

Originally posted by vscss
Just to fill you in on more details:
IF any one has any ideas regarding the service let me know, they are asking us for input, so now is your chance!!

WOW!

How many posts are there here ... however to add to them some thoughts from me.

- generally I don't find the current PE food quality or quantity bad
- would definitely like to see better presentation in PE, the tin foil covers are very cheesy and a better tray with plates etc. would be good
- never understand the cheesy plastic thing, a) its horrid b) it's to small to enjoy - why not can it and use the pence to add to the other ingredients
- howabout soup or salad - and a real salad not 6 lettuce leaves and a piece of tomato
- bigger glasses for wine, the current ones are like thimbles ... oh and the little bottle back
- I know some like that chocolate sugar monstrosity but a healthy option would be good, a simple bowl of melon or other fruit

As for UC its simply about the quality of the options (oh and knives and forks made out of metal). Improve these both in terms of the choice and the inherent quality and that's my only real issue with UC solved! Oh and please take the cheese out before serving it, it's just to cold to enjoy (and add to the choice!). I'd also like to see more healthy choices like simple presentation of fish, low carb. meals and the like - then washed down with some nice LP to ruin the effect [:o)]


Does Virgin have a customer food panel ... can we sign up!

[preiffer]

Water cooler discussion has now been split off into it's own thread, here

IF any one has any ideas regarding the service let me know, they are asking us for input, so now is your chance!!

Some/more light bite selections on the J menu would be great and (my pet hate) loose the ginger scones (plain or fruit will be wonderful) and loose the cheapo containers of cream

Hello all

I'm very happy about all of the improvements noted in this thread.

I can't think of anything to add except that I hope the water coolers in economy are an enhancement and do not mean that there will be fewer FA's. I would hate Virgin to go completely self-service in economy. [V]

Love the sound of those seats - hope I get to try them out when I travel in May.

TTFN

Paul

I agree with slinky09 on the metal knives and forks in J. VS surely must bring them back soon?

For Y class, I'd like to see minature spirit bottles re-appear (as opposed to it being poured from a standard sized bottle). This speeds up the service no-end, and is great if you want to pretend to be a giant