I'm new and need advice please

[Neil]

Hi,

I'm very new here and love reading these fourms and thought maybe i should try and contribute too, me and the other half are flying to New York on 16th March and currently have Economy seats, but im seriously considering upgrading to PE, 3 questions i have if someone would be so kind to help me:
1) is it worth it?
2) if i can only afford to upgrade 1 way, should it be outbound (VS045) or inbound (VS046)?
3)will i get a discount as a flying club member on my upgrade?

thanks in advance
Neil:)

Morning Neil and welcome to the forum.

I can only speak personally - but yes, it's worth upgrading, a much more comfortable experience.

The outbound/inbound question - I often think it's better to upgrade outbound, as then you're likely to be awake and enjoy the differences - but ont he other hand, upgarding on the way back dioes mean you have a smidgeon more room to try and get into a position for sleeping.

Point 3 - I don't think you get a discount for being a FC member - unless I've missed something vital here, but I'm sure others more experienced than I will be able to give you a definitive answer on that one.

And there are also those here with much more wisdom to advise on the best way to upgrade.... good luck.

[HighFlyer]

Hi Neil

Welcome to the forum!

1) The worth of Premium Economy can only be measured by ones self (and what your measuring it against) I thin its well worth it, others less so. There have been a lot of threads about this, see here and here for two such cases. If you use the search thread at tht top of the page you will probably find a shed load more. At the end of the day, i think you need to weigh up the extra cost quoted to you versus the extra benefits and see if you think its worth the spend .. or just go ahead and try it

2) Personally, i think the way home is the better leg for upgrading as you can really use the extra space and comfort for sleeping, but others prefer to start their trip in style. Its all down to personal preference, although going to and from New York is a very short flight.

3) No, you wont get a discount on the cost of upgrading, though you will be able to earn miles on your flight which you can put towards that next upgrade.

I hope the above helps? If you have not done so yet, chec out our fab FAQ which covers a lot of the common questions from people new to the forum

Hope this helps?

Thanks,
Sarah

Hi Neil,

No discount is available to F.C members on upgrades unfortunately. One price for members and non-members. [}:)]

I would upgrade if it were myself, I am not bothered by which leg personally. However the flight is longer from UK-US, and you are naturally awake for longer on this sector so it may be worth considering the outbound if it's your first experience. [y]

There are good pro's and con's for taking an upgrade on either sector, see if you afford both!!!!!! [:?]

Come on Neil - take out that loan and just go PE both ways!! Then you dont have to worry about whether its better on the outbound or inbound!!!

I personally think its well worth the money - you have less worries at check in regarding where you are going to sit because you know you will be in a bigger than normal seat and its just nice to use the separate check in!!!

Have fun whatever you decide!!

[Neil]

wow - i only went away for 10mins and responses already - cheers! Just one other question if i may - am i likely to get sat next to the other half in PE, as looking on the seating plans there aint too many PE seats and she is a nervous flyer so would be a total nightmare if we were sat apart (even over the aisle isn't good enough!)? or am i just been too picky now

[Decker]

Airlines always TRY and sit family members next to each other - it's veyr unusual to be split.

Hi Neil
Can I ask which class your current seat is booked in as this may have some bearing on the ability to upgrade your seat. Is it booked in N (one of the January Sale fares) as these tend to be very restrictive with regards to upgrades? As said previously no discounts for FC members unfortunately.

[Neil]

Hi - thanks for all ur help - i have just got off the phone from Virgin about this, what i forgot to mention is that my flight is booked as part of a package through Virgin Holidays, they have just quoted me £225 per person per way, but i get a 10% discount (like i did with my holiday on this) so cost would only be £405 - does this sound good?

think im just going to book outbound, reasons! good start to holiday, awake for whole flight to enjoy benefits, 1st of plane at JKF (is that right?)comments anyone?

thanks again
Neil

[HighFlyer]

am i likely to get sat next to the other half in PE, as looking on the seating plans there aint too many PE seats and she is a nervous flyer so would be a total nightmare if we were sat apart (even over the aisle isn't good enough!)? or am i just been too picky now

As Decker says, its very unlikely you would be spilt up. Seats on PE are either in twos or threes, and if you get to check-in reasonably early then you'll certainly have no trouble.

Ive flown PE many times and never not sat with my travelling companion.

Originally posted by Attitude23
...so cost would only be £405 - does this sound good?

think im just going to book outbound, reasons! good start to holiday, awake for whole flight to enjoy benefits, 1st of plane at JKF (is that right?)comments anyone?

Think that sounds very good. I agree that PE is best experienced on the way out when you are able to enjoy it.

Enjoy your trip

Phil

Phil

[HighFlyer]

Book it!!! You know you want to!!

Its certainly a chaeper option to just book one way, get a feel for PE and then think about going both ways on another flight if you enjoy it, although i think im pretty confident in thinking that you wont regret spending the money.

Let us know what you decide

£405 is an absolute bargain!!! VH upgrade fees are very reasonable as this proves!!

Grab the bull by the horns! You will love the experience!! [y]:D[y]

[Neil]

I am going to book it - Virgin holidays are meant to be calling me back at 12pm today (i would call them but i queued for over an hour twice yesterday and never got through - so they said they would call me)- im really excited about it now - going to keep it a surprise from other half until say we go! just one last tiny point - shud i check in online to get good seats or just get to the airport early? i think most ppl will of already pre-booked there seats on the net and am worried about sitting together, advise?

and thanks every1 for all ur advise so far, i like it here

[preiffer]

Hi Attitude -

Are you upgrading the 16th (outbound?) or the inbound (what date?) or both?


At the moment, the 45 on the 16th has the following seats available: 19: D, G, H

All others are assigned, excluding exit/blukhead seats (row 18) which can only be allocated on the day. These are middle seats, 3 together - but all window groups have been taken...

If your using VH upgrade prices I would be inclined to book both ways, its a bargain at the moment, some PE seat only flights are over £1000 without the rest of a holiday attached and you get good miles back.

Go on go on go on.[y]

[Neil]

yes its the 45 on the 16th, VH said there are 5 seats in PE available - if the seats are pre-booked does that mean they are garaunteed or if/when i check in either online or at the airport can i maybe get a 2 with a window seat? im not overlly bothered about a window seat just prefer a 2!

[preiffer]

Unless someone cancels or changes their booking (or VS do, but it is EXTREMELY rare that they'll do this on a customer's request) those seats are locked for them at this point.

Your only real option of getting one of the two sets is row 18 - the exit row, and this can only be assigned at check-in I'm afraid.

[Neil]

hi again - sorry for all this - so if im 1st at the airport will i be likely to get the row 18? or are these kept for anybody inparticular? i dont mind being early just dont wanna get there and then find that im not allowed those seats! or again am i being too picky and are the middle seats ok anyway?

like i said sorry for being a pain
Neil

Best thing would be to either turn up early or to check in online (ISTR you can online check into exit seats but ISTBC) within 24 hours of the flight. You will need your VS booking reference which is different to the VH reference.

IMHO though, there's little wrong with the middle seats. After all clouds all look alike after a while, and the person next to you may turn out to be a life long friend.

If your partner has very serious fear of flying it may be worth talking to special assistance at VS - the number is on their website - so that all concerned are aware of the issue. However, be careful not to upset your partner by making too much of the issue (she maybe embarassed at the crew on the plane knowing!).

[Neil]

""Best thing would be to either turn up early or to check in online (ISTR you can online check into exit seats but ISTBC) within 24 hours of the flight. You will need your VS booking reference which is different to the VH reference"

Just to add my tuppence - I was in similar position when booking to NYC for June.
I wanted to try the PE experience & although my prefernce was for the return flight (VS46), the other bit of advice I got from someone that Ive not seen mentioned in this post and I cant find my original post to post a link) was more or less:
If you fly PE out, remember you have to come back in the smaller Economy seat... Whilst you`ll be awake for the experience outbound, unless you can normally sleep on planes, then you might be awake for the return flight because your not as comfy...

On a personal note, if the wife hadnt been in the room when I made the booking, I might have been more inclined to go with the PE outbound for the "surprise" factor. We are connecting from GLA, so missing the dedicated PE checkin at LHR, it would have been a complete surprise to her as she wouldnt have known until we got on the plane[8D].
You`ll know your wife/partner better than anyone & if your looking for the added surprise [:0], go with whatever you think will please her the most. Upgrading on way & her not knowing until at airport will be a nice surprise whichever way you do decided to do it...

[HighFlyer]

I cant find my original post to post a link

Just as a side for anyone else with this issue, if you go to your profile (click on your user name on 'active users' at the bottom of the page) you can click a the link to open all posts (non-archived) by yourself (link loctaed under your name and other deatils), so you should be able to find your post from there.

Thanks,
Sarah

[preiffer]

Originally posted by Attitude23

Sorry but being new here - wot does ISTR & ISTBC mean? - and do i contact VS directly to get my booking ref coz all i have is my VH booking number at the moment?

No probs Neil,

ISTR = I seem to recall
ISTBC = I stand to be corrected
IIRC = If I recall correctly