Virgin Atlantic » B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 » User reviews

anthony37 flew Virgin Atlantic Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (14/05/2012 21:19)

Flew with Virgin Atlantic to Orlando MCO on a 2 week vacation on this 747-400, from the moment you check in for this flight you know that there are 400+ people onboard because the check in area is chaos even though Virgin allow you to drop off baggage the night before boarding.

The seats that I originally chose for my family party of 5 were changed 24 hrs before departure and we were plonked next to the toilets which is where I didn`t want to be, credit to Virgin for changing them back after I ranted at them, but I should have needed to do this.

Seats in economy are 31" pitch upholstered fabric seats which believe me you will be looking forward to seeing the back of on a 8hr flight because anyone over 6ft will struggle bigtime! You do feel when you glance around the airplane that Virgin could have taken out 2 rows of seats and increased legroom to at least 33" because on the lower deck their are 390+ people crammed in like sardines.

I refuse to pay almost double the price of a ticket for Virgin Premium Economy with this airline because it simply is daylight robbery for a 38" seat pitch.

My flight home was delayed for 4hrs because a technical fault but Virgin still insisted that you check in at Orlando at the normal time and then wait around in a the Airport Terminal for 5 hrs like a nomad!?! they should have e-mailed or rang passengers and informed them of the delay before they got to airport and allowed them to check in later.

The inflight service was average, I think they served drinks twice and if you wanted another you had to pester the cabin crew who generally looked put out by the request. Wouldn`t use again unless

eudes@972 flew Virgin Atlantic Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (21/04/2012 23:43)

Our trip : Paris (CDG) to Manchester : Air France flight Operated by Flybe the connection to Orlando (MCO) with Virgin Atlantics

In this short summary I will only cover my flight from Manchester to Orlando.

Coming from Paris CDG and landing at Terminal3 I used the transfer shuttle from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1. Shuttle is running every 10mn until 1:30PM and then On-Demand. Shuttle took me from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2 where I had to go through security Check.

I was welcomed by a Virgin Atlantic assistant who checked my passport / e-tickets / and registered manually (!!) my luggages to have them properly loaded on VS73 flight.

I had a 2h30 stop in Manchester before boarding on Virgin Atlantics flight. This is enough time to commute form T3 to T1 and have lunch or visit the large duty free shops available.

Boarding was yet started when I arrived at gate 212 at 12h40 (boarding was due to start at 12h45). So we got onboard within 5mn.
Plane took off on time.

Onboard :
Plane is old fashion 747-400. Probably former Alitalia airplane because all information were Italian/English.
Entertainment on board was really poor compared to up to date airplanes : no VOD / no game and small screens.

Up to date movies but without any foreign languages subtitles (only English fluent speakers are flying Virgin Atlantic?).

Steward(ess) were helpfull and ready to answer every traveller requests. Flight was half full (in Economy) so we had the chance to use empty rows to find room to sleep or quieter room to sleep.

We have been served some cocktail / beer / wine as "aperitif".
Then a meal came (menu was offering a choice of 3 main courses all available) with some more wine or beer. Separate Dessert (Mousse au Chocolat with salted butter fudge at the bottom = delicious!) was served just before cofee or tea.

A small ice cream stick has been served as a Movie Snack (too cold so tasteless). Then Coffee/tea were served later in the afternoon

2 hours before landing a small snack was served with Tea/Cofee
Plane landed 20mn before schedule.

The good and the bad :

The Good :
- Online check-in is really easy
- No extra charge to travel with your favourite sports idems (windsurf / Waterski / etc.) in addition to your 23Kg piece of luggage
- Food onboard was ok
- blanket and socks were given so you could take off your shoes during the flight
- Service onboard delivered by flight assistants
- Punctuality

The Bad :
- Onboard entertainment
- Just one piece of handbag with less than 6Kg is really far from the 10Kg + laptop bag given on regular International Airlines.

Morrs101 flew Virgin Atlantic Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (12/01/2012 16:08)

Flight VS029 from Gatwick to Barbados, Tuesday December 27, economy class.

CHECK-IN I arrived at Gatwick South Terminal’s new exchange area, lit up in blue, with my party of 9 at 0800. We had booked through Hayes and Jarvis and all attempts to check-in online up to and including Boxing Day were met by error messages (we later heard that a similar thing was happening to another family we met who had also booked through an external company).

This meant that we had to queue to check in and drop our bags however there was not much of a queue so this did not seem too bad. The queue was slow and when we eventually reached the front of the desk we were told that the seats we had pre booked two weeks earlier had not been ‘confirmed’ and that they would do all they could to make sure that we were able to sit together as a family making me ask why allow someone to pre-book seats if they are not secure?

After much waiting we were eventually sat together and our boarding passes were printed. All of our bags went off OK apart from my sisters (over by a solid 7kg as per usual) so she had to go to the ticket desk at the far side of the room to pay a £30 fine and receive her boarding pass. We were all finally checked in at 0900, an hour later, and made our way upstairs to the new security area with half an hour until our designated boarding time.

All of the overhead screens in the security area designated a 1 or 2 minute wait and there were no queues for the automated barriers. The new system is simply a case of placing the barcode of your boarding pass on a screen (much like the Eurostar at St Pancras or the E-Passport system) and the doors should automatically open. However some people did have trouble getting through and there was only one very distracted person on hand to help anyone struggling.

From here you can join the shortest queue for the x-ray machines and from here the process was smooth and friendly. You can put all your items (laptop, jacket, belt, keys etc) in the same large tray and the track system is automated. We were airside by 0910 and made our way upstairs to grab some breakfast at Pret a Manger and a few mags from Smiths. At 0930 we made a move for gate 19 which was at the far end of a long hallway, a ten minute walk. Boarding had not begun when we reached the gate and special assistance/priority boarding commenced at 1000.

Boarding was complete by 1020 and we took off at 1035, only five minutes late. The seatbelt signs were off by 1045 and headphones and amenity kits (socks, eye mask, toothbrush and toothpaste, pen) handed round soon after. The Virgin crew were all smiles throughout the flight, as per usual.

FLIGHT I was sat in seat 43K, a window seat located four rows back from the Premium economy section on this version of the B747-400 jumbo jet in a 3-4-3 layout. The legroom felt good and spacious although it was very warm on board. I had 4 toilets located just in front and to my left, however two were reserved for the premium economy cabin. The plane looked completely full on a quick glance.

The entertainment system was the V:port on demand system which had over 50 different TV shows and 49 films in total including recent releases Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Friends with Benefits. I opted for The Help. The system felt clunky and slow at times and was not touch screen, with the fast forward and rewind facilities proving almost impossible to use. However the selection was good and kept me entertained with a clear picture and good sized screen.

As part of the revamped dining service in economy menu cards were brought round at 11 along with immigration landing cards to be filled out before landing. The menu consisted of a welcome cocktail of mixed fruit juices with or without vodka as well as a full drinks service starting at 1115. The main meal was a choice of Sausage and mash with gravy and green beans, chicken in a creamy leek and mustard sauce with broccoli and potatoes or penne pasta in a creamy sauce with roasted Mediterranean vegetables and hard Italian cheese. There was then a break allowed before pudding of an Uglies chocolate caramel cup was brought round with tea, coffee and hot chocolate.

I opted for the chicken which was served at 1215 tasty although a little small, the crispy roast potatoes were particularly good though. This was accompanied by a bread roll and a very bland mixed salad that was crying out for a bit of dressing. This was served on the newly designed small trays which gave me more space to manoeuvre but which was determined to slip down onto my lap. Trays weren’t collected until 30 minutes later. The chocolate mousse was a combination of milk and white chocolate mousse with a caramel sauce and was deliciously moreish. A full drinks service with wine was served with lunch.

The flight settled down after this as people got comfortable and ice creams were brought round at 1530 and juice and water at 1630. The seatbelt sign only came on once throughout the flight and even then there was no turbulence. Afternoon tea of a minced pie, a Lindt chocolate bunny and a white cheese and onion finger sandwich was brought round at 1715.

My grandfather asked one member of cabin crew for 2 beers during the flight but was told he could only have one. He asked if he came back for another one after he had finished it if that would be OK and was told yes which caused him a great degree of frustration. Considering drinks should be free throughout the flight crew are very unwilling to hand any out following the single drinks service at the beginning of the flight. This feels like a recent change to me as I have flown Virgin Atlantic almost annually for 10 years and had no problems acquiring extra drinks before.

Sweets were then brought round before we started our descent at 1830 and we landed at 1910, right on schedule before boarding buses to the terminal building. The terminal building was well air conditioned and the queue for security took 15 minutes and we were out of the building in half an hour, impressive considering we had 10 cases. The only thing you must remember at Barbados is to have your immigration form filled out correctly and to maintain the slip for customs after the baggage carousels.

VERDICT Virgin is updating its entire Gatwick and Manchester based long-haul fleets but following this experience you wouldn’t think they needed to. The little touches and smiling cabin crew really make the effort to get your holiday off to a good start, thoroughly recommended.

croomes30 flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (14/12/2011 13:10)

Background: This was a leisure flight booked via Sandals.co.uk originally as an economy ticket, but upgraded to Premium Economy several weeks before we travelled.

Check-In: I checked-in online using the Virgin Atlantic website on my iPad at the hotel. The website worked well on the iPad, despite my previous review about the clunky appearance and method of checking-in.

As on the outbound flight I had managed to pre-select our seats ahead of check-in when they had been released by the airline a month before, and had already selected 78H & 78K upstairs.

When I finally got through the check-in procedure I found that no other seats were available, so opted to stay with my pre-selected seats; I was unable to print out my boarding passes, so we had to collect them from the airport the following day. The process was swift with the security checks being done before you got to the desk to check in the bags.

Lounge: I had opted for the Club Mobay Lounge which is located between gates 9 & 13 at Montego Bay airport. Consisting of three separate rooms, the service was swift and friendly and snacks were available at various locations throughout the lounge, with a hot meal service also being provided at additional charge.

Boarding: The lounge did announce the flights boarding so we were surprised to be called for boarding a good hour before take-off, with the final call coming 45 minutes beforehand. By the time we got to the gate boarding had more or less completed, but we went straight to the Upper Class and Premium Economy queue and the lady who had checked us in greeted us and ushered us through to the aircraft.

Seat: The Premium Economy class on this configuration is of the older fabric type seats with the footrests which flip out from your own seat, rather than from the seat in front.

As with the new purple leather seats, the pitch was 38” and the width was more than sufficient. Premium Economy is split across the two decks, with a small cabin of 16 seats in two rows, configured 2-4-2 on the lower deck between Economy and Upper Class, with 24 seats configured 2-2 on the upper deck.

Although I had found the seat very comfortable on the outbound daytime flight, it was a different story on the night-time flight; even though I slept for the majority of the flight I just could not get comfortable – perhaps the fact that my footrest would not extend to its fullest due to the age of the seat, was the problem.

IFE: As previously on the majority of the Gatwick/Manchester aircraft the Nova system was installed, but as this was a night-time flight, I only watched one film whilst I ate, before going to sleep.

Flight: As soon as we were seated we were offered sparkling wine or orange juice. Menus were handed out along with complimentary headsets prior to departure from the gate. The menu offered one starter and a choice of three main courses – chicken, beef and pasta.

We pushed back from the gate about 30 minutes early and were finally airborne within 5 minutes. However, this did not delay our arrival as the captain announced that instead of 9hrs, our flight time would be 7hrs 40 mins and that we would be arriving at least an hour earlier at Gatwick.

The food and drink service on this flight was not as good as the outbound flight, but this was to be expected considering this was a night-time flight. The first drinks service was served within 45 minutes of taking off, with the hot meal service following within 20 minutes. All meal choices were available and served on crockery dishes with metal cutlery. After-dinner liqueurs of Brandy or Baileys were offered once the meal service had finished.

Breakfast was served about 1 ½ hours before we landed, consisting of hot omelette, bacon, sausage and mushroom, along with tea or coffee. I did not partake but I was reliably informed that it wasn’t the best meal of the flight.

We arrived at Gatwick at 08:35, rather than 09:35, 1hr early as promised by the flight crew.

Arrival: Premium Economy passengers upstairs do tend to get stuck due to the fact that the crew allow the front mini Economy cabin, the lower deck Premium Economy cabin and the Upper Class cabin off first, before allowing the upstairs cabin to disembark. There was therefore a small delay exiting the aircraft but immigration at Gatwick was swift due to the time of day.

Bags arrived within 10 minutes of us getting to the carousel and we were through customs and out of the airport within 30 minutes of landing.

Verdict: Despite the old style Premium Economy seating and the antiquated IFE, the product is still one of the best on the market and the crew worked exceptionally hard. With the 747 Gatwick/Manchester fleet being upgraded in 2012, it will be even better value for money to upgrade on the leisure routes in the future.

croomes30 flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (14/12/2011 12:48)

Background: This was a leisure flight booked via Sandals.co.uk originally as an economy ticket, but upgraded to Premium Economy several weeks before we travelled.

Check-In: I checked-in online using the Virgin Atlantic website. Their system seemed a little more convoluted than some other airline websites I have used in the past (such as Lufthansa, BA & Continental) as I had to pass through several screens before I got to confirm that I even wanted to check-in. The screens were also slightly confusing and the information was not laid out especially clearly. The system also did not recognise that the booking number had my husband on it as well, so I had to manually add him to be checked in.

I had managed to pre-select our seats ahead of check-in when they had been released by the airline a month before, and had already selected 78H & 78K upstairs. When I finally got through the check-in procedure I found that no other seats were available, so opted to stay with my pre-selected seats and printed our boarding passes out for the following day.

Lounge: Whilst customers going with Virgin Holidays have the option to use the V-room at Gatwick South, I had opted for the No1 Traveller’s Lounge. Although smaller than the other lounges on offer, this lounge has a far nicer feel about it and the view is exceptional overlooking the runway and aprons.

You are allowed one hot meal from their set menu and we opted for the Eggs Benedict, which was served within 5-10 minutes of ordering, by waitress service. Drinks are ordered at the bar and other breakfast snacks were available on a large white table at the other end of the lounge.

Boarding: The lounge did not announce flights boarding so it was a case of watching the boards. The flight was due to leave at 12:00 and boarding started at approximately 11:05. The gate was about 10 minutes from the lounge.

By the time we got to the gate Economy class boarding was well under way, but we went straight to the Upper Class and Premium Economy queue which consisted of a couple of passengers and were on the aircraft within 5 minutes and ushered upstairs to our seats.

Seat: The Premium Economy class on this configuration is of the older fabric type seats with the footrests which flip out from your own seat, rather than from the seat in front.

As with the new purple leather seats, the pitch was 38” and the width was more than sufficient. Premium Economy is split across the two decks, with a small cabin of 16 seats in two rows, configured 2-4-2 on the lower deck between Economy and Upper Class, with 24 seats configured 2-2 on the upper deck.

The seat was in fact very comfortable. The overhead lockers were slightly smaller than on the lower deck due to the curvature of the upper deck, but extra storage, albeit too small for any hand luggage larger than a handbag, was available in the side lockers. In our seats (78H & 78K) we had 2 ½ windows to see out of.

IFE: If I mention Nova, then I’m sure most people will know that it is old, plagued with faults and is highly unreliable. It took my husband three attempts at watching Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy until he actually managed to watch it uninterrupted from start to finish – the previous two times had been thwarted by the system in his chair swapping to another channel of its own accord!

Flight: As soon as we were seated we were offered sparkling wine or orange juice. Menus were handed out along with complimentary headsets prior to departure from the gate. The menu offered one starter and a choice of three main courses – chicken, beef and pasta.

We pushed back from the gate about 15 minutes late and were finally airborne by 12:35. However, this did not delay our arrival as the captain announced that instead of 10hrs 20 mins, our flight time would be 9hrs 40 mins.

The food and drink service on this flight was exceptional and I have never seen a cabin crew work so consistently throughout such a long flight. The first drinks service was served within 45 minutes of taking off, with the hot meal service following within 20 minutes. All meal choices were available and served on crockery dishes with metal cutlery. After-dinner liqueurs of Brandy or Baileys were offered once the meal service had finished.

Throughout the flight, in between every meal and snack service the crew were constantly walking the cabin with juice or water for passengers. They were also happy to oblige if you asked for further alcoholic drinks.

A couple of hours after the main meal service we were served with a hot snack – a hot savoury sausage roll, and another drinks service.

A couple of hours after the hot snack we were served with ice cream and another drinks service. The final meal service being served about 1 ½ hours before we landed, consisting of afternoon tea with sandwiches, scone, cream and jam.

We arrived at Montego Bay at 16:50, rather than 17:20, 30 minutes early as promised by the flight crew.

Arrival: Premium Economy passengers upstairs do tend to get stuck due to the fact that the crew allow the front mini Economy cabin, the lower deck Premium Economy cabin and the Upper Class cabin off first, before allowing the upstairs cabin to disembark.

There was therefore a small delay exiting the aircraft but immigration at Montego Bay was well organised with landing cards getting an initial check by staff before they directed you to the immigration desks. Immigration was swift and friendly.

Bags arrived within 10 minutes of us getting to the carousel and we were through customs and into the Sandals lounge within 40 minutes of landing.

Verdict: Despite the old style Premium Economy seating and the antiquated IFE, the product is still one of the best on the market and the crew worked exceptionally hard.

With the 747 Gatwick/Manchester fleet being upgraded in 2012, it will be even better value for money to upgrade on the leisure routes in the future.

FrustratedRegistration flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (01/12/2011 20:50)

I booked our flight 11 months in advance and took advantage of the free facility to reserve seats.

A week before departure I checked my booking and found that the seat allocation had been scrubbed. I sent two emails which went unanswered and finally a phone call left us with the assurance that similar seats would be provided, though no actual seats numbers. In the event that was true but it put a very sour taste in my mouth before I even started.

On-line check-in was a nightmare. Virgin required personal details (e.g. visa number) that even the US immigration do not ask you to provide. After 15 minutes filling in this data the system appeared to have no facility to print boarding passes. Having arrived at the airport we spent another 15 minutes filling in our details at a self-service kiosk to still not be issued boarding passes!

Mercifully the dedicated PE bag drop was quiet and efficient (as is LGW's new south terminal security).

We boarded late so I can't comment on crowd control.

Upstairs on the 747 for PE has seats in 2 * 2 which is probably the best thing about the whole service (and the reason for all the angst above). I never saw it but I would not have liked to have been in the 2 * 4 * 2 downstairs.

The seats are spacious but very old and they have a curious "lumbar support" that most people agreed were in the wrong place. We received a small but adequate amenity kit and a glass of Champagne on boarding.

The food was adequate but not startling; ditto the wines.

The IFE has a good choice; the screens in PE are tiny by today's standards but they worked well.

The crew on the outbound flight were generally good and helpful.

On the way back we were treated to an address by the Cabin Service Supervisor on alcohol consumption which put me in mind of a boot-camp rather than part of a hospitality group. The boarding Champagne became a very orangey Bucks Fizz because they had run out (this is before take-off).

After take-off (scheduled 16:35) the crew went straight into a meal service with no pre-dinner drinks offered, stating that this was standard procedure. The food was poor. Breakfast was a foil of eggs and potatoes - full stop. We got one round of tea/coffee and even orange juice was on request.

In summary almost the only thing going for this product is the privacy of the seat layout upstairs. The rest of it is very ordinary.

mitchy376 flew Virgin Atlantic Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (09/09/2011 15:12)

I've known quite a few friends and family that have flown with Virgin in the past and to tell you the truth, they have found the experience very average... Like you get what you pay for. However, this flight from Gatwick to Las Vegas McCarran was a very pleasurable journey. 31 Inch seat pitch though... Smaller than my Thomas cook flight.

Gatwick airport's South Terminal was busy, but similarly to my trip to Florida earlier in the year, I booked myself into the No1 travelers lounge, which again offered great views of the runway and was accompanied by attentive staff and complimentary drinks and a selection of foods. We boarded very near the same gate that we used on our Florida trip so getting lost wasn't a problem.

The cabin crew I must say are absolutely brilliant and work really hard. They are always smiling and never seem to sit down at all. By the end of the flight I am sure they must be truly exhausted and yet they are still smiling and look immaculate in their red uniforms.

I would rate the food much better than that of Thomas Cook, but you can also see the big difference in flight prices between the 2 businesses. Entertainment on this flight was using the old, and quite frankly dated system using channels on a loop. There was a decent selection but having to wait for it to come on was really annoying but very similar to my outbound Thomas Cook flight. The return flight with virgin was very much the same, crappy entertainment and a pretty old-looking 747. They really need to update their Gatwick & Manchester fleets...

Overall, I thought the experience was good, disregarding the entertainment. I would recommend this airline to friends.

disneymania flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (27/02/2011 08:21)

we save really hard to buy premium economy seat for a couple of reasons:- My husband is 6'3 and the frame to go with so he does not fit into economy, and I am not a good flyer the bubble seats on the 747 are great for me. We have been to Florida every year since 2002 with Virgin and apart from one set of crew I could not fault the service. The last flight in December 2010 the crew and service were first class. Thumbs up Virgin!!!!

UflyRight flew Virgin Atlantic Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (26/04/2010 13:38)

This was the the sort of thing that I expect from Ryanair and Monarch. The in-flight entertainment system was difficult to work and the TVs were old and flickered, and some didn't work and the crew ignored this fact.

The seats are not leather and are very uncomfortable, and the exit seats are even worse. Also some of the seat reclines didn't work.

Where most airlines have different sections of the aircraft so everyone gets served quickly, Virgin didn't so food and drink took a long time to get around.

I won't fly with Virgin and if I return to Orlando I would use another airline.

skyguyj flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (24/04/2010 04:21)

A tip for Virgin Lovers (like me). Book Premium Economy out of Las Vegas to Gatwick. It's the only 747 in thier fleet with Premium UPSTAIRS in the bubble. It's 2 and 2 seating (it's thier old "Upper Class" seats) and it's very civilised. I recommend ANY window seat upstairs.......Row 70 is the bulkhead. It's the best!!!! Enjoy all.

sarahpedder88 flew Virgin Atlantic Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (22/08/2009 09:50)

From LGW-MCO (Orlando) Easter 2009. Excellent service throughout, very good food. Kids loved the in-flight entertainment, current box office films on offer. 8.5hr flight seemed like 3hrs. Great service Well done Virgin.