Angelhaze

My fiance and I are going to fly from LAX to LHR on April 20. We haven't ever been abroad before nor had this long of a flight. We have purchased economy seats.

I would like to know what seats would be best for us to request. And does anyone know if VA would allow us to reserve our seats ahead? Any tips for making this a bearable long flight? We are flying out on the 17:30pm flight. We get in at 11:45am the next day.

What kind of jet will we be flying on? I tried the links I found on here to seat charts and they weren't active. Likely VA has disabled them.

Will we have access to Nintendo and movies like the PE class? I assume we will have one meal and a snack given the flight time?

We made our arrangements through Virgin Vacations. We got the minibus to our hotel, Kensington Thistle Palace, near Hyde Park. We purchased the minibus transfers because that seemed simpliest.

Thanks for your help!

Angela

House

Others will know much more about your questions than me (I don't fly all that frequently with Virgin), but you should rest assured that all seats, on all Virgin planes, come with seatback video. Those serving LAX will usually have Nintendo too.

You should get one main meal (dinner) and then breakfast before landing. In between you get ice cream and drinks (free bar).

On the 5.30pm flight you're taking (VS8) the plane will be a Boeing 747-400 (at least that's what the reservations computer is currently showing for April 20).

The minibus transfers can be a bit slow but should work out fine - definitely an easy option after a long flight!

Finally, enjoy London! The weather has been very good here for the time of year over the past few weeks.

[This message has been edited by House (edited 04-07-2003).]

The _Banking_Scot

Hi angelhaze,

First of all congratulations,

pixuk's excellent site ;
http://64.78.2.177/virgin/default.asp

will give you a list of aircraft typically used on that route.

Probably rows 30,38 and 49 will give you slightly more leg room. I'm not sure if VS cahrge £50 for an exit row seat from the US or is it just from the UK.
You won't get ice cream flying into LHR ( overnight) but will get some on the return flight to LAX.
You will probably get a small hot roll as well as a fruit plate/muffin, juice and coffee for breakfast.
The seats at the rear of the aircraft 61-64 AC & HK will have more room at the side of the seats as there are only 2 seats rather than three in the window side.

Have fun in London!

Regards
TBS

Angelhaze

Thank you both for your quick responses. They are both very helpful. I think if we can't get the exit row then we will try to get the seats in the 60s range that was suggested.

Actually I do have one other question. Well, actually more but I will limit myself.

I am pretty big "techy". I have a PDA and a laptop that I plan on bringing with me. The PDA needs to charge pretty frequently and I didn't think there was a solution for in-flight charging of electronics until I ran across and adapter that I think might work. Have either of you, or anyone else, ever used an "Airline Power Adapter" (Wagan Corp is one company that makes this I guess)? I am wondering if it will actually plug into some kind of jack or outlet in the seats of the jet. I found this at the Rand McNally site under adapters. If it actually can be used on VA then I would be ecstatic.

Thank you again for your help! And we are both looking forward to London.

Angela

CT-UK

Angelhaze,

Firstly, welcome to FT and secondly I hope you PDA can last more than 12 hours without a charge!

The inflight power adaptors that you talk of are good. I have a couple for some reason. You will not be able to use it in economy as no jacks are provided. Most airlines that have them only provide them in First,Biz or their premium economy(not sure about VS PE)


Regards

RichardMannion

Virgin uses the Empower system on board, and supply the Targus power adaptors for passengers (at no charge).

All Upper Class seats have a powerpoint, but only the Premium economy seats on the new 600 airbuses have the power point.

Thanks,
Richard

Angelhaze

Thank you both for responding and clarifying. At least I know not to go buy the adapter now. My pda will last the 12 hours if I don't use it. If it goes dead it doesn't seem to hurt it though contrary to what is generally published. I still have everything intact when I recharge.

Thank you again!

Angela

UAL_Rulez

Basic stuff and not specific to VS but for newbies to 10+hr intercontinental flights...
1. Bring 2 1L bottles of water per person, they won't give you enough on board and you WILL arrive very dehydrated if you don't drink at least that much water enroute.
2. Also bring earplugs and eyeshades if you have any intention of sleeping (which is highly advised on this flight time/length). They probably won't be given out in economy and make a MAJOR difference between sleep/no sleep. Earplugs are essential IMHO. If you have a noise-cancelling headset bring that too, consider buying one - I never fly without.
3. Use judgment as to drinking alcohol...a little to help sleep is generally OK, though some advise ZERO....anyone who's ever drunk heavily on a flight like this will tell you it's not a good idea to say the least.
4. You may want to throw some candy bars, granola bars, nuts, whatever snacks you enjoy, in your bag as it's by no means certain they'll serve food of a quality or quantity that suits your tastes.
Scan this forum and Fodors.com for many posts on conquering jet lag. Enjoy London!