View Full Version : Paying for exit row seat on Virgin?
No Shoes
03-01-2011, 22:08
We are heading to Orlando next week, flying Virgin for the first time in years.
I notice that you can pay extra (£50) to get either a bulkhead/exit row seat. We have done this in the past with BA well in advance of check in.
Can anyone help with how it works on Virgin?
Many thanks
Check in as early as possible for your flight. Also, if you don't mind the window seat and middle, you will only get charged for the middle (at least from Manchester!)
christhear
03-01-2011, 22:55
When we flew back on Dec 26th they were still trying to sell thses seats 2 hours beofre departure - we did bag drop as has booked in online.
When the plane was ready to be pushed back none of the exit seats had been sold and the crew had to ask people to move to them as they need to be occupied during take off and landing. So glad we didn't cough up the extra money for them. Try to book on line into the seats in front or behind these rows and you could get moved free of charge.
I wouldn't go for bulkhead seats as these are usually given to parents with infants as sky cots fit here. You could find you have paid extra to be next to a screaming baby for 8 hours.
We were put into bulkhead seats with Virgin on our flight back to UK 3 weeks ago. We had already booked seats and the guy at MCO said he would give us better seats!!! I don't think so. Apart from the fact they are fixed armrests so if the seat next to you is free, you can't spread out onto it, there is hardly any leg room and I am very short so goodness how anyone over 5' copes. It was most uncomfortable. The only upside was we did not get anyone in front of us putting their seat right back into our laps!!!
Have a good flight.
Sandra
Albert the Frog
03-01-2011, 23:26
The price Virgin is charging this year I thought that they were ALL first class exit seats with extra room and drinks and silver service dining included!!
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by SDJ
you can't spread out onto it, there is hardly any leg room and I am very short so goodness how anyone over 5' copes. It was most uncomfortable.
Sandra
[/quote]Not sure which bulkhead row you were on Sandra but we have flown Virgin and got bulkhead seats the last 2 times we have been and there is a ton of legroom. We have had an infant with us both times and there's enough room to drop the skycot table down and fit the cot and then still get your own table out. I'm 6ft and was glad of the bulkhead seat. Agree that you will probably get sat with a couple with an infant which is not great!! I should know, i am usually one of the couple!! [msncry]
Garry, it was around row 41 ish. There was no fixtures for skycot so maybe that's why there was lack of leg room. I have sat in other bul head seats and had more room but I hate it that the arm rests don't move either.
Sandra
Ah yes perhaps so. We've always had skycot positions so maybe the rear bulkhead is just that, a bulkhead.
The arm rests are a pain although as i said we've always had infants and kids with us so any idea of lifting an armrest to spread out and get some sleep gets left at the aircraft door!!! [msnsad]
florida4sun
04-01-2011, 16:45
I would not pay extra for any seat except first class which s usually cost prohibitive. The bulk head seats have just ivermectin 2" of extra leg room, not much for £50. When you board have award with staff and ask for door exit seats if they are free. For safety these have to filled with at least 2 adults, so they are more than happy for volunteers.
If you can avoid the bulkhead and door seats by the WCs, it can be annoying with everyone queing up and eating your food next to a bunch of toilets!!
No Shoes
04-01-2011, 16:56
Thanks for all your help!
We have obviously all had different experiences...... My experience in the past with BA is that the exit row is always the first to be reserved, followed by the bulkhead.
I know what you mean about the lack of armrest movement but personally I like a bulkhead seat as it allows me to put my feet up against the wall and hence arrive with no 'baggy ankles' [msnsmile]
jimiansville
04-01-2011, 17:30
We had exit row seats on both the outward and return flights on Virgin on our last trip. Most times we have flown with Virgin they have been empty and as others have said, they need to have 2 adults sitting there for take off and landing. We normally try and book seats near them and have a word with one of the flight attendants as soon as we board. Works more than 50% of the time!
Madabouttigger
04-01-2011, 18:11
We fly from Manchester and the flights are usually full so we don't get the chance to move around the plane.
I am just under 6 foot tall and Mr M is just over, so we usually pay for the extra leg room seats. If there is any spare capacity, we usually get allocated row of 3 seats for just the 2 of us, this makes a huge difference. But saying that, even if we dont get the extra free seat I still find it makes a difference, I can stretch my legs out, but these are sold as Extra Leg room seats. Once we got the the emergency exit seats and I was sick of people coming down to stand and chat a while in the extra space, therefore restricting our leg room. I wouldnt use these again.
In my oppinion, yes its worth the extra.
Diane.
The people in front of us on the return from Miami had paid $100 extra each for the two bulkhead seats. They were next to two sets of babies, who thankfully were very good, but it could have been a nightmare. They also paid nearly $400 for their children (yes, their children!) to sit in Premium Economy! So a total of just under $1000 for the short night flight. And the Premium Economy seats are very little better than Economy.
As the 'plane was half empty both my son and I were able to find a row of seats to ourselves, without paying $1000 to stretch out!
As has been said, the problem with the bulkhead seats is that the armrests cannot be lifted out of the way.
Interestingly, the plane had what they called 'purple' seats i.e. seats with extra legroom (about 2 inches!) which people had paid extra for! We have never noticed this before and guess it is Richard B's aim to screw even more money out of the poor economy passenger. It was very difficult to identify these seats from a space point of view, the extra space was minimal, only the colour signified their special status.
And Virgin service was apalling - we waited more than an hour and a half for our meal, then abslolutely ages before they brought us tea or coffee, and then over an hour after that before they took away the dirty tray. I couldn't get out of the seat to take the tray myself as the person in front had reclined their seat and it is such a feat of gymnastics to get self and tray out of the seat.
We had only one drink offered just before the meal and then nothing until the morning when all we got was one small cup of tea and no refills! (oh and there was no turbulence to blame for the slowness of the service).
But of course, any airline can be a nightmare - it's the luck of the draw - you can get good flights and bad flights with any carrier. Our outward flight was excellent, so it obviously depends on what the crew are like as regards drinks and service.
canarypam
04-01-2011, 21:19
We used to always check in early at the airport to get the emergency exit seats until they started charging. I wouldn't pay
extra for them and quite honestly it to be really cold in these seats.
Katys Grandad
04-01-2011, 22:17
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by No Shoes
We have obviously all had different experiences...... My experience in the past with BA is that the exit row is always the first to be reserved, followed by the bulkhead.
[/quote]
You can only reserve an exit row on BA between 14 & 4 days before departure and even then still have to pay for them.
If you have top tier elite status you can get them for free at time of booking. As you have observed, that means that non-status passengers have to be very lucky to get one these days, paying or not.
I agree that the fixed armrests are a little restrictive but the extra leg room more than makes up for that for me (and I'm lucky to have top-tier status[msnwink]).