Cindi Underwood

My Mom and I are flying Continental Airlines Virgin Atlantic in mid September to Heathrow, London. I understand it is a very fun flight - own private TV in seat in front of you and even your own socks that they give you as you board. Any comments as to making this non-stop 10 hour flight fun? <BR> <BR>

sue

be sure you reconfirm your seats with both continental AND virgin. We only reconfirmed with Continental and they said we were booked all the way through to London but when we got to Newark Virgin had no record of our tickets or seats. We had no help from Continental and they desk people at Virgin were EXTREMELY rude. We finally got seats as the door was shuting and we had to run for it. Which was not fun because I walk with a cane. We had booked these tickets and these particular seats in January and had reconfirmed them three times. Seats on Virgin are very small and there is no leg room. So if you are larger than average or tall you have trouble. Flying home was better because it was Continental all the way. I will never fly Virgin again.

sonia

We flew Virgin for the first time from Boston to Gatwick in June, with none of the problems described by the earlier answer. (We usually fly BritAir, but Virgin's fares were a better deal). <BR> <BR>Sure, there's not a lot of legroom -- but if you're in the cheap seats (I always am) it's the same for all airlines. We liked the seatback movies, and it seemed to keep the many kids happy too (which is a Good Thing.) They give you a "funpack" with sox, eye mask, toothbrush etc. The flight attendants were young and helpful, food was fine, and we enjoyed the flight. Hope you do too.

Tricia

I help answer questions in Cheap Flight Forum in www.eurotrip.com- I answered a question today about seat configuerations on the 747's, 767's and 777's- the last two usually being more comfortable. Each airline can change the seat configuration, adding more seats to get more bang for the buck- which Virgin Atlantic (City Bird) Airlines does. Their seats are a inch or so narrow to fit them all in and there is less leg room. If you can afford to fly the next class up ( they have a mid-class and I've forgotten the name) sometimes you can upgrade at the airport if they need to fill seats, <BR>Continental Airlines sharecodes with a European airline called A____ something or other. I didn't know they had something shared going with VAA. In the research I did this morning I found that an independent agency did a survey of frequent flyers and Continental received first place for long haul travels (over 500 miles). virgin Atlantic has received several awards for the in-flight entertainment. come visit us in Eurotrip! Have fun!

Jim

I just returned from London on Virgin Atlantic/Continental's flight. I found the ground staff at Heathrow to be very organized and helpful. They handled the check in process very smoothly and had staff directing people to various check in lines. They had more staff assisting in this process than I've seen any other airline use. Sorry about your experience. As I was traveling a family with two boys, the VA entertainment facilities were a true revelation. The TV screen in the seat back in front of you allows you to watch a variety of movies (which you pick) or to play video games. You can also go to a screen that shows the jet's location along the trip, including air speed, outside temperature, miles traveled, miles to go, and estimated time of arrival. For cheap seats, the VA flights give you a lot to do. Kids get a backpack with books, sunglasses, a Pez candy container, etc. You get earphones, socks, a travel toiletry pack, and something to put over your eyes. VA is very high on amenities. Our flight was on an Airbus plane and the people behind us were complaining about how small the seats were. I'm 6'1", so airplane seats always seem to small for me unless I'm in first class. It did seem cramped to me, but if you're traveling with children, VA cannot be beat. <BR>

OF

I had none of the negative experiences with Virgin as described above. Their inflight entertainment and service make them one of the best airlines to fly internationally on. I am 6' and although the seating might seem narrow, it's a lot better than that of domestic flights. <BR> <BR>The Continental/Virgin Atlantic relationship can be pretty tricky and something to be aware of. Although both airlines code share, I've heard that sometimes you can pay more for your seat going through Continental then directly with Virgin. It seems Continental buys up a certain amount seats from Virgin and then sells them according to their own terms.