Virgin Atlantic special assistance

[joanne]

I've not flown in economy since first time I flew to Orlando. I've flown PE the last 4 times I've been. Yes, the comfort and extra space is nice. But because I've got lupus, my legs tend to start hurting and aching quite a lot when I'm sat cramped up for so long :sigh:

I know you can put in a request with specail assistance for bulkhead seats for medical reasons, but it's not guaranteed.
To anyone that's used this, have you always gotten bulkheads, or have there been too many skycots on a flight and you've ended up in a normal seat? :unsure:

[Wendy L]

Get to the airport very early and request an exit seat - you can't beat them. Chris is tall and has a bad back. We have always managed to get them - it's the same at DTD if you get there about an hour before they open you will be first in the line and you are more or less guaranteed an exit seat then - don't have the window seat though as the leg room is hampered by the door.

[joanne]

I thought exit seats could only be allocated at MCO, can you definitely get them at DtD check-in?

[Wendy L]

I thought exit seats could only be allocated at MCO, can you definitely get them at DtD check-in?

We've always got them, the last time we went in December 2004 we got the exact exit seats we wanted (at the front near PE - gets you off the plane quicker :wink: ) so unless things have changed, I can't see that there is a problem. You could always ask Paula to check for you when she goes, but I'm 99% sure it will still be ok.

[AlecK]

When I asked for PE bulkheads at DTD back in Oct'03 the supervisor called MCO to check the special assistance list with them and then gave us 2 of them and 2 behind. I think it all depends on how many people ask for SA on any particular flight and for what reason. I'm sure they would do their best though Jo they were always very helpful when I asked for SA.

[triciacarole]

Jo my daughter has juvenile arthritis and has similar symptoms to you, last time we went we booked PE to allow her extra leg room. I rang Virgin special assistance on many occasions who told me that for exit seats you need to be 100% fit and over 18 years neither of which applied to her. We got a letter from her Doctor as a referral letter in case of emergency for our holiday outlining her condition and meds and used this as proof of her condition faxing it to VA. On the journey out check-in was helpful, did some juggling and got DD a bulkhead seat, on the journey back I checked on-line check in and we had automatically been allocated the bulkheads. I hope this is of some help to you.

[joanne]

Thanks!

I rang Special Assistance and they said there's no guarantee, it depends on how many others are wanting bulkheads on that day :shrug:

[triciacarole]

We were told that but I guess if you can back it up with some evidence such as a Dr's letter it will give you a stronger case :)

[Whitequeen]

Mark has always been given Bulkhead seats. You can't have exit seats unless you are 100% fit.
Go through VA Special Asistance and call them now and then again 2 weeks before you go to confirm everything. They have to say they can't guarantee the seats but we've always had them. Make it very clear to them that because of your condition it isn't possible to spend that much time with so little space. They aren't really interested in Drs. letters. so there isn't much point, unless you want to take one to check-in, but that's a different dept. as they will be sure to tell you.:rolleyes:
We've always found the ' I hope you can help us' approach works wonderfully, although they have 2 choices. Allocate the seat or have a Disabilities complaint coming their way.:)

[triciacarole]

Yes I took the " Can you help me?" approach and " by the way I have a Dr's note will that help?" did help us :)

[Slowhand]

Jo, I hope that you can get the bulkhead seats you want, but if not I`d ask for seats 74 A & B.
These are immediately in front of the emergency exit seats [row 75] but there is loads of space behind so that you can at least fully recline your seats without worrying about upsetting anyone behind you!
Seats 74 H & K have the crew`s jump seats right behind them so I doubt if you can recline as much...don`t know for sure on this one though.

[joanne]

I rang special assistance this morning and bulkheads are first-come, first-served, allocated at check-in, no guarantees. Have to be there when check-in opens at 6am :eek:
Are there many people there at that time?

Flight is almost full, only seats available to reserve are 33F & G, in middle section :(

[AlecK]

I rang special assistance this morning and bulkheads are first-come, first-served, allocated at check-in, no guarantees. Have to be there when check-in opens at 6am :eek:
Are there many people there at that time?

Flight is almost full, only seats available to reserve are 33F & G, in middle section :(


More seats open up when online checkin opens 24hrs before hand Jo. could you pick better seats maybe at online checkin as a standby then turn up early at the airport and try to change to bulkheads maybe ?

[joanne]

Ah right, we'll try and do that then.
I'm sure a few years back special assistance told me they go through the list the day before and allocate the bulkheads to those on the list then, but the woman this morning reckons not :shrug:

[Whitequeen]

I rang special assistance this morning and bulkheads are first-come, first-served, allocated at check-in, no guarantees. Have to be there when check-in opens at 6am :eek:
Are there many people there at that time?

Flight is almost full, only seats available to reserve are 33F & G, in middle section :(

They have never told us that. If they had we would never go. It would be impossible. We've never had to check-in at regular check-in desk, either. We get taken straight to PE check-in. I've never travelled PE in my life.:shrug:

There are many similarities between CRO and Virgin, methinks. You get different answers everytime you call.:rolleyes:

[triciacarole]

Ah right, we'll try and do that then.
I'm sure a few years back special assistance told me they go through the list the day before and allocate the bulkheads to those on the list then, but the woman this morning reckons not :shrug:

Well thats what seems to have happened to me on the return flight, I found this when I tried on-line check in :).

Its funny how different members of staff give you different info :confused:

[joanne]

Between reading Queenie's post, logging off and rushing out the door this morning, I rang Virgin SA back and got a nice chappy called David. He said they DO allocate them the day before, there's absolutely no need to be at check-in at 6am. There's every chance it will already be done when we use online check-in the day before :thumbs:
Of course, there's still no guarantee of bulkhead availability, just have to keep everything crossed :fingers:
So I can just relax now :calm: If it gets to the day before and we're still shown in the same seats as now, then I'll go into panic mode :Panic: :blush:

[AlecK]

Great news Jo - glad you got it sorted :thumbs:

[Whitequeen]

Oh good! You know how irritated I get when 'Disability issues' raise their ugly head. I was organising a campaign.:demonstra

[joanne]

So if they don't allocate us bulkheads the day before I'll just get you onto them Queenie :D :thumbs:

[Whitequeen]

Let's see, when you going? I'll see if I'm free.:D

I would actually like to see what would happen if we turned up and Mark wasn't allocated a bulkhead seat. With him it isn't solely a comfort thing, it's an absolute neccessity. That surely would be classed as descrimination and I'd be on News at Ten, no doubt.:lol:

[triciacarole]

I'll join you Queenie :D. Yes Joanne thats the advice I got, but it is funny how you get conflicting advice all the time. If you have not been allocated the bulkhead seats the night before don't worry, on our outbound journey we got them at check-in and on the journey back it was already arranged :)

I actually think you should be allowed to book a bulkhead seat if you have a disability, I was told that families with young babies who needed the bassinets got priority, this is not right :(

[Vikki]

:iagree:

You should be able to book them. What if a ton of people turn up, with the same needs on the day? If there had been the ability to book them, there would be no arguments at checkin :shrug:

[triciacarole]

Just rang special assistance for my daughter, to be told she will be put on the medical priority list for the bulkheads but children under 12 months get first priority for these seats as there is no where else to sit them. I asked what if a lot of people arrived who needed these seats to be told that I have booked the standard PE seat as suitable for her and although bulkheads are offered they are not guaranteed. Guess I will try again a few days before we fly out then I will know if there are any babies to compete with :shrug: . I do think airline should keep 'x' amount of seats for special needs and once these have been taken accept no more bookings for them, that would allay the worry about getting one.

[Whitequeen]

DH is about to contact Air Canada with the Bulkhead request. Let's see if they are as good as Virgin have been in the past.:unsure:
I'll let you know.:)

[triciacarole]

I flew to Vancouver a couple of years ago with BA and found they have the same attitude as VA. Good luck :)

[Dawn]

I do think airline should keep 'x' amount of seats for special needs and once these have been taken accept no more bookings for them, that would allay the worry about getting one.

Probably a business thing. If they reserve say 8 seats for special needs and only 4 people request them, that's 4 empty seats on a flight. :shrug:

Bit of a stinky attitude by the airlines I think.:sigh:

[triciacarole]

Probably a business thing. If they reserve say 8 seats for special needs and only 4 people request them, that's 4 empty seats on a flight. :shrug:

Bit of a stinky attitude by the airlines I think.:sigh:

Yes, but if they don't sell them they could use them for people who don't need special assistance.

I think if a booking is made these seats should be available to be booked, if they are all booked up the person needing these seats could change their arrangements to another day, problems may occur when too many people check-in with special needs and there are not enough seats.

[Dawn]

Of course if they were really nice they could offer Upper Class seats at Economy fares. :unsure:

[triciacarole]

Wouldn't that be lovely :rolleyes: . I've booked PE after saving up points as this would allow her extra room in the bulkhead, can't afford UC :( . Disney is ideal for her as I can pop her in a wheelchair in the parks so she does not have to walk too far and experience a lot of pain but she can still have the same amount of enjoyment as her sister, she does miss out on so much because of her problem, all of her friends go on shopping trips but she can't manage it, a trip to the Trafford Centre with me, including many pit stops is her limit.

Never mind finished moaning now, plus she starts new treatment soon which hopefully will help :) .

[AlecK]

I once requested special assistance to provide standby oxygen when my asthma was playing up and they asked me to move my flight a day earlier outbound because all the SA seats were taken for the flights we originally wanted so some planning must take place :shrug:

[triciacarole]

Thats reassuring, I just had a vision of a fight at check-in with a load of special assistance passengers all arguing over a limited number of seats :).

[Whitequeen]

Of course if they were really nice they could offer Upper Class seats at Economy fares. :unsure:

Unfortunately, if they ever offered us UC or PE and it was upstairs we wouldn't be able to use it. Nothing is ever that simple. :(

[PaulaK]

I once requested special assistance to provide standby oxygen when my asthma was playing up and they asked me to move my flight a day earlier outbound because all the SA seats were taken for the flights we originally wanted, so some planning must take place :shrug:

...and we didn't ask for bulkheads, but we got them. Usually airlines just place an oxygen tank under the seat in front and charge you for the priviledge. VA sat us in the bulkheads next to the oxygen cupboard and came over to tell us that if DH needed it at anytime it was right there in front of him and to just ask. Just knowing it was there was very reassuring and they didn't charge us anything. We can't fault them :thumbs: Unlike Airtours who said 'no sorry, we won't carry you!' and cancelled our flights :rolleyes:

[Dawn]

Unlike Airtours who said 'no sorry, we won't carry you!' and cancelled our flights :rolleyes:

WHAT!!!! :eek:

[triciacarole]

...Unlike Airtours who said 'no sorry, we won't carry you!' and cancelled our flights :rolleyes:

Surely that is discrimination :grrr:

[ukwdwnut]

Unlike Airtours who said 'no sorry, we won't carry you!' and cancelled our flights :rolleyes:

that is absolutely terrible, i bet you wont book with them again, paula

[PaulaK]

Charter airlines don't have some kind of certificate that enables them to carry extra oxygen or something. They would have to pay for the licence and they won't, so if you ask for oxygen to be made available, chances are they will insist you provide a doctors note saying you won't need oxygen (how to send an asthmatic in to panic mode! :rolleyes: ). If you ask at check-in, they will frog march you out of the airport to the nearest docs and not let you board the flight until you have a 'fit to fly certificate'. Scheduled airlines will carry oxygen for you and either place it under the seat in front or do like Virgin did with us. It's the reason we never fly charter, we couldn't if we wanted to. DH carries a portable nebuliser and without oxygen, it isn't much use :rolleyes: I'd like to see them try to refuse someone oxygen though :nono:

[ukwdwnut]

Charter airlines don't have some kind of certificate that enables them to carry extra oxygen or something. They would have to pay for the licence and they won't, so if you ask for oxygen to be made available, chances are they will insist you provide a doctors note saying you won't need oxygen (how to send an asthmatic in to panic mode! :rolleyes: ). If you ask at check-in, they will frog march you out of the airport to the nearest docs and not let you board the flight until you have a 'fit to fly certificate'. Scheduled airlines will carry oxygen for you and either place it under the seat in front or do like Virgin did with us. It's the reason we never fly charter, we couldn't if we wanted to. DH carries a portable nebuliser and without oxygen, it isn't much use :rolleyes: I'd like to see them try to refuse someone oxygen though :nono:

right gotya, is that how they said it tho? not very nice in any case, i have flown both types and i wont be going chartered again, not a very pleasant experience, way too cramped who we went with and i dont like nearly pulling a muscle in my neck to try and watch the aisle movies :D

virgin all the way in future with us :)

[triciacarole]

DD used to have quiet bad asthma when she was toddler (she doesn't have a good time does she? :)), when we flew with Virgin one of the cabin crew introduced himself to us and told us he would be taking charge of our case and had oxygen on board if we needed it :). We took our portable nebuliser with us however fortunately did not need to use it, I do not think we needed oxygen for that though :confused: , we just had to pop the nebule into the mask bit, switch on the noisy pump and pop her mask on, this was about 10 years ago though :shrug: .

[PaulaK]

When we flew with Britannia, he spent the first day in a clinic on a nebuliser. I think he said charters fly at a different altitude too and that makes it worse, but I could have got that totally wrong :hehe:

[ukwdwnut]

When we flew with Britannia, he spent the first day in a clinic on a nebuliser. I think he said charters fly at a different altitude too and that makes it worse, but I could have got that totally wrong :hehe:

thats who we flew with in 02, didnt like it, it felt like i was standing more than i sat cos i was so cramped :(

[joanne]

Tricia, if it's any consolation, PE seats have a LOT more legroom and space. I have no problems in them.
I'm sure I've read somewhere this week, probably on the Virgin website or brochure, that infants aren't allowed upstairs. I've also not seen the pull down thingies they put the skycots on in front of the bulkheads upstairs. If that's the case, you'll only have other SA passengers to contend with, and no babies :fingers:

[triciacarole]

Thanks Jo, that would be even better no babies :whistle: . We had the same problems in March when we went although PE was different then as we fly from Manchester.On departure they were able to switch people but on return they had already organised it.

[Slowhand]

I'm sure I've read somewhere this week, probably on the Virgin website or brochure, that infants aren't allowed upstairs..... If that's the case, you'll only have other SA passengers to contend with, and no babies :fingers:

Sorry to disappoint but on our return flight in July, there was at least one small child upstairs in PE.
He was making enough noise for about six average kids though!:blush: He was really upsetting the flight attendants because every time his dad tried to get him to sit down during take off he was squealing at the top of his voice and the attendants had to get a bit "shirty" with the parents!

Fortunately the noise subsided after around 30 minutes when he fell asleep thank heavens!

[Cashboy]

Go through VA Special Asistance and call them now and then again 2 weeks before you go to confirm everything. They have to say they can't guarantee the seats but we've always had them. Make it very clear to them that because of your condition it isn't possible to spend that much time with so little space. They aren't really interested in Drs. letters. so there isn't much point, unless you want to take one to check-in, but that's a different dept. as they will be sure to tell you.:rolleyes:
We've always found the ' I hope you can help us' approach works wonderfully, although they have 2 choices. Allocate the seat or have a Disabilities complaint coming their way.:)

Regardless of your technique a Service dog and handler trump it any time. There are legal reasons you're subject to the "space available" rule. Next time you're refused your bulkhead hearts desire look around for a service dog.

[triciacarole]

Are they failing the Disability Discrimination Act by not providing adequate provision for people with disabilities, especially if they are informed of this at the time of booking? They do say its first come first served at the time of check-in however should they not be made to provide 'x' amount of seats for disabilities and once they are gone they are gone. I have been told in the past that I have booked a standard seat but they do not allow you to book disabled seats and they certainly know how many infant seats they need beforehand :rolleyes: .

[Vikki]

Thats a good point......