Virgin Alantic – What Type on LHR-PVG Route?

If I’m positioning on a 744 I always try to get a seat on the main deck rather than upstairs. It’s also much more restrictive upstairs as its effectively a narrowbody parked on top of a widebody.

Mark – the upstairs is still a fair bit quieter than being right down the back due to the fact that the rear is much closer to the jet efflux.

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This is an urban myth. The upper deck of 100(SUD), 300 and 400 747’s experience a standing shockwave immediately above them making it a noisier environment than the front of the main cabin.

:eek:…I didnt know that it was an urban myth, someone just told me it was quieter, and have continued to recommend the upper deck to passengers for that very reason!

…(except when the gear goes up and down, cor, what a racket that makes!)

Yeah, I will agree to that, very noisey indeed, which is why I assumed the upper deck would be quieter!

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This is an urban myth. The upper deck of 100(SUD), 300 and 400 747’s experience a standing shockwave immediately above them making it a noisier environment than the front of the main cabin.

I haven’t had the pleasure (yet) but is the Upper Deck quieter than the back of the plane? I appreciate the front of the Lower Deck is quieter than upstairs (except when the gear goes up and down, cor, what a racket that makes!)

…shame LHR-PVG is not on a 747 because he could of got a seat on the upper-deck, which is quieter…

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This is an urban myth. The upper deck of 100(SUD), 300 and 400 747’s experience a standing shockwave immediately above them making it a noisier environment than the front of the main cabin.

I have flown the LHR-PVG quite a few times always at the back in Economy but its not bad. Its an A340-600 and I have had some great trips with VS. The views at Pudong are quite good-expect to see an amazing range of Chinese airliners plus the usual heavies from USA (including freighters) and some interesting a/c from Asia (KAL A330). Mostly western types though. Be careful if you want to spot using bins-take a small pair and try not to be too obtrusive.

A word of caution. If you are taking the Maglev train into the city, before you embark get someone to write down the name of your hotel in Mandarin for giving to the taxi driver- this saves time as some drivers have ripped off UK tourists by taking them way off of their route. I have also used the taxi’s from the airport and have again got my hotel name translated into Mandarin.

Hotels are fabulous as is Shanghai itself. I stayed at both the Hilton and the Holiday Inn (by the main railway station).

Finally; the flight back is fantastic during the day with plenty of scenery to look at from 35,000 feet. The duty free shopping at PVG is not that extensive so make sure you buy your pressies from the city.

Have a great trip.

I tend to find the situation is usually ranked by industry, and not by position within the company.

Walmart for example have a policy of Economy only for all employees. They have a large corporate jet fleet though, but even this they use when it is cheaper than commercial flying (which is quite frequently when time really does equal money). And any luxury idea you have about Biz Jets is shattered when you see their spartan Lear Jets!

However if you look at the law industry, even the lowliest person within the company is likely to be able to fly Business because the Corporate Travel Policy is a competitive feature when it comes to retaining staff.

Most people I know do have to contend with idiotic corporate travel managers however. It does make me laugh that with a bit of research and insutry insight (OK and a little bit of sacrifice) I can travel First/Business anywhere for little more than the cost of the economy fare, yet people working for major corporations are forced into the back because of corporate dictat! 😀

Slight difference, I know, but same principle…my father works for a company in London, and he has to travel to Bristol quite often on the train. Even though he holds an ‘executive’ position/title within the company, he is not allowed to travel first/business class on the train; and instead has to travel Standard class with all the other people, which makes working on a laptop a misery for him!

I have to go standard class by train for journeys of less than 1-hour, all others I go First. When it comes to flying, much more varied, long haul is business class only because if we’re expected to work at the other end then you have to be well rested and comfortable. Domestic and Short Haul vary because it depends on the needs at the time you’re booking. For example, flexible fares may only be available in business etc, although the overall aim is to do it as cheaply as possible within your travel requirements. Also helps when airlines are your clients as you tend to just ring them and get appropriate flights for nothing.

Try http://www.seatguru.com/ for the aircraft config and seat reviews

Hi Cloud 9 / Steve

I am only guessing here, but I would imagine that Paul F’s position within the company that he works for does not allow him to do so…, if he did want to travel business class, I assume he would have to fork out the additional cost, at his own expense!

Exactly! Few small businesses can afford the inflated Business class fares, especially for lowly Technical managers like myself. Also, my employer is run by a “vertically challenged” individual, who sees no problems with expecting staff to travel ecomony even on long haul, as he is only 5ft, so manages with economy leg room. Being 6ft 3in, 11 hours in economy would have bene unberaable, so I had to work on them to allow me to travel premium economy! As in many small businesses, we are expected to travel with low cost airlines on shorter flights 🙁 . 2 hrs 30mins is about my limit inside a Squeezy Jet! ……

And, one last question from me…

What is the configuration of VS’s A340-600’s?

Try this website (though I don’t know how up to date it is); www.seatguru.com/articles/booking_airline_seats.php……….

If only I could work for a company that would allow me to travel around the world…(day-dreaming!)…:cool:

Business travel ain’t all it’s cracked up to be (well, rarely has been for me anyway), living out of a suitcase, seeing little more than the inside of hotel rooms, the insides of taxis, and the facility I’m visiting, trying to handle jumping between time zones, being away from the family etc… And there the getting to the airpoort (traffic hell), checking in/bag drop (queues), security checks (more queues), the flight itself (boring), immigration/passport control (queues), baggage reclaim (waiting and wondering if my bag will ever appear)…. Very rarely do I get an hour or two to spare when I’m away, and then all I want to do is catch up on some sleep, and anyway it’s often too little time for any real sightseeing.

Only once do I remember things working out in my favour – a colleague and I finished an equipment acceptance trial in Toronto over two days earlier than expected (thanks to a very efficient team at the supplier). So we thought “Do we try and change to an earlier flight back, or do we keep schtum, and enjoy ourselves for once?”. I’ll let you work out what we did, but if you’re ever in Torornto, then I can recommend a day trip to Niagara Falls, the falls are most impressive 😉 .

Paul F

If your a business man travelling there on business why are you travelling economy and not business class??

I am only guessing here, but I would imagine that Paul F’s position within the company that he works for does not allow him to do so…, if he did want to travel business class, I assume he would have to fork out the additional cost, at his own expense!

Slight difference, I know, but same principle…my father works for a company in London, and he has to travel to Bristol quite often on the train. Even though he holds an ‘executive’ position/title within the company, he is not allowed to travel first/business class on the train; and instead has to travel Standard class with all the other people, which makes working on a laptop a misery for him!

At least Paul is travelling Premium Economy…shame LHR-PVG is not on a 747 because he could of got a seat on the upper-deck, which is quieter.

Paul, are you going to use the Clubhouse at LHR?

My brother recently flew LHR-SFO with Virgin, and said that the Clubhouse is amazing, and well worth the time spent in there before your flight as he felt really relaxed. B*****d could reply to my ‘goodbye’ text message because he was having a massage at the time…!:D

And, one last question from me…

What is the configuration of VS’s A340-600’s?

If only I could work for a company that would allow me to travel around the world…(day-dreaming!)…:cool:

If your a business man travelling there on business why are you travelling economy and not business class??

It is indeed the A340-600. When I was at Pudong back in January, I saw the newest A340-600 at the time departing. I think the Virgin Atlantic timings are very similar to those of British Airways, as they departed pretty much one after the other.

I had to settle for China Eastern on my trip though. 😮

Virgins PVG flights are on the A340-600.

I went there with VS autumn last year and found the timings of the flights worked very well for me, which is unusual when travelling east.

I didn’t pay much attention to the views at the airport, I was too busy keeping an eye on my 4 year old Godson, but the international departure area looks out across the apron through huge windows so presumably give good views.

If you get the chance use the maglev service from the airport to town, it is very impressive.

Bon voyage!

1L.

Thanks Dave,

No I’m not looking forward to it either… luckily I’m allowed to book Premium economy, so at least there will be a little more room, and power to run the laptop.

A few drinks with the meal and hopefully I’ll be able to doze for some of the flight – it arrives at 08:45 local, so I’ve got to go straight to work when I get there even though my bodyclock will be telling me its only 01:45.

The joys of international business travel eh :rolleyes: !

Paul F

Most likely an A340-600, today’s VS250 is for a long 11hours, rather you than me! As far as I know the 744s are only used on North American routes.