Booked a Virgin Atlantic award via Continental - how to select seats?

Discussion in 'United | MileagePlus (including Continental)' started by hungarianhc, Jul 6, 2011.

    • Original Member

    hungarianhc Silver Member

    I got a pretty sweet 1-way business class itinerary... PRG-FRA-LHR-LAX. The last leg is in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class. Sweet!

    How do i select seats for this leg? I don't see a Virgin record locator anywhere (for me to reference if I call Virgin directly), and if I try to select a seat, it shows me an economy seat map with no available seats. I've confirmed that this leg is in business, as it says so in the receipt / record locator. Thanks!
    744 likes this.
    • Original Member

    744 Gold Member

    call virgin with your ticket number. They can probably find your reservation by name and travel date and flight number. Has a ticket been issued?
    Ygor likes this.
    • Original Member

    hungarianhc Silver Member

    Yup - the ticket has been issued. It took the full 3 hours after booking it before I got the confirmation that it was issued.
    • Original Member

    744 Gold Member

    Just call Virgin, with the tix number they'll be able to give you a seat and also their locator code so that you can use it later for check in or changing seats again.
    • Original Member

    744 Gold Member

    did you try the locator you do have on checkmytrip.com? not sure if ua is part of that system, but try the locator you do have and see if anything comes up (like the virgin locator)
    • Original Member

    Ygor Gold Member

    I just did this a couple weeks ago. Just call VS. They have a dedicated option on their phone lines if you are flying in Upper Class. Tell them the flight number and date, and they will find it by your last name. Ask them for their reservation number. CO was not able to give me one when I called, but calling VS was easy and quick. They will also assign you a seat over the phone if you like.
    Wandering Aramean likes this.
    • Original Member

    Hannaman Silver Member

    CO's "superior" systems at work.

    Hopefully they'll be able to move towards instant ticketing someday.
    744 likes this.
    • Original Member

    wombat18 Silver Member

    In my recent experience, even with your Virgin six letter booking code (which CO can give you) you won't be able to access your booking on the VS website.

    So, as others have mentioned, called the lovely lasses and laddies at Virgin. You might want to have seatguru or seatexpert open in front of you on the web.
    Ygor likes this.
    • Original Member

    hungarianhc Silver Member

    Thanks for the input, guys! I'll give Virgin Atlantic a call after work today!
    • Original Member

    EWR764 Silver Member

    At one point, VS seat maps and assignments were available on CO.com for CO-issued tickets. I haven't flown VS on a CO ticket in a while so I can't comment as to whether this is still the case.
    • Original Member

    Ygor Gold Member

    Whatever.
    I still don't understand what it is the great benefit of instant ticketing, unless you are buying a ticket and flying withinn a few hours of buying it.
    • Original Member

    Hannaman Silver Member

    There's an element of finality to the ticket being issued. When it's ticketed, it's bought, it's a done deal, if you want to make a non-refundable hotel res, or other non-refundable activity booking, you're safe. No chance the ticket won't get issued and you have to shuffle things. If you're holding partner space with a ticket, no need to work (e.g., SQ kicks out reservations after a few hours with no ticket number).

    Similarly if you're booking multiple trips, or tickets for multiple people, you have to reconcile all the receipts after the fact. Imagine booking 10 or 20 itineraries and having to go back to each one to make sure it was actually issued, and one or two didn't get caught up in the Houston Ticket-o-matic. Or if you want to print and file the receipts for expense reimbursement, you don't get a receipt immediately so you have to go back.

    It adds up to extra effort, especially if they're under different accounts/names/etc.

    All of this goes back to who CO is good at catering to -- leisure travellers. If I were booking a single flight, once a year, yes, co.com is easy, and no, I don't need an immediate receipt for my flight to see granny. If I'm coordinating a meeting or event, booking a handful of people, coordinating with friends or family, etc., then CO's systems can be a nuisance.
    744 and al613 like this.
    • Original Member

    hungarianhc Silver Member

    Just got off the phone w/ the Virgin Atlantic agent. He needed my CO OnePass number, my name, and all of the passenger information - he was able to pull up the itinerary and assign seats without a problem. Actually, I feel much better after getting off the phone with him...

    When the seat selection on CO showed me a completely full economy cabin, I got a little nervous that some glitch stuck me in the wrong cabin on that flight!
    744 likes this.
    • Original Member

    al613 Silver Member

    It seems pretty standard view when you book upper class with VS.
    BTW, how do you think it compares to UA or LH F?
    • Original Member

    744 Gold Member

    should be better than UA, but not as good as LH F. Just IMHO based on my experiences over the last few years. Though I have not tried UA's new F for tatl's.
    • Original Member

    al613 Silver Member

    Thanks. Interesting, that for business class price you can get similar to F value. (At least, I hope so :) )
    • Original Member

    Wandering Aramean Gold Member

    The food sucks. The AVOD is OK, depending on which aircraft/config you get. The lounges are sexy and fun but that part of the trip is much shorter than the actual flying time. And, again depending on the aircraft config, flying with someone else can result in very difficult arrangements to actually see or talk with them.

    With the new BF seats and AVOD I actually think CO is a better product now on pretty much everything but the lounge and the bar on board.
    • Original Member

    al613 Silver Member

    Thanks! I like that you cannot see other people :) Are seats OK?
    • Original Member

    Wandering Aramean Gold Member

    The seats are pretty good but, like the AVOD, they're a generation older.

    VS really needs a refresh of their product IMO.

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