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Planning an Orlando trip for 2025 and as a “treat” for hopefully paying off our mortgage this year we are looking to fly UC on the way home. 2A2C. Ideally looking to fly from EDI but due to the leisure config A35K the seats are sparse in UC and therefore prices generally around £2000 higher than the MAN alternative.
Currently MAN is on the A333 and reviews are mixed on the UC product. Some good, some bad. We’re primarily booking this for a bed for the kids rather than onboard soft product.
Thoughts appreciated from anyone who has done UC on this aircraft, especially with kids.
Also, LHR has the arrivals lounge. I guess arriving into MAN and EDI there are no options for lounge access on arrival?VS swap their A330s around, old UC is poor for children, I wouldn’t bother.
There are a few variations of aircraft here to contend with. A333/789 share the same Upper cabin, but there are leisure and non-leisure configs, which effectively differ based on the number of Upper seats/suites available. MAN flies less Upper, typically. MAN will usually get the older metal, which puts me off flying from there with them – and the ground situation isn’t great, either.
If you’re going to do it, do it from LHR. Kit swap usually A339 to A35K, rather than A333 (but stranger things have happened!).
Ask nicely at VS Hols and they might well package it up with a BA MAN-LHR flight for you to connect. Revivals lounge at LHR is nice, but it’s no Clubhouse – think of it as a corridor of showers and an open plan area for breakfast menu to be served at. I wouldn’t be preferencing LHR for that, but I would be for the Clubhouse and better metal.
Richie – can you elaborate on “poor for children”. Is it a poor bed?
AL – LHR is a pain for us. Home airport is KOI. EDI is ideal, MAN a middle-ground as I work for an airline that flies there, but LHR is just a pain to get to and from for us, especially northbound on the way home.It’s exposed to the aisle so there’s a possibility to be woken up as others pass by.
It’s exposed to the aisle so there’s a possibility to be woken up as others pass by.
Thanks for that. I don’t think that will be an issue. They would sleep through a nuclear blast.
It’s exposed to the aisle so there’s a possibility to be woken up as others pass by.
Thanks for that. I don’t think that will be an issue. They would sleep through a nuclear blast.
I think it also requires the seat to do a complete flip to go from a seat to a bed which I find very annoying as you can’t have the seat in a half way lounging position and my kids constantly seem to want to go from sitting to lying down.
I never understood how anyone spoke kindly of the old UC. The BA “dorm” was far superior.
Good point, makes sense. Looking at the proposed flight times for next year I’d say it will be get on and get to bed so that wouldn’t necessarily be a problem.
The old configuration for UC is dire. I do not like the flipping seat. It reclines about three inches before you need to have the crew flatten it. I recently flew back from IAD and flew in Y instead as the back was almost empty and I had a middle row of four.
We considered the gamble of going off peak and snagging the “poor man’s business class” of empty rows but I’d rather guarantee the bed if possible, and chances of 4 empty rows in the back on a route as busy as MCO seems slim.
As I say it will probably be board, then sleep as soon as cabin is released in the cruise, so the seat not reclining or going to the “lounge” posistion is a non-issue for us.I dare you to disembark at MAN and ask to be directed to the arrivals lounge!
I dare you to disembark at MAN and ask to be directed to the arrivals lounge!
“Its just down the M6 a bit…”
We, too l, dislike the ‘flipping’ bed, aka ‘the coffin’, it’s one of the worst business class products out there and I would avoid it, if possible. Even when flipped it’s not comfortable, old BA CW is better IMHO. However, it’s still better than PE! Virgin usually have the old A330 and new A350 serving Orlando, the latter is great!
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