VA 777 Plat in Y - LAX > BNE

[deva22]

Hi Brains Trust,

Anyone have recommendations based on experience travelling to/from LAX on VA 777 as Plat in Y?
I'm usually on paid (work) travel on this route in J, but had to book a last minute Y redemption for a family event.

Question:
Should I allocate my seat?
The reason I ask, is that if I leave it to the check-in agent to allocate my seat as a Plat, what are the odds of them allocating me an economy X seat free?
I'll obviously be keeping an eye on the J reward availability and change if I can, but failing that...

 

[clipped_wings]

Zero chance of a YX seat being offered to you at the gate. Main reason is because there are many Plats who travel Y - and it would set an impossible precedent. I'd spring the $250 to guarantee it. Or, throw in a lazy low-level bid for Premium, which still trumps economy X IMHO.

 

[deva22]

Zero chance of a YX seat being offered to you at the gate. Main reason is because there are many Plats who travel Y - and it would set an impossible precedent. I'd spring the $250 to guarantee it. Or, throw in a lazy low-level bid for Premium, which still trumps economy X IMHO.

I thought redemption seats weren't eligible for cash upgrades? "Bid for upgrade" doesn't work, so I'm assuming that's the case.

 

[clipped_wings]

Sorry, I forgot that you'd said redemption. You can still upgrade with cash to YX, that's what we did for our boys.

 

[babysun]

My experience is the LAX check in staff are cold/clueless at best. Pay for your economy X seat. I'm platinum with VA and they could not give two hoots. I'm always treated really well in YX by cabin manager. Most recently given business class breakfast tray when I realised that the entire Y breakfast menu contained eggs (to which I have an intolerance). Bulkhead XY and whatever drugs help you sleep!

 

[Harthagan]

My experience is the LAX check in staff are cold/clueless at best. Pay for your economy X seat. I'm platinum with VA and they could not give two hoots. I'm always treated really well in YX by cabin manager. Most recently given business class breakfast tray when I realised that the entire Y breakfast menu contained eggs (to which I have an intolerance). Bulkhead XY and whatever drugs help you sleep!

I've had virgin staff go above and beyond on an instance where I stupidly left my iPad on the plane and only realised after already clearing customs in LAX. They processed it through security and kept it in storage for me to collect on the way back home from LAX. Sounds simple but the logistics involved are enough to put anyone's brain through a blender. I swear the damn thing wasn't worth the hassle and amount of paperwork but amazingly it was there for my collection at the boarding gate along with a smiling agent and a not so subtle hint to provide some + feedback to Virgin (which I gladly followed through with)

Long story short is that that experience was an exception to the rule which is don't expect any favours in LAX haha

 

[babysun]

I've had virgin staff go above and beyond on an instance where I stupidly left my iPad on the plane and only realised after already clearing customs in LAX. They processed it through security and kept it in storage for me to collect on the way back home from LAX. Sounds simple but the logistics involved are enough to put anyone's brain through a blender. I swear the damn thing wasn't worth the hassle and amount of paperwork but amazingly it was there for my collection at the boarding gate along with a smiling agent and a not so subtle hint to provide some + feedback to Virgin (which I gladly followed through with)

Long story short is that that experience was an exception to the rule which is don't expect any favours in LAX haha

I wonder how much of that work involved airline crew. What a miracle! I’ve found the American ground staff to be very unpleasant (politely stated). One in particular who always seems to be around the gate when we board. Maybe I will meet your unicorns there one day with any luck.

 

[CPMaverick]

Just arrived LAX-BNE yesterday, and fly the 777 often in Y (unfortunately!) as a VA Plat. No, they won't give you YX for free, unless Y is oversold. A few times I've been comp'd PE because of overselling, and in one case I was given a refund on my YX fee in that case.

I usually pay for YX. But it depends on how full the flight is. If you can get a row to yourself in Y, save the money.

This time I paid for YX both ways. On my way out, the flight was mostly empty, and the cabin manager moved me to an empty row of 3 seats before take-off, which was much appreciated. On the way back the flight was completely full, but I still managed to get a good amount of sleep.

The only downside to YX is that the bulkheads are where they put babies, I've seen all three bassinets full of babies before. So if crying babies are an issue for you, consider that in your equation. I have noise-cancelling earbuds which I can then place the noise-cancelling VA headsets over, and that means I can deal with just about any noise

 

[Hindo]

Hi Brains Trust,

Anyone have recommendations based on experience travelling to/from LAX on VA 777 as Plat in Y?
I'm usually on paid (work) travel on this route in J, but had to book a last minute Y redemption for a family event.

Question:
Should I allocate my seat?
The reason I ask, is that if I leave it to the check-in agent to allocate my seat as a Plat, what are the odds of them allocating me an economy X seat free?
I'll obviously be keeping an eye on the J reward availability and change if I can, but failing that...

My last trip LAX-SYD I asked nicely at the lounge in LAX to be moved to a regular Y seat. For whatever reason they were having trouble doing that so they just put me in a YX seat. Still a downgrade from my PE seat on the way over but at least it was something. In the end I wound up in one of those seats with the hard sides and I would have preferred my normal Y seat.

 

[Fortheloveofflying]

I was on a BNE-LAX flight recently and there were less than 50 passengers on the entire plane. No one got upgraded to YX/PE/J. The gold/platinum line was probably bigger than the economy line when we boarded.