Virgin Atlantic's New Upper Class Suites

(photos: Virgin Atlantic)

Sometimes a product seems so hip and now that it can't be ignored in the marketplace. It appears Virgin Atlantic Airways has found that product for its new Upper Class Suites that may be unrivaled in its design and look. Upper Class is the airline's premium business class product on their two-class Airbus A330 jets.

Introduced last weekend and currently flying exclusively between London Heathrow to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, the airline claims "We've re-engineered and reinvented our Upper Class Suite, creating a fabulous onboard experience with great new features":

• Recline increased up to 50% in the lounger configuration and 1.5 inches greater in width than the previous version.
• In lie-flat mode, the seats provide an 87-inch bed surface (at 7 feet 2 inches, it is longer than other airline's business class bed)
• New espresso color leather seats.
• A 12.1-inch touchscreen monitor with touchscreen remote.
• Adjustable reading light.
• A flip-down cocktail table and push panel armrest.
• Additional storage compartments featuring a new literature pocket and two ottoman storage areas.
• USB and other power port connections compatible with most international type plugs.
• Lumbar support functionality with "firm touch" buttons to prevent accidental activation.
• An "Aeromobile" system giving passengers the ability to make and receive phone calls and texts from their own mobile phones.
• In a herringbone pattern, four-seats across, all seats have direct aisle access.
• Each window seat has an one more window built into the wall that provides more light but opaque enough to allow privacy from passengers seated in adjacent rows.

The futuristic onboard bar is now separate from the cabin giving passengers not wishing to socialize more privacy. The bar has new mood lighting but still have the Virgin Atlantic accents of red and Swarovski crystal.

Estimated roundtrip airfares from the carrier's website for a weeklong trip in May varies from a low of $3,988.20 for a restrictive ticket to a high of $10,470.20 for a fully flexible and refundable reservation for flight VS003 (Heathrow to JFK) and VS004 (JFK to Heathrow) that are offered six days a week. As the airline takes possession of more Airbus A330 planes in 2012, additional destinations will be added offering the Upper Class Suites. The seats will be added to their order of Boeing 787s in 2014.

Click HERE for an interactive tour. Visit virgin-atlantic.com for more information. Virgin-Atlantic Airways is owned by Richard Branson's the Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines and operates between the United Kingdom and North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.

Limiting Weight of Carry-On Bags for Safety

(photo credit: USA Today)

One of the effects of the common practice of charging for checked-bags by the airlines are heavier and an increased number of carry-on bags. These bags can be dangerous if they fall out of bins and most passengers are unaware that these bins have specific weight limits. If you damage the overhead bin, you'll receive the ire other passengers who can no longer use the bin either.

So far Hawaiian Airlines is the first among domestic carriers in enforcing a 25-pound weight limit for carry-on bags. Among other airlines, US Airways personnel may insist a bag be checked if it exceeds 40 pounds. Don't be surprised if Hawaiian personnel asks you to weigh carry-on bags at check-in or ask you to use the the luggage sizer (or portable luggage scales, if available) at the gate. One time on flight from Hilo, Hawaii to Honolulu, I noticed gate agents walking around the waiting area looking at passenger carry-on bags. They did have the courtesy to announce they would be doing so. However I have not seen this practice recently.

Foreign airlines are not immune either to the practice of limiting the weight of bags brought into the cabin. Some in fact have even more stricter carry-on limits:

• Emirates, 15 pounds
• Lufthansa, 17.5 pounds
• Qantas, 15 pounds
• Virgin Atlantic, 13 pounds

Click HERE to view each airline's carry-on weight limit from AirfareWatchDog.

Heavy carry-on bags presents a liability for the airline, the owner of the bag or the passenger who opens a bin should they be at fault for causing injury to another passenger. Also remember the flight crew is there for your safety and many flight attendants will not stow your bags for you. But on one American Airlines flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Philadelphia, the flight attendants played what I would call the carry-on bag shuffle as they walked up and down the cabin trying to fit bags or moving them from bin to bin to accommodate the abundance of carry-on bags. Finally for your well-being, no passenger should attempt to bring a bag on board they cannot lift themselves and risk getting injured.

For myself, I try to pack light for short trips so I don't have to check any bags. For longer trips, my carry-on will hold only the valuables and some basic necessities just in case (such as an extra change of clothes) and travel size of some toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrush) for long layovers. But with the rising cost of checked-bag fees I don't blame passengers trying to save money especially in these days of rising airfares, fees and fuel.