Our holiday this year was to be one of two halves, eight days in Orlando with good friends who know the area really well. They put together the most comprehensive of plans that allowed a perfect combination of rides, parks and lovely chill time back the villa. The second half was familiar territory for us, a few nights in Palm Springs and a few in San Diego, with the last night in LA. We flew American Airlines first class from Orlando to Palm Springs via Dallas Fort Worth, both flights very comfortable. Also hugely impressed by the Amex Centurion Lounge at DFW, with the exception of VS Clubhouses it has to be the best US airport lounge I’ve seen. I understand there’s one at LAS so looking forward to trying that one out next April!
So on to the flight itself: We arrived at Gatwick around 11:00, the flight was not until 13:50 but we were keen to do a bit of airside shopping and enjoy the BA Terraces Lounge. It goes without saying that BA’s Terraces Lounge is not a patch on a VS CH! Nonetheless it was perfectly acceptable, peaceful and decent range of salads, cold cuts & sandwiches to choose from. The flight showed as boarding around 13:00 and we wandered over to the gate. After a few minutes Club World & Executive Club Gold & Silver members were called for boarding. No First on this flight as it was a three class triple seven. I’d pre-booked booked seats 4A & 4B, these (along with 4J & 4K) are the best in the cabin as the person by the window does not have to clamber over a stranger’s legs if said stranger is in flat bed mode.
Seat 4A:
Seat 4B:
We were welcomed by name and asked if we would like Champagne which we accepted. Menu cards were also handed out, today’s selection was:
Starters:
Crab tian with ciabatta croutons
Herb-marinated feta cheese salad with rocket pesto
Fresh seasonal salad with vinaigrette
Main:
Goan chicken curry
Pan-seared British beef fillet with truffle herb crumb and red wine jus
Tomato, mozzarella and basil tortellini with red pepper coulis
Thai pasta salad with seared pepper tuna
Dessert:
Spiced pear tart with cardamom anglaise
Kidderton Ash and Rothbury Red cheese served with fig jelly
A selection of fruit
Tea, coffee and chocolates
Afternoon Tea:
An individual selection of traditional sandwiches
Assorted scones served warm with clotted cream and strawberry jam
Champagne & cocktail menu:
Wine menu:
The LGW three class triple sevens seat 40 in CW unlike the LHR ones which seat 48 (incidentally row 5 has the best seats on that fleet.) There were three spare seats on today’s flight. We pushed back 5 minutes early but in mid reverse there was a loud jolt and shake, it felt like something had hit the aircraft! We then sat there having not fully completed the reverse. After a couple of minutes the captain announced that the tug’s tow bar had broken and another was being sought. Minutes ticked past and eventually we heard the sound of the aircraft engines starting. Perhaps they couldn’t find a new tow bar as, even though we not fully pushed back, the captain must have been given clearance to move forward using engines. Before we knew it we were airborne with an ETA at MCO a few minutes ahead of the scheduled 18:05 arrival time.
Throughout the flight the service was exceptionally attentive; I lost count of the number of times we were addressed by name. The flight manager was especially chatty, he must have used his iPad to look at our recent flight BA patterns as he asked Steve how his recent flight to San Francisco had been, showing real interest in how he rated the service and how frequently we fly.
The lunch was delicious; we both opted for the crab starter. I had the curry for main and Steve had the fillet. Our seating layout was great for a couple travelling together.
Starter:
Fillet main:
Steve grabbed these great shorts of a BA 747 flying right alongside us for a fair while! We deduced it must have been the LHR-MIA service:
All in all this was a great flight. Everything worked, the on demand IFE was good but not as great as the new IFE on VS's LGW fleet. Everything was clean, the cabin carpet looked brand new, the food & wine was delicious and the service friendly & attentive. It lacked the VS flair though and we missed the social interaction you get on VS when meeting & chatting with fellow passengers at the bar. We did however like the seat positioning, especially for us flying as a couple as we were facing one another so very easy to chat & dine together.
We arrived to am empty immigration hall (the VS 13:00 departure from LGW was running two hours late hence it was not ahead of us). We'd collected our bags and had been greeted by our friends (who had arrived some three days earlier) around twenty minutes after landing.
Will post our LAX-LHR return flight in the next few days.
Thanks for reading,
James
