V-Flyer

Good morning from the marhaba lounge in Dubai.

Unlike the last time I was here I walked in and didn't see buns Where is he hiding..

A bit of jiggering around with seat assignments yesterday as the flight is now scheduled to run on a refit A333. I've been looking forward to trying it out.

Had a lovely second breakfast and just reclining in one of their private booths waiting for the flight to be called.

I know I haven't posted in some time, apologies for that, but never fear Joey is still around and flying with VS.

Excellent- enjoy the flight and let us know how it goes (with pics if possible)

Good stuff - safe travels! Looking forward to my visit to the Marhaba in errr... December :(

Joey
Apologies for not being there to share your excitement in Dubai

Like many others, I look forward to your opinions of the new layout

Have a great flight

buns

It wasn't a bad flight, but the crew were not as proactive as I would have expected from a day flight. Drinks refills not being actively offered, 'extra bites' menu not being pushed until the 'afternoon tea' run an hour and a half before landing. That said the crew were friendly enough.

As for the A333 refit... it is a marked improvement from the previous suite. The seat itself is the same as those installed on the Dreamliners, there are luggage compartments over the centre column adding to the stowage space and the bar area has been completely redesigned for the better.

I understood from the FSM on boarding that we were the second group of pax to be ferried on Diamond Girl. It definitely had that new leather smell, although I was a touch surprised at a couple of obvious cleaning faux pas at my seat. A grease paper they put over the butter dish was under the ottoman and there was a rather disgusting 'stain' directly above my seat that made me think someone had picked their nose and wiped it on the ceiling.

I'll save the rest of my observations on the flight, food, crew etc for a TR which I shall try to put together when I get a few minutes. I'll also have to resize all of the photos for you because of the upload restrictions. Don't worry I have plenty of the cabin, bar, food and mystery stains