This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Fast-track through security was clear and I arrived at the Virgin lounge after fighting my way through the crowds in the departure lounge and settled down to a really friendly greeting by one of the waitresses. I opted for the signature breakfast of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs which really hit the spot and a healthy cranberry juice(10/10 to the chef for the food).
I know some people dont really rate the Gatwick lounge but I actually quite like it it wasnt too busy at all and the service was excellent. Managed to grab a 30 minute back massage with relaxing oils which was possibly the best massage I have had all year and after a couple of diet cokes I was ready to board the flight. I even impressed myself by rejecting the offers for champagne by the waitresses so early in the morning (although this wouldnt last for much longer!).
I once again navigated the nightmare of the departure lounge and needing a fix of trashy magazines to read on the flight (there werent any in the virgin lounge to borrow) I had to make a pit stop at WHSmiths to pick some up. Anyway to give you some indication as to the number of people at the airport the queue to pay snaked around the shop twice and out in to seating area in the lounge so some 30 minutes (yes 30 minutes!) later I had paid for the magazines and headed for Gate 34. Priority boarding was up and running and worked well and I hopped onto the 747-400 (sorry I totally forgot to look at the name ;-( ) for the 8hr 30 min flight to Orlando (hoping that Hurrican Katrina had worn herself out by the time we arrived!).
The flight seemed pretty full in both Economy and PE and in Upper Class there were 8 of us with 3 staff to look after us which was great! I had an obligatory glass of champagne to help the hangover subside on boarding (well it would have been rude to refuse the lovely crew and see it go to waste pre take off!) and we pushed back at 11:15 and were wheels up by 11:30 heading west for Newfoundland and down the eastern sea board of North America down to Orlando.
The plane was looking tidy, clean and the suites were looking great I know they have been fitted more recently then the LHR planes which I seem to travel on more but there was no sign of damage at all - the only real disappointment I guess (although it was expected) was the IFE which was not VPort.
I can announce that I am officially a happy man again! If anyone has read any of my previous trip reports (and to be honest I wouldnt blame you if you hadnt!!) I have had one major bug bear lately on UC flights the lack of presence of the FSM in and around the cabin as compared to how they use to come round and meet and great passengers. Well after, I reckon, 10 Upper Class flights in the last 6 months I finally saw the FSM on this flight. Just after take off she came over to me and welcomed me aboard, thanked me for my loyalty to virgin and offered her ear for me to bend if anything at all was not top notch on the flight. A think this is a really nice touch, it doesnt cost Virgin any money (although I do recognise it does take some time for the FSM to do along with his/her other duties) and is really well received by all passengers. Even though the flight was busy and she had some tricky things to deal with (she had a domestic dispute in the Economy cabin which she had to deal with, a very irrate woman in UC to cope with who kept on complaining and calling her specifically to deal with her issues, a broken IFE system to contend with and an individual in Economy who was caught smoking in the toilets) our FSM still managed time to come round later in the flight to check on all of us again - she was a true star!
Without boring you all too much there were numerous problems with the IFE system throughout the flight (which I hear is a common problem on the LGW suites!) - suffice to say we only had IFE for 2hours out of 8.5 hours and the DVD players in Upper Class were also suffering from flat battery syndrome so I was glad I had bought numerous trashy mags to read and even swapped a couple with the crew (who were all great) to see me through to Orlando!
The menu has definately changed of late and the offerings for this flight are shown below.
Starters
Seasoned leaf salad with gravadlax, red & yellow peppers, cherry tomatoes and dill dressing
Cream of asparagus, gruyere and tarragons oup served with a choice of warm breads
Mains
Chicken breast wrapped in pancetta served with herb gnocchi, mixed leaves and provencal sauce
Grilled steak served with dauphinoise potatoes, fresh seasonal vegetables and horseradish sauce
Vegetable lasagne topped with sun-blushed tomatoes and chives
Cheeses
Shropshire blue
Camembert
Mature Cheddar
Dessert
Fruits of the forest tart with a pistachio tuile
Mango & lime ice cream on its own or drizzled with summer berry sauce
Afternoon Tea
Selection of sandwiches including egg mayonnaise, poached salmon & watercress and chicken & peppers
Ginger scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam
Choice from the cake stand including pistachio _clair, toffee sympany and apricot & almond pastry
I was impressed by the salad and the lasagne which were both really tasty and managed to squeeze in afternoon tea too although the sandwich selection we received differed from the menu. It later transpired on chatting to the crew at the bar later that we were actually eating the crew sandwiches as the UC ones hadnt been loaded - another example of how the crew will go out of their way to make their passengers happy and one of the reasons I remain fiercely loyal to Virgin. I feel a few heroes nominations coming along.....
The rest of the flight was uneventful - we arrived in Orlando about 1 hour ahead of schedule which meant that I got to baggage claim just as the rest of my family did who were arriving on the VS flight from Manchester which had left some 30 minutes earlier which worked out really well.
All in all a really good flight despite the lack of IFE and a great start to the holiday [:)]
