VS062 NAS-LGW 5 Sep 05 (PE)

This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

After two weeks of sun, food, cocktails, the odd excursion, more food and cocktails our holiday is at an end.

First experience of Check in Chill out beckons

Got to Piano Bar at 10:55am Check in already well under way (scheduled for 11:00)
Chat to VH rep and fill in questionnaire till our turn. Couldnt be easier.

Sit around pool sipping cocktail (with short break for rain) until lunch. Ready at front of hotel 2:15pm for 2:30 pick up. Mini bus arrives and VS pax pile in, no idea whether its the correct bus, but it was going to airport.

Tail of VS 747 reassuringly poking above terminal building as we arrival. After a few minutes confused wandering up and down the airport concourse departures was found and quickly through security. Bahamians friendly to the last, security agent comments on how many months gone a fellow passenger was He wasnt that amused although his wife found it funny.

In departure lounge by 3:10. spent time chatting to fellow hotel guests/VS pax in a warm crowded lounge.

Boarding starts at 3:50. UC & PE First. On board Ladybird 5 mins later. Have our reserved seats 74 H & K in front of the exit and 73 H & K turned out to be empty. So no one to back or front to disturb us or for us to disturb. ( or so we thought. More later)

The flight did not look 100% full but the 2 seat in front of us where the only vacant ones on top deck.

Push back at 4:27. Then we wait 15mins before moving any further.

We taxi to the middle of the runway as it appears taxi way to end is being resurfaced and a consequence a/c does a u turn at end and we can see a queue of small aircraft sitting on the runway ahead of us. We are clearly not going anywhere quickly.

Some time later Captain announces that runway ahead is being used a taxi way and despite begging and pleading he had been told we were just going to have to wait.. We eventually took of at 5:07.

Drink came around about quarter hour after take off shortly after food service began. They then decided as dinner was being served to switch on Oddessy. Leaving us fiddling with earphones, RC and IFE menu with trays of half open food on our laps not the easiest thing to do.

Choice of beef casserole, salmon and rice and veggie. My Beef was not particularly appetising and not up to the standard of the out bound meal. Baileys and brandy followed food

Watched Valliant and played a few games before deciding to settled down for a snooze. There where a lot of children on board ( Yes I know time of year and destination). They had up to this point been well behaved and few of the smaller one been allowed to toddle up and down the aisle without disturbing any one.

But then one little darling decided that toddling up and down way best a full pelt and that several laps of the aisle where required at any on time. The thud.. thud.. thud.. of little flat feet resonates through floor and seat, so circumventing blindfold and ear plugs

A first it was up and down and couple of times then a break of a few mins so you could begin to nod off but then it would be up and down again. The episodes seem to get more frequent and involve more laps of the cabin. It was clearly disturbing a number of Pax but CC seem to do nothing. Parent tried restraining little blighter but gave up when screaming began. Let it scream. I have ear plugs. Its being bounced out of my seat I cant cope with. At the point I was deciding whether it was best to remonstrate with parent or cabin crew the bouncing stopped and I managed to drift off.

I did get some sleep but needless to say now there was little time left and was woken up just before breakfast with more thud.. thud.. thud

Muffin and fruit for breakfast at 11:10 (4:10BST)

Land after 5:30 only a little late. We then have a tour of all the gates as the a/c turns and taxi past them again captain announces that we will be stopping as soon as control decide which gate.
Finally we stop but are a little slow getting of a/c however its quick through passport control as no queue. A few mins wait for our luggage to arrive and straight through customs and home for a proper breakfast and some sleep.

That makes my blood boil Duncan. Our 2 year ols is being trained from an early age the she does NOT kick seats in front of her, run up and down cabins and (to the best of her ability) scream her head off on a plane. The third is the most difficult to control!

I had her walking around the whole length of the plane with me several times on our NAS trip. She was google eyed at the sea of faces!

Regards

John

We have had small children on PE fights before no problem most parent do what you do and it seems to work. The odd upset on a 8 hour flight is not unexpected. But a week latter I still haven't recovered from my lack of sleep although normally I arange to arrive back Friday or Saturday morning to get the weekend to recover.

Intersting TR - thanks. Hmmmm. I must be hard to control children who are very active at certain ages but agree that the parents have the ultimate control and should have perhaps strapped the little offender into his/her seat? I would prefer a bit of screaming to the running around - as you say, ear plugs are always available [:)]


Check in Chill out sounds great!

[buns]

DWiles

Thanks for the TR[y][y]

JAT74L is absolutely right about children on flights (or in resturants for that matter) I could not agree more.