This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
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In fact, delays seem to abound at present. My outbound on 17/10 was delayed by 3 hours, and this flight was delayed 40 minutes.
On with the story....
I had requested a Flying Co upgrade on this flight which was booked PE (K class). I had been sent a voucher and notes had been added to my booking to the effect I was on a 'standby' list for upgrades on a space available basis.
Decker is the guru on this, but my interpretation of his teachings is a Flying Co upgrade ranks very highly indeed in the scheme of things, giving pretty much the best chance of getting a seat in the upgrade cabin should there be one available.
My prebooked PE seat was 74K which aligns with my theory of PE seating on the MCO route:
1. Be upstairs (this applies to all routes really)
2. Have no one behind you - otherwise there's a good chance it will be a kid who desires placing their feet on your seat, sitting next to a person who is only nominally and legally their parent, but to all other intents and purposes, useless.
3. Have a window seat if you have a strongish bladder.
So I was eager for the upgrade but prepared in any event should it not happen.
I was dropped of at MCO and went to the far right VS desk which is Ticketing. I noticed the Econ queue was large and the PE desk was occupied with another waiting. No one at UC.
I explained to Ticketing about my upgrade, and two people worked on this with a third joining in later. The VS badged bloke had not seen a Co voucher before and was being led through things by the non-Vs-badged-lady. I overheard on the plane later that a few ticketing people from the UK had been flown out to Florida in anticipation of lots of rebookings needed for the hurricane situation. This might explain why there were 3 or 4 people around the ticketing desk.
A couple of phone calls were made by the lady. The first from what I could overhear was a check to see if there was sufficient catering. From what i've been reading here recently, I was inclined to say 'don't worry about it..' but didn't bother [:)].
The second was a request to clear my upgrade. There was mention of phrases like 'standby upgrade' and 'clear him off the list'.
So I was successful, but you guessed that from the UCS bit of the title! I was an extremely happy person as I took my purple boarding pass for seat 11K and a lounge invite. This worked out well for me as I was going straight to the office for a full day's work. Turned out to be one one of my less productive days as it happened, but hey.
They checked me in as they did the upgrade and i didn't have any bag to check so that was speedy.
Did you spot what was missing? The pre-checkin security check. I suppose they don't have someone stationed at the line for the ticketing desk, however they spotted this, called someone over, and I was asked the usual questions as I was standing at the desk.
Stopped by the duty free to get a bottle for the office boy who was picking me up at Gatwick [:)] and then to the Delta Crown Room. A casual stroll round and soon I had selected a suitable sofa and got down to work on the ice cold Bud and my book. It was nice in there, even when the couple on the sofa to my right started, to use an Americanism, 'making out'. Nothing could upset me today!
I left the lounge without waiting for the boarding call, and headed to gate 81 which is a popular choice for the VS28 it seems. At that time there were a lot of people hanging around - VS76,16 and 28 were all about to board.
VS76 boarded, then soon after my flight began. They get Priority Boarding spot on at MCO every time i've been there recently. They don't pre-board children (a pointless exercise on this route) and they don't combine UC and PE boarding [:)].
They called UC for boarding and I walked down the red carpet, turned right and down the ramp. As I did this, everyone sitting in the gate area with their backs to the ramp were craning their heads round staring. A quick choice: do i look severe and cold faced? Or do a big cheesy grin?
Cheesy grin for next time. A brief pause to collect the duty free, then boarded and seated. Suite was clean and in a good state. Mine worked fine throughout although the guy in front needed manual adjustments on his to flip to bed and vice versa.
Quickly served an OJ by one of the two crew members to serve us on that flight. I've begun a campaign against the Jacquart champagne and I invite any who wishes to, to join me [:)].
Sleepsuits were doled out just before takeoff. I requested a medium since the large ones are too big on me, and i've now found the perfect size. This does mean that VS's tailor is very generous with the cloth! Only two others in a full cabin took a sleepsuit, one of which never wore it. The crazy part was seeing the other people bedding down later on in their clothes! Pointless and unnecessary creasage of the clothing, people!
I was also disappointed to see three blokes on the 'A' side in a line, all with their shoes on the ottoman. Near the end of the flight, the lady in front of them was doing the same.
Captain announced this would be a quick flight, just 7 hours, which would make up the whole delay. Turned out he was spot on as well - landed right on time.
After take off, the new wallet style amenity kit was handed out by the FSM who intro'd himself and asked me if everything was ok so far - he was good guy. Only saw him again during the meal service handing out the bread though.
Drinks were served (lemon missing from my G&T) and I changed into the sleepsuit and was the only person in the cabin to be so attired at that point. Crucial to change before dinner to avoid food related incidents! While I was changing, my table was set up for dinner.
Let's talk about the food people! I have the freedom menu right here - no one has ever told me I can't have it, or attempted to collect it from me at the end of a flight.
Two bread rounds were done by the FSM so I tried the garlic and the 'cheesy' and they are both very nice and were warmed on both servings.
I chose the Chablis Premier Cru Beauregard 2003 which I enjoyed and this was topped up at least once, possibly another time as well. Sparkling water was also topped up as required, the crew doing a decent enough job of keeping their eyes open for empty glasses.
I started with the Seasonal leaf salad with grilled shrimps. This was tasty, and could only be improved by more shrimp (note that I pluralise with no 's' but the menu doesn't!) and fewer leaves. The dressing was also good.
The main I chose was Thai green curry. I didn't finish this, but that wasn't because it was unpleasant - far from it. I'd actually say the portion was too big and I wanted to be sure of room for the dessert. It had a bit of a kick to it and the rice was mostly good, just clumping together slightly. Tasty, and i'd have it again.
The dessert was the best bit of all. Dulce de leche ice cream with chocolate sauce and crushed Crunchie. Wow, as good as any ice cream sensation I could knock together myself. It was essential to finish all of this.
People quickly started heading for bed, and the lights dimmed while I was still eating ice cream (I'm surprised I noticed!). As they climbed into beds in their soon-to-be-creased clothes, I sat the at the bar, had a banana, and chatted to the CSS. Bananas are an important part of my post-dinner routine and this was all explained to her.
Later another crew member got me a glass of Baileys and made my bed up. That was finished soon enough and I was lying in bed wondering when I would fall asleep. Then, the CSS was poking me awake (I think) and I realised I'd slept for nearly 4 hours. Not bad on a 7 hour flight.
The breakfast card I had filled in earlier was for the Nigerian routes, it turned out, so my original selection was not available. I wasn't that hungry anyway, it was just coffee that was crucial at that time. Had a blueberry muffin and some OJ too.
Breakfast cleared away and I got changed back into office attire. Not many people wear office attire on the MCO route, I can now state with some certainty, and of course there's no Revivals lounge at LGW to get changed in/freshen up.
I'm reminded by that of a couple of instances during the flight when the two crew members told people, independently of each other, that there was a Revivals lounge at Gatwick and I wonder if those pax wasted time looking for something which doesn't exist?
The whole flight had been fairly turbulent and this was due, it would seem, to the healthy tailwind which got us home quickly. Even the landing was bumpy, and I shot off the plane ASAP and began overtaking people as I headed to immigration.
I was the very first to immigration, had no bag to pick up, and was therefore from plane to short term car park in 15 mins or so. Speedy!
The miles and points for a PE flight should be awarded to my FC account, but haven't and a manual claim fails. I've emailed FC and they are usually very good at sorting this out. Be nice if they didn't have to though! Good flight and it seems UC works, since I managed a full day in the office without falling asleep (just!).
