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#238731 by honey lamb
03 Nov 2005, 23:44
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Aer John and I arrived in LHR from Cork a good 10 minutes ahead of schedule and so having availed of OLCI the night before and having checked our bags through to IAD (incidentally I discovered that even though I used the self service check-in kiosk in ORK they would tag your bags all the way through at the bag drop if you ask ever so nicely [y] ) we set off to T3 with nary a care in the world. We trotted off to the UC check-in area only to find a longish queue. The Economy area was rather quiet and the biggest gathering seemed to be for the self service kiosks and the bag drop ..... and UC. The security lady decided to steer us towards another area where there were no queues but the security guy was quite upset we were there as UC passengers until we explained about the crowd. We were quickly, efficiently checked in by as nice a lady you could wish to meet but, lets face it, its not the same as treading the carpet through those hallowed portals and therefore reluctantly I must mark down check-in.

On to Fasttrack which that day was rather slow but as we neared the head of the queue they opened a machine on the other side of the wall in the main security area and directed us through that all except one woman who steadfastly refused to be directed thus [ii] . After that it was a quick hop and a step to the Clubhouse to meet Bazz, Birkin and philadam in the corner that Bazz had thoughtfully saved for us all. [^] A very pleasant hour was spent chatting and having breakfast. Aer John and philadam had haircuts and Aer John was a bit miffed that there wasnt time to go into the jacuzzi. All in all a great time. Thank you everyone. [y] Oh, yes. What did I think of the Clubhouse? Well if I hadnt seen the old one I would have thought it was terrific but by comparison it seemed a bit cramped. I liked the desks at the entrance and the left luggage area -far more secure than before. I liked the water wall but I didnt like the fact that you could only look out on to the airport only if you were in the hairdresser, the business centre or the smoking area. [V] Still, the next time Ill be there the old section will have been renovated and so I will hold judgement.

Our plane, appropriately named VFLY [;)] was waiting at Gate 30 and alas was not a suite configured 343. We knew that in advance and being pragmatic Aer John had opined that for such a short flight it really did not matter and that there was benefit in being able to sit side by side. Having said that I did find it uncomfortable to sit bolt upright for take off and I did miss the interaction with the crew. I found that once on board they came and offered you a drink and the IFBT came peddling her wares but that was it. I figured that when you are facing the aisle as you are in the suites, it is much easier to interact and in any case we were in 1H & K, so away from the main action. I have to say in fairness though that I was offered a second glass of champagne as we taxied out.

We had been told that there would be a 25 minute delay and as we queued the crew were in the jump seats at the front of the cabin and I could hear quite clearly as they discussed rotas etc. I had the feeling that it was going to be one of those flights with a somewhat disinterested crew and my heart sank. It wasnt helped by the fact that the safety demo had been a manual one and was done somewhat half-heartedly and also it was some time after take-off before they were released to their duties. The IFE didnt come on until we were nearly past Ireland. The captain had indicated we would be going across the south coast and although it would have been too cloudy to see home, we actually went on a more northerly route over the west coast. Once the cabin crew were freed up my fears were diminished immediately and the crew were great. [y] The FSM introduced herself personally, we were addressed by name and nothing was too much trouble. Aer John was wearing one of the golf shirts he had received from the Swingers Club and when the cabin crew commented on it he was congratulated over his prowess by them.

For dinner I had the gravadlax and salad and the steak with dauphonoise potatoes and seasonal vegetables with a rather nice merlot. The meal was fine and I was more than happy with it. Aer John had the steak also and I didnt hear him complain so it must have been OK. My only complaint was that they didnt refill the merlot and at some stage I went up to the bar and had a Baileys or three [:I] before snoozing! [|)]

For once I watched a film Madagascar and the IFE was quite adequate. When it was over, thanks to my early morning start (and the Baileys or three [:I]) I slept for a little before being woken by the IFBT for my treatment. Incidentally they came for Aer John well before me in spite of the fact that he had had a treatment in the Clubhouse. Shortly after a rather pleasant tea we landed into IAD on time in spite of the delay in take-off .and thats when the fun began!!

We were one of the first off the plane and made our way to the d*mn mobile lounges (having first spotted mcbenjamin who gave us a surreptitious wave [y]) We positioned ourselves well for when we would arrive in Immigration and arrived there to a scene of utter chaos! [:0] This was 3:00 exactly. The place was thronged and unusually the lines for American citizens were as long as the one for non-citizens. In fact we joined at the end of the snake and those coming in behind us were queuing as far as the door. Slowly, slowly we shuffled along. People read, listened to music anything to relieve the boredom. I saw people with BA tickets, Air France, mixed in with the VS crowd were those whose passports were marked with security clearance in BRU. The American line still remained as long and there seemed to be no end to it. The only redeeming feature was a man who patrolled the lines checking the visa forms to ensure they were correctly filled in and manys the person who had to make amendments. Finally as we were getting near the top the American queue ended and so people were shepherded over to that side and at long last the queue began to move. Finally we were through after an encounter with a very pleasant officer who addressed us by name and we were released to baggage claim where we found our cases had been offloaded from the carousel. By this time it was 4:00 so we had been exactly one hour in Immigration. [V]

We quickly made our way to the exit where we found mcbenjamin sitting there with a card with a V-Flyer logo and our names ready to take us to our hotel. Bless him! [oo]
#318154 by Decker
03 Nov 2005, 23:57
Cool! Just realised you were on the same flight as one of my peeps in PE! He was connecting to Chi Town and commented on immigration too! Should have checked the Itinerary but he would have been in the CH at the same time too - spooky!
#318157 by mitchja
04 Nov 2005, 00:04
Excellent TR thanks Honey Lamb [y]

Oh the joys of IAD immigration - I remember it so well [n]

Regards
#318219 by daisy
04 Nov 2005, 15:38
Ooo - just like my trip at the end of August! Still no suite [:#] on this route - which is such a shame.

We were much luckier on the immigration front - hardly a queue at all - out of customs in minutes...bad luck Honeylamb.

And how nice that you got to meet other V-Flyers (I didn't log on and so we missed the chance of meeting McBenjamin [:I] which was SUCH a shame)

Thanks for the TR - the memories are flooding back...[:)]
#318232 by honey lamb
04 Nov 2005, 16:48
Originally posted by daisy
And how nice that you got to meet other V-Flyers (I didn't log on and so we missed the chance of meeting McBenjamin [:I] which was SUCH a shame)

Yes it was, as you will see from my return trip post - when I get round to posting it [:w]
#318234 by daisy
04 Nov 2005, 17:00
Ooo - get a move on then!!! [:D] Can't wait [:D][:D][:p]
#318243 by HighFlyer
04 Nov 2005, 18:06
Great TR as ever Honey Lamb [y]

Now where's the return .... [:D]
#318244 by mcmbenjamin
04 Nov 2005, 18:06
Always enjoy being helpful. [:D] Washington Dulles is a bad airport for so mainy reasons. Not really near the city or easy get to from the city. (Close to America Online's HDQ FYI) And the mobile lounges; They should have been gone with year 2000. [:)]

Sorta cool to meet people face to face too.

Benjamin
#318277 by ChuckC
04 Nov 2005, 22:23
Honey Lamb,
Thanks for a terrific TR. Always glad to read about your trips. Now on to your homeward report ...

Chuck-
Virgin Atlantic

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