This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
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]