This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
BOM has improved significantly since my last visit in 2000 - it actually looks clean but it will never be one of the worlds geat airports.
Checked in the UC whoch was fine - got asked lots of scurity questions which i was fine about given the recent bombing in New Delhi.
Made my way thru immigration and noted with dismay I would be flying the VK A340-300 and not the A340-600 which i had been told was flying the BOM sectors for Nov only. 'Oh well' i thought 'this is not the end of the world' Made my way to the Clipper Lounge which VS shares with about every airline that flies to BOM - luckily it was pretty much empty. As much as i like Indian they really ae disorganised at times. I asked fo a White Wine. Guess what? They had none left. I then ordered a G&T and guess what? No tonic. Then ordered a red wine which took them 20 mins to open and it tasted putrid. Lukily a pax informed the tonic was in the beer fridge. Go figure!!!!
Boarding commenced and from the looks of things it was going to be a vey light load. Upon boarding my fears about the a/c were allayed. The UC was immaculate - had 7K in the quiet section. noted a postive interaction be betwen the crew and the pax so knew this would be a great flight. Had a wee moan about this not being an UCS to the FA and she apologised profusley - in hindsight it was great cos i found the ottermans are not that great for looking out the window. Prior to take off was given a pre take off Champers then the menu was distributed and nice to see a NZ Sav Blanc on board - a good quality one and not the german reisling i got on SQ which tasted like Vinegar. Post take flight drinks ordeers were taken as was the dinner offerings
Doors were closed and we were off and did an amazing tour around BOM taxiways - boy they sure need to cut the grass at the airport. Eventually took off and had one of the longest climbs ever - the 35c must have had something to do with it. The seat belt sign was not turned off for at least 20 mins.
Tray tables were set up. VS must have the largest wine glasses in the skies. Vey impressive. For the stater I chose the Seasoned leaf salad with lemon chicken, chargrilled peppers and coragettes drizzled with pesto dressing - very tasty indedd. Accompanied by a Seifried Estae Sav Balnc from Nelson, NZ. THe main was Lamb Pie served with rosemary potatoes, pearl onions, carots and demi glaze sauce. The pie was superb but i found the veggies too salty for my taste. Skipped the cheeses and the dessert.
The FAs on this flight were delightful - all of them. I had a long and interesting chat with the Head Purser at the Bar - forgot what his title was. We discussed the seat pitch in Y and he summed it by saying it was 'inhumane' and it was only a matter of time before it would be an EU issue. I asked him about the worst beaved/rudest passengers and he said without doubt Las Vegas and the Carribean. I was surprised when he told me they double cater the booze in Y for the US flight - bit cheap of VS don't you think? BTW...I loved the bar area. The Purser was saying in busy flight the bar area can be very busy. Given this flight was only 40% full, overcrowding was not an issue.
Went for a stoll around the enitire plane and the galley space in the back area is huge!!!
The IFE was adequate i thought but no movies realy took my fancy and the Audio channel I wanted to listen too was inoperable but no big deal. Had a few hours sleep, afternoon tea was a tasty tart folled by a few more wines and we began our approach to LHR. Naturally we flew around London numerous times before been given the all clear to land.
I was one of the first off the plane, clutching my fast track card i was through immigration in moments and my bags was just coming off the carousel and i descended into the mayhem of Terminal 3 and a very cold London evening.
I was truely impressed with VS and thought they were better than SQ and the crew were such fun. The food was so much than the rubbish I got on Air NZ LHR LAX and loved the amenity bag with NZ no longer provides.
Well done VS - you have a brand new customer.
