VS020 SFO-LHR 10 Feb 06 (Upper)

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

Before I start I would like to say that I found the cabin crew superb on the outbound PE flight from LGW-LAS. There is a trip report here somewhere! All I can say is - what a difference a crew makes [:#]

So, now that you all know what I am going to say, I'll start [}:)]

Changed class as soon as I arrive in LAS to Upper which was easy, the FC was very good and efficient. I did not really fancy the return from SFO without a bed, especially as I wanted to spend some time with the kids on my return before going back to work.[:?]

As usual I tried to check-in online the day before but as per the outbound this did not work, I really do find this hit and miss. As this did not work I turned up at the airport 2.5hrs prior to departure. I decided to eat at the clubhouse, shower and change before my flight.

Check-in was a breeze. There were two people in the UC area and by the time I convinced the chap that I was in the right queue I was at the desk. Given the seat I asked for (9k) and invite to the clubhouse and proceeded to the now infamous SFO clubhouse.

Wow! [^]

I love this clubhouse, in fact the whole airport is nice. I had a good shower changed into my temporary clothes (knowing that I would get a spideysuit) and sat in one of those lovely red seats.

Service was very good. I sampled the Cabernet which was very smooth and had one or two beers. I also decided to eat and have something light on the plane. By the time the plane was ready the clubhouse was full but did not feel overcrowded, its a very good design.

Next it was time to take off shoes, laptop out of bag etc etc.

Following security I went straight onto the aircraft. It was Birthday Girl (IIRC). There were two ramps, one for UC and one for PE.

Onto the plane and there seemed to be an empty cabin and no crew. After a few moments I could clearly hear them. There was the odd swear word and laugh and I guess they assumed that no-one was on the plane. When I was seen my coat was taken.

From there frankly the service deteriorated with a few exceptions. There seemed to be two people looking after the front of UC but the right hand side seemed to be sharing with another cabin. Therefore we received very little attention.

Following take-off I went to the bar to have a nice drink to find the CC eating the leftover crips, as there weren't enough for the PAX (apparently). I heard about 15 minutes of moaning about the handover and then I was served a drink.

To be honest the crew seemed as though they were returning on holiday and had little time for the PAX [V]

Following my bar drink I asked for PJs, which came immediately and retired for dinner. I had a light snack (can't remember what). The FSM helped serve dinner and was very responsive with wine topping during dinner. In fact the FSM seemed more responsive than any of the crew, and certainly much more professional.

During dinner the person next to me had his wife to dinner. I think this is a great idea but it is a little intrusive from your left. I can put up with this for an hour over dinner and thats all it was. I decided at this point to sleep.

I was woken in the middle of the night by the IFBT. I had a great back and shoulder massage and this was the second exception in terms of service. From asking if I wanted treatment to providing it, the IFBT was professional and friendly. I had already decided as I was a 'g' to have low expectations in terms of receiving one.

Back to sleep and we had some quite bad turbulence. I had to go upstairs to find crew for a drink of water in the PE section when things had settled down. I then had a nosebleed (which is quite regular for me on flights, sadly). Again, I went upstairs to use the toilet and was helped by the PE crew with some ice etc. I did not get any assistance from the UC crew on my return or at any time I was holding my rubber glove filled with ice![:D]

Breakfast was good - Bacon roll. And that is that really. Sadly I had a more enjoyable PE flight out than return UC and this isn't good. I do feel that the experience across the Virgin product is a random experience. BA CW may be boring but there seems to be a standard across the board (even if it is not as good as the best UC experience).

Of course I will try again next time and hope this was a one-off. But for now thats my UC experience.....

[HighFlyer]

Thank-you for the fab TR! - The 20 is my fave VS flight [:)]

The SFO CH is fab isnt it! Glad you enjoyed it! Did you get them to knock you up a Mcuth Blue?

To be honest the crew seemed as though they were returning on holiday and had little time for the PAX

Sadly, thats too often the case on the return flight, maybe a combination of tired crew and feelings of going home, its such a shame because as you say, the crew really do make or break the flight.

Here's hoping your next flight is a lot better!

Thanks,
Sarah

[honey lamb]

Oh dear! Not good at all. There's something badly wrong when you had to go upstairs to find the cabin crew [V]

What a letdown after your experience in the Clubhouse

The SFO CH is fab isnt it! Glad you enjoyed it! Did you get them to knock you up a Mcuth Blue?

I was looking around for Blue drinks but after my early part of the week in Vegas I couldn't really face another cocktail!

But the whole clubhouse is wonderful, I love the coloured window shades, the bar, the red seats.......you know already so I'll stop [:I]

Hi Slimey

What a bummer on your return trip in upper, after such a good experience in PE on our outbound.

By the sound of it, you had a great time in Vegas and at least in Upper you did get the flat bed.

Not to rub it in, but we had a great PE return trip from Vegas for which I'll post a trip report later. The crew, I felt, were even better than the outbound journey which you were on.

Take care.
L

I think you should send some feedback about lack of cabin crew and attention to detail on the flight.

All to often the cabin crew are becoming aloof and totally disinterested in the people on the seats or worst still acting like indifferent supermarket checkout staff., this was an image I had of BA
but i have experienced this several times with Virgin and usually in a premium cabin.

when they do it right its soo right, when they do it wrong sometimes its a complete shock and unbelievable to see.

Thank you for a great T.R. [y] shame about the cabin crew. [:(!].As easygoing said I would send some feedback about the crew to VS.[:)]

Hi slimey-c
It's a shame when the crew treat passengers as a bit of an inconvenience. I too had a similar experience (in UC) last year on a return flight.The crew spent the entire flight in the galley talking loudly and failing to do what they were being paid to do. I resent having to call for regular water and juice, particularly when the cabin is like a blast oven. I spoke to the FSM but the service level didn't really improve and I ended up writing to SRB.The response from his office was very propmt but I felt that I really shouldn't have had to write it in the first place .
Am doing Vegas later in the year UC both ways via SFO so hope that the flight will be as good as my last one with them (in PE -the service which incidentally was flawless) and better than yours!.

Originally posted by slimey_c

Following take-off I went to the bar to have a nice drink to find the CC eating the leftover crips

Well, that's certainly one way to solve America's endemic gang problem! [:I]

But seriously, good TR...agree that SFO has the best CH, and that crew makes all the difference. I've had such great UCS experiences on VS020 I can only hope you'll give it another go. And you ought to write a letter to VS with dates, flight #, etc. so that they can counsel the crew involved (if they even do that...).

Best wishes.

GJ

[buns]

Slimey_c

Thanks for the TR[y][y] (and for allowing me to re-live the fantastic time I had in the SFO CH[:w][:w])

Sorry to hear that the crew interaction was not up to your outbound experience[n]

[ChuckC]

Slimey,
Really concerning that the VS020 crew was not up to par. I hope you'll consider notifying VS customer service of your experience, as clearly this is not the VS standard.

Thanks for taking the time to do the TR, which was an interesting read.

Regards,
Chuck-