This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin
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Anyway, our flight was at 11am so we decided to get the 6.40am Airport Limousine coach direct from our hotel. The luggage is all taken care of for you from door to door so you can relax and enjoy the view with no worries. The leg room etc on the coach is good. I just stuck the iPod on for the journey, which took well over an hour as it picked up people at a few hotels on the way. Arriving in and leaving Tokyo in the Limousine Bus is an experience as the express motorways are raised way above rail lines and slower streets so you quickly get quite high up and have some amazing views. On the way back we went over the Rainbow Bridge to the Odaiba area which was cool as we had not been there during the trip. Odaiba is the newest area of Tokyo and even at 7am looked very futiristic with bizarre touches such as large statues of cute cartoon characters like Snoopy and 30 foot high household tools.
We arrived at Narita about 15 minutes before check in for the flight opened and were about 3rd in the queue. Some UC passengers were in front who looked like trouble and were so when told that they could not use their trolleys to go through security. The Japanese security guy was rather officious with them but nice to us - I guess he just responded to their rude attitude. At NRT, your bags are scanned just before the check in area which meant that there was a long queue behind us. You then have a secondary screening of hand luggage after check in. Our bags were both a lot heavier than on the way out. Mine was OK but the OH had to pay excess charges and we had to remove some things and put them in hand luggage. I knew buying all those Tigers, Candies and Peanuts albums on vinyl would be a bad thing! We paid the excess baggage in cash in leftover Yen and had no more mention of it. We were checked through to Teesside and given boarding cards for both legs of the journey.
After the second security screening there was not too much time to spend (maybe 90 minutes) so we made our way to Gate 27 and explored the shops and facilities on the way. There are some pay internet access points, a few shops (but not many) and one food place. There is everything you need without it being a shopping mall. The newsagent stocks English language books and magazines. There is also a CD and electrical shop. I picked up a Japanese copy of the new Pet Shop Boys album which came out a week before the UK release and has a couple of bonus tracks. The vending machines charged the same prices as on the street in Tokyo which was good to see. Why do we always accept getting ripped off in the UK?
Before going to the gate we stopped off at the toilets. I went for a sit down job and had my last experience of an all singing all dancing loo with heated seat and lovely bum washing features that I really miss now that I am back in the UK. I also noticed that the toilets at Narita had private shower rooms you could use. I could have really done with one of those at Heathrow 12 or so hours later.
Feeling fresh and clean we went to Gate 27 where boarding had commenced. I was worried as there was hardly anyone there but quickly realised that hooray the plane was practically empty! This was confirmed on boarding when we found that nobody appeared to be in the middle seats of the plane at all, at least near the front of the Y section. PE seemed slightly busier.
We were flying in Indian Princess, a slightly older A340, not that you could tell once you were inside as it seemed the same as Varga Girl. The OH said the seats seemed more comfortable but I thought they were the same, except that the V:Port box seemed a bit bigger.
Take off was uneventful and on time but the first hour or so of the flight was about the bumpiest H have ever experienced. The crew were strapped into seats too. Turbulence is to be expected over Japan but this was a lot heavier than the flight in. I imagined that volcano in Java had gone off... I can't say I enjoyed the bumpiness but I just told myself it would end after we left Japanese airspace and it did. Service then resumed and was impeccable. As there were so few passengers the FA's were very attentive and came round more times that I could count with offers of drinks, snacks and even newspapers! I have not had this experience in economy before and can only imagine it is because they had the time as there were fewer passengers on board. A couple of the younger FA's (who both looked Japanese) appeared to be being trained or mentored by an older British blonde FA with a different, more senior looking uniform. She would sometimes sit in a passenger seat while they were working.
After take off I moved from 35A to 34A so we could both have a double seat each. I had 2 V: Port screens on throughout the flight, one with the map and the one nearest me to entertain. Fabulous. I thought 34A was not quite as nice a seat as 35A as only one window can be seen and this is too far forward to rest your elbow on. However, I think the leg room is slightly better, even though the IFE box was a bit bigger than on the outgoing flight on Varga Girl. The 12 hours whizzed by. The flight hit turbulence a couple more times but was not as severe as over Japan. The FA's had a juice bar going at the middle galley again so I went there to hang out. It was a bit lonely as most people were asleep!
Oh - something to note - the toilets in economy are bigger than the ones in PE. In fact, the toilet near row A about half way down economy is huge and would be just about right for those wanting to join the MH club. Funny what you think about at 39000 feet. [;)]
Having no opportunity for that I played Tetris again for 5 hours or so, plus watched all the episodes of Black Books and the movie Transamerica - very good.
The plane touched down in a rainy London bang on time and then we had the 'pleasure' of a loony long immigration line and then a 4 hour wait before the BMI flight to Teesside. What is wrong with having a bit more to see and do at the UK departures in T1 please - there is nearly nothing there!
Celebrities on the flight to Teesside - Journey South. And I saw Terry Waite on a moving walkway earlier in LHR. The flight to Teesside was quick but bumpy due to the bad weather. By that point I was past caring, having been awake for a silly amount of time. Getting back home was magic but I am missing Tokyo badly. I would definitely use Virgin again in economy, but I am dying to try out UC!
Best wishes
Paul
