This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Was through security within 5 mins (no shoe removal here at Manchester), a quick trip to duty free & WH Smith then on to the Escape Lounge. The entire check-in, security & shopping was all done in under 15mins so no complaints there.
When I got airside, I noticed that the information provided on here about the aircraft operating todays flight was 100% accurate as G-VLIP was on stand. In the Escape Lounge, someone off here has been using one of the lounges laptops & the cache has not been cleared, as it had matched the URL for this site as soon as I had typed http://www.v- The Escape Lounge was pleasant enough comfy, quiet & relaxing [everything that the main departure lounge is not] with complementary light refreshments & drinks.
Boarding went smoothly priority boarding of UC / PE & FC Au worked fine, but it seemed like a lot of people waiting thought that priority boarding meant it was the time for the stampede towards the gate to start.
Got on the aircraft, turned left & kept going to UC. My first impression of the small UC cabin was wow it looks even better in the flesh than in pictures. Id only just put my bag in the overhead bin when I was being offered a drink. The bubbly duly arrived & I then got a demonstration of how the seat works. Some people have commented that the Suites on the LGW/MAN aircraft look worn & tired this was certainly not the case on G-VLIP today. The flying time was going to be 8h 37m, so I sat back and enjoyed a few glasses of bubbly while the aircraft was boarded. Pushed back a few minutes late & taxied out past G-VTOP on a remote stand assume she had just arrived in from MCO to form the VS073. Had a good take off it was an odd feeling not being pushed back into the seat on the take off roll like you are on a normal aircraft seat. One thing I did notice very quickly is how quiet the UC cabin is in terms of engine noise.
Once we were airborne & the seatbelt sign off the service started. More drinks were offered & the FSM came round with the Scrooge Packs. Unlike the UC cabin, the scrooge packs look better in VSs pictures than they do in the flesh! Suffice it to say the pack is every bit as crap as everyone on here has said. I commented to the FSM that I had read about the packs on the internet & most of what I had read was not over favourable. The FSM claimed that this was the first flight hes been on with the scrooge packs he did run through the complete list of extras that the crew had if you wanted them.
Food was the Mediterranean Menu it was OK, not as bad as some have said, but I have had better airline food. Had the Tapas Selection to start, followed by the Steak which was acceptable, but too well cooked & a little on the tough side. Chocolate mousse for desert (which was excellent) followed by coffee and a generous Baileys.
Having been up since about 4am this morning, I had the seat converted to a bed the button did not work so the crew had to do it manually. I have to say, I was very impressed with the bed very comfortable indeed. I can see why some people claim the mattress is too hard, but that did not bother me. Got about 3 hours of sleep, which is a record for me on any plane. The only complaint is that you could often hear noise from the galley / the cupboards behind row 12 being opened / closed. Woke up, had the afternoon tea which was not too bad OK, the sandwiches were small, but there were cakes & ice cream also.
About 90mins out of Orlando the Miami arrivals video was played dont know how that got to be on a LGW/MAN aircraft! The Orlando arrival video was played a little later though.
There were 2 crew serving the UC cabin throughout the flight, so it was always easy to get their attention if you wanted anything. The FSM made regular trips through the cabin also. The 2 crew who looked after the UC cabin were a credit to VS always friendly and nothing was too much trouble.
On arrival at MCO, the crew only held back the main economy cabin, but still managed to get off the flight pretty fast. Immigration had no queues as we were some of the first off the flight. NB: If you have a biometric passport, you can only use certain immigration lines with the biometric symbol on. Priority baggage worked my bag was through within 3mins of me clearing immigration. Within 20mins of landing I was in the main terminal waiting, waiting and waiting for the bag to appear on the second reclaim belt.
This was my first UC experience & suffice it to say I was very impressed with the product & service. The Suite certainly beats most other airlines flat bed offerings. Given that some of the regulars on here complain of falling standards in UC, I would like to have seen what the service was like in its heyday.
Hope this has not been too bad to read. Ill make sure the return leg TR is shorter.
Thanks
James
