This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
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Cabin Crew
Anyway it was to be and I arrived into Zone A after a another comfortable stay at the Hilton Garden Inn at Hatton Cross where I always find everyone really welcoming and friendly. The rooms are spacious and I always request an airport view.
The welcome at the UC desk was functional. I asked about moving my seat and was told the cabin was full. I accepted that for now as I had no reason to doubt her. She recognised that I'm UNIQ which was a nice touch and she warmed up a little then. I was quickly upstairs in the lift and through security in no-time at all.
The terminal was like a zoo and I was quickly checking in to the CH where the welcome was also quite "cool" but I went for a quick hair-cut and ordered some breakfast items. I'll be honest service was a little sluggish though it was busy but one server recognised me and I moved for a very short time into her 'zone' and the world was good again.
I enquiried about moving seats. The concierge quickly moved me into 18A which on the A340-600 is a bulkhead and pleased I was too.
Boarding was again functional, no magic beep (not that I was expecting one really), no real warmth on boarding the aircraft and I knew then that the flight would be 'one of those'......
Seated in 18A an offer of prosecco or OJ was made and I gladly accepted the prosecco which wasn't half bad though at 0830 in the morning I'm sure anything would have tasted ok.
Pushback came at 0905 so a little late which wasn't explained and then the Captain on the PA during the taxi advised some ground delays at LHR due to adverse weather. So we finally left the runway at 1002 with 226 passengers on board, 13 cabin crew and two flight deck crew. A flight time of 7hrs15mins was promised and three hours into the flight the prospect of some turbulence as we cross the jet-stream. It didn't really happen though it was rocky on and off for an hour as we made our way down the eastcoast of the U.S.
UC and PE were solid but quite some space in Y. Once airborne hot towels were offered. Then we waited and waited for an hour before a drink was offered. The CC member serving my aisle was friendly when you engaged directly but no display of any magic or sparkle overall. Really disappointing.
I ordered a G&T which was served in a UC glass and went down well with the small bag of pretzels. No refills offered so it really was going to be one of those flights....
Lunch was served two hours into the flight. Menu cards, an amenity kit (didn't think they were offered on day flights in PE anymore) and a bottle of water were at the seat on boarding.
The menu is here to save me typing it all out.....
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To be honest the food was pretty good. The salad was fresh and worked well with the orange and sultanas. I had the cottage pie which was rather garlicky. Warm bread rolls were offered with either white or red wine and still or sparkling water.
The apple Normandy cake was rock solid but the cheese and crackers were good, the crackers were shaped as love hearts which was cute!
Tea or coffee were then served followed by brandy or amarula.
Then it was lights out and everyone settled down. I watched a film or two but kept wanting to touch the screen having been on too many A330s recently but that isn't possible and the whole system was clunky. Around 10 tablets were offered to PE passengers due to non-working screens. The selection overall on Vera was more limited than Vera Touch and I gave up about half-way through the flight.
No water or juice runs through the flight which was interesting to note and I did wander up the galley to see what the snack selection was like to find none available. Though they did rustle up some pretzels and fruit. Not much had been loaded by all accounts...
No welcome back from the FSM which is the first time in such a long time. I know this doesn't matter to some but I like it, it takes little effort and if nothing else recognises loyalty which drives future business. She in fact played no part in the PE service and I only saw her once. So once again it would seem a poor FSM certainly impacted the experience, well certainty for me.
Afternoon tea was offered 1hr15mins out of JFK. It was just handed too you even though by all accounts they're was a choice. I ended up with the Chicken and bacon club which I would have chosen so maybe she was better than I was giving her credit for and knew what I would have had...anyway it was tasty, the crisps keep reminding me about Little Red and the Brodericks's caramel bar delicious. Tea/coffee, juice or water were offered. No refills.
I did ask if my water bottle could be refilled and this was done without fuss.
Landing into JFK came just a shade later than our scheduled arrival which wasn't bad considering we had left over an hour late..our landing was dramatic as we thundered down the runway and exited quickly with plates smashing in the galley carts ahead...after that we were quickly off with no real warmth in the goodbye either. Immigration was a breeze, I really want to shake by the hand who introduced the automated kiosks. I was through in minutes and the only wait was the bags which took another 15mins to arrive.
I was then off into the city for a work meeting. So what do I really think. Actually PE was ok and I was lucky to have 18A. The service was lazy and certainly had no bells or whistles. The whole team and you see a lot seated in 18A just had no magic about them. I am blaming the FSM though the CSS who was by all accounts responsible for PE along with UC was just as bad. I saw her once and that was carrying a bottle or prosecco back into economy.
VS can and does much better than this. I might have just been unlucky but they need to try harder on such a strong route like this to JFK never mind anywhere else.
Thanks for reading.
Jon
Last edited by horburyflyer on 07 Nov 2015, 22:21, edited 3 times in total.
