This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
After travelling up to GTW on the train the evening before, then staying in the Premier Inn North Terminal. Myself and the OH settled down to chill out ( OH needing to as she didn't leave work until nearly 30 mins later then expected) and get a good sleep, which we did.
Having already completed OLCI, we wondered up to the bag drop area, apart from a family that obviously thought that queuing was a concept that didn't apply to them whilst their darling teenage offspring thought that the floor was a rubbish and mouth fluids receptical as he proceeded to spit out his gum and a sizeable amount of saliver onto it( the custodians must have been watching, as I hadn't taken more then two steps and someone can along and cleaned it up) the drop was perfect, the young girl on the UC desk called us over as she was free. ( a little side note, this family were politely informed that they were in the wrong area and had to join a now very sizeable queue for economy)
Quickly through priority security, where all the staff were fantastic, we wandered around duty free then got a bit lost ( no ones fault but mine) we got to the v-room!!!
Now, I know that everyone spills the virtues of the virgin clubhouse, but for us mere commoners, the v-room was fabulous, it was clean, we were made a fuss of, and the food was really good, credit where credit is due!
At around 10.40 ( for the 11.40 flight) we were called, when we got to the assigned gate (17 if memory serves) the priority lines were being strictly adhered to, ( to the very vocal protestations of the lovely family encountered earlier... Made me chuckle) We then boarded ladybird, took our seats in the bubble( I am so glad I followed the advice of the all-knowing contributors on this site, and kept checking seat assignments) we were looked after by two fabulous CC, it is just a shame I cannot name them, but I will be forwarding a very glowing email to Crawley house
( I know I am digressing again!!!. but anyone know what address to send it to to gain maximum recognition for these angels of the sky?) we were finished with more than enough drinks, my OH was feeling a bit under the weather, and they looked after her perfectly.
The captain came on the line and introduced himself and his flight crew of three pilots( is this normal?) and informed us that we were heavy 455 pax, but all were aboard and we were going to be leaving on time, we were going to take a northerly route to avoid some storm clouds and with any luck gain a bit of time.
And that is exactly what we did, the flight was comfortable and Nicely uneventful, our angels performing the food and drinks service perfectly, the menu was as follows
Orange and currants on fresh salad leaves with a fruit dressing ( can't remember what)
Chicken tikka with rice
Cottage pie and veg
Aubergine musakka
Cheese and biscuits
I had the tikka, it was very nice, Im normally not a fan, but this was different, my OH requested the cottage pie, but due to every other person in the seat ahead of us requesting the same, sadly it was not to be, but the Angels more then made up for it by putting together a savoury platter of bread and cheeses for her that she enjoyed probably more then a set meal!!!
As promised, we made up nearly 45 mins on our flight, but sadly lost most of it as a tardy plane didn't clear the runway, so we had to go around again.
Not sure if we were behind any other flights, but security was quick and painless, partly due to our trip to the USA for our honeymoon 4 years previously, so could use the automated terminals.
The Virgin reps state side were fantastic, we were given all relevant info and directed to our shuttle bus quickly and efficiently.
I'm looking forward to experiencing the flight back, shame it will happen when our holiday is over tho.....
