Please use this forum is for Virgin Atlantic trip reports. There is a subforum for other airline reports.
#917344 by horburyflyer
14 Feb 2016, 16:30
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
So humble apologies that it has taken me a couple of weeks to get around to posting this TR. Anyhow, without further delay let's get this underway.

Working in London the day before and having stayed the night at the Hilton Garden Inn ahead of the flight I had a leisurely start on the morning of the flight. Made some calls, did some emails and other work and then across to the airport with the intention of lunch in the CH.

I was meeting up with another colleague so we headed across to the airport together. A quick word about the Hilton Garden Inn. I'm Hhonors Diamond so it includes free breakfast, which is a generous affair of the usual cooked goods but they also have an omelette station and a 'make your own waffles' area which always seems like good fun. The rooms are modern and very comfortable and I also fall lucky in securing an airport view.

We took the bus to the airport. Not the over-priced National Express hoppa but as Hatton Cross is in the free zone, it was a quick 10min journey to the Heathrow Central bus station on the local bus.

Once in the terminal I was at the UC check in zone handing over my passport in no-time. This was a functional check in, no real warmth, no talking really other than to say 'I bet you know where you can find the CH'....indeed I do... :D

Security was a breeze and it was now approaching 1pm. A word or two about this flight. It had been the VS19 and changed about 10days before to the VS325. The aircraft had changed from a 789 to the A346 sometime before that by all accounts but departure time of 1635 hadn't shifted at all.

Welcomed warmly at the CH and headed inside. Haircut already booked I settled in at the brassiere and ordered lunch. It was a newish menu so I enjoyed the spicy parsnip soup and the chicken Katsu curry. I rounded things off nicely with a warm pecan tart with ice-cream. All delicious and I posted a couple of photos at the time from the CH. Service was top-notch, drinks offered frequently and had some friendly chat about the re-design plans for the CH.

Haircut taken care of and fantastic service in the spa as always it was time for a couple more red-heads and I nibbled on some cheese before the first call came at 1545. I left and headed down to gate 16 which was super quiet.

Boarding through L2 I turned left and quickly settled in. Champagne was offered quickly (and a refill), a bottle of water was in the holder and new the amenity kit which had just been launched that week was sitting comfortably on the ottoman.

The CC came around with newspapers, magazines and finally the sleep suits. At 1630 we were all closed up and ready to go. A total of 94 passengers with 12 CC and three flight deck crew. A total of 24 in UC so both W and Y were very quiet indeed.

A flight time of 10hrs51mins was promised taking a very northerly route over the top of Iceland, Northern Greenland and then westwards towards Seattle before following the coast down to SFO.

I could already tell this crew were really friendly, engaged and would be working solidly as one-team. It would be (and was) an excellent flight.

Take-off came at 1649 and we headed northwards as hot towels were offered and drink orders taken. The CSS came along and introduced himself which was great to see. He was outstanding all flight long, super friendly, a great ambassador for VS and made me feel welcomed and valued. I fired off an email quickly after landing to personally recognise his contribution. He was amazing.

image.jpg
image.jpg (405.95 KiB) Viewed 4133 times


I ordered a blushing Bellini which became my drink of the flight. Sweet but very moorish. This was quickly served with crisps and both were topped up a couple of times before tables were set for dinner at 1815.

I think the menu has been posted a few times though is still in place. It was:

Chicken and smoked duck terrine
Waldorf salad
Tomato and basil soup

Chicken biryani
Garlic and herb beef
Grilled salmon fillet
Spinach and ricotta tortellini

Toffee apple pecan sponge
Chocolate brownie

Cheese & port

The soup was hot and tasty and the chicken biryani was decent. I asked for a side of the samosas and pakoras from the Extra bites selection which wasn't an issue at all. The toffee apple pecan sponge was delicious. I skipped the cheese having already enjoyed some in the CH and I was stuffed though it looked great as the trolley passed.

Service throughout was great. Bread was offered at least three times, water and wine were offered frequently and the CSS was leading the service. The CC looking after me was great too, she introduced herself and made sure I was very well looked after. The FSM was involved in the service but was under the radar a bit, though to be fair he was fine when I was chatting with him at the bar later, so maybe just taking advantage of a very quiet flight and letting the CSS run things in UC.

I settled down for a bit and watched some stuff on the IFE which was ok though the system is clunky and dated a bit. I also felt the content is very US based these days.

I made a visit to the bar and had a couple of Amarulas and we chatted about the cabin service changes and I spent about an hour there. The bar area wasn't particularly busy throughout the flight though. It was well stocked with fruit, crisps, sweets and other little treats and of course because it was post-4pm departure from the UK no ice-cream service which wasn't missed actually so no wonder VS is scrapping this very soon.

The cabin lights were dimmed though no active blind shutting though the entire flight was flown in the hours of darkness so made no difference. I was thrilled to see a member of the CC was someone I use to fly with regularly from MAN on the Little Red flights. She was really enjoying time over at 'Big Red' and we chatted for a while. It was really great to see her again. She sent over another blushing Bellini which went down a treat.

All flight long the CC were in the aisles offering drinks and proactively offering items from the Extra bites menu which included:

Classic gourmet beef burger with cheese or mushroom topping (or both!)
Gruyere and red onion quiche
Prawn wontons
Warm vegetable pakora and samosas
Cold charcuterie

The afternoon tea service began about 2hrs out of SFO. This was a selection of sandwiches: Gammon ham, cheese and pickle & smoked trout, warm scones with clotted cream and jam and little cakes all wonderfully presented on the afternoon tea trolley. All delicious and washed down with a couple of mugs of steaming hot tea.

The Extra bites options were also offered at this point with the burgers and quiche going down well amongst the other passengers.

All strapped in it was time for a final round of hot towels, lovehearts and just time to thank the CSS for his fantastic service and the rest of the crew for taking great care of me. We touched down in pouring rain just a shade after 1930. We taxied for about 10mins and when we reached the gate it took another 10mins for the air-bridge to be attached.

A cheery goodbye from and to the crew and I was arriving into the Immigration hall quickly. I was quickly processed and welcomed back before collecting the case which was already flying around the belt and headed out into the rain...

In summary a really great flight. It was a light load indeed but the CC were top notch. The FSM was friendly and chatty when you engaged him, but otherwise a little under the radar but the star was the CSS who was great from the word go and all flight long made sure everyone was looked after in the cabin. It was also great to see a former member of the LR team onboard too.

A fantastic flight which got a busy and hectic weekend underway in San Francisco.

Thanks for reading.

Jon
Last edited by horburyflyer on 19 Mar 2016, 23:08, edited 2 times in total.
#917348 by hiljil
14 Feb 2016, 17:31
Thank you for the TR. You enjoyed the flight and I enjoyed reading about it ! Good to hear such positive things about the service even if it wasn't a full flight.
#917412 by marshy11
15 Feb 2016, 11:45
A pleasure to read, as always.

Thanks very much.
#917413 by David
15 Feb 2016, 12:00
Jon,

Sounds like another solid trip (no gossip from the bar :blush: ? )

That's another flight with light loads, although I suppose it will balance itself out - I need to get another one booked myself :D

Wonder when the next menu change is due ?

thanks again

David
#917427 by horburyflyer
15 Feb 2016, 14:27
David wrote:Jon,

Sounds like another solid trip (no gossip from the bar :blush: ? )

That's another flight with light loads, although I suppose it will balance itself out - I need to get another one booked myself :D

Wonder when the next menu change is due ?

thanks again

David


Thanks all for your kind comments.

David, the menu is set to change again first week or so of March by all accounts...I did pick up a few titbits from the bar (as we always do...don't we!!) but I couldn't possibly share on here :D

I'm back on board later this week (through Atlanta) so if you book too we will balance things out well...Wait until you see my return TR which had a massive 74 on board!

Thanks

Jon
#917440 by Bretty
15 Feb 2016, 15:39
Thanks for the excellent TR Jon, it really seems like everything was spot on. Look forward to the return report.
#917462 by ultreen1
16 Feb 2016, 00:32
Great report as always...I'm looking forward to the Katsu curry 2moz in the CH! Hope it tastes as good as it looks!
#917654 by mrsw
20 Feb 2016, 00:23
Thank you for the very detailed TR. Sounds like a smooth trip, with the wonderful service we've all come to know and love. What a nice surprise it must have been to see the LR crew member again!
#918598 by tomthumb
10 Mar 2016, 09:37
Fantastic report and nice to see the pictures as well
Virgin Atlantic

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests

Itinerary Calendar