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#920943 by SlimpyJones
08 May 2016, 14:56
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Managed to successfully bag 2 G's to NYC way back last September for a joint birthday trip for myself and my friend. Ideally we would have wanted the VS45 departing at 2pm, but alas no G's were available so we were happy to settle for the slightly later departure time.

About half way through the wait my friend's partner joined in the party - with no miles of his own he bought a revenue ticket in PE.

And so the 220 day countdown ended and the three of us were picked up by chauffeur car at 9:30am. I paid for it with miles, and whilst some may (justifiably) argue that it is poor value, I have many to burn and so preferred to use them over actual currency! The journey was relatively smooth, we hit a bit of traffic on the M25 however our driver was a star and managed to traverse his way through the side roads and still get us to LHR for around 11:15 :D
At DTCI there were two cars in front, so there was a small wait, but regardless the experience was met with awe by my two companions - their first time ever in UC!

A short pitstop later and we were through security and waltzing towards the CH through the duty-free mire. Guested my friend's partner in and they were quickly shown round by a member of staff. There is something quite satisfying in introducing people to the Clubhouse...
Treatments booked - a haircut for me, although not overdue I do like chatting with one particular member of the salon team, he was in later in the afternoon so a short wait was needed. My friend booked in for a her nails to be done, and her partner a haircut also.

We found seats near the bar to perch up for the afternoon. The CH was fairly average busyness-wise, so I was a tad disappointed by service taking a while to appear, and when it did, the lady was somewhat distant. But if I'm honest, my main focus was ensuring my two companions were enjoying themselves, and they didn't seem to notice, so I wasn't too fussed really.

After pigging out on tapas (I do love those chicken wings, though they do them better in JFK I would say!), a burger and bread & salmon from the deli (how we are spoilt...), hairs cut, face cleansed and showered, cocktails quaffed, boarding was finally called at around 3:15.

And so to the flight! I do ramble on, apologies...

My first time onboard an A340-600, and G-VWKD was to be our flying lady today. After parting with friend's partner who was confined to PE, we made our way down the UC jetway to the very front of the plane, to be warmly greeted by the FSM and another member of the crew, after a funny exchange we took our seats, 10G for me and 10K for my friend. It's been said on here many times that the welcome aboard is usually a key indicator of how good the crew are and I'm pleased to say that remains to be the case. More details a bit later, but for those interested, they were great.

Champagne offered and gratefully received, although only one glass for me as there was no offer of a refill, but that's fine by me as I only wanted one. :blush:
One of the newer iterations of the amenity kit was waiting on my ottoman, alas no menu though - apparently there was a shortage on board, though eventually some materialised for those missing them. I won't paste the menu here, but for those interested it was the same as mitchja posted in this TR.

Judging by the seats it looks like VWKD was not one of the A346's to receive a refresh. They were looking quite rough round the edges with marks and scratches on the seats, and what looked to be tippex to cover the marks around the IFE screens. That being said, I think on the whole the cabin itself looks very smart. I like the layout of the bar area, I had no problems sitting up at the stools as I've done on the A330.

And so after a short delay due to a very busy Heathrow we were on our way. A full flight with UC, PE all full and only a smattering of spare seats in EC, if the count of 308 was anything to go by. Although where those empty seats were I cannot say, on my wanderings through the cabins I couldn't see any at all. Unfortunately at this point the FSM announced that there had been many reports of the IFE not working, so several restarts were attempted. The last of which knocked most of the IFE in Upper out of use. Credit to the FSM, she seemed to take the lead on resolving the problem, though eventually tablets were handed out to those who wanted them.
To be honest, I was perfectly happy with the tablets as those who have been on A436s will know that the IFE is looking considerably dated when compared with the rest of the fleet.

Next the lady working on our side of the cabin came round and welcomed each guest and took their food orders. I was happy to receive a welcome-back after she noticed I was a Gold card holder. Always a nice touch! She was great throughout. Service was always with a smile.

Food for me today was the Asparagus starter. I felt like trying the Gnocchi dish, so went for that. Both very nice indeed!
The mini-burger was consumed, as well as afternoon tea. Some have noted that recent service changes mean that afternoon tea is now ordered from the "Extra Bites" rather than it being a course of it's own, arriving on plates instead of the old tiered stand. If I'm being honest, this didn't bother me a great deal, the sandwiches and cakes (albeit very small cakes) were very tasty nonetheless!

And so the journey continued uneventfully, a few trips to the bar were had, plus a visit from our companion in PE who was allowed to come in and say hello, so he stayed for 5 minutes or so. At this point I offered to use some of my miles to upgrade him to UC for the return trip should G's be available. Aren't I nice!

We finally came in to land in JFK 15 minutes behind schedule. Not much at all, but sadly this put us behind an Emirates A380, which judging my the size of the immigration queue, was quite full. We queued for approx 45 minutes, which I could potentially have avoided had I used the repeat ESTA queue, however I felt best to stay with my less traveled friends as they were a little nervous about the immigration process.

Eventually we were through, bags collected, taxi hailed and off to our AirBnB apartment on 55th & 8th Ave for a week in the Big Apple!

Thanks very much if you read this far. Apologies for the lack of photos, but I hope you enjoyed my ramblings either way. :)
#920944 by buns
08 May 2016, 15:17
Thanks for the TR

I know exactly what you mean when you speak of your friend's awe at both the DTCI and the Clubhouse, it is a great feeling when you can guest people in. However, they come to dislike you when they are drawn by the lure of UC travel in the future ;-) Many a V Flyer has been bitten by the bug and thereafter spend a fortune in continuing to want to fly UC.

Glad you had a great crew on board - when it happens the flight becomes memorable, but unfortunately VS still cannot get the consistency in this regard.

Thanks once again

buns
#920951 by jfenney
08 May 2016, 21:10
Thanks for a great TR glad you had a great first experience :-D
#921071 by tomthumb
11 May 2016, 15:42
Thanks for the great TR and yes the first time is always the best
#921072 by SlimpyJones
11 May 2016, 15:45
Thanks all, it wasn't my first experience, but it was for my friends. But even so, my first UC trip since August so it was good to be back!

@buns - totally agree. Both of them have said they're really going to struggle to fly any other way, talk about being thrown in at the deep end! :P
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