This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
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I've flown Virgin Atlantic (VS) several times across the Atlantic, but this was by far the worst flight I've ever had on VS . . . to say "disappointing" is an understatement.
I was taking my wife to Europe for a rather significant birthday ("significant" being defined as one of those that ends in a zero). Our journey on VS began with an arriving flight on Virgin America (VX) from SFO, my home airport. Fortunately, VS and VX both use Terminal 4 at JFK, so upon retrieving our luggage, it was relatively easy to go upstairs and check in at the Upper Class desk. From there, creating security was in fact a breeze and we quickly settled in to the JFK Clubhouse -- my favorite US airport lounge -- for our 4-hour layover. As always, service was attentive without being obsequious, the food and drink very good, and the time spent relaxing before our flight truly "flew by." Before we knew it, it was time to board . . . and here is where the trouble began.
To begin with, when originally booking this flight back in December 2015, the plane was scheduled to be a 787-900, and we had Upper Class seats directly across from one another in, relatively, the middle of the cabin. However, upon checking into our flight, I discovered that the plane had been changed to an A340-600. Our disappointment in not experiencing our first flight on a 787 was quickly replaced when we discovered just where our seats were: the last row of Upper Class. This put us in seats 16G and 16K, respectively, and -- given the bulkhead of the in-flight bar and attached closet -- meant that I could not even look at my wife across the aisle without contorting myself into some rather odd positions. 16G is not in and of itself a bad seat, but it's a horrid seat if you're flying with anyone . . .
The second issue was the on-board flight crew. I've long thought that Virgin America and Virgin Atlantic ranked #1, #2 in quality of cabin crew, but for some reason, the crew on this flight seemed rather surly and disinterested in their passengers from the moment the plane's doors were closed at JFK until they opened at LHR. Happy to welcome us onboard; happy to see us go; and, "Alright, if we must, we'll bring you some water." They were all far more interested in chatting amongst themselves, it seemed. Now, I'm all for camaraderie among working companions, but not to the exclusion of dealing with the passengers -- as if we were a bother, as if we were interrupting them . . .
Upon arriving at Heathrow and the inevitable delay while the place did its "racetrack" route over southern England, everything returned to normally high standards of Virgin Atlantic: deplaning was a breeze, as was getting our luggage and -- best of all -- making use of the Revivals Lounge for both a shower and change of clothes, as well as a decent breakfast before moving on with the rest of our day . . .
Jason