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#925460 by mitchja
31 Aug 2016, 14:12
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So after a few days in Boston enjoying the gorgeous ~30'C weather, it was time to head home.

Having Platinum Ambassador status with IHG and staying at the InterContinental, I was able to make use of my late 16:00 check-out. Having booked a standard room here, I'd been upgraded by about 3 room categories to a partial water view room. I did notice a few days before IHG had changed my room type from my original upgraded full water view room to just a partial water view room but hey, not complaining as mentioned I'd only booked a standard room anyway.

I can highly recommend the InterContinental. A nice modern well maintained hotel with great rooms, facilities (including a pool), great staff and several restaurant options in a good location on the water front. It's a 5 minute walk to South station so easy to get to / from the airport using the Silver T bus line, which is actually free from the airport as well.

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A short walk to South station and I was soon waiting for the Silver Line bus back to Logan which only takes about 20 minutes, though the International E terminal stop is the last drop-off point.

Again for this flight I was unable to OLCI.

VS check-in at Logan opens at 17:35 so I had 30mins or so to wait so I grabbed a coffee first. Check-in was pretty quick if a little chaotic, probably because it had just opened and there where quite a few people already waiting.

The agent needed some assistance from a colleague in checking my bag to just LHR as with this being an ex-DUB flight, my final flight leg to DUB departing LGW. It was soon sorted though and a bag tagged to LHR.

Made my way through security which only took about 10 minutes and was the usual. The number of people that don't completely empty their pockets before going through the full body scanners never ceases to amaze me! Remember for a full body scan, absolutely everything needs to be taken out of your pockets including handkerchiefs.

Headed down to the VS Clubhouse. Warmly welcomed and I was soon settling in. Had a hotdog and a bowl of chowder which where both very tasty. The Clubhouse did soon fill up but the service was good the whole time I was there.

Around 20:55 I decided to head to the gate before the call was made, simply to avoid the rush for the single lift up to departures. VS where departing gate 6 this evening.

The gate area was utter chaos. There was no clearly signposted priority boarding and people where just stood everywhere waiting to board. Families with small children where boarded first. Next came the priority boarding call, which was actually supposed to be next to where the gate desk was located, however, as most of the Upper Class pax where stood on the other side, the ground staff actually opened a second priority line on that side as well. It really was all very amateurish I have to say. There was no clear or defined system for boarding from what I saw. VS where using the excuse that the aircraft was late on stand. The actually VS aircraft had been at BOS since ~15:30 that afternoon so it wasn't due to a late arrival. Apparently it was actually down to the previous Air France flight being late at finishing using the gate. I heard one of the agents say that happens all the time.

The whole boarding process wasn't good at all and didn't portray a very good image for VS. It came across as if it was a little bit like it was their first time boarding and departing BOS, which obviously isn't the case!! The difference between here where they seemed to struggle with 1 x A346 flight and somewhere like MCO where they efficiently dispatch up to 4 or 5 flights a day was quite remarkable.

Once onboard the flight I was warmly welcomed and shown to my seat. The overall service on this evening's flight wasn't quite up to the same level as the outbound flight, although is wasn't in any way bad. The service just seemed very rushed. Ok it was only a 5hr 45 min flight but even so.

Pre-flight drinks where offered. Sleep suits handed out (which I don't use).

We had 306 pax onboard this evenings flight on board G-VWEB. J was full. I think the A346's has 315 seats (?) in total, so very nearly a full flight.

We pushed back a little late at 21:52 and rotated at 22:06. The seat belt seemed to be switched off very early, literally within a minute or two of rotating, as I got up and headed to the forward washroom to change into my shorts / t-shirt, you really could feel the aircraft still climbing.

I didn't feel like eating anything so converted my seat to a bed straight away. I always do this myself and personally I don't really see the need for the crew to do it for me, though they will of course offer. Breakfast card completed and handed in, duty free pre-order form handed in, I also need something else so handed over my money for that.

I must have started dozing off as I was woken up by a member of the crew banging the table of the seat behind me. Clearly another jammed table!!

Next thing I remember was been woken up by the crew for breakfast. Noticed my duty free had been delivered and left under my seat for me :-)

Breakfast was very nice as usual. My table was working as it should this time too. Had the bacon roll followed by the pancakes.

I didn't use the VERA on-demand other than looking at the map.

The cabin was soon being cleared and secured for our final approach into LHR. No merry go rounds this morning.and we landed just after 8am a little early.

Said my goodbyes to the crew and headed to find out what immigration was going to be like. Pleased to say the self service immigration gates are now in use again at T3, though they actually had longer lines than the manned desks, which where deserted so I used one of those instead which clearly worked as I was first to the luggage carousel :cool:

Bags started coming off in no time and I was soon making my way up to Revivals.

All in all not a bad flight. Nothing much stood out about the flight itself (probably because I was asleep for the vast majority of it) but the boarding process at BOS was a shambles.
#925466 by ScoobySu
31 Aug 2016, 14:48
Thanks James for both this and your outbound reports - and glad to hear that all your miles have been credited for your duty free ;-)
#925468 by mitchja
31 Aug 2016, 15:09
Indeed, I sent an email yesterday for the 2 pre-orders from these flights and within 30 minutes, the miles where in my account :)
#925469 by buns
31 Aug 2016, 15:12
James

Thanks for the detailed report (including the tip about the lift ;-) )

Have to agree when you compare the BOS departure Gate experience to MCO - clearly the VS Ground staff need to get their act together.

The fact you had a good nights sleep speaks volumes- Hope Revivals is still up to par.

Thanks once again

buns
#925471 by mitchja
31 Aug 2016, 15:54
Sorry, I should have added this to my TR. Service in Revivals was good, if a little slow. There where only a handful of people in there but I still had to wait to be served some breakfast.

After my shower and breakfast, I leisurely made my way to T5 for what will be my last ever BA flight to / from MAN.

Using Virgin Trains East Coast from now on for me because as well as being fed up of BA either changing or canceling domestic (slot minder) flights; they have either changed or completely canceled all of my last 3 domestic flights now I'm also sick of the carry-on bun fight BA's ludicrous 23Kg carry-on policy has now created.

I know people complain about VS's IT system but BA's aren't much better as between Sunday night and yesterday, BA's iOS app must have sent me at least 200 notifications to my iPhone 6. Everytime the status of one of the BA or VS flights changed, I received around 12 notifications each time, paired with the fact the flights BA had changed (they had changed the LGW>DUB flight 4 times since I booked it) where sending me notifications for both the original and the amended flights as well just added to the list of notifications:

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#925474 by pjh
31 Aug 2016, 16:23
Thanks for the TR. What I remember about the Boston seafront was hold cold it was when we were there for NYE a couple of years ago. Nothing mind you to the couple from Canada who we met on safari who told us of their winters of -40C.

mitchja wrote:I'm also sick of the carry-on bun fight BA's ludicrous 23Kg carry-on policy has now created.


Astonishing. We've just done two weeks away on 20Kg.
#925479 by stevedaley
31 Aug 2016, 17:06
HI James,

Great trip report!

Just wondering what was said when you asked for your bags to be checked to LHR. We are doing an ex EU trip in October, returning from NYC We arrive back on the Friday evening at 20.30hrs, but our BA flight back to Dublin is not until the Saturday evening, just seeing how to play it when we get to check in?

Thanks,

Steve
#925512 by joeyc
01 Sep 2016, 12:57
Thanks for the TR James, good to read about this route as I have not flown it in some time.

A shame about the BOS gate crew, but good to see the CH staff gave good service. Any sign of the famous chocolate cake? Or are those pilfered cupcakes still the centrepiece of the dessert table?

You were on an A346, how was the cabin?
#925534 by mitchja
01 Sep 2016, 17:55
The A346 J cabin looked OK, however, as per my outbound TR here, my seat had a completely inoperable table, the headphone socket was very dodgy and the plug had to be in exactly the right position to work, my arm rest was also broken as it wouldn't stay in the upright position.

The person next to me coming back also seemed to have a jammed table too as it took a lot of banging and messing with to get it out. I'm not an expert, however, the latest version of the J tables on the A346's look way too over-engineered to me so it's no wonder there are so many issues with them!!

VS customer relations have already replied and compensated me for the condition of the seat on the outbound flight.

Everything on my seat coming back seemed to be OK though.
#925592 by ColOrd
02 Sep 2016, 17:34
Great trip report Mitchja!

It does seem very odd that the ground staff at BOS weren't more on it than they were!

One question I do have, unless I have been really thick, and its not about your flight per se, the duty free pre-order. What did you mean about having to fill in a form? I've never done it until recently and I didn't receive any email nor any information saying I needed to fill in a form?
#925597 by tomthumb
02 Sep 2016, 19:54
Solid Trip report and reminds me of my trip last September - mind you boarding was a lot simpler
#925609 by mitchja
02 Sep 2016, 22:50
stevedaley wrote:Just wondering what was said when you asked for your bags to be checked to LHR. We are doing an ex EU trip in October, returning from NYC We arrive back on the Friday evening at 20.30hrs, but our BA flight back to Dublin is not until the Saturday evening, just seeing how to play it when we get to check in?

Thanks,

Steve


Sorry for not replying sooner!!! I never even mentioned it TBH as with my DUB flight departing LGW when the agent asked me if LHR was my final destination I just said yes. It was then after she tried to print my bag tag, her system was telling her that couldn't be done automatically. They do have a work around though in such situations as the agent she asked for help told her what to do to print the bag tag to LHR and link it to my flight.

ColOrd wrote:One question I do have, unless I have been really thick, and its not about your flight per se, the duty free pre-order. What did you mean about having to fill in a form? I've never done it until recently and I didn't receive any email nor any information saying I needed to fill in a form?


Sorry my fault. I always print off the PDF pre-order invoice (which now never seems to get emailed to me so I download it off the retail therapy website) and it was just that which I handed over.
#925981 by Francis007
10 Sep 2016, 16:51
Great report James

We have flown Heathrow-Boston and return every year since 2005 in VA Upper Class.

Agree with you regarding what a great product VA Upper Class is but it has been our experience that the boarding procedure at Logan for the overnight flight has always been chaotic.

It seems to us that all passengers are called to the gate for the VS012 at the same time. So, by the time you depart the UC lounge and catch the lift to the boarding area, there is a mass of people all trying to edge forward through only 2 boarding gates. There is never any priority given to UC or PE passengers.

It is a mess and I'm not sure why it has never been sorted out. Several years ago I wrote to VA about it and they said they would look into it but it has never improved.

Also it is so different to the experience at Heathrow where the UC passengers are always boarded first.....and are usually boarded at a separate gate.

Apart from the gate problem at Boston, we thoroughly enjoy the UC experience with VA. Think they do things a little differently to most other carriers.
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