V-Flyer

the last time i used these flights was just less than 2 years ago so i was hoping the cabin might have been upgraded but sadly not, its still the not-quite-flat seats in these 757s operating out of Manchester. Having said that, it was actually comfier than i'd remembered, the seats must have 10 or so different motors in them & can be adjusted almost infinitely plus they have a couple of pre-programmed settings, including the flat but on a downward tilt sleep setting. you wouldn't think it would take much of a design change to make them fully flat.

The seats are 2 side by side so you have to climb over the person in the aisle but overall personal space is very good. I also like the way the VOD is available as soon as the aircraft pushes off stand, although you do get interrupted by the usual messages once airborne. on the outbound leg i had no neighbour, in fact the business cabin was half empty.

service was very good overall. crew were attentive and polite, if a little impersonal. the meal on the outbound was excellent, a really well cooked piece of fillet beef. the dessert is still exactly the same routine as i remember 2 years ago - a big chrome trolley is rolled out & ice cream sundaes assmebled to order. its all very kitcsh but underneath its just a bowl of very average vanilla ice cream with toppings - & theres no other dessert option. On the return leg i chose to only have the starter of chargrilled prawn (2) & smoked salmon & the generous salad course which were enough on their own.

the return flight was quick at just over 7 hours. i'm constantly amazed by how well organised flying is these days - we were ready to leave ORD early but the captain told us that MAN had asked him to leave on schedule so that they would have a landing slot for him - & this is before we've even left the ground over 5000 miles away! we were also pre-warned that it would get bumpy, which it did. not to excess but enough to ensure that i only got about 1 hour sleep. The cabin crew in business were happy for us to leave our seats with the signs on though which they were for most of the flight.

overall this was a good trip, the cabins actually felt cleaner as an overall impression than virgin have been in the last couple of years. the amenity packs are also pretty nice with a vinyl bag designed by the Eames office no less

Thanks for the TR. I used to fly AA a lot - well did 500K with them, but moved off for commercial reasons. Might have to retry them one of these days!

Great TR giving me an insight to AA as I haven't flown with them for at least 10 years, cheers

Thank you for the TR.