This isn’t a trip report, more of a “V Flyer Therapy” Session. If you don’t mind, can I carry on without an appointment to your consulting room, please? 
My fellow V Flyers, it is with a heavy heart that I need to report that on Sunday 27th November, my first ever Upper Class experience...UC Check in, private security channel, , Clubhouse, seat 2A et al has been thwarted. v(
Let me enlighten you .
Having booked this trip way back in May, using the Amsterdam start point trick, and requested seat 2A on the Airbus, with onward connection to Durban, can you imagine my disappointment when upon pouring myself out of my pit this morning, I rubbed my bleary eyes and opened up an e mail from those lovely people at VS letting me know that:
“Your flight, VS603 to Cape Town has been delayed and will now depart at 09:00 on the 28th. November, arriving at 22.55. We apologise for any inconvenience that this might cause”. :0 :0 :0 :0
Inconvenience? People, this is a massive 12 hours and 25 Minutes delay!....... I presume that it has been caused by the plane going “tech”. n(
So, on the phone chop chop - ish to the Upper Class team at Crawley Towers.
Cheery chap on the other end looked at the booking and realised that my onward connection to Durban would be missed as a result of this mess.
So after enquiring of the possibility of transferring to the Johannesburg flight, he said yes, that would work, with UC seats being available as well...check with the ticket desk on arrival at LHR..brill 8D ...or so we thought..
I need to digress a bit here in this therapy session to explain that,in order to start this trip in AMS, I first had to get to AMS from MAN, so booked using Airmiles (Avios).
So, after bag drop at MAN, I toddled over to the Virgin Ticket/Support desk to see if anything could be done by my beloved Northerners before I got to LHR.
The team there were over the top on help, culminating in a great lady spending nearly 40 minutes on the phone to Crawley Towers trying to get me sorted. Good job I asked her...no more UC seats left on the JNB flight...
Next offer was take the JNB flight in PE..What? No way. n(
Next offer was travel with South African Airways in Economy..this is getting seriously bad but they at least were trying to get me to my mud hut by the sea, without having to overnight in a hotel on the A4 Slough Road and again tomorrow in A Cape Town Hotel n( n(
After much mmm’ing and arrr’ing, there came result...book onto B.A. in J class ...seat 17D available on Flight BA 0059 leaves an hour earlier than the normal time of VS603 so I can make my connection to Durbs per the original booking. Book it Danno! y)
Next thing though, I’m going to chase VS for my FC miles and Tier Points (I need ’em to retain the exalted heights of Silver status).
More to the point, I missed my first trip up the magic staircase and all the delights of the Clubhouse...all part of the excitement of doing my twice a year run with a bit more class and expectation than the usual P E seat.
So far the return flights are intact so I will be able to compare the differences between V.S. U.C. and C.W. in B.A
I am penning this missive ensconced in my Club World seat, quaffing a nice Bacardi ‘n’ Coke (Wot..no Mojitos?) and using you wonderful flying therapists to get it off my chest. Yes the AMS connection is working but with the substitution of BA for VS.
Thanks for listening, I feel better now........
(Sent from BA Lounge in CPT as no Wi Fi on the plane)
My fellow V Flyers, it is with a heavy heart that I need to report that on Sunday 27th November, my first ever Upper Class experience...UC Check in, private security channel, , Clubhouse, seat 2A et al has been thwarted. v(
Let me enlighten you .
Having booked this trip way back in May, using the Amsterdam start point trick, and requested seat 2A on the Airbus, with onward connection to Durban, can you imagine my disappointment when upon pouring myself out of my pit this morning, I rubbed my bleary eyes and opened up an e mail from those lovely people at VS letting me know that:
“Your flight, VS603 to Cape Town has been delayed and will now depart at 09:00 on the 28th. November, arriving at 22.55. We apologise for any inconvenience that this might cause”. :0 :0 :0 :0
Inconvenience? People, this is a massive 12 hours and 25 Minutes delay!....... I presume that it has been caused by the plane going “tech”. n(
So, on the phone chop chop - ish to the Upper Class team at Crawley Towers.
Cheery chap on the other end looked at the booking and realised that my onward connection to Durban would be missed as a result of this mess.
So after enquiring of the possibility of transferring to the Johannesburg flight, he said yes, that would work, with UC seats being available as well...check with the ticket desk on arrival at LHR..brill 8D ...or so we thought..
I need to digress a bit here in this therapy session to explain that,in order to start this trip in AMS, I first had to get to AMS from MAN, so booked using Airmiles (Avios).
So, after bag drop at MAN, I toddled over to the Virgin Ticket/Support desk to see if anything could be done by my beloved Northerners before I got to LHR.
The team there were over the top on help, culminating in a great lady spending nearly 40 minutes on the phone to Crawley Towers trying to get me sorted. Good job I asked her...no more UC seats left on the JNB flight...
Next offer was take the JNB flight in PE..What? No way. n(
Next offer was travel with South African Airways in Economy..this is getting seriously bad but they at least were trying to get me to my mud hut by the sea, without having to overnight in a hotel on the A4 Slough Road and again tomorrow in A Cape Town Hotel n( n(
After much mmm’ing and arrr’ing, there came result...book onto B.A. in J class ...seat 17D available on Flight BA 0059 leaves an hour earlier than the normal time of VS603 so I can make my connection to Durbs per the original booking. Book it Danno! y)
Next thing though, I’m going to chase VS for my FC miles and Tier Points (I need ’em to retain the exalted heights of Silver status).
More to the point, I missed my first trip up the magic staircase and all the delights of the Clubhouse...all part of the excitement of doing my twice a year run with a bit more class and expectation than the usual P E seat.
So far the return flights are intact so I will be able to compare the differences between V.S. U.C. and C.W. in B.A
I am penning this missive ensconced in my Club World seat, quaffing a nice Bacardi ‘n’ Coke (Wot..no Mojitos?) and using you wonderful flying therapists to get it off my chest. Yes the AMS connection is working but with the substitution of BA for VS.
Thanks for listening, I feel better now........
(Sent from BA Lounge in CPT as no Wi Fi on the plane)
y) 
