LHR Upper Class own car drive thru now available to everyone

[mitchja]

Just noticed a new section in my Upper Class booking:

Book your slot at the Upper Class Wing
View how to book your private vehicle into the wing
If you are arriving in your own vehicle and would like to book your place at the Upper Class Wing, call 01293 493600 to secure a timeslot.

You must provide the names of all passengers in the vehicle, full passport details of all travelling passengers and the address of the first night stay if travelling to the U.S.

You will also need to provide:
Car registration
Make
Model and colour
Your chauffeur or drivers name
The number of bags to be checked in
Your estimated time of arrival

so looks like this is now no longer a trial and is now available to everyone.

Excellent news - I think it's the best way to start a holiday and was very excited when I received my email in March.

I suppose this is far easier and involves less admin for VS.

You still need to book a slot im advance though and might need to be flexible too to get a slot but generally a good enhancement to the UC experience

and only open to all in PAX travelling Upper Class ONLY presumably - the title of this thread is a tadge misleading dare I say

and only open to all in PAX travelling Upper Class ONLY presumably - the title of this thread is a tadge misleading dare I say

I think the fact it's called "upper class" DTCI I'd say it's clear enough

and only open to all in PAX travelling Upper Class ONLY presumably - the title of this thread is a tadge misleading dare I say

I think the fact it's called "upper class" DTCI I'd say it's clear enough

Thanks for your "polite" answer v(

How about us Gold card holders ? We use Upper Class check in regardless so is that included or as I said above, just those whose bum is on a J seat ? ?|

If you cant be polite answering it back Luke then please do not feel you need to answer any of our posts in future. Thank you

HH

How about us Gold card holders ? We use Upper Class check in regardless so is that included or as I said above, just those whose bum is on a J seat ? ?|

There is only limited capacity within DTCI so restricting it to only those flying in UC is a way of managing those restricttions.

The more people that use it the less exclusive it is and VS need to maintain the exclusivity.

No doubt there are some J travellers thinking that those on a Z ot even a G should not be allowed to use it either.

and only open to all in PAX travelling Upper Class ONLY presumably - the title of this thread is a tadge misleading dare I say

I think the fact it's called "upper class" DTCI I'd say it's clear enough

Thanks for your "polite" answer v(

How about us Gold card holders ? We use Upper Class check in regardless so is that included or as I said above, just those whose bum is on a J seat ? ?|

If you cant be polite answering it back Luke then please do not feel you need to answer any of our posts in future. Thank you

HH

How was my post impolite?

I actually find your post to be rather rude, all I was doing was stating a basic obvious fact, how is that not being polite?

Could just be the way I'm reading them but note taken - will ignore your posts!

How about us Gold card holders ? We use Upper Class check in regardless so is that included or as I said above, just those whose bum is on a J seat ? ?|

There is only limited capacity within DTCI so restricting it to only those flying in UC is a way of managing those restricttions.

The more people that use it the less exclusive it is and VS need to maintain the exclusivity.

No doubt there are some J travellers thinking that those on a Z ot even a G should not be allowed to use it either.

A reason, I have heard, they came up with the private car dtci was the get numbers up, as vs were having trouble justifying the price. My guess is that they will see how many more pax this brings through the dtci, then find other ways to up numbers if still not at an acceptable level. Rumors I have heard are VHol and Singapore (but seems less likely now they have moved check in desks)

How does this work? Is there time for a goodbye kiss? I've heard that the reception is a little frosty. My wife is off to SFO later this year and it would be nice to drop her off in the car, but I am only interested if we can have a proper goodbye!

How does this work? Is there time for a goodbye kiss? I've heard that the reception is a little frosty. My wife is off to SFO later this year and it would be nice to drop her off in the car, but I am only interested if we can have a proper goodbye!

You'll definitely have time for a kiss (very romantic!) but it is a drop of so not a huge amount of time.

We were in and out within 2 minutes max, quick hugs and off we went.

How does this work? Is there time for a goodbye kiss? I've heard that the reception is a little frosty. My wife is off to SFO later this year and it would be nice to drop her off in the car, but I am only interested if we can have a proper goodbye!

Its designed very much as drive in, offload pax and bags and drive out and no messing about.

If you want a longer goodbye then best use the normal check-in.

No doubt there are some J travellers thinking that those on a Z ot even a G should not be allowed to use it either.

The thing that I've always found odd, until they opened it up to all UC pax, is that if you were on a G you could use drive-thru for 17.5K miles, but if you were on a Z you weren't allowed to use it, not even for 17.5K miles Almost as though VS were penalising you for buying a revenue ticket v(

Having said that, I've never bought a Z yet enjoyed many a drive-thru experience on a G y)

Is it me, or is this another example of VS diluting the J class product that little bit further? It downgrades those passengers who have chosen to purchase J, D or R class fares by opening up the UCW to Z class passengers as well - albeit by using their own transport. The whole point of the UCW was to allow pax travelling on CDC eligible tickets to be dropped off by tristar - now it will just be a free-for-all for every man and his wife on discounted Z class fares.

Its a short step from this sorry state of affairs to some bright spark at VS suggesting that PE passengers can use it for a modest fee....

Great... so that's one more traffic jam that I'll be stuck in en-route. I've noticed DTCI getting more busy on my last few JFK flights as it is.

Incidentally, maybe I'm just lucky, but I've always had a very good experience of DTCI reception staff - nothing like the frosty stares etc that others here report.

now it will just be a free-for-all for every man and his wife on discounted Z class fares.

Its a short step from this sorry state of affairs to some bright spark at VS suggesting that PE passengers can use it for a modest fee....

How can it be a free for all? VS still control the allocation of access slots so if Mr and Mrs Z ticket ask for 11.00 - 11.30 and its 'full' they will be directed to a less busy slot or told its not available.

And I'm sorry but I find your posts incredibly offensive and insulting.

Flying on a Z or a G (or indeed in PE or Y) does not make soneone any less of a person that somneone on a J/D/R ticket.

And if it is known that DTCI won't be busy e.g. on a weekend then why not offier it to PE pax as well? Afterall VH offer a limited number of oppornities for its customers to buy access to the LHR and LGW CHs. Revenue is Revenue.

I don't believe I implied that those people who travel on a Z class ticket, or any other class, were lesser people - I simply pointed out that opening up the UCW to yet more passengers than it was originally designed for dilutes the whole purpose of the DTCI experience.

Your perfectly entitled to your opinions however, as am I.

The idea of offering UCW access to PE passengers is one I find utterly reprehensible. Following that train of thought to it's logical, yet absurd socialist conclusion, why not allow them access to the CH if it's quiet, or better yet, just let them sit in Upper if there is a free seat....

If people want a particular service, then they can pay full rate for it, not get it on the cheap.

Yes you are entitled to your opinion.

And in my opionion you have spouted, in this and the few other posts, a load of elitist twaddle.

I took part in the trial a couple of years ago and it worked well.

Just booked myself in again for Wednesday - passport numbers and first night's address in US required. Just ring the same number at least 30 mins before arrival with car reg details and make/model. No ETA required.

And I'm travelling on a hard-earned reward Z ticket

I have no intention of sinking to your level and responding with ad hominem comments pertaining to your views.

So let's just accept that we're clearly divided on this issue shall we, and behave like the adults we purport to be.

And I'm travelling on a hard-earned reward Z ticket

Z class tickets are discounted revenue, not reward. Reward tickets are G class in Upper.

And I'm travelling on a hard-earned reward Z ticket

Do you mean a G?
G is a reward Upper Class fare
Z is discounted Upper Class fare

Interesting that no eta required.

Lets remember if you buy J your doing it for ease of changing flights without having to pay for a change yes the CDC so there are still extra benefits from buying a J and D ticket.

J D Z G are all upper class tickets and should be allowed the same experiance, what price you pay well thats down to you(and your pocket)

Sorry, M+M, not a G.

The email I just got confirming everything does specify an arrival time, although I specifically asked them if I needed to provide an ETA and they said not. I shall be arriving a bit earlier than they suggest otherwise I shall miss out on the CH

I took part in the trial a couple of years ago and it worked well.

Just booked myself in again for Wednesday - passport numbers and first night's address in US required. Just ring the same number at least 30 mins before arrival with car reg details and make/model. No ETA required.

And I'm travelling on a hard-earned reward Z ticket

Enjoy the DTCI experience and your flight. 8D