V-Flyer

In very exciting news, I have managed to grab two of those elusive G fares later this year so a return trip to the States is in the diary! It's particularly exciting because I have been saving flying miles and credit card miles for quite a while - and most importantly, it will be my first time in UC!! Private security, clubhouse, turning left on boarding - it is going to be awesome!

Which made me think... if you could take just one element of the UC experience, what would it be? (And "Clubhouse" doesn't count - there's so many parts to it!)

Tough question... but hopefully a good one!

(Plus it will give me some ideas about what to prioritise!)

Just one thing? Well, for me it's exclusivity and space of a seat in the A zone on a LHR 747 - 17A my personal favourite!

drive through check in

I would say the exclusivity and space of the A zone but that's aircraft dependant....
So my one thing would have to be DTCI! Phenomenal experience!

The bar - love being able to leave my seat and go sit at the bar at 37,000ft. Usually good conversations and a great way to spend an hour or three

I'm with Neil the bar onboard.

Yep, it's got to be the on-board bar.

You will find the flight time in Upper Class feels like it passes must quicker as there's far more to keep you occupied during the flight instead of just you, your seat and the IFE when compared to flying in other cabins.

Having a steam shower then a close shave, getting into some comfortable clothes and snuggling into a crisp white duvet before arriving refreshed at your destination - the point of premium travel in my opinion.

Hope i'll catch some of you on a flight then.. On 90% of my virgin UC flights no one ever sits at the bar I then try but feel so awkward being there alone i just return to my seat. It almost feels like going to a nightclub alone haha

The bar is cool, but I've also been like Billy No Mates at times and returned to my seat. For me it's the exclusivity and comfort from the UC suite and the fully flat bed. I'd find it difficult, especially on long haul, to go back to being stuffed into a cramped seat in a row with barely space to move for 8+ hours.

That said I haven't yet tried PE on VS, but it looks comfortable. My plan at present is to never go back to Y if I can avoid it on long haul. The UC suite, that's my one thing. All the other stuff is fab, but extra to it.

The bar is cool, but I've also been like Billy No Mates at times and returned to my seat.

Sadly that is too true re the bar from days of yore. As UC staff use it as a loading zone, AND that is now a sort of twisted shape hung between wc entry, it is no longer a buzzing hub. Of late i have felt that UC staff are surprised to see a live one where in past it was always a question of who had to vacate the one too many stools. I used to really enjoy a flight with an hour spent checking out the single malts but now--eh.

Another vote for the bar ... I've met incredible people there and had the greatest conversations of my life ... Champagne definitely helps of course !

I'm going to go with the personable service. I think the VS service is great, for the vast majority of the time in all cabins but in UC you really do feel looked after by great staff with great energy.

For me it's the flat bed on a night flight.
Dick D

I am awaiting my first ever UC flight, and have always said I wanted to try it so I could sit at a bar in the air, so I am glad to see some of you say that is a highlight. I will most certainly be there on my flight in October! Sadly we're coming back PE so I won't get the flat bed experience.

LucyLu wrote:I am awaiting my first ever UC flight, and have always said I wanted to try it so I could sit at a bar in the air, so I am glad to see some of you say that is a highlight. I will most certainly be there on my flight in October! Sadly we're coming back PE so I won't get the flat bed experience.

You can still try the bed out on the outbound

As an AU card holder I receive most of the UC ground experience regardless of the class of travel.... Considering that my choice is simple - DTCI at LHR

In more general terms though, and I know you ruled it out but, the Clubhouses the world over deliver a fantastic oasis ahead of the flight (or after the flight in the case of Revivals)

The Clubhouses and the CC approach to pax in the air is what keeps me flying VS

joeyc wrote:As an AU card holder I receive most of the UC ground experience regardless of the class of travel.... Considering that my choice is simple - DTCI at LHR

In more general terms though, and I know you ruled it out but, the Clubhouses the world over deliver a fantastic oasis ahead of the flight (or after the flight in the case of Revivals)

The Clubhouses and the CC approach to pax in the air is what keeps me flying VS

I am kinda with Joeyc here, never stops being a great way to arrive.....
I do think Revivals could be the most underplayed card VS have at LHR. It is simply the best way to end a flight. In, food and coffee, shower, clean pressed clothes, ready for the day.
As for the bar, a tale of yester-year for me. In the past I have spent many an hour with CC discussing VS, BA, playing the "Who has been on-board" via Hello and other type mags as well as meeting the most interesting people that, if I am honest, have made me a much wiser and more educated person.
The last few years have been very silent at the bar area. I have sat there, no one came. I thought it was me

I'd sum it up in one word - serenity. The not having to worry/get stressed/flustered because everything from DTCI onwards is taken care of. The serenity of your own private space in the cabin - no eejit in front reclining his seat in your lap. The serenity of the service, the peaceful serenity of the UC cabin.

Yes of course we all LOVE the CH, the on-board bar, the champagne, the exclusivity but it all is summed up for me in "serenity".

DTCI. The only thing that BA does't do better

I can do without the bar to be honest - on a good day it can be fun, but on many flights it is a pain. Case in point - I was a regular on the 400 - I took it so I can sleep, to work when I landed. To have drunk people hooting with laughter all night on their holiday flight is a damned nuisance.

It's the onboard bar for :-)