This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
On arrival at T3 we were greeted with utter chaos and on trying to use the bag drop service (we checked in on-line) we were told to wait up stairs for more information and was issued with a see through plastic bag.
We eventually dropped our bags off at approx 1300 and on getting our boarding cards for our flight to Los Angeles at 1520 we were dealt with by a Virgin Atlantic staff member who proved to be a real credit and asset to Virgin, on seeing my wife and i had our two young children travelling with us and knowing that the passport control queue was endless, she decided to fast track us hence avoiding any queues which was very much appreciated by us all.
after 5 hours in the departure lounge our gate was finally called, after further security checks we boarded a bus and taken to the apron at T5 where our airbus was waiting. we boarded around 1900 hrs, and were told by the captain that we were waiting for clearance by the U.S.A which would take 1 hr. We were kept well informed at all times by the pilot and cabin crew, but unfortunately clearance took longer than expected and at 2230 the crew had run out of hours. We were told it was a possibilty that the flight would be cancelled and hotels would be found for us but we would be able to have our inflight meal before disembarking. Half an hour later the pilot informed us a relief crew from the New York flight had agreed to take on our flight and we finally departed at 2330. The new crew of half the normal number needed worked tirelessly throughout the flight to take care of us. On arrival at LAX at 0230 we were told to expect a 2 hour delay for our baggage as U.S authorities needed to re-scan all of the luggage. After 2 hours wait we were told that it would take another 2 hours before we would be able to collect our luggage. At 0630 we were able to leave the airport - a massive 32 hours since we had left our home in Devon.
We had lost almost 1 day of our holiday and upon contacting VA to see if we could reschedule our flight home we were told that this was possible at no extra cost to us which we were extremely grateful for. we flew back t o the UK on 22nd August on VS8 and landed on time , again much credit to all of the crew on the flight who had to work harder due to being shortstaffed. My wife and i are extremely grateful for the way VA staff looked after us and our daughters. Our daughters enjoyed the flight despite their disappointment at not receiving their kids pack because of the heightened security. Many thanks to VA for a safe journey under difficult circumstances.
John Williams and family.
