Booking the flights was straightforward albeit anxious. I was co-ordinating with my boyfriend about when to go and the weekend after his birthday showed good availability and would also be a nice birthday treat. Having got all the details together I went onto the Virgin website to make the booking and find to my horror that only 1 G ticket was available for the VS25, having shown 2 earlier that day. Phoning Flying Club ( Silver ) initially I was put through to Premier Team as it was an Upper Class reward booking I wanted. As I was going through options on the phone the 2nd seat on the VS25 suddenly became available and was bagged as quick as I could get it.
On the Thursday after some typical work holdups boyfriend and I were on the Piccadilly Line at Covent Garden around 1.30pm for the long ride out to Heathrow. From where we're based, the Heathrow Express was an option but saving 12 minutes for 14 each wasn't worth considering.... 50 minutes later we emerged at Terminal 3 and made our way up to check in.
There was 1 person in the Upper Class queue, a couple in Premium and about 10-12 waiting for Economy. After a brief comfort break when no-one was in the Upper check-in queue the inevitable had happened - the Upper Class check-in had increased to 5 ( sod's law ) and so we joined the queue after going through the usual 'Yes', 'Yes', 'No. I mean Yes!!' routine with the security check guy. We were called over to a Premium Economy desk and checked in quite quickly, although not very professionally. By that I mean the check-in agent never made eye contact, smiled or addressed us directly, and started talking about another matter to a member of staff who came over with a query whilst we were there. I've had far more friendly and professional check-in staff previously, but were through quite quickly.
Straight onto Fast Track security which was actually 'fast' this time compared to the regular security. Through in quick time ( 5 mins or so ) aided in our case by good preparation of removal of belt, watch, wallet and untieing of shoes. The only downside of this faffing around was forgetting to register for IRIS on the other side, more about this later......
Straight through past the very nice Ferrari now on the stand and up to the Lounge area 'H' to ascend the steps up to the Clubhouse, our home for the next few hours. Leaving early from work to maximise time here was really worth it. Up to the reception stand and boarding cards and invite presented, we found a slight problem in that the VS25 wasn't down on the touch-screen to choose from. A few seconds head-scratching ( can't remember when the VS25 started but feel sure it must have been running long enough to be on the board ) and we were allowed to proceed.
And wow! I'd been in Phase 1 of the Clubhouse back in March, but Phase 2 is, in the words of Little Britain's Marjorie Dawes - 'Something else'. It really is spectacular. We took seats in the poolside lounge and enjoyed the first glass of champagne ( Mumm ) of the day. We then had some food from the Deli before going down to the Cowshed for our treatments - a 'Fresh As A Daisy' for both of us. Don't laugh! As neither of us had tried a facial before this was a real treat, really refreshing and relaxing. That over with, we thanked the staff and went off to explore the rest of the Clubhouse, resting on the HUGE seat in the Observation Deck and nearly falling asleep, before settling into the lodge overlooking the gates and ordering food, the chicken stuffed with herb mousse with risotto for me, which was very pleasant. A one hour delay to the VS25 was announced due to late arrival so the PC's in the office came in handy for checking email, though I noted that printing wasn't working, and that the iMac's in the JFK Clubhouse would have been a much nicer addition than the 'Internet Cafe' style restricted PC's.
In between this ( and before any more champagne was consumed ) I remembered about the IRIS registration and went back out to the registration room. I'd missed the room as it's not on the airside of the Fast Track security, it's just airside of regular security. A few regular questions, iris scan and a confirmation printout later and I was back to the Clubhouse. Very quick, efficient and was excellent on the return ( TR to be posted later )
Called for boarding at a little after 6 and a short ( 5-6 mins ) walk, Gate 19 I think (?) where boarding had not yet started. No further security checks and we took seats in the gate area for 10 minutes or so, the explanation being that the crew were late boarding which was understandable considering the late arrival. Priority boarding announced and down the ramp to 'Indian Princess'. Seats taken in 10K & 11K and champagne offered and taken from the Senior Cabin Crew member looking after us on this flight. Scrooge packs already in position to avoid embarrassing handouts later on, and the new Mediterranean menu on board. About 6 seats free in J, quite a few in W, and noted the new Premium 'super seats' across the board there, which do look very nice.
A short taxi and take off around 7.20. I know that there's a lot of fans of the 747 but I just find the A340-600 such an effortless aircraft. So smooth and quiet. I'm even starting to get used to the throttle-back which occurs after a couple of minutes when everything goes eerily quiet for a while. Seatbelt signs off in good time and V:Port started up. A couple of drinks runs and food orders being taken....
The senior cabin crew member came around to take our orders, and I thought I should order something but not much, as we'd eaten quite a bit in the Clubhouse and I didn't want to eat straight away as wasn't hungry. However, I knew we had a 7 hour flight ahead and a few more hours in New York before going to bed, so thought I'd eat later in the flight. The senior cabin crew member said 'You should really order now to make sure you get your choice of meal' and when I said I wanted to eat later on instead that line was repeated again. I ordered the Minestrone di verdure soup and within the hour the table was laid and the soup presented. The soup was ok but nothing more, and was rather watery. Breads came round which were good and after a first glass of Chardonnay ( yuck ) I moved onto a ( I think ) Bulgarian Pinot Grigio which was better but not something I'd choose to buy myself. As the soup bowl was taken away I was asked by the same crew member if I'd like anything else. Perusing the menu I asked whether I could have the steak, and the response was 'As I told you earlier, you'd need to order early on as we run out quickly'. My 2nd choice was the couscous, and the response was again 'As I told you earlier, you really need to order early on' which I now interpret to be 'You must order when we ask you to.' I was highly annoyed, firstly at the attitude of this particular crew member ( As a customer, I'm not used to being patronised in such a way ) and secondly that, as others have found, the 'Freedom' menu seems anything but. So instead I ordered the Mediterranean Plate, which was brought promptly and consisted of houmous with herb / parsley, 2 pieces of falafel and a piece of pitta bread. I say 'piece' but 'thumbnail' would probably be more appropriate, it being the smallest piece of bread I've ever seen. The houmous was nice but not enough bread, and the falafel was dry and tasteless. Not a good experience at all and felt very unsatisfied. Boyfriend had the Tapas selection plate which he reported back as being good. The plate was taken away by the IFBT, who was extremely helpful and rather more concerned that my choice of food was not available.
Converted the seat into the bed as the lights were dimmed and rested for a couple of hours and watching some of Little Britain Series 2 which was enjoyable as ever. Left in the bed position and wandered down to the bar for a drink and a chat to a very pleasant Scottish member of crew who I felt sure had been on my Cape Town flight earlier in the year. She was very friendly and got me an Italian variation on Bread & Butter pudding which I ate at the bar, and very nice it was too.
Converted the bed back to seat and watched some more TV and listened to music, then looked at iMap as the main screen's 'Journey Time Remaining' figure was blank. Waited for iMap to appear. And waited. And waited. Wasn't responding so stopped a member of crew who said this was normal and that iMap has been playing up and crashing V:port on a number of her recent flights. A reboot was required in order to clear, and I noted this was done to several others who had fallen into this iMap trap.
Began our approach into a very misty New York, with some great views of the Manhattan skyline to our right. On the ground only 30 minutes later than originally scheduled and priority disembarking working fine. Down to immigration to small queues, and undoubtedly the most unfriendly immigration officer I've ever come across - despite the queue controller saying 'Are you together? You can go down together' he insisted on me moving back to the line and was more interested in grunting / thought projection about the finger printing process. Having been through it before I knew what was required but I pity the poor people further back who may be unfamiliar who would have attracted even more ire. No wonder the sort of reception we received has been cited in reports about why US tourism figures are down.
Priority bags working a treat and our bags were off in a few minutes,through to the taxi ranks and past the hordes of illegal touts outside ( which don't give a good perception either ) and a good run into Manhattan to the Gansevoort Hotel on W13th street.
Overall, a pretty typical and unremarkable Virgin flight I think. Big Thumbs up for the Clubhouse, Priority boarding / disembarkation / luggage & suite, big thumbs down for the food yet again and for one rather surly crew member, but the other crew were delightful. I hope Virgin sort out the food soon as the new menu doesn't seem to have fixed the quality issue or the issue of 'Freedom' choice or availability.
Some details and pictures of our hotel, the River Cafe restaurant and the 'Top Of The Rock' attraction here in the Travel forum.
Thanks,
David.
