This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
We were scheduled for the 16:00 VS01 so we opted to have Addison Lee collect us from Chez Decker at 12:30. On a good day that ensures a 13:00 arrival at LHR and yesterday was one such. We presented at UC check in and after the usual security checks we joined the UC queue... just as one of the two check in people left for lunch. With only one person checking people in there was a slight delay before we were seen but once we were seen the check in person was charming. Wed opted for PE at less than 600 when we booked a substantial saving over Z and were doing a bit too much travel to keep paying for Zs. We tried to get a bulkhead seat but she recommended that we stay put in our aisle/window seat as W was full and wed end up with a stranger sat next to us as the only bulkhead availability was the middle 3. Formalities completed we made our way upstairs.
Our first stop was the Travelex Desk for our pre-ordered currency. This year our gifts for friends children is to be cash theyre at that age. The rate we got was a couple of cents better than the airport rate (1.87 over 1.85) but to be honest I wasnt that impressed. For work purposes when paying US invoices I use XETrade (see http://www.xe.com) and in a $40,000 transfer earlier this week I got 1.93. If Id used Travelex that would have cost me 500 more. Still this is cash not wire transfer so there are higher costs associated with it. That over we went rapidly through Fast Track no queue at all and after putting shoes back on and laptops back in bag sauntered to the Club House.
The Club House remains a sanctuary. On entry we were handed a couple of copies of the new Travel Journal but I havent yet looked at this so cant comment. A couple of drinks before our scheduled appointments and then off to the Bumble and Bumble salon. Mrs D was just having a wash and blow but Id opted for a cut and blow. Much to my pleasure my cutters first words were what would you like us to do?. Now normally the stylists at the Club House seem to have their own ideas about how my hair should look, which whilst great at the time require a lot more product and time than I am prepared to spend after the event so this was a welcome deviation from the norm. I opted for my standard trim and she got stuck in. We bantered backwards and forwards about various things including a four way conversation between Mrs D and I and our respective stylists about Gordon Ramsays. Naturally the talk turned to V-Flyer and my stylist was in paroxysms of giggles at the idea of a site dedicated to flying with Virgin. When I informed her that one of the most asked questions about the Club House was should we tip the stylists/therapists and that the answer was in the affirmative she decided that shed have to check the site out and point her clientele to the site!
We repaired to the Bistro for the Burgers and in no time the flight was being called. Gate 36 so a long slog. We arrived to an almost empty boarding area and went straight on to the plane Mystic Maiden! Hosanna the new config AND the new service in PE! We settled in to the seats and set about admiring the new features. Bottled water awaited us on the drinks table so we were able to take our Airborne tablets. Champagne had to be prompted for but was served with a smile by the young lady who was to be our dedicated cabin FA.
The new seats are aesthetically pleasing. The foot rests take a bit of getting used to as they have two positions. The lumbar support is a bit weird in that it only works when the seat is upright and then it only has two positions, on or off. Pressing the armrest button deflates it. Lean forward and press again and it inflates. The v:Port handset in the seat back works incredibly well. The Empower sockets take a bit of finding (between the seats towards the floor). The extra width is noticeable and welcome. The pitch is still only just tolerable it remains difficult to stretch out if youre 6ft tall, but it sure beats a 31 inch pitch.
Amenity kits were distributed and again we were struck by the contrast between the scrooge kit and the amenity kit. Socks, eye masks, ear plugs fine but a pen and a tooth brush and paste are deemed essential for Y/W travelers interesting that J pax have such sweet breath this is deemed optional.
After take off but before the drinks service we were offered hot towels. With the drinks service we were given a packets of pretzels and a Virgin Vie wet wipe. This initial service was in plastic glasses.
For once Id decided not to work and so actually got to play with v:Port! I started to watch Mission Impossible III (sure you all know its a disappointing ending) but had to pause to peruse my new Menu another of the new service items. This was marked as being in use on the VS1/5/9/11/15/17/21/25/27/29/31/33/45/51/59/61/63/65/67/73/75/77/79 so Im guessing there arent many variants! The menu is a small four page folded A5 card with a decorative front and a eulogy to Berry Brothers on the back. The left inner page describes the wines and the following information :-
Baron des Fontenilles White
Description
Baron des Fontenilles Red
Description
Chicken tikka massala Energy 291 kcal per serving
Sausage & mash Energy 352 kcal per serving
Penne Siciliana Energy 349 kcal per serving
The right page has the menu
Starter
Couscous salad with roasted Mediterranean vegetables
Main Course
Chicken tikka masala served with basmati rice and palak aloo spinach and potatoes
Sausage & mash roasted pork sausages served with mashed potato, red cabbage and onion gravy
Penne Siciliana penne pasta served with Sicilian tomato sauce and parmesan pesto topping
Warn Bread
Rustic bread roll
Dessert
Gu cheeky pot au chocolat
Cheese & Biscuits
Butlers secret mature cheddar served with crackers
Tea and Coffee
Snacks and Refreshments
Available throughout your flight and prior to landing
A very definite upping of the ante! Mrs D and I both opted for the Sausage and Mash. The couscous was very tasty actually more so than the UC couscous we had earlier this month and the Sausage and Mash was better than the old UC ones! The food was well presented on crockery with metal cutlery not as attractive as UC but a definite improvement on plastic! The bread was a distinct improvement on the old rolls. There seemed to be some discussion about whether to remove the foil from the main course on presentation and the consensus seemed to be No. Not sure I agree with that. The wine/water was served in proper (albeit it small) glasses. The service is so new that the crew had taped the order of service up on the galley exterior and kept referring to it.
The pot au chocolate was incredibly good and the cheese and crackers were likewise very tasty. Coffee/Tea were served again in proper crockery followed by the Baileys/Brandy offering. One of the FAs commented that this part of the service always made her jealous #61514;.
All in all we were both VERY impressed with the quality of the food and the way it was served. Mid flight there was a Raspberry Ice cream run and an hour or so later a 'fruit run' and Mrs D opted for a very fresh looking banana. Throughout the flight the dedicated FA was visibly present and there was an additional drinks run with water and juices before the final snack run. The final snack run offered a choice of chocolate bar, cookie or brownie. We didnt see the brownie but the cookie was wonderful All natural ingredients and the chocolate was Green and Blacks so better then the chocolate in UC!
With the seat in front reclined and your own seat reclined it is only just possible to get a good viewing angle for the IFE screen watching it sitting upright with the person in front reclined would be well nigh impossible. The provided blanket and pillow were adequate but the pillow could do with being larger.
Landing was without drama but interestingly we deplaned from the very front of the plane so had to traipse through UC. Boarding was via the door at the bar providing the turn left/right experience. We power walked to immigration and were surprised to see that the queue with 50 people was the American queue whilst the Others queue was non-existent. We were pointed straight to wait for an official and as we waited a new booth opened and we were called over. The official was charming courteous and amusing. It wasnt the fastest processing weve ever had but it was one of the friendliest. Down to collect our bags and again priority baggage favoured PE over UC. We were away quickly and asked to have our bags re-Xrayed as a random security check. No additional grief just putting them on a conveyor and collecting at the far end. Our selection seemed to just be random as we were stopped approaching the customs exit by an official who scribbled something on our Immigration form.
We took the monorail to Dollar (Airline Network still does incredible Dollar deals) and I walked right up to the Dollar Express desk (love this feature as Dollar arent the fastest processors of renters in the world) and was greeted by the sight of the Dollar employee on the phone. Looking up he saw me approaching and said Ill have to call you back Ive got one of my frequent renters at the desk and hung up immediately to process me. He was charming and thorough and even walked us out to the car to check we were happy with it!
The Sat Nav seemed to have some problems in getting us onto the Garden Parkway but once on it the run to Woodcliff Lake was a cinch. The perfect end to a perfect day as the check in clerk welcomed us back and the passing manager greeted us by name and a pleasant surprise a room upgrade to an Executive room (the joys of Diamond) and a comfortable nights sleep.
As I said every customer service interaction a pleasure. The only thing were left wondering is why VS seem to be favouring their PE pax over their UC pax. Service is more attentive in UC but the perks all seem to be flowing to PE at present! Id have to say a big congratulations to VS on this one theyve upped their game on PE at a time when others are trying to emulate nice to see VS once again setting the gold standard!
