The lounge was nice but as I didn't feel like eating I missed out on the Chicken Tikka Masala (chef's special for the day). It smelt wonderful and looked pretty good too! I settled for a couple of glasses of Baileys and settled down with my laptop to get some work done and check e-mails.
Call me a skinflint if you like, but I think $7.95/day to access the internet via WiFi is a bit much! Let's face it - most people who use the lounge have paid out a fair chunk for their flight. Free WiFi would not be too much to ask, would it?
As I had arrived at 2.30pm, I checked regularly with the Lounge desk to see if there was a possibility of UC. 'No seats available' was the stock answer, although I understand I was waitlisted.
Anyway, the flight was called and I headed for the gate, directly across from the Lounge. One final try, I thought, as I approached the gate. 'Any chance I can upgrade using miles? Any seats free in UC?' 'Certainly, Sir - there is at least one free. You need to speak to the staff on the gate podium.' Cue much gnashing of teeth and a quick sprint to the podium. The ladies there were VERY helpful and couldn't understand why I hadn't been upgraded earlier as the seat had been free all afternoon. Thank you ladies!
Back to the gate, UC ticket in hand - no problems and smoothly on to the plane (Airbus A340 - African Queen again). Service on the way home was nothing short of outstanding. Dinner was excellent (Chicken with asparagus) and the FA responsible for my side of the cabin was polite, attentive and showed a sharp sense of humour. A great advertisement for VS cabin crew. By the time dinner was complete and I'd changed into my sleep suit, there must have been scope for about 3 hours' sleep. Another glass of Baileys and settle down for some serious snooze time. I asked not to be woken for breakfast but woke myself just before Top of Drop. Not a bad approach and back to a wet and windy LHR.
After thanking the crew, I headed for immigration (no problems) and baggage reclaim; this was where the fun started. 30 minutes went by without an announcement or any message on the boards explaining the delay. Finally (due to pax asking repeatedly) a tannoy was broadcast, declaring that the bags were held up due to airside congestion. The bags started appearing 10 minutes later and I suppose my total wait must have been 45 minutes or so.
The lack of care in keeping pax informed seems to be a common theme in UK airports at the moment. It doesn't take much for staff to find out what's going on and make an appropriate announcement - this calms everyone down and manages expectations. Most of us won't get too upset at having to wait, as long as they tell us why, and how long we can expect to wait (if known). A vacuum of silence helps no-one.
Anyway, the drive home was long, if not that eventful. All in all - a nice trip! I've been credited with the 50% bonus miles for my PE booking and fly again on 3rd Feb - this time to LAX.
Cheers all!
Tony
P.S. The ladies at the podium were even nicer than I thought as they op-upped me rather than take the 20K miles. Thank you again!
Edit by mod to remove VS staffers name... Nick
