VS044 LAS-LGW 8 Dec 07 (PE)

This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

Well here goes - The check in at Las Vegas was very painless - I even checked in with a friend of mine who was in economy trying to get a (paid for) upgrade and instead of sending her to the back of a long economy crew the staff checked her in with me.

On the flight (the first time upstairs in PE) I was a little disapointed not to get the pre-flight champagne. [:?]When the first drinks round came the stewardess apologised for no pre-flight drink due to Gatwick not loading the right champagne. [y]To be fair she certainly was so apologetic it made up for it - and we got pretty much free wine all night.[y]

Sleep - well the seat was wide but pretty uncomfortable to sleep in - and mine did not recline as much as my neighbours - which probably played on my mind!!! Looking forward to try the new PE seat.

The IFE was awful - it took quite a few resets for it to work [V] and not only that - the film choice was pretty pants (IMHO) and I only watched 1 (Chuck and Larry - a couple of hours in my life I dont want back [:(]

Apart from that the flight was fine - and seemed to pass quickly.

Then to the arrival - well what can I say! We were quick off the plane and quick through the passport control and then the fun started. Gatwick decided to put the flights luggage out on 2 baggage belts. No rhyme or reason to what would go on either belt so as I had 2 bags I had to keep fleeting between the two - and premium economy priority did not work -mine was next to last! This really did ruin what was otherwise a pleasant flight - after 10 hours you do not want to be hunting two baggage belts for my bags - and in fact they came off on the different bags so it really was a nightmare - and times that by 350 odd people from the aircraft!!!

Bottom line - crew - very good, pre flight champagne - non existant, flight - good, arrival - pants!!!!

Regards

AKS120

It's a shame your flight wasn't the best, although the LAS-LGW route seems to be short of a lot of things. You will find your LGW-LAS outbound a lot better as they tend to fully load in the UK and have to make do with what's left on the US-UK leg.

I wasn't too impressed with the choice of films, but I don't really think it's VS's fault, just the quality of films that are around at the moment.

I'm sure you'll find your return trip much better being a daytime flight. The staff are usually a lot more visible and helpful. The only thing that can happen is they shut the bar half way through the flight to retain as much as they can for the return trip.

It's a shame about your bags at LGW - we've never really had a problem with PE bags coming out. I always feel sorry for Upper as theirs seem to take a lot longer.

Make sure you get upstairs again on your return, as it really is so much nicer than downstairs PE.

Originally posted by lynnewob
Make sure you get upstairs again on your return, as it really is so much nicer than downstairs PE.

100% right - experience the upper deck in PE whilst you can - it's great [y]. I've got a gut feel thet'll change it to UCS when they refit the PE cabin with the most recent seats...[:?]

[Scrooge]

Though on the flight back they do tend to close the bar when they hit land somewhere in the Americas to preserve stock for the flight back.

I prefer the small PE cabin behind the UC one, I went on the Upper Deck on the way to Las Vegas and it had a few children on it as well as a large family group, and was very noisy, on the way back downstairs it was mainly couples and a few single business travellers.

I prefer the small PE cabin behind the UC one, I went on the Upper Deck on the way to Las Vegas and it had a few children on it as well as a large family group, and was very noisy, on the way back downstairs it was mainly couples and a few single business travellers.

I have always had a good experience of the upstairs area on the LGW fitted planes. I agree that the entertainment can be a bit disappointing, especially if you have previously had the experience of vPORT! Not sure that they could convert upstairs to UC on the LGW suite, as you wouldn't have anywhere to put the bar. There is a lot of call for PE on the LGW flights as they are typically holiday type flights, so people are willing to pay that little bit more....not sure that there is enough call for a lot more UC (i.e. the whole of the upper deck and the nose area)