This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
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When I booked the flight I would have preferred the VS45 at 14:00 but despite one fare showing on the main summary page when I selected the fare the website told me the fare was no longer available. So I ended up with the VS9 which is better for queues at JFK normally but is a little late on the arrival.
I arrived at the around 13:35 with a haircut booked for the CH at 14:00. The new security channel was great - this was my first trip through and I was really impressed. There were literally 6 security staff to handle the tiny trickle of people - only 1 other came through while I was there.
Stopped brifly in the shops and then sped through to the CH and arrived just in time for the pre-booked haircut - which incidentally was the first time I had booked on-line - very organised. Finished haircut and moved off for a bite to eat, noticing on the way that Bob Hoskins was sitting across from the bar - he dissapeared when the LAX flight was called a short time later. The food was very pleasant - I had the mushroom soup followed by a braised lamb dish. By this time it was a little after 15:00 so I wandered away to a seat by the window to wait for the flight to be called... and waited .. and waited. Finally just before 16:00 a message was broadcast to inform us that the VS009 had some technical issues and a short delay (until 17:00) was antipated. Well 17:00 came and went and the flight was finally called just before 18:00 - by which time I had well and truly explored the CH in the 4 hour visit I had had. I wished that I had brought my trunks for the spa [:I].
Finally the flight was called and I wandered down to gate 3 where boarding began shortly after - it was obviously not a full flight and I later counted 47 in Y and 16 in PE (no idea how many up front but would be surprised if more than half full).
Getting on the plane was only half the problem though. The captain apologised for the delay - apparently an engine issue on the plance when it had arrived from Dubai - but then announced another delay because the flight data had not been transferred automatically and had to be run over from the VS office. Well the 'running over' took quite a while as it was another 2 hours before we finally pushed back. The captain did keep us informed through the delay and told us that they had taken on another pilot to prevent the flight crew from going out of hours.
I was second from the bulkhead behind a family of three with a (I estimate) a 21 month old. About every 10 minutes the childs grandmother would appear from up front and stir the child up before departing again leaving the cabin with a screaming child. Sometimes she would take the child with her to see 'first class' before re-emerging 5 minutes later. The cabin was quite empty so the child's father decided that the best place to change the child was on the floor in front of 18 HK. At one point he suggested that the child should go and 'play with the blinds'.
Well by departure we were well and truly late - an apology was made but it was no compensation for an estimated arrival at JFK of after 23:00. The flight was pleasant enough as was the food - although I wish they would dispense with the sickly dessert - I like my sugar as much as the next bloke but crumbs those things are just too sweet.
I watched 'In the Shadow of the Moon' and must have started another couple of films but nothing was really appealing and by now i was pretty tired so I slept for a while and by the time I woke up we only had about an hour to run.
We landed at 23:15 and sped through immigration - we were pretty empty and no other plane was foolish enough to arrive at that time. I noticed later that they had turned the VS25, that had arrived 2 hours earlier than us, around to serve the passengers on the returning VS10 so just a 2 hour delay for them. I arrived at my midtown hotel at around 00:30 with a 09:00 meeting message on my answerphone - oh well.
FM
