This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
I did OLCI the day before, well I tried to but the system came back with a message stating that they couldn't check 'love-him-as-I-do-but' in on line & he would have to check in as usual. I wasn't worried about this but he had a bit of a face on him.[:w]
I was able to check our 2 older daughters who were coming with us by OLCI, they had a separate PNR as I had booked their tickets after ours,(they started to whine when they learnt we were going to NY so we relented & took them with us).So much for a romantic spring break to celebrate our wedding anniversary!
We set of in plenty of time as 'love-him-as-I-do-but' & I had secured access to the CH thanks to Jilly's reporting [oo][oo][y]of the offer by Matterbox.[y][:D]
We tried to book my husband in at one of the checkin self service desks but this didn't work either so lined up. We only waited a few minutes.
The check in girl was very pleasant. I asked her if we could move forward from our pre-selected seats of 33A & C. I asked if the bulkhead seats were free in A & C & she said yes & did we really want them, as in surprise that we would choose them. Oh yes we did!!
result[y]
Security was fine with minimal waiting time & off to the CH.[}:)]
The looks on the faces as the 3 of them entered the CH for the first time was a picture. I had to go round each of them shutting their mouths (so embarrassing).
We all enjoyed delicious breakfasts & I had been able to secure a haircut for one of my daughters before eating breakfast, so soon after she toddled off & came back later totally cock-a-hoop. She looked gorgeous. I had pre-booked a haircut & was really pleased.[y]
'Love-him-as-I-do-but' had booked a massagey treatment & was very chilled upon his return. Our 2nd daughter had her nails done & spent an hour turning pages of a magazine VERY carefully so she didn't smudge them before they were well & truly dry ( it's a girl thing fellas).
We all enjoyed a light lunch & drinks & then our flight was called.
Boarding was fine & we settled ourselves in comfortably. Drinks were served , we were a bit late taking off but whatever, I didn't care by this time[:p]
The crew worked efficiently & were friendly yet professional.
The FSM was a real trouper,[^] high profile, working hard, being seen, interacting with his crew & pax, ten out of ten.
I don't know what was for lunch as I wasn't hungry. I walked back to where the girls were seated in econ & they were fine. Some time into the flight I got chatting to a lovely CCM who was working without senior responsibilities that day for some reason & so had time to chat.
I said that my family had not visited NY before so she was happy to tell us about some of her favourite things to do, where the crew now had to stay ( not too happy about where they had been allocated these days) where she lived, the probs possibly facing IFBT, I didn't realise the seriousness of this know until I read VF last night.
During the flight the delightful FSM came over to us & asked if we would like a drink from the bar. I asked in a hesitant voice if I could have a glass of champagne, no probs, he came back with it in a lovely UC glass.
'Love-him-as-I-do-but' declined as he said he had toothache. The FSM went & heated up a bottle of water & placed it in a sock to apply to his cheek to try to ease the pain, then he went & got some brandy on tissues to place on the affected tooth. I was surprised my husband had suddenly got toothache. He then said he had had it the day before. Don't even go there thinking why didn't he get an emergency appointment with our dentist, silly sod should have done something about it.
As we, well I was chatting to him, he went & got the bottle of champagne & refilled my glass[:D][:D][:D] x2[|)][y]
He didn't have to at all but the gesture was VERY much appreciated. As you can guess, although young he was of the 'old school' of standards, passengers being happy etc'.
The young lady CCM returned after a while & we chatted again, she said she would go & get our daughters as soon as we landed so we could disembark together, what a thoughtful & very much appreciated gesture. She didn't know about VF so I gave her a card & told her a bit about it.
I watched the crew work together to tidy the cabin, make pax comfortable etc as we started our descent. The FSM worked up until the very last moment with paperwork at the bar. When he sat down opposite us we (I) said how brill he was & why. He was most gracious in his reply. I don't know if this crew had worked together before but the all gelled from what we could observe.
Our descent into sunny JFK was so stunningly beautiful all along the coast. As soon as we touched down & had just started to taxi, our daughters appeared by the bar complete with their coats!!!! Thank you you darling CCM[oo][^]!
This flight was EXCELLENT due to the thoughtfulness, kindness & professionalism of the crew & the 2 afore mentioned crew in particular.
Why can't VA training staff learn from these crew members & instil the importance of pax relations into all members of staff. Before anyone gets on their high horse, most are fab but one or 2 I have encountered during previous flights would work well in a computer orientated environment[:w]
The crew were outstanding, thank you guys & gals [^][^][^]
The queue at immigration looked yuk as an Air India flight got in before us but the staff in control of designating pax to various queues worked well. Our bags were on the carousel & off we went to the taxi line. All done & dusted within an hour.[y]
We stayed at the Hampton Inn in the Seaport/financial district if anyone is interested, it served our needs very well. We would happily stay there again. Got a fantastic rate. Will post all about that separately.
