VS066 MBJ-LGW 17 OCT 12 (Upper Class)

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

After a grand trip out the return was something that was to be looked forward to: well, the flight at least, as MBJ is at best a shambles and degenerates from there. The bulk of the ground aspects are outside of VS control and some things have improved since we were last there with VS in March last year.

Pick up from the Iberostar was on time and we drifted through a rainstorm to Sangster in around 20 minutes: bags out and up to the VS check in.

The UC line was empty but we still waited 20 minutes while the agent checked in some PE pax who were redistributing weight amongst their bags. After a complaint to the supervisor we eventually were directed to the PE check in.....duh???? Is that why we pay UC money?

Bags dropped, lounge pass and off through security, which was painless: bought some ciggies for my son, coffee and spices for friends then in to the rum shop for the J.Wray and Nephew Overproof my Jamaican buddy wanted.

2 Bottles for US$22 securely packed in their cardboard carry on and down to the Club MoBay lounge for a final Red Stripe before the joys of Jamaican boarding.

Wandered upstairs when pre boarding started to be met by "Oi there's a queue" from a disgruntled Y pax: certainly is, and you are in it.

Through to the UC, PE channel but wife, who is doing the beast of burden bit carrying the rum, is stopped by the police for a search....again. Last time they broke the strap on her bag and dropped my son's camera - Canon EOS 5D.

This time they managed to drop the 2 bottles of rum and smashed one: are these peoples eejits????? Back to the rum shop with junior idiot policeman and receipt in the hope of having it replaced but ....guess what......no chance. WTF??????

Does VS have a problem with people trying to smuggle drugs? WTF target the UC passengers for random drug search? Thats twice in 2 trips with VS but the same didn't happen with BA in CW. Go figure.

No huge line of wheelchairs this time, just 3 or 4, and on board, fuming, to the calm of 6A and 6K.......the high pitched tone in 6K apart.

God bless the lovely A who NB'd that was I was tee'd off: she asked what was wrong, I explained and she brought me a large Aberlour, a smile and the offer of another Big hand to that lovely lady.

The high pitched tone that I could hear but my wife in 6A couldn't continued: if I moved my head towards the window, it stopped. Sit upright again, it came back????

Back comes the lovely A: "Am I losing it or can you hear a high pitched tone here?" Yep, it isn't just me, but it isn't coming through the overhead speakers so it has to be feedback from somewhere. " If it continues I will ask one of the pilots to come and listen" "No worries.....If I can't find it, unlikely he will"

So where is it coming from, obvious first check is the controller: remove it from the stowage, tone stops: replace it, starts again. Problem solved, but my light won't go out. No worries leave it until later.

Doors closed, off we go in to the night sky for 8 hrs 25 mins back to LGW. Out was a refurb, back.....no luck, Ruby Tuesday was tonight's limo.

IFE was unusable on the movie I wanted to watch due to distortion and flicker, but not on the TV programmes so obviously a fault with the movie: out with the back up iPad and watch American Pie on that.

Drinks and dinner followed, I had the soup: I enjoyed it but Mrs A didn't. Then I had beef she had pasta, she made the better choice, the beef was lack lustre but the Jerk Chicken didn't appeal. I can understand the need to offer Jerk to the outbound residents going to the UK, but maybe a 4th option in UC might be an idea even if it is just roast chicken.

Very tasty cheesecake followed, enormous portion too, and some wonderful cheddar and stilton with port.

The delightful A came back to fiddle under my seat to trip the CB for the light and turned the bed down for a few hours sleep.

Woke up a couple of hours out and had the bacon roll and coffee for breakfast: roll was a tad dry but I turned the offer of HP or ketchup so prob my own doing.

No holding, landed west at LGW and off sharpish to get our bags. Fast retrieval, well done VS, then off for the Express to Victoria 25 minutes after we parked.

Apart from the ground aspects at MBJ another excellent flight: big well done again to the CC.

Thanks for the TR, those security searches do seem to be careless and fumbling don't they. I have no desire to visit Jamaica but am interested in peoples' views of it.

Nice TR, shame the ground crew spoilt things somewhat.

Good job I was not in your position, I would have tried to frog march mr junior idiot policeman to the rum shop and made him pay for replacements - you would then probs be reading about a Brit imprisoned in Jamaica for assaulting police or some other trumped up charge....
Good to hear the CC made up for it

Cheers for posting

[Darren Wheeler]

I think it was on BBC's Airport or some similar programme that said that Jamacia to UK was one of the major drug smuggling routes into Europe. Lots of mules for cocaine.

I think you handled the issue of the broken bottle quite well. I would have kicked up a bit of a fuss if some clumsy idiot damaged somehting I got. But on second thought, one has to exhibit super human calm in an airport.

I'm another pax that leant fancy Jamaica but am interested in views. Great to hear that the CC worked their magic and created a diversion fom thoughts of broken bottles

Thanks or posting

Had the same problems with ground staff in July. There were 9 in my party checking in at UC which took about 30 - 35 mins because she insisted that we write out names on the luggage tabs and identify a suitcase to every person even a two year old. We had explained that all the bags were mixed with family contents but that wasn't good enough. As for the debarkle with the gate searches, this happens everytime. UC are called forward stopped and searched whilst the non priority boarders file past unhindered. P### Up in a brewery comes to mind. I too was on the edge of loosing it and its not just a one off. It must be a pain being the UC crew on theVS66 as I believe this sounds like a frequent event and they must have a few disgruntled boarders.

Slinky as for visiting Jaimaica it really is a wonderful place once you get to the resorts and there are some beautiful locations to visit, it's just the airport that let's it down.

I have been to the wonderful island of Jamaica twice now and have myself been stopped once for a quick search of my goodies before boarding the flight home,which i found not a problem at all,mind you if the Appletons special reserve that i had just purchased would of been smashed things could of got heated ,to Mr Slinky,you should visit this wonderful island,its irie mon