This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
2 days before, I checked the seat situation again and discovered it would be a refurbished plane so picked one of the economy seats on the upper deck (79a). I always had this seat when travelling in PE in the bubble and thought it would be nice to see how the economy version worked out.
Checked in online at minus 23hr 50mins only to discover I had been moved downstairs which I thought was odd after check in had only been open for 10 mins. I couldn't find a window seat on the upper deck so opted for an aisle seat with the middle one being empty. I was surprised at the seat change as I was seq 14 on check in.
On flight day, I left home at 5am for the drive to Gatwick which was really easy and left the car with valet parking. I did a little shopping and went to the Clubhouse to meet up with Hazban who had kindly left my details with reception to allow me access, which I am extremely grateful for. We had a little chat before he went off to board while I finished my Bellini. I checked with clubhouse reception to see if the middle seat was still free and the lovely lady confirmed it was.
Boarding onto Barbarella was really fast with no queues, found my seat easily and the FA took my small case and coat to store in the wardrobe. Flight took off on time and drinks were served fairly quickly. As the system was the new Vera, it worked very efficiently and I'm pleased I had no one sitting behind me as it is touch screen so there was no one constantly poking at your seat whilst trying to relax. I did see a couple of people in seats further forward constantly turning when someone didn't realise they could just touch the screen to work it, rather than constantly jab at it.
Soon got into the Ted film and lunch was served - bangers and mash which was okay but nothing special. The Gu pot for dessert was nice as always and the red wine was drinkable.
After dining and my film had finished, I thought it best to get some sleep in readiness for Vegas. I tried but struggled because the 3 ladies in opposite aisle did not stop talking the whole time. I put the headphones back on and listened to some music but that still didn't drown them out so cat napped for about 10 minutes.
There was an ice cream run consisting of something like a chocolate covered mini milk ice cream which looks rather rude when you're eating it (or is it just me thinking that
). After watching the Hunger Games and starting MIB3, there was a sandwich snackbox brought around. Whilst watching this film, one of the ladies in the aisle seat decided she'd had enough talk and wanted to watch a film but couldn't due to the headphone socket being broken off. She moved into the seat in front of mine, promptly fully reclined and then decided to stand in the aisle talking to the guy in the opposite aisle and the girl she had just left in her row who promptly stood in the aisle too. The three of them had a conversation around my seat constantly leaning on my seat and putting their hands on my screen while I was trying to watch the film. I got really mad and paused the film and just went into the galley to chill where the wonderful FA saw I was angry and gave me a drink to calm me down. We had a little chat and she offered to go and tell them to sit down or talk at the back of the cabin where there was no sitting. I declined and just stayed at the top of the stairs chatting to another passenger which took the edge off. After about half an hour, thankfully they had sat down so I went back to my seat and continued with my film. We were due to land so the cabin was prepared for landing.
Overall, I think the cabin upstairs is really nice and would have been quieter than downstairs if it wasn't for the inconsiderate people around me. I did feel sorry for the people in PE as they don't have separate bathrooms as they are shared by the econ section at the back. They did have a wider aisle between the seats which was a blessing but still had to wait to get off the plane after the economy passengers had gone down the stairs first. I had a wander around the plane to see how full it was and near the back so many people had a row to themselves to sleep and I really wished now that I had stayed downstairs as it would have been a much more peaceful journey. Oh well, live and learn.
Finally, the staff were wonderful who worked the upper deck and they didn't refuse further drinks as they sometimes do on the Vegas flights. One particular FA said she always felt guilty walking past the econ passengers with extra goodies for PE and she wanted to give everyone something. She was really lovely - I told her not to feel guilty as the PE passengers had paid a premium to sit there and do not feel guilty at all but she said she couldn't help it. The FAs on this flight certainly made a difference as sometimes some of them are just plain miserable.
Arrived into T3 quickly as I managed to get off from the upper deck fast and into an empty immigration hall. Quickly through but waited an age for my bag. A much larger terminal to arrive into than the old T2 and I was pleased to see the taxi lines were not huge and hopped into one fairly quickly to my hotel.
)
I cannot believe how inconsiderate some people can be! 
Kudos to you for not losing your rag and going to the galley to calm down. 
