VS007 LHR-LAX 16 MAR 13 (Premium Economy)

This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

16th March 2013 , We began our journey to LA by leaving Cork airport at 7.30 on an Aerlingus flight. We have traveled many times with Aerlingus/Virgin and this was the first time at check in that we were given our boarding cards for Lhr to Lax in Cork, must be that Aerlingus now have access to Vs system as they are operating the internal flights in Uk for virgin. Any way it was nice not to have to rush when we would get to London to try and find Virgin desk to give the bag tag numbers and receive our boarding cards.

As I said earlier this was not our first time flying with Virgin ( prob at least 10 return flights before) however it was our first time flying PE, we were also flying with an 18 month child. At Cork we received boarding cards and were told we could keep the stroller until we were about to board ie. leave it at bottom of steps of plane which was nice as little guy could rest for the long day ahead. When we boarded at cork the captain announced we would be holding on the tarmac in cork for 30 mins as weather was bad in Lhr, we were a little worried however at 7.55 we pushed back and arrived in Lhr at about 9 so not too bad. I should add that we travel regularly with Aerlingus and have found that when we have had the baby with us if at all possible they will give 3 seats together if the flight is not fully booked which makes things a little easier with baby, and sure enough today's flight was no exception.

On arrival in Lhr we remained seated as transiting passengers we exited the back of the aircraft to a waiting stroller and bus to take us to flight connections, where we changed buses to get to t3. We cleared security easily enough although my wife did have to take a drink of babies bottle lol. It was now about 9.45 so we had a little time to browse the shops deciding to get a sambo for 18month old just in case we needed it on plane. We soon found ourselves heading towards the plane a bit of a walk it must be said, at the holding area the queue was long for ticket checks to get into the holding room, normally we had to stand in line but it was a nice feeling to go to the Pe line and you could feel people looking thinking why are they skipping the line as I would have thought on many occasions before.

At the gate we were welcomed and asked to give some further info which I found rather odd as I had checked it online the night before and everything seemed ok. It was at this point that we queried could we bring the stroller to the door of the aircraft (which we had done only a few months before with Air New Zealand with no issue I should add) as the baby had fallen asleep. We were first told that this was not a problem, however while waiting for boarding to commence only 5 mins later we were approached and told that Virgin needed our stroller right now and that it could not be brought to the door of the plane and the baby needed to come out so the stroller could be taken away which seemed quite bizarre.

Holding a sleeping child for what seemed like an eternity finally the boarding process began. Passengers with kids and those needing extra time and 1st class were all called , so on we went. Oh I forgot to mention we could see the plane out the window today we would be travelling on Tinker belle. We were in seats 32h& 32g bulkhead seats with a pull down board for a child's cot to be placed. Boarding took no time at all and soon we were being greeted by out server who introduced herself and offered a glass of champagne ahhhhh finally it was nice to see what goes on at the other side of the curtain having traveled in economy so many times.

We were also informed by a member of crew that as our little guy was on the big side lol that he wouldn't fit in the cot and that we could use it in flight as a table so as to store his things etc.

During the flight we were first offered pretzels and a drink I had a beer my wife had a white wine. Soon the hot meals were being distributed we did ask that 1 of us would eat and the other would mind baby and this was not a problem I had smoked salmon to start , which I would never eat followed by a chicken dish and a brownie, to say I was disappointed would be an understatement apart from being served in a ceramic dish and not a plastic like in economy I could see no difference and was kinda glad we had picked up a sambo before boarding as I was hungry. After finishing it apart from a cheese and onion sandwich and a desert served 2hrs from landing that was it as regards food. Now I should add that if this was my first time flying with Virgin I might have thought ok this is normal however what happened to the little extras take for instance when we traveled in economy before there was a main meal followed by ice cream for the movie followed by a honey and mustard chicken wrap followed by an egg sandwich?????

Another thing that felt strange was that there was no toilet in the PE section , you had to go to the rear of PE where there was 4 toilets with a sign saying PE only on 2. The forward galley which was right in front of where we were sitting had the curtain closed for the entire flight and it never felt like you were welcome to enter for a drink. Any time we traveled before down the back the galley was always open and drinks left out to help yourself.

I know this trip report is long so I will try and finish it up, Last year we traveled PE with Air New Zealand and what they are offering is along way from what our Virgin experience was, the seats were far more comfortable and spacious and you really felt like you were getting a better service having chosen to pay the extra money.

With Virgin I was disappointed because having traveled in economy and wondering what it would be like to fly PE it was such a let down and going forward if I had the choice and was flying with Virgin again I would revert back to economy and pay the extra for an emergency exit seat as I have done previously, you get as much if not more leg room than in the PE cabin.

Tinker belle looked old the interior looked dated, the screens looked no different to when we traveled with Virgin over 10 years previous.

Apologies in advance for such a negative feed back I so wanted to write a positive account of our trip for my first trip report.

P.S our stroller was waiting in baggage hall on arrival, you will see the relevance of this in my return trip report. lol

For such a long flight I'm surprised there wasn't a mid flight light snack of some sorts.

What did you think of the seat and extra space compared to economy? I think the hard product is definitely a winner.

We had the bulkhead seats so had a little more room than others in Premium Economy but as we were travelling with an infant I hate to think if we had an ordinary PE seat how we would have managed. PE in Air New Zealand felt as if there was a lot more room as the seat reclined in a way that didn't interfere with the person behind, and the seats were at an angle which made it feel as if there was more room.

The seats themselves were wide however 1 draw back for us was if we had traveled in Economy we could have put armrest up and made it easier to have an infant lie across us both , in PE you could not do this

Thanks for the TR ,doesn't sound as though you enjoyed PE much ,it is annoying about the arm rest not lifting up ,I think the LHR 747s are starting to show their age a bit ,any one know when they were last refitted?

[honey lamb]

16th March 2013 , We began our journey to LA by leaving Cork airport at 7.30 on an Aerlingus flight. We have traveled many times with Aerlingus/Virgin and this was the first time at check in that we were given our boarding cards for Lhr to Lax in Cork, must be that Aerlingus now have access to Vs system as they are operating the internal flights in Uk for virgin. Any way it was nice not to have to rush when we would get to London to try and find Virgin desk to give the bag tag numbers and receive our boarding cards.

Last summer, long before the tie up between EI and VS for Little Red, there was a guy on my SFO flight who also had been through-checked from Cork that morning. The only reasons I wasn't were because a) I was on separate tickets and b) because I had flown over the night before - something I've always done when leaving from LHR before midday ever since I made one flight by the skin of my teeth

Thanks for the comprehensive TR! I wholeheartedly agree, there really is no comparison between ANZ's Premium Economy product and that of VS. ANZ are streaks ahead, here is a TR I wrote last year when I travelled ANZ PE from LAX to LHR >> http://v-flyer.com/forum/index.php?f=21 ... =viewtopic

Thanks
James

I'm also flying VS007 in PE in just over a weeks time, doesn't sound promising! I certainly hope they offer more than 1 drink! I was also under the impression all aircraft had gone through refits - does anybody know if any aircraft used on this route have been through refits?

The recent refits involved the LGW planes

Thanks for the quick response Blacky.

No probs ,
I've had 3 PE flights since nov on LHR planes ,they aren't too bad to be honest,yes the ones I've been on are showing signs of wear and tear but nothing that should stop you enjoying the PE experience
Blacky

Thanks again Blacky, it doesn't sound like a bad trip report from corkpilot- sounds like the food/drink and service could be improved a little! I'll make sure I complete a TR. I'm flying back LAS - MAN and I'm a little more worried about service on that leg looking at previous TR!