This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
So, after over 13 months of planning, the day finally came to fly to Florida after a gap of 12 years. One decision that was made at the start of the planning stage was to fly in Premium Economy, so as this was the first time flying in PE expectations were fairly high.
We arrived at Manchester Airport at about 7.30am and checked in straight away at the PE check-in desk before proceeding through security and for breakfast. One thing that was stated at check-in was that we would be departing from Gate 204. This struck a chord with me straight away as my first VS flight (and first ever flight) over 15 years ago and departed from Gate 204. The little things I remember!
I wandered down towards the gate at about 9ish to see what plane we would be flying on and G-VLIP was parked up on stand with large items of cargo being unloaded from the hold
Boarding was delayed and didn't commence until about 10.30am. No reason was given other than an apology, but I figured that this would involve a late departure. A complementary bottle of water, pillow, blanket and headset was provided on my seat when I boarded along with the menu and after taking my seat the crew came round offering a complementary glass of sparkling wine or orange juice, followed by complementary copies of 'i'.
We eventually pushed back from the stand some 20 minutes late and the new safety video was played. For some reason, it came across a lot better and a lot less cheesy on board than it did when I first viewed it on YouTube, but it was good to see part of the video contained the first few seconds of the old safety video (the shot of the cartoon 747 flying past the window).
After take-off it was about an hour or so before lunch was served, so in the meantime I acquainted myself with the IFE system. The last time I flew with VS it was on a 742 registered TF-ATW (aka G-VSSS) which contained the 'Odyssey' system, so it was a big step forward from this and an even bigger step forward from the 'Nova' system G-VLIP previously had (this was one of the 744s VS acquired from the cancelled Alitalia order).
I opted for the roast chicken for lunch which was all right but nothing to write home about and consumed over watching Mrs Browns Boys D'Movie (what a let down that was compared to the TV show). After that, I settled down to keep myself entertained using the IFE, iPad, newspapers and books.
The PE seat is very comfortable with the generous recline, width and seat pitch. The footrest that's provided is a nice touch, especially when the seat is fully reclined backwards as it allows you to be more comfortable compared to keeping my feet on the floor, or at least it was for me being 6ft tall.
About 4-6 hours in the crew came round offering complementary ice lollies - all of which were the same flavour. I must admit, when it comes to ice cream I seldom venture beyond vanilla, so I was a bit disappointed in that respect, especially as the lollies that were served were still that frozen your tongue would literally stick to it! About 90mins before landing, Afternoon Tea was served. The sandwich was small and the bread tasted slightly stale, but the filling was good, all washed down with tea.
The service from the cabin crew was excellent as they were courteous, polite and professional. For me, the only area for improvement is to do the drinks runs a bit more frequently, even if it was just soft drinks.
Having departed late, the flight crew had made great progress and we landed at around 3pm, so effectively clawing back the time lost due to the late departure from Manchester. After arriving on stand, the airbridge was quickly aligned to door L2 and we disembarked. There was a slight queue at immigration as another VS flight from Gatwick had beaten us, however this was nothing compared to the queue once all of Economy had disembarked. This was one major advantage of sitting where we sat in PE.
After clearing immigration, the luggage had already been offloaded and was waiting for us on the carousel.
Overall, I enjoyed the PE experience. The seat and extra room was worth the money alone and the crew were excellent. I feel the food is one area for improvement, however I accept that with the limitations of offering food in a pressurised environment and the methods used to prepare food for this, it will limit what can be done. The part of the cabin where PE is is a nice environment and VS did a good job refurbishing them a few years ago. I feel the 747 is a great aircraft and they will be missed when the time comes to withdraw them.
The return flight didn't go as smoothly as one would have hoped, but I will get to this in my next TR.
