This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
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Cabin Crew
We arrived a good three and a half hours prior to our flight. The coach did not drop us off in the usual curbside place and we had to walk a short distance to the terminal. About halfway to zone A we were at the end of a long-ish queue. I told Mister to stay there with the bags and I would go on ahead to see what this was about. At the front I asked one of the staff at the terminal entrance if Virgin pax needed to queue here and he said that Virgin pax should go straight in. Based on discussion between the other two staff members this appeared to be a relatively recent realization. I walked back to tell the Mister that we should proceed indoors and as we were making our way another staff member appeared to announce that all Virgin pax should skip the queue.
At the check in area we saw that the queue for the bag drop was three times as long as that for PE check in so we decided to go the regular check in route. There appeared to be a VS staff member at the bag drop to spot if people's hand baggage was over the allowed size which I suspect was part of the delay. We checked in without incident and fairly quickly. We certainly did not wait as long as our LAX check in despite the fact that there were five times as many people in front of us here. The fellow in front of us had to show that his hand luggage would fit inside the box but we were not asked. Perhaps they were only asking people whose bags appeared to be borderline. I asked after exit row seats but were told that those were not released yet and to ask at the gate.
We went directly to the security queue stopping briefly to get a bit of something to munch on whilst queuing. Good thing as the queue was almost a quarter mile long and I don't think that's an exaggeration. Mister said that it was the first time he's departed from the arrivals area. We were moving steadily and staff members were coming periodically to announce imminent departure times and if your departure was the one they announced you were taken to the front of the queue. At one point pax were coming around the bend to find that they could still not see the end of the queue and I could have stood there all day with a voice recorder and camera to capture their reactions -- I suppose you've got to make your own fun when you're stuck. At various points there was stations with pictures of banned items and a large bin bag so I slathered on my last application of lip balm and hand cream and divested myself of the remains. I was amused to see that one of the items pictured was barbecue sauce. Is there a large problem with people bringing barbecue sauce in their hand luggage? I asked the lady about it and she said that people will try and bring just about everything onboard. Mister quipped that his plans for a barbecue on the plan were now ruined. At a later point in the queue someone was again there to spot check the size of carry on baggage. Finally we reached the security check point and were asked to remove shoes and belts and those went through the x-ray machine along with our baggage. Many people were stopped and patted down even if they did not set off the metal detector but I was not. I noticed that even ground staff with the fluorescent vests had to go through the detectors and be patted down. We made it through security at about 10:40 and proceeded to the gate area. On the way I saw in a duty free shop that VS pax traveling to the States were able to buy anything in that shop as long as it was purchased 90 minutes prior to scheduled departure. So if you really need to have lip balm or lotion you'll be able to have it onboard as long as you arrive early enough. It took us just over two and a half hours to check in and make it through security and this was a Tuesday.
At the gate we were again confronted with queue. I asked a VS staff member at the desk if exit rows were available but he told me that I needed to ask when I got to the front of the queue. We waited for a few minutes and another staff member came 'round to collect PE and UC pax and take them to the front so that they had a chance of getting some of the limited seats in the gate area. As our boarding cards were put through I asked again if there were exit row seats available and the staff member I had previously spoken to remembered that I was asking about PE exit rows which I thought was a nice touch. Alas, they had all gone. Many pax were selected for an extensive secondary screening but we were not.
We waited around the gate for a while until I needed to find a toilet so I approached a staff member who took my passport off of me and let me through. I had to show my boarding card to re-enter, my passport was returned to me and I was taken over for security screening where I was patted down thoroughly and my shoes were examined (I did not take my hand bag with me). Incidentally in my bag I was able to take a packet of biscuits, pain relievers and Strepsils in their blister packs, a book, iPod and noise-canceling headphones. I assume it would be fine to take those items in the future but at no time was my bag hand searched.
We then began to board probably sometime close to our scheduled departure time. While boarding I spotted a chap who was clearly taking the piss out of the new regulations for the size of hand luggage. Later in the flight he would also use his iPod during take off and was sternly told off by a member of cabin crew for using his phone before we had gotten to our gate. He must have been Very Important indeed.
We took off about 60-90 minutes late (not surprising considering the length of all the queues) but made good time en route and so were not all that late getting in. It was a very good flight, wiggly but no real turbulence to speak of. The food was better than expected. I had the chicken with pasta in mushroom sauce and it was a whole, albeit tiny, breast which was tender and juicy. The other choices were beef stew or mushroom risotto. For pudding we had one of those outrageous Gu chocolate pots that I wish we could get in the States. Brandy and Baileys was promptly served after lunch as well as a Coy brand ice cream mid flight. It was only okay but just having ice cream was quite refreshing. We were dozing when it was passed out and were very glad when we awoke to find them on our little table. I hate to miss the ice cream. Later there was a hot snack of a panini. Either mozzarella with pesto or turkey and vegetable. I much preferred the turkey even though the veg on it was odd -- a few slices of carrots and broad beans. For tea we had either a cream cheese and rocket (arugula) or chicken caesar sandwich accompanied by apple slices and grapes.
The cabin crew on this flight were excellent. The CSS (I believe) was not only polite and efficient but friendly which is not always the case. She really listened if you had a question and just gave off the air of 'whatever issue you are having an acceptable solution will be found.' At one point my lips were so chapped and dry that I asked if there were any lip balm aboard and she came back with a tin which may well have been from her personal stash and spooned me a dollop out. Now that's going above and beyond.
I had been dreading dealing with all of the hassle involved in flying Stateside from LHR but it really wasn't all that terrible. Everyone we dealt with at the airport was polite, professional and doing their best to get everyone through as efficiently as possible.
Thanks and, again, sorry about the length!
