This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
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23:59 hours before departure I checked in online. After a few attempts with the website telling me the system wasn't working and I needed to check in at the airport, I realized that I was entering my green card information with the wrong format. After correcting this I checked in without hassle, choosing 1A in the snooze zone.
Arrived at the airport at 18:30, one person being checked in and no-one else in line. I was called over to the Premium Economy/Economy line and was given my boarding card. I regularly fly out of JFK and LGA and am used to all check-in personnel being rude and impolite (all airlines), so I was very surprised to receive a warm smile and a friendly attitude. A great start to the trip!
Off I go to the Clubhouse, invitation in hand and a big smile on my face. Within minutes I am ordering steak and Merlot. As the wine arrives I made the mistake of calling my wife to gloat, only to find her completing the worst of my household duties; kitty litter and garbage! She threatens divorce, and I start concentrating on my steak and order the apple cobbler and ice-cream, all of which was wonderful. As I'm finishing my desert, the two servers who had been waiting on me turn up with 4 glasses of wine. For some reason they had independently decided to bring me more wine, but oddly enough neither could remember exactly what I ordered so they each turned up with 2 glasses of different wine. So here I am with 4 glasses of wine, 2 laughing ladies, and my wife calls me back to wish me a pleasant flight. She threatens divorce again, and I wonder if she means it this time! Anyway, full marks for the Clubhouse. Good food and fun staff, and I left giggling like a schoolboy.
My flight is called and I stagger off to security, tripping on my way down the stairs, which set the giggles off again. Thankfully there were no lines at security, and I continued my stagger through the normal security checks. Straight through priority boarding, and I see G-VBIG 'Tinker Belle' will be my aircraft. I carefully staggered up the stairs, and my FA politely guided me into my seat. Outside the cockpit I was fortunate enough to meet the Captain and First Officer, who showed the utmost decorum is listening to me talk about flying my little Cessna. I haven't met a more professional, humorous team, and I bid them a good flight and sink back into my seat.
My FA returned offering me champers, which I declined and requested some Port. She politely explained that she couldn't provide this until the bar opened after take-off, but she would be sure to bring it to me. She left me a snooze pack, which was every bit as cheap as everyone has described. Please Virgin, this was an embarrassment. Eat the cost of burning these packs and get the new packs into service ASAP! My FA returned with my sleep suit, and I staggered off to the lavatory to change. Now if you have been reading carefully, you will notice that I have deliberately used the word 'stagger' a number of times. Let me tell you, trying to put on the sleep suit in the lavatory, while a little worse for wear, is no easy task. After hitting my elbows a couple of times just trying to undress, I then whacked my head rather hard putting on the ninja-top. I wondered if this was any easier sober.
I returned to my seat and prepared for take-off. Earlier while taking to the Captain, he explained that we might be delayed for an hour because of a long taxi. The Captain came over the intercomm and explained to everyone that this, unfortunately, was going to be true. After taxiing for about 20 minutes or so, we were told that we were number 28 for take-off and would be stuck on the ground for another hour. Curses!
I fall sleep until I am rudely awakened by the Captain hitting full power to start the take-off roll. How thoughtless of you Captain! Be a little quieter next time please!
Soon after take-off, my FA arrives with a large Port and asks if she can make my bed for me. She tucks me in, bids me 'sleep well', and I have my night cap. We encountered a little turbulence, nothing bad, but enough to be shaken a little from side to side. I began to think about James, my 8 month old, and wonder if this is how he feels when we rock him to sleep. No wonder he has that wonderful smile. Ahh, that smile. Zzzzzz.
My FA gently woke me and slipped an OJ into my hand. I popped into the lavatory to change out of my sleep suit, and started to laugh as I started taking off the suit. Elbows hitting the walls, knees hitting the walls, and then the head hits the wall again. Ahh, the head. I check the mirror and sure enough, I have a nice bruise from the night before. After getting the suit off I then find that getting dressed again is much harder sober. I wondered how people can join the mile-high club, as I can't even get my socks back on! A few more crashes against the wall and one leg cramp later, and I am dressed and heading back to my seat. My FA has already converted my bed back to a seat, and I sit down and she brings over my breakfast.
Breakfast, I must admit, was mediocre at best. I'm not sure what I expected as there are obviously limitations as to what they provide in an airplane, but I certainly expected higher standards than this. It wasn't bad, it was certainly edible, but it was just mediocre. Come on Virgin. I know you can do better than this!
London was cloudy and wet, much how I left it 10 years ago. We bounced our way through the clouds, but congratulations to the flight crew for making a diffiult landing smooth. On my way out of the aircraft I looked back towards Economy and saw a mass of bodies that were all in discomfort from lack of sleep and lack of room. I felt extremelly grateful for the experience I just had, and started making mental notes to ensure I flew UC going forwards. Having a 3 year old and an 8 month old, I feel as though I have not slept in 3 years. The 4 hours or so I had just had sleeping was the best night I have had in a long long time. A note to SRB. Start a 'Parents' service where you take us up and just fly around for the night. I promise to alternate with my wife once a week to ensure we both get some rest
Passport control took 30 minutes or so, and baggage reclaim took another 30 minutes of waiting. My case was one of the last off, so obviously no priority baggage handling there. To complete the flight experience, I headed off to Revivals for a shower. Obviously I had flown UC for the cabin experience, but Revivals has to be the best 'extra' that Virgin offers. After a long flight, even with some good sleep, I was still feeling beaten up. The shower was great! However what really made my day was walking past 2 of the housekeeping ladies on the way to my shower room. I was greeted with the most sincere 'Good Morning' I have ever heard, and the warmest of smiles that instantly relaxed me and brought a smile to my own face. Having traveled a lot on business I am fully aware that the customer's experience, and the reputation of a company, often comes down to the attitude of grass root employees such as these 2 wonderful ladies. I am ashamed to say that I did not get their names because they deserve to be mentioned. Doubtless SRB does not have the time to get involved at this level anymore, but these 2 ladies deserve recognition from the highest level. They are truly the spirit of Virgin.
In summary (I warned you this was long). The website is nice, but managing bookings needs more work. I have never been able to automatically locate my bookings (always having to add my booking reference), and online check-in would be better explaining that my input errors are indeed errors, rather than just giving up and asking me to check in at the airport. Check-in was great, as was the Clubhouse. The entire Cabin Crew were wonderful! Food was not great, and the snooze pack was a disgrace. Revivals was excellent, and the staff incredible (Virgin - Please find and reward those ladies!!!!). And as a tongue-in-cheek suggestion, pad the walls of the lavatory!!!!
Overall as a new convert to UC, I would say that there are some basics that Virgin need to work on but this was a great experience. I am definitely looking forward to my return trip to JFK later today.
