V-Flyer

Well after a fantastic few days in New York it was time to begin the journey home to the UK. The cab dropped us off at Terminal 4 departures outside the Virgin Atlantic check in area around 4:30pm for the 8pm departure to Heathrow.

I noticed the later Virgin flight had a delay of 2 hours, and the last inbound Virgin flight had been cancelled, so I was glad our flight was looking like it was getting away on time.

Our 747-400, G-VROC was parked up being prepared for its flight back to London. At the next gate along A340-600 G-VBLU was about to depart on the earlier flight to Heathrow.

[img]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/ManchesterMark/G-VROC.jpg[/img]

Boarding was announced an hour before departure, with Upper Class and Premium Economy passengers invited for boarding first. I headed to the gate and was on my way down the pier to the awaiting 747. On arrival I showed my boarding card to the crew, and the steward told me yes turn right, to which I replied upstairs right? and he said no, turn right just down there. So me not wanting to cause a fuss did as I was told, knowing my seat was upstairs. Even though it was my first time on a 747 I wasnt aware there were two staircases onboard...so I stood around like a lemon and what a surprise no row 72 on the lower deck so I had to then show my boarding pass to another member of crew who actually knew the layout of the plane and was then directed upstairs, at least she said sorry for the mix up.

I found my seat on the upper deck, which is split half upper class towards the front of the bubble, and the rear of it being Premium Economy. The 747-400s have yet to be fitted with the new purple leather seating in Premium Economy and so it was the standard old seating on this aircraft but it wasnt so bad.

[img]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/ManchesterMark/CABIN1.jpg[/img]

Once seated a member of the crew came round offering orange juice and champagne before departure, of course I chose the champagne. I stowed my luggage along with the blanket and pillow, bottle of water and amenity kit which had been placed on my seat.



Once everyone had boarded the crew handed out menus and took drinks orders for after take off. I went for my usual gin and tonic. Our departure time of 8pm approached and the flight crew gave us some information about the flight, our flying time would be just over 6 hours and we should arrive on schedule at Heathrow. However, we were later informed that a passenger had been taken ill and had to be taken off the flight along with her baggage and hence we didnt leave the gate until 8:40pm.

We then taxied towards the runway and joined the long queue. The long wait meant some people had started using laptops and blackberrys again, but this was spotted by the eagle eyed crew who promptly told a passenger to turn it off. This was followed by a stern warning announcement throughout the aircraft, this crew meant business, they werent standing for any trouble and had already warned everyone that no alcohol would be served to under 18s and that it was illegal to be drunk onboard an aircraft, oh and that some programmes on V:Port were unsuitable for children. Anyway we werent lined up for take off until 9pm. As soon as we turned onto the runway we began our take off roll, no more waiting around. Skies were clear and we got our final look at the New York skyline all lit up, with a lot less snow on the ground than had been there on my inbound flight a few days ago.

We climbed to our cruising altitude of 34,000 feet and the cabin crew came round with the drinks orders and took orders for the evening meal. I settled down to use the V:Port system which took ages to get going.

It wasnt long before the meals were served, with the kids meals being served first. I got the impression the crew were rushing to get everything done as quickly as possible. I know people want to get some sleep but they were rushing through the cabin and took my drink away before Id even finished it!

[img]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/ManchesterMark/PremiumMeal.jpg[/img]

I was then served with my evening meal, which was some southern fried chicken fillets with sweetcorn, mashed potato and sweetcorn with a BBQ sauce. Virgin have recently upgraded their whole Premium Economy service and the meal is now served in china plates with metal cutlery and glasses. The glasses had the new Virgin Atlantic logo on it which looked good. Wine and bread rolls were offered also. The meal was very nice actually and was followed with the choice of tea and coffee.

Again the eagle eyed crew were quick to clear anyones tray away if they hadnt touched it for more than 20 seconds. A baileys and brandy service was then offered and I had a baileys. I was going with the theory that if I drank enough it should help me sleep for the rest of the flight! By now Id had a glass of champagne, a gin and tonic, 2 glasses of wine and a baileys and wed only been in the air for about an hour and a half!

The cabin lights were switched off and I reclined my seat and had a snooze for a few hours, I dont think I actually slept though.

A few hours later and daylight was slowly visible on the horizon and the crew came round with tea and coffee and the choice of a cereal bar or muffin.

After this I wanted to purchase some Duty Free, so I asked our crew member who replied with oh sorry duty free is closed now, its been closed a while. So I was like oh right, I didnt know it had come round. To which she replied oh yes its my fault as I forgot to come round and see if anyone wanted anything. How rubbish I thought, so no souvenir Virgin 747 model for me then, was a little bit annoyed with this and the fact that the stewardess made no effort to rectify the situation, it wasnt as if I even wanted to buy alcohol. So if anyone knows where I can get hold of the souvenir Virgin 747 which comes in the metal presentation box please let me know!

The flight crew informed us of the final leg of our flight, flying over the south coast of England over Cornwall and over Southampton before turning towards London. The UK was covered in low cloud so there was nothing to see out of the window during approach. We then entered a hold for about 15 minutes, adding further delay to our arrival. Eventually we left the hold and headed for finals to runway 27R and slowly signs of London emerged beneath us, a dull and wet Thursday morning rush hour. We touched down and braked quite sharply with reverse thrust before taxiing off the runway and into the assault course of taxiway works going on at Heathrow at the moment, so it took us a while to eventually reach our gate. We arrived at 8:30, an hour late, but this wasnt even mentioned and no apology from the crew. My connecting flight wasnt until 11am so it wasnt a problem for me.

[img]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/ManchesterMark/window2-1.jpg[/img]

Disembarking was a bit chaotic on the 747 due to the mix of upper class and premium economy passengers on both decks, however once everyone got moving it didnt take long. I said goodbye to the crew, who sadly were no way near as good as the outbound crew.

Overall not a bad flight, I like the improved Premium Economy service, I imagine with the new seats, which are only on the A340-600s at present, the whole experience is a little bit better too. Virgin give you a lot more than the likes of British Airways Premium Economy equivalent. The only downfall would be the crew on this flight, who seemed more intent on getting everything done as quickly as possible and didnt want any inconvenience from passengers.

Anyway I Hope you enjoyed reading my experience with Virgin Atlantic, any comments are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

Mark, thank you for another great TR,& pics. [y]

Great TR and some excellent pics - I really do like the PE experience upstairs on the 747. The new food service looks like a big improvement too - although there semmed to be a lot of sweetcorn! [y]

Another great report & pics, thanks Mark [y]

From what you say, your crew rating seems completely justified [V]

took my drink away before I'd even finished it!

[:0]

Thanks for another great TR and pics! Shame about the crew! Once you've tried UC you won't want to turn right again! [y]

Another good account of your flying experience with VS. In my own experience crews do seem to that little bit harsher on the trips back to blighty, maybe because they are a little bit more tired and just want to get home like the rest of us.

The food does look better as well.

Thanks
Iain

Great TR, very detailed. I'm a bit confused about the two staircases on a 747 ? I thought there was only one, at the back of PE??

re the staircases - yes there is only 1, which I thought was the case but then when the member of cabin crew directed me the wrong way down the plane it made me question myself. I was right however, he was in the wrong!

Great TR Mark!

I was also this flight, sitting in 75A!

I witnessed the whole saga of the young lady who was eventually taken off the flight. She had a chest infection and had made such a fuss about it that the FSM then decided that she would be taken off the flight as she was delaying departure!

There was also a large group of students on this flight in Economy hence the warning about the alcohol. Half way during the flight one of their teachers appeared to have a panic attack and was given oxygen by the crew. She sat in the crew seats opposite us for about 20 minutes until she was well enough to go back to her seat.

Interestingly enough, I found the crew to be really good on this flight. I guess it sometimes depends on where you are seated and the CC member looking after you. We were able to disembark with the UC pax, so it is worth considering 75A and C if this is is important to you.

Great pics Mark [y] Lucky enough you didn't manage to capture my ugly mug in any of them![:p]

Ah yes I remember those students from the departure lounge! (Though I know what its like when your away with uni as the time b4 this I was also travelling to New York with BA with Uni and we drank the bar dry, the crew had to warn a few in our group that they wouldn't be let into the USA if they were drunk!)