VS401 DXB-LHR 26 Apr 07 (Upper)

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

After a truly relaxing six days in Dubai it was time to head home. For anyone who is interested Ive posted a short write up on our hotel, Dar Al Masyaf, in the Hotels forum.

Our transfer from the hotel to DXB was booked for 6.45. Wed been asked if we preferred a Merc of BMW for the return journey and opted for the BMW! Our butler rang the room around 6.20 to ensure we were up and packed and let us know that a buggy would be arriving at 6.30 to take us from our Summerhouse over to the Al Qasr front entrance where our limo would await us. After a hassle free drive in a sumptuous BMW 7 series we pulled up outside the terminal at around 7.15.

VS UC check-in was quiet and we were seen to straight away. We were issued with boarding cards for our pre-assigned seats 12A & 14A along with Gulf Air Lounge invitations and a photocopied strip of paper explaining that todays flight would be departing from a remote non jetty-served stand and as such passengers would need to be at the gate early in order to be coached. Incredibly the boarding time given was 08:00 rather early for a 09:30 departure!

Just 5 minutes to get through immigration and security and then the longish walk along numerous moving walkways and up & down various escalators until we fended up in DXBs amazing duty free area. Steve almost bought a Playstation 3 as the price was over 100 less than in UK but restrain came into play and we decided to head for the lounge.

The Gulf Air Lounge at DXB is not up to much, give me the Northwest Lounge at BOS any day! Stale sandwiches and dry bits of cake were on offer along with those mini packs of breakfast cereal. We decided not to eat at this point as we knew, from reading previous TRs on V-Flyer that breakfast was served shortly after take off on VS401, then lunch a couple of hours before LHR. The small lounge filled up pretty quickly, it seemed everyone was a VS UC passenger judging by the tags on everyones hand luggage (these were compulsorily attached at check-in). Dont laugh but whilst on the subject of baggage tags..Ive realised that by having my V-Flyer gold tag on my hand luggage I can make other punters think Im FC Au simply by ensuring it is displayed upside down! Call me a VS Au wannabee or what [;)]

We soon became bored in the lounge (only one PC and no wireless we could get to work) we decided to head off to Gate 43 around 8.15. We werent worried about being late for 08:00 boarding as no call had been made in the lounge and there were still loads of UC pax in there. By the time we got to the gate there was no queue and we went straight through the passport/boarding pass check and downstairs. Boarding cards were checked at the foot of the stairs and we were then ushered to a particular coach presumably the one for UC pax. Almost forgot to mention, there was some fantastic (huge) portable Priority Boarding signage at Gate 43 but it was pushed to one side and clearly wasnt being used today. Didnt matter though, given that we ended up going straight through.

There was only one other person on the coach at this point, a chap who Id noticed earlier in the lounge. We then waited on the coach (with A/C on thank goodness) for around 10 mins during which time another half dozen or so UC pax got on the coach. We were then transported over to the Cargo Terminal where we could see our aircraft parked at the same stand as when wed arrived six days earlier. As the coach pulled up alongside our aircraft I noted that today we would be flying on VGAS Varga Girl. The coach deposited us by the steps leading up to the extreme front entrance so up we went to be greeted by a welcoming male CSS who ushered us to our seats.

The IFBT was the first crew member to visit us, she noted down our desired treatments and explained that UC was totally full today but she would try to get round to us. I forgot to mention in my outbound trip report that I was lucky enough to get a treatment on the VS400 six days earlier, despite having had a CH treatment beforehand!

And so on to the flight itself. The captain announced todays flight time would be 7 hours 2 minutes. Push back was on time.

OK, brace youselves: For the first couple of hours we really felt let down, indeed this flight had the makings of our first UC disappointment. However later on things picked up. Being non regular UC fliers we are determined to make every UC trip we take a fantastic experience, this flight being no exception. In an effort to provide clarity on the initial negatives along with the subsequent positives Ill list out key points bullet style:-

Negatives first:-
- No welcome from the FSM, indeed no FSM on this flight. One of the CSSs was acting FSM on this flight. He was rushing about like a headless chicken

- No breakfast, we were told VS have modified the service on the 401 and instead of breakfast being served shortly after takeoff they would serve lunch instead. Yes, you heard that right - lunch at 10:30 in the morning, or 7.30 if were going by UK time!

- Couldnt get served at the bar. The crew were hell bent on getting lunch out and were using the bar area to set up PE lunch trays. They even blocked use of the bar stools, with each stool having a tray of glasses balanced on it.

- Even when we stood there trying to get a drink the crew members there at the time did not make eye contact and chatted among themselves. Couldnt understand what they were saying as they werent speaking English.

- We went back to our seats and were encouraged to take the lunch service there and then.
Steves table wouldnt work. This actually didnt matter as we like to dine opposite each other, so he joined me at my seat. Not sure what would have happened if another passenger had been in that seat what with UC being totally full on this flight?

- Generally the lunch service was rushed, it must have been all over & done with 1.5 hours in to the flight. Only another 5.5hrs to go with no further meal offering. This just doesnt make sense the LHR-DXB leg is an hour shorter in duration yet two meals are served?

Positives next:-
- No problem with meal choices, even though UC was totally full

- It felt strange tucking into fillet steak at that time in the morning however the presentation of the food was excellent and it tasted great. Id have preferred a rare steak but appreciate this is virtually impossible to achieve on a plane! Ive added some pics of our meal choices further down.

- After the meal service we returned to the bar and put in some effort to chat with and get to know the crew. This paid off, they were charming in every sense. Perhaps our expectations were too high at the outset of the flight I just dont know? Or perhaps they only switch to extravert mode after the stress of the meal service is out of the way?

- Another excellent social few hours at the bar, we chatted extensively with the crew and other passengers. The same crew who, during the meal service had come over somewhat curt came over as being quite charming!

- Given that the only meal service had been hours earlier, come 'proper' lunchtime we were hungry again - as were other passengers. Good job they allowed us to tuck into cheese & biscuits at the bar! In fact I asked if I could have a Club Sandwich as well which was very nice [y]

- Despite UC being full, and even though Steve is not Au (nor did he have a priority card) he was called for a shoulder & head massage a couple of hours prior to landing.

Points of interest:-
- Now this isnt a wind up it is honestly what we were told by the CSS (acting FSM): The reason why VS dont park on a jetty served stand at DXB is because theyre not allowed to. The reason being that the scantily clad maiden livery on the nose of each VS aircraft is not in keeping with local principles and as such the daily VS flight is banished to a stand as remote as possible from the terminal (ie. Cargo Terminal) where nobody can get a peek of that naughty nose livery!!

- VS400/401 are largely operated by Delhi based crews. Their trips consist of DEL-LHR followed by LHR-DXB followed by DXB-LHR and finally returning LHR-DEL.

Well thats it overall we ended up having another great time on this flight although Im still trying to work out if this is because we put in the effort ourselves to make this flight great?

Pics:-

Steves starter: Aubergine, feta and red pepper mille feuille served with red onion and mint salad, gem lettuce, houmous, olives, & lemon olive oil dressing >>


My starter: Seasonal leaf salad with Thai roast beef, carrots, cucumber, cherry tomato, spring onion and Thai dressing >>


Steves main: Chicken tagine with apricots, olives and tomatoes, served with grilled vegetables and steamed rice topped with zaatar >>


My main course: Grilled fillet of beef with stilton butter, served with saut_ed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and gravy >>


Yes, we really did end up having a really enjoyable flight here are three pics to illustrate! >>




Thats it folks no more UC trip reports from us until next year thank goodness weve got the miles to do it again!

Cheers
James & Steve (Vegascrazy & S-pressobeen)

[Nottingham Nick]

A great read, thanks James. [y]

Excellent attention to detail - particularly about the food, which sounds really nice. [:D]

A fascinating little snippet about the hussy that is the Scarlet Lady. [:I][8D]

Nick

[mitchja]

Thanks for the TR James [y]

One meal for a 7 hr flight - I dont think so [V]

Regards

Thanks for the report and the review - if we go back next year we'll probably stay at the Madinat.

The food service must have changed very recently, as we only flew back 17 days ago (sigh.....) and had breakfast shortly after take off and lunch later.

Regards

Pat

[honey lamb]

Thanks for the TR - most enjoyable. [y]

- Now this isn't a wind up Ð it is honestly what we were told by the CSS (acting FSM): The reason why VS don't park on a jetty served stand at DXB is because they're not allowed to. The reason being that the scantily clad maiden livery on the nose of each VS aircraft is not in keeping with local principles and as such the daily VS flight is banished to a stand as remote as possible from the terminal (ie. Cargo Terminal) where nobody can get a peek of that naughty nose livery!!

I found that surprising as when I went to Dubai last year we were parked at a gate and had a jetbridge for departure. I wonder if it is because of the amount of building that in taking place in DXB or whether it is because, when we flew there was a different departure time. IIRC we left at 2:40pm. On landing we were bussed to the terminal but that seems to be the norm.

Call me a VS Au wannabee or what

OK, then - VS Au wannabee [;)]

Thanks for an excellent TR James...[y]

We had breakfast and lunch served during our return from DXB earlier in the month. I would imagine that breakfast wasn't loaded for some reason..[V] Very poor show indeed...[n]

VS seem to use the same parking slot on the far left of the cargo centre. I think the whole thing about them not using a gate is nothing to do with the Varga girl on the front of the aircraft - Sounds like a wind up to me. The Emirates are very liberal nowadays about ladies needing to be covered up, they are far more accepting of how other religions conduct themselves. [:D]

I would imagine it's as simple as a lack gate availability or cost. I cannot recollect seeing any free amongst the masses of EK aircraft on my visits.

Interesting story about VS being forced to use a remote in DXB because of the girl on the nose of the plane. This may ring true though, because some of you will recall that G-VHOT had her Varga girl covered up for a relief flight to Basra - so she was just a Union Jack silhouette - and stayed like that until she went in for her Suite refit several months later.

I'm told the reason for this was to avoid offence to any locals with traditional or devout beliefs.

I guess that means they will never send G-VFAB to DXB (I know, aside from it usually being an Airbus route!).

The food service sounds like a right cock-up if you ask me. I'd much prefer breakfast or a mid-morning snack after departure, and a lunch before landing. The rushing of the lunch doesn't seem good either.

The presentation of the food looks dire, almost like it was slopped onto the plate (I think you said 'dollops' on the outbound TR), like it was a Sainsbury's ready meal. I really can't see any evidence of the zaatar on the chicken either. VS are letting themselves down so badly in this area.

VS should either provide better plating guidance to the existing crew members, have more stuff pre-plated by the flight kitchen (which would require new oven-to-tableware, but would reduce the prep time in the galley), or switch to having a 'sky chef' in charge of galley operations - the latter, or a mix of pre-plating and the latter, being my preference.

(As an aside, I believe the salad/cold elements of the GNF meals are pre-plated by the flight kitchen, in order to reduce service time once airborne? Right?)

I think it's a scaling problem trying to have a galley, staffed by a flight attendant (without any formal catering training, I would assume), plate about 40 J meals to order. It's a different challenge to about a dozen F meals which is what you see on UA/BA/SQ, et al.

It sounds like they do load a 'light bites' selection on this flight? You mentioned that you had a Club Sandwich. I wonder if that has replaced breakfast, or was it always there? Pat, do you remember?

To compare that to my Gulf Air experience flying BAH-LHR, we were served lunch about an hour after departure (should have been a 10.30 dep, but we didn't go until 12.30), and while there wasn't a formal second meal service there were hot sandwiches, mezze plates, cheese and other snacks available on demand - and the crew made this very clear to you when they introduced the menu to you.

As for the cabin crew, it just sounds plain odd to me, especially this weird ignorance they gave you when you tried to get a drink.

The acting-FSM sounded very stressed, and maybe this showed in the hasty lunch service.

I'm glad you didn't let the negatives get to you, and the flight was still acceptable at the end of the day. I think you've given some fair scores too - though I'm surprised you didn't mark the seating category down for the recalcitrant table.

Mike

James, thanks for an excellent TR. [:)][y]

[buns]

James

Thanks for the comprehensive TR[y][y]

Sounds to me as though there were some problems prior to pax boarding and that the subsequent 'rush' was the consequence.

Despite all of that, you retain a postive impression and look forward to your next UC flight[:w]

Thanks once again

buns

Returned from DXB today and also no breakfast service, but lunch offered an hour or so after take off. I delayed it while working and was surprised that most people accepted, after all it is called a freedom menu!

I've also noticed that the bar is being used more and more for food preparation making it less accessible. Flying to New York last week our bar was blocked off for nearly two hours, they may as well not have one if the crew do this.

Originally posted by tallprawn
Thanks for an excellent TR James...[y]

We had breakfast and lunch served during our return from DXB earlier in the month. I would imagine that breakfast wasn't loaded for some reason..[V] Very poor show indeed...[n]

No, just to be 100% clear - this was nothing to do with breakfasts not being loaded, the new menu offering on DXB-LHR is a conscious decision on VS's part. I've kept the UC menu from our flight and can confirm that the totality of the food offering on VS401 is:

Lunch

Starters...
Main Couses...
Cheese...
Dessert...

Smaller bites...
That's it for your 09:30 departure (7 hr+ flight) from DXB.

When people got hungry later on thankfully the crew found some spare portions from the 'Smaller Bites' menu which consisted of Chicken club sandwich, Seafood vol au vent and Arabic bread filled with falafel.

Thanks everyone for all the feedback on this TR. It goes without saying that knowledge gained through information sharing on V-flyer is invaluable. It makes the effort spent in posting TR's truly worthwhile [y]

James

Originally posted by Vegascrazy
No, just to be 100% clear - this was nothing to do with breakfasts not being loaded, the new menu offering on DXB-LHR is a conscious decision on VS's part. I've kept the UC menu from our flight and can confirm that the totality of the food offering on VS401 is:

Lunch

Starters...
Main Couses...
Cheese...
Dessert...

Smaller bites...
That's it for your 09:30 departure (7 hr+ flight) from DXB.

So, not that different from the Gulf Air flight I took from BAH, except I think the GF 'smaller bites' were a bit more substantial than those offered on VS, from my previous experience of VS' small snacks.

I wonder if it would be worthwhile loading some sort of light breakfast items - something really simple like coffee and croissants, or a fruit plate (which could also double as a mid-flight snack) - then if people would prefer a breakfast after departure, and a later lunch, could have it?

To be honest, I don't have a problem without their being an official second meal service if Freedom works properly - i.e. the crew make the pax aware that they can order at any time, that there is suitable light food available throughout the flight, and the crew give the cabin one last sweep of 'can I get anything else for you' an hour or so (whatever is early enough) before arrival.

Thanks for the update on the menu.

Mike

Im surprised with teh Varga girl issue that VS havent covered one of the a/c up and operate it just on LHR-DXB routes or something.

Thanks for another great TR! Always a really good read!

I am SO surprised about the meal service, this really isn't good enough in J, they just keeping taking away, and eventually if they keep doing this, people will start looking at alternative carriers to DXB.[n] I think VS need to revise this and soon.

Dominic

Thanks for the great trip report guys.
As per usual seems like the usual bugbears of no welcome from the FSM and random service at the bar seem to be the ones that keep popping up. Sometimes great, sometimes not so. Glad you got your good service at the bar eventually.

Sounds too early for lunch (think I would just demand that I had it later on in the flight) but despite the dodgy presentation it looks like the kind of stuff I would have enjoyed.

Cheers!

Dean

When did the rationing start??? Was it in the past few weeks? I can't imagine anyone will be happy with the lack of choice /food in UC. I take it this isn't a trial but a done deal?

Originally posted by jamie
When did the rationing start???

It's been happening gradually for the past two to three years, if you ask me, and some other regulars on here.

Actually, the VS401 lunch menu is quite generous with the 3 starters and 4 main courses, it's like being back in the good old days when this was the norm on almost all routes.

Now, the UK-US routes only have a choice of 2 starters and 3 mains.

Was it in the past few weeks? I can't imagine anyone will be happy with the lack of choice /food in UC. I take it this isn't a trial but a done deal?

I'd assume the removal of breakfast is a done deal with the VS401, at least for this menu cycle.

As I indicated previously, it's not that different to the GF menu on BAH-LHR, except I think the GF mid-flight 'made to order' snacks were bigger and tastier than those offered on VS, and the crew made it totally clear that there was only one main meal offered plus the range of snacks, but you could order anything you wanted from the menu at any time and in any order. So, no different to 'Freedom' on VS, but much better food and drink, if you ask me.

Mike

Just to confirm the rationing is widespread, VS001 to Newark last week (UCS) only had the main meal and light bites as options, with an ice cream mid flight, but no afternoon tea or light meal offered before landing. The FSM did come round and ask if we wanted anything else, but it certainly wasn't on the menu proper.

[Bazz]

Thanks for the interesting TR James. I'm glad the crew warmed up after the food service otherwise it could have been a real bummer of a flight. I really do not understand what VS are doing pulling the breakfast offering on this route and then not providing a substantial snack to compliment the Lunch serving. I do hope VS Cabin Services read this and take note. Great pics of the hotel BTW. [y]

Originally posted by SteveE
Just to confirm the rationing is widespread, VS001 to Newark last week (UCS) only had the main meal and light bites as options, with an ice cream mid flight, but no afternoon tea or light meal offered before landing. The FSM did come round and ask if we wanted anything else, but it certainly wasn't on the menu proper.

With such a late departure, I'm not sure if a full-blown 'English afternoon tea' is appropriate for this flight. Pitching the right meal for the right time of day on long haul flights which cross several timezones is often a bit of a challenge, and there's this preconception that the main meal will be served immediately after departure.

Offering some eat anytime 'supper' options from an expanded range of lighter bites (e.g. add some extra hot sandwich choices, maybe a salad, fruit plate, pasta bowl, some cakes or pastries) does seem like a reasonable idea for anything leaving after about 16/1700L Westbound.

Maybe consider having a more 'formal' supper service if that would oppease people?

One of the problems with 'Freedom' is that people aren't always used to that on a plane, and they kind of 'expect' stuff to be put in front of them, or for a cart to go down the aisle - rather than having to 'speak up' and order it for themselves.

The crew might need to be more proactive in this respect, in asking people if they would like anything else from the snack menu. Hell, heat up one of each option (if it requires heating), and bring them around on a tray to show people what's available.

Mike