VS019 LHR-SFO 10 Jun 07 (Upper)

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

I'm going to try and keep this short as I don't have much time.

I spent the night before my flight in an Executive room in the Hilton Heathrow. I really recommend this as the room was very nice. Bathroom was a little small for the 'wet room' style, but the rest made up for it. Staff friendly. Especially in the Exec lounge. Love the modern decor. I will be doing this again next time.

This was my first visit to T3 since last Oct. Bit of a mess. I got the, now usual, spanish inquisition from the security guard on UC check-in. This is really unpleasant because of the negative attitude of the guard. Virgin really needs to sort this out. He shouldn't be getting tough until he finds someone that shouldn't be there. I was looking fabulous (even if I do say so myself) and not in anyway unsuitable for UC. So no excuse. Check-in itself was ok, but the agent was dealing with another matter, talking to someone else whilst serving me. This felt quite rude.

The Clubhouse was, as ever, a very pleasant experience. When I arrived I was informed of a two hour delay to my flight to SFO. This was NOT showing on the information screens. But hey, two more hours in the Clubhouse... you can hardly complain. Nothing new to say here about the Clubhouse. Just so tranquil... I popped out to get some US$ and T3 was just manic. Thank the lord for the Clubhouse.

Boarding was a bit of a mess too. The gate did not have proper channels for the different classes. Because of new (to me anyway) passport checks by airport staff everyone had to enter the one big queue. Many UC/PE pax started to push their way through these passport checks causing great stress to the VS staff. The VS staff were also having arguments in front of us regarding the blocking of PE and UC pax.

Once on board we were waiting about another half hour. My seat was ok, but it was grubby at certain areas and the seat had a tear. I got the UC stiff neck from looking out of the window too much. Darn that seat angle. lol. The aircraft was G-VFAB featuring the new/different livery. No plastic covers on seat buttons on this one.

I am pretty disappointed with the quality of food. I really think UC pax should be getting what I call wow-factor food. We pay enough. There's no excuse. The food served to me was so low-budget. The soup was like baby food. The lamb was nice, but the the rest of the stuff on the plate was eat-only-if-really-hungry. I tend to judge food by how it stands up to M&S. If M&S can make something taste wow... then restaurants and business class/Upper/First should be able to match or better. M&S are doing pretty well at the moment with wow-food. lol. Can't Virgin just team up with M&S and its food suppliers??? I don't think there was enough offers of snacks. I didn't see much on offer at the bar. I wasn't really prepared to ask like some kind of fatty. Even though I am. lol. The ice cream snack was really poor. Absolutely laden with ice crystals. I would have been quite happy with Gu, but it was some unknown make claiming to be famous. The sandwiches were stale and also poor. Worse than something from a modern day petrol station. Totally unacceptable for the money paid.

A new pet peeve of mine is daytime flight sleepers. I don't want to start a big debate about what's right and what's wrong. If you like it, then fair enough. Each to their own. I just want to voice my opinion. WHY!?! I don't see it making any sense. Surely it is not going to help with jetlag at all. I believe that staying awake is better for a daytime arrival. Am I wrong in that belief? Is it just people who don't have UC on the way back (night flight) that are so desperate to get into that sleeper suit and convert their beds??? lol.

I met someone a few days ago who flew on my flight in PE. Apparently they lost entertainment and got free duty free up to 25. This was the first time I learned that the entertainment system is separately fed into different areas of the aircraft. I had assumed it was all one central system. So PE must have been a nightmare. Unless they had a book and like reading for 10 hours. I watched too many horror movies. Stupid idea. The Zodiac stabbing scene is not what you want to be watching whilst eating your lamb.

CDC was fine, but I still haven't managed to get the Lexus. Maybe on my way back to SFO. Fingers crossed.

Ok, that's me out of time for now. I may add more to this later if I can recall anything worth saying. Questions and feedback welcome. Thanks!

[Nottingham Nick]

Thanks for the TR, Andrew. [y]

I like the comparison with M&S 'ping meals'. [:D]

Unless I am reading it wrong, your complaint isn't against the food in UC compared to other airline food, but a general thumbs down for the quality J class airline food in general, given the big bucks that pax pay for their seat? An oft discussed point here - and not one many people will disagree with you on.

Totally agree about the boarding issue- it seemed as though VS had started to make it better, but several recent TRs have commented that it just isn't working.

Your comment about the security at check in mirrors another thread on FT. I have to say that it is the exact opposite of my recent experiences at LHR, when the guards could have been much more and bored and disinterested - I guess it is all down to the individual who is on duty at the gate.

Nick

[Scrooge]

No I think the OP was saying that the food in VS J sucks..which for the most part it does/has for a while.

VS budget approx $4.50 per pax for the food on the flight in J...and it show's

[preiffer]

Originally posted by mcnaugha
A new pet peeve of mine is daytime flight sleepers. I don't want to start a big debate about what's right and what's wrong. If you like it, then fair enough. Each to their own. I just want to voice my opinion. WHY!?! I don't see it making any sense. Surely it is not going to help with jetlag at all. I believe that staying awake is better for a daytime arrival. Am I wrong in that belief? Is it just people who don't have UC on the way back (night flight) that are so desperate to get into that sleeper suit and convert their beds??? lol.

Personally, I find it helps a lot. If you take the 'get in to the timezone' to the extreme, you're leaving the UK at 3am in your new local time. An hour or two onboard does me wonders for being as alive and kicking as I can be when I land. (Something that can often be VERY important).

And as you rightly say, to each their own. [;)]

[honey lamb]

Thanks for the TR which was of special interest to me as I will be on this flight in a couple of weeks time

A new pet peeve of mine is daytime flight sleepers. I don't want to start a big debate about what's right and what's wrong. If you like it, then fair enough. Each to their own. I just want to voice my opinion. WHY!?!

The reason why in my case when I have flown this route in the past is quite simple. I have been up at 4:00am to catch a connecting flight to LHR and as I have not gone to bed much before midnight the night before, by the time I have gone on board (and partaken of a glass or three of champers) I am whacked and would be falling asleep in San Francisco at about 6:00pm. Self -preservation, dear boy! Self-preservation

[HighFlyer]

I pretty much always sleep on day flights. A few hours in to the flight and there really isnt a lot else to do other than indulge in a good few drinks at the bar, though i'm fortunate in that i dont really suffer from jetlag.

Thanks for the TR - have a good rest of WWDC!!

Thanks,
Sarah

Doing this flight on the 25th, wouldn't mind the two hour delay at LHR stuck in the club house.... beats going into the office the other end...

With regards to the sleeping on day time flights, don't do it kids... ;-)

[preiffer]

Originally posted by davidfsmith
With regards to the sleeping on day time flights, don't do it kids... ;-)

The ONLY rule there is in terms of jet lag, is do whatever is right for YOUR body.

There is no 'answer' - only advice. Advice that doesn't work for everyone.

Originally posted by mcnaugha
I was looking fabulous (even if I do say so myself) and not in anyway unsuitable for UC.

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GJ

I'm with honey lamb & preiffer on the sleeping on a daylight flight front. Given that you have generally had relatively little sleep the night before a Westbound transatlantic flight if you have a morning departure, a couple of hours kip in the UC suite makes all the difference on arrival. It lets you stay up until a decent hour at your destination.

On a different note, if what Scrooge says is correct - a budget of $4.50 for J class food per pax on VS is correct, then this sucks 100%. Even J cheapskates like me who buy the Z class fares would expect a bit more than £2.50 or thereabouts to be spent on their food. Oh well, if VS really spend that little on the food, I'll just feel more inclined to have an extra drink or two onboard, given that I am not driving on arrival in the USA.

James

[Scrooge]

There is a post somewhere on here..I think it is archived away (if you feel like searching my posts more power to you) where I did a little research and found this figure to be about right..maybe a couple of pennies here or there but close enough.

I think we need a proper scientific, imperically measured, study on what's the right thing to do. I personally could not sleep during the afternoon or early evening. This route leaves London at 11am... and lands at approx. 10pm (London time). I would not sleep during this period. Maybe I will once I am older. ;-P For the moment, I'm still young and fabulous. lol.

BUT I wholly understand those who did not indulge in a stay at a Heathrow hotel before their flight. I would sleep straight away on the day flight though... not the last half of the journey. I want to be able to sleep at a normal time once in San Francisco. If I slept too much during the day I would be awake to crazy times in the wee hours. This particular trip of course I needed to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for Steve Jobs the next morning.

Originally posted by Nottingham Nick
I like the comparison with M&S 'ping meals'. [:D]

Unless I am reading it wrong, your complaint isn't against the food in UC compared to other airline food, but a general thumbs down for the quality J class airline food in general, given the big bucks that pax pay for their seat? An oft discussed point here - and not one many people will disagree with you on.

Even M&S' new cold meals. Have you tried those yet? They're stunning. Almost every single variety is so flavoursome.

I think we'd all pay the extra £5/£10 if it meant getting something delicious and delightful onboard.

[honey lamb]

Originally posted by mcnaugha
I think we need a proper scientific, imperically measured, study on what's the right thing to do. I personally could not sleep during the afternoon or early evening. This route leaves London at 11am... and lands at approx. 10pm (London time). I would not sleep during this period. Maybe I will once I am older. ;-P For the moment, I'm still young and fabulous. lol.

Yes, and I'm old and crotchety! And in dire need of beauty sleep.

The first time we flew to SFO neither of us slept on the flight over. Aer John crashed at about 7:30pm. I was holding out for 9:30 but gave in at 8:30pm. The result was we awoke at 5:00am absolutely starving. We thought that 6:00am and the beginning of room service could not come quick enough [:0]

I like sleeping and once those doors close and no one can bother me it is a treat to crash out.

Also it is a bed, seems rude not to use it and it is actually a rather average seat

[Scrooge]

I get on the plane heading west planning not to sleep, 3 - 4 hrs in I am out, snoring away annoying all the other pax.

I think we need a proper scientific, imperically measured, study on what's the right thing to do.

This works for me,
Few beers in the lounge,board, few more beers, eat,few more beers,pass out,land,hotel few more beers, pass out, etc[:D]

Another vote for sleeping on longhaul day flights - I always do it.

If I was flying to LA (we have family there, so do it at least once a year), then I would be up by 6/6.30am UK time (that is 10pm/10.30pm LA time) and would try to stay awake until 9pm or so LA time (so 5am UK time). So a good sleep (flat out, dressed in my PJs), after lunch, helps me to get through the day :-)

Although I don't normally have a 3.5/4 kip in the middle of the day, I also rarely stay awake for 22/23 hours in a row... Infact I am ashamed to admitt that I am rarely awake for more than 14/15 hours [:0].

Boo

On my SFO trip at the end of May, I had slept for about 8 hours tops over the previous two days, which meant that I nodded off fairly easily on the plane for a good 4 hours or so.

It meant that I didn't feel shattered driving to the hotel like I usually do, and was able to stay up until about 10.30pm the same evening without microsleeping at the dinner table (like I usually do). Sure, I didn't feel fresh as a daisy, but wasn't nodding off.

As for the food, can't really say I'm surprised. VS food ex-LON, especially in the J-cabin, seems to be consistently poor these days with occasional moments of hope that are all too short lived.

Ironically, the VS Y-cabin meals used to be mass-produced by company owned by Northern Foods, who are a major supplier of ready meals and 'meal kits' to M&S. Northern would make them, and they would then be shipped to the airline caterer, Gategourmet back in those days, for loading onto the VS flights. Double irony, I think the Y meals are better these days than they were in the Northern Foods days.

As for the J meals, yep, I think most of us agreeing that they are going (or have gone) to the wall.

Mike