V-Flyer

I Set off for LHR at around 3.30 to allow for any delays on the M3 and the parking lot that is the M25. Thankfully, we sailed through all the way, despite coming up to rush hour by the time we arrived at LHR at 5pm or so. Parked the car and took the bus to T3, dreading the chaos prophecised in the papers. Rounding the corner, the front of T3 looked pretty different to the last time I saw it in February with construction having started and the drop off zone shifted to where the short term car park used to be. Inside the terminal, there was none of the mayhem I expected and the VS check looked normal, even a little quiet for the time of day. Promptly received my purple boarding pass from a very efficient, courteous and professional check-in agent and made my way up to Fast Track, albeit by the stairs opposite AA check in as the usual escalator in zone A seems to have been removed. Fast Track was just that and with no one in front of me, I was through within a minute before joining the bottle neck at passport control. The shoe screening system was open but seemed to be optional as I was able to go straight past while others chose to have their shoes checked; perhaps they were looking for that warhead they had misplaced?
Didnt spend too long in Duty Free, although I did pop into Paul Smith but left empty handed feeling uninspired by their range of surprisingly bland ties and shirts. Anyway, I had the CH to look forward so I wasnt going to waste any time. Having made my way to the CH, I ascended up the stair case and into the hallowed ground. In light of the recent smoking ban, I decided to lay claim to the fumoir; the best part of the CH in my opinion and unfairly designated as the smoking area. After marking my territory with luggage and sports-jacket, I wandered up to The Garden to take some pictures and watch the activity on the apron, managing a good ten minutes before the inevitable deluge.

VS New Livery:


Once back at my table, I ordered the linguini with pesto cream and rocket which was promptly served by a very courteous gentleman. Unfortunately, I had just missed the scones and cream which finished serving at 5.30. Overall, the dish was good but it could have done with a little less rocket. However, my meal was slightly marred by the phone conversation of the woman sitting adjacent to me which, although amusing, proved to dominate the atmosphere. She seemed particularly peeved that she was unable to spot any celebs and described the CH as a celebrity desert! I was sorry to disappoint her with my anonymity of course; apparently those of us who havent had our holiday snaps splashed across Heat just dont measure up. After about an hour relaxing in the Fumoir, I decided to sit in the hanging chairs next to the water feature; I have got to get myself one of those even if I did appear rather less than elegant on my first attempt to extract myself from the acrylic haven.
The flight was called at about 7.30 so I left the refuge of the CH shortly after this, along with most pax on the 601 and 017. Took some pics on my way out which you can see below:





Thankfully, I did not have to endure the shambles that is priority boarding as there was no one at gate 36 when I arrived. So I was straight onto the a/c where I was almost immediately offered OJ and somewhere to store my jacket. After going through the usual routine of settling into my seat: golf mags into magazine holder, bag in overhead bin, camera in that little movable storage compartment etc, I took to looking out the window at a rather despondent LHR and a very wet G-VSEA. Despite what one would think should be a busy time of day, there was relatively little activity around. In fact, the airport seemed decidedly empty, until it was time to depart that is. We were delayed by around half an hour from the 8.30 scheduled departure time to wait for 20 pax (according to the FSM) from the inbound BOM flight, one of whom sat next to, opposite and diagonally opposite me through the course of the flight.
We eventually pushed back at about 9pm to sit in a queue of around 15-20 a/c at my count; so much for a quiet apron, following BA, EK, EY During this wait, we were shown the safety video which I expected to have changed, although other than having a different voice for the female FA (it used to be Dani Behr IIRC), there didnt seem to be any difference to the old video.
Eventually we took off with what sounded like max power and a pretty long TO roll into the murk over a darkening London before breaking through the cloud cover to the first sun I had seen in days. Drinks orders were brought around pretty soon after this with a choice of either crisps or nuts, though I regretted not asking for both as the plate held a measly collection of just four crisps. V:port was started up with the introduction video which, in my opinion, could be cut down significantly and made cabin specific so you dont have to watch the whole thing for the umpteenth time.
Now for the food: the bane of everyone expecting something at least more edible than whatever regurgitated slop it is that McDonalds chooses to serve. However, in general I felt that VS exceeded my expectations in terms of food on this flight, despite the airlines insistence on celebrating British cuisine and sticking to a themed menu. Is it so hard to just provide good food that doesn't have to revolve around a particular geographical location? To start, I had the Carrot and Apple Soup with multi-grain bread which was just the right consistency for my taste. So far, one out of one. Next, I had the cheddar and tomato bake (or something like that) which, although not fantastic by gastronomic standards, at least stood up to the M&S test. I decided to skip the cheese course, despite being tempted by the Charles Martell and go straight to desert which I have to say was the only course that let the meal down. I went for the strawberry ice-cream over the Bakewell tart which, as expected, could not have been impregnated by forces of attrition of a world war proportion. Indeed, I got through a sizeable portion of The Pursuit of Happyness while waiting for my portion of the Ross Ice Shelf to thaw. Nevertheless, once edible, it was satisfactory in taste. Throughout the course of the meal, water was offered almost continuously, although I would have preferred the offer of Volvic as still and S.Pellegrino as sparkling.
Once my dinner had been cleared, I made up my suite into bed mode and climbed into my favourite place of slumber, before watching the sunset for the second time that evening through the slit in the window blind I thought was an acceptable level of solar intrusion for the cabin without dazzling everyone with the fantastic hues of orange. I managed two hours of sleep before being woken up with the announcement there would be about an hour to go before landing. Reluctantly, with an acute groggy feeling, I folded back the suite into seat mode and stowed the bed linen behind the seat.
We approached EWR from the south over New Jersey with views of Manhattan shining through the dark and landed after an all too short 6hr 47 min flight. A quiet airport meant we blocked on swiftly and disembarked with equal ease to a deserted immigration hall. Now Im not one to enjoy endless snaking queues, but the lack of activity (due to the late arrival time) seemed a bit unnerving given my previous experience of it as a hive of humanity; not that Ill share the same feeling next time Im stuck in there for two hours. Maybe it was the two hours of sleep, but the immigration officer seemed pretty friendly to me; a stark contrast to the one adjacent who seemed to take his job as protector of the border (read: glorified sales clerk in my opinion) a bit too seriously by yelling at anyone or anything that happened to linger as they walked to the baggage reclaim area or happened to have but a toe over the yellow line. Having verified my status as someone who does not happen to have been cave-mates with bin Laden or spent the last year taking Al-Qaeda evening classes, I proceeded down the escalator to baggage reclaim and from there out into a warm NY (sorry, NJ) evening to await my ride to my favourite city.
Overall, it was a pretty good flight, not amazing, but certainly better than some Ive had. The meal was at least edible which is an improvement - should that be something one has to say on the subject of J class food? The seat seemed in fairly good shape with the new control button covers but not the new tables and few of the unfortunately all too common pen marks. In fact, the only area that VS didnt perform to its usual standard was the IFE selection which was uncharacteristically limited. The CH was excellent as usual with friendly staff, a (generally) calm atmosphere and the perfect sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of T3 departures. The crew were very good and managed to be friendly without being intrusive and professional without being stuffy. I left EWR feeling satisfied with the experience and without the bitter taste some flights can leave. In general, VS delievered and I think this should at least be the average expected of UC.

Thanks for reading[:)]

45.

Thanks for the detailed TR and pics, VS045. It has certainly wetted my appetite for my upcoming flights and of course the haven that is the CH[:D]

I must agree with you though that the transatlantic crossings are far too short especially when travelling UCS!