V-Flyer

Warning quite long and full of waffle. [:D]

A weekend of beer and baseball beckoned. Derby Dave and I booked this trip a while ago when a great PE sale was on. It was timed to coincide with the Baseball play-offs which, at the time, we were hoping that the Redsox would be involved in.

As luck would have it the first game of the American League Championship Series took place the evening we arrived and, happily for us, the Redsox were hosting it against the Cleveland Indians and even better, we got to the game to see the Redsox win.

Anyway onto the trip report:

I parked my car at Purple Parking and we got their shuttle to T3. The airport was busy, but not its usual manic busy, in fact we only had to wait a minute or so before we were dealt with at the UC check in. The agent told us that the aircraft had changed since we pre-booked seats, we are now on the new configuration of 747 - Cosmic Girl. We made our way to not so Fast Track Security and got in okay by flashing the VS Gold card, then got snared in the show carnival before making our way to the Clubhouse

When we got into the oasis that is the CH, it was time for breakfast and coffee we both had the excellent Full English, despite the fact that it was almost 11.30am and the menu about to be swapped for the lunch selection.

After we had eaten, we set up camp next to the window in the area that used to be the smoking area, but now gives really good clean air views of the runway. We both had treatments but I found that the shave treatment no longer includes a neck and back massage, so I opted for the full back, neck and head massage instead. I also managed to get our seats changed to exit rows.

The Clubhouse was fairly quiet when we came in, but filled up considerably during our stay. One of the diners in the restaurant area was a former Cabinet Minister from Margaret Thatchers government.

When our flight was called, we made our way to Gate 22 which is a fair walk to the end of one of the piers. We sat in seats 28 A & C and watched the rest of the pax arrive. We are just behind UC and at the side of the stairs leading to the Upper Deck. When the aforementioned former Cabinet Minister boarded I thought how old he was looking, but how he still bore a remarkable resemblance to his Spitting Image puppet!

Before push back, the FSS, announced that there was a major problem with the luggage of some passengers connecting from BA, apparently their bags would not arrive in time to be loaded. During the announcement he made it abundantly clear that the fault lay with BA. Off mike we heard him say that about 62 pax were affected by this.

The Captain announced that flying time would be 6 hours and 36 minutes. We pushed back a little early at 2.25pm but then were held and had quite a long taxi to 27R before wheels up at 2.50pm. As we levelled out drinks were served, the crew brought us foot rests and V-Port kicked in. I watched Die Hard 4 which I thought was pretty spectacular on the stunts and action side and pretty awful on the story side.

The meal was a choice of :

Chicken korma served with basmati rice and vegetable jalfrezi.

Braised beef served with horseradish mashed potato, baby carrots, green beans and mustard sauce.

Penne pasta with Sicilian tomato sauce and parmesan cheese.

There was also warm bread rolls, salad, Gu chocolate dessert and cheese & biscuits.

I had the chicken and Dave had the beef I enjoyed mine and his didn't last long either. They were generous with the drinks offering wine and then refills followed by brandy or Baileys. Later in the flight, we also had a fruit bowl offering and an ice cream. And, another round of drinks I think they wanted us landing in Boston pie eyed!

During the flight I had a wander into Y and would estimate that the plane was about 85%-90% full in economy and premium economy.

We were served another snack before landing coffee or tea with a choice of muffin, cookies or brownie. I also watched the Harry Potter film, and was able to enjoy it, despite missing the previous one in the series. The plane landed about 20 minutes early at about 4.15pm, but then there was a problem with the air jetty, so we were stuck for a while frustratingly watching through the window as various people scratched their heads about how to get it to move. Eventually, an engineer came and sorted it, this delayed us about 15 / 20 minutes and allowed a few people from another flight to sneak into Immigration before us, but it wasnt too bad and we were through in about 10 minutes.

All in all an excellent flight. Our stay in Boston was great and the return flight was even better. Return TR to follow soon.

Nick

Great TR! Thanks for posting!

GJ

Nick

Thanks for the comprehensive TR[y][y]

We made our way to 'not so' Fast Track Security and got in okay by flashing the VS Gold card, then got snared in the show carnival before making our way to the Clubhouse

Will the she carnival become a thing of the past when the new UC check in opens[:w][:w]

Nice to see the flight crew generous with the beverages

buns

Most enjoyable - glad to hear service was up to scratch! How was immigration?

Originally posted by Decker
How was immigration?

It was spot on, if the air bridge hadn't jammed we would have arrived to an empty hall. As it was there were only about 20-30 non US passport holders in front of us, and loads of Immigration Officers.

I got a very freindly chatty agent, but I think the Redsox polo shirt I was wearing may have helped. [;)]

It isn't too much of an exaggeration to say that about 80% - 90% of the population of Boston were wearing Redsox shirts, jackets, caps or badges on Friday and Saturday evening. [:D][:D]

Nick

Originally posted by buns4vs


Will the she carnival become a thing of the past when the new UC check in opens[:w][:w]

I'd prefer a he carnival myself.

But be it show, she, he or shoe -- you raise a good point. I suspect that a shoe carnival is a mandate from BAA and one might need one's shoes inspected no matter the venue? [:?]

GJ

Thanks Nick---Good to hear that the new 744 PE config is fine. Any comments re the seat? Did you have a window at exit row?

Sox leading 4-1 Cleveland --two games after this to clinch the division playoffs. It would be quite wonderful if they pulled off another championship after so many dry years--so many fans pulling for them. Watching a game at Fenway Park is one of the great Boston experiences--and even more fun when they win -(not unlike Man United-but perhaps a bit less insane). Hope you enjoyed a sausage and pepper sub along with a nice pint of cool watery beer.The weather has been excellent, quite unusual for mid October and predicted warm for a few more days so Go Sox!

[:D]RR