This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
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Two things I had not reckoned upon my friends anticipation of the trip .....
.....and the potential strikes!! [:0]
How blas_ have we frequent flyers become as we jet from one destination to another! Yes, I do get excited before every trip and if it is a new destination, I do research it but I was totally unprepared for my friends reactions to the trips. We live in a small town where at one stage everyone knew everyone else. OK, so it has mushroomed but there is still a core of dyed-in-the-wool residents who know us all and shared in our excitement and at every hands turn I was assailed by people talking about the trip! I just hoped VS wouldnt let them down.
The strikes! Down through the years I have been a victim of airline strikes and I feel know how to manage them. Way back when, a strike was threatening to escalate and I reserved seats on an alternative route one hour before it did. Recently I bought an ORK-LGW flight as it was possible that EI would be on strike. They werent but the unwanted flight represented peace of mind. This time I just had to sit it out but fortunately neither the VS nor the BAA strike affected our outbound.
The night before the flight or more accurately the day before the flight, New Years Day I tried and succeeded in being more abstemious than usual [:w] at a family gathering , well aware that it would be a 4:00am start to catch our connecting flight to LHR. The net result was that I failed to go to sleep until about 20 minutes before the alarm went off and which I switched off in my sleep. Fortunately though, the old sub-conscious was working in over-drive and a quarter of an hour later I struggled awake, still with plenty of time to spare. Phew!
The trip to ORK and LHR was uneventful and as we picked up our bags from the carousel in T1 we hugged ourselves with glee. Our adventure was about to begin. I however was not without some trepidation. After all, trip reports have shown how VS can let us down from time to time and quite honestly I did not want to be left with egg on my face. I need not have worried. Having thrown down the gauntlet all those months ago, VS rose to the challenge and provided a superlative experience.
Having yomped our way through the subterranean tunnels of LHR dodging the passengers disgorged from the Underground station only to stand directly in our way while they try to get their bearings, we arrived, not in Zone A as heretofore but outside T3. Thats a bit of a bummer if its raining. [V] One of the advantages up till now was that it really didnt matter if it was rain, hail or snowing once you arrived in LHR from a connecting flight. You were under cover the whole time unless you had the misfortune to be parked on a remote stand for either your incoming or outgoing flight. Still, I suppose its part of the whole process of making VS check-in a terminal within a terminal.
The first thing that struck me on entering the terminal was just how busy it was. It was heaving. However UC check-in was pleasantly empty and we were quickly checked in and then released to the delights of the new security channel and a delight it was! A quick scan of the boarding pass and we were admitted to those hallowed portals where there was only one family in front of us who were on the point of collecting their bits and bobs from the tray. In a flash I was through but for some reason the machine beeped for my friends and they were treated to secondary searches. We were then released into the shoe carnival which we could not avoid but even that was quick enough before we were into the heaving mass of duty-free and the departure lounge and from which we rapidly escaped to the welcoming arms of the Clubhouse. Five minutes from check-in to Clubhouse brilliant! [^]
At this stage I was feeling a tad nervous. After all this trip had been based on a debate about the merits and demerits of the Clubhouse versus the AA lounge. Foolish wench! The Clubhouse is the shining star among lounges, the cr_me de la cr_me of lounges, the Superbowl of lounges, the gold standard against which all others are measured. Well perhaps that is a little over the top, but you get my drift. What was I worrying about and yes, it was all in vain. They were thrilled with everything that was on offer. We had breakfast with freshly squeezed orange juice and Eggs Benedict for me and scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for them before we moved on to champagne and later on our treatments in the Cowshed spa. Oh, there was a little hiccup there as they had no record of my appointment but they later found it imputed into the wrong date. However they were able to fit me in and soon it was a duly moisturised honey lamb with skin as soft as the rear end of a baby who was ready to board the flight for JFK.
The flight was slightly delayed so we had to suffer the tribulation of an extra 25 minutes in the clubhouse but once it was called we set off for gate 19, I think. At any rate it was one of the gates down the corridor to the left before you get to the Clubhouse. There was no sign of priority boarding and the holding area was jointed and I groaned inwardly. I need not have worried. Just as we arrived boarding was announced for Upper Class, PE and Gold members together with those with young children which apparently was half the plane judging by the rush forward and the queue in the jetway! As far as I could see no-one was turning left and that proved to be the case as we were virtually the first in the UC cabin.
Once we were there the cabin crew shot into action. Coats were taken and hung up, drinks were provided, the IFBT peddled her wares, drinks and food orders were taken and we were generally cosseted. I had been like a nervous Mamma watching her offspring in the nursery school nativity play. Would they sail through or be an unmitigated disaster to be talked of and laughed about for years to come? One look at my friends faces told me that all was well and I could relax. They had not let me down.
As boarding continued the FSM showed himself to be a bit of a wag (as opposed to a WAG) and announced at one stage that someone had left their dentures in the washroom and could they please collect them and shortly after announced that a gentlemans thong and flip-flops had been found in the airport and if we knew to whom they might belong could we please contact the cabin crew. That was definitely over-kill!
We pushed back slightly late as I had said and trundled to the far side of LHR and after a short wait were soon in the air. As soon as the crew were released to their duties they were round with the drinks and the FSM came around the cabin. My friend had joined me at the ottoman and he spent some time talking to us about the strike which was due to start the following week. A second G&T was provided followed by the meal service. I elected to have the salmon and crayfish roulade followed by the lamb and then cheese and biscuits. The meal was good and washed down by a very satisfying Shiraz (or was it a Shiraz Cabernet well, in the words of mdvipond, it was red and wet!) The FSM was in evidence throughout the meal service and really it was faultless.
After the meal I had a wander down the cabin and then upstairs to see how the new configuration looked but really it was quite unremarkable. I dont know what I expected other than to see two rows of suites!
By this stage the toll of the last few days, sleepless nights and a 4a.m start (not to mention copious amounts of alcohol over the said days) were beginning to get to me and while I was determined to stay awake at some stage I drifted off to sleep without converting the suite to a bed [|)] and remained asleep even through the second meal service. In fact I didnt waken till we landed at JFK! I was vaguely aware that we stopped short of the gate and the captain announced that we had to get a tug to tow us to the gate. Also at this stage the power went off completely! It was only gone for a brief space of time but as it was restored the FSM could be heard over the PA saying Get your hand off my knee! A burst of laughter could be heard around the plane and no doubt it relieved the tension for any nervous passengers even though we were down on the ground. Still Im sure there were those that fully expected the oxygen masks to come hurtling down and were probably panicking that they werent!
Immigration was busy when we got there but not half as busy as the line for taxis. We waited over an hour in sub-zero temperatures but there was nothing to beat the magic of the lights of Manhattan as they hove into view in the frosty air.
My friends view of the trip? Fantastic!
