This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
An E train arrived almost immediately but it was very full and we were obliged to stand, which didnt help my poor aching feet [:#] and were positioned at the end of the carriage alongside the connecting doors. Unfortunately this wasnt a train where the next station is displayed, nor one where little lighted dots on a map show its progress. We had to rely on announcements which happily were loud and clear and also gave the next station. All we had to do was to listen out for Sutphin Boulevard which was sufficiently different to stand out from all the other stations. Hah! Wanna bet? We arrived at a station where nearly all the passengers got out and I heaved a sigh of relief. Sitting was at long last a possibility. I looked at the station and saw the sign Something Avenue and wondered when it would be our station. After all it couldnt be too far away. Wed been on the train for just over 30 minutes and the journey was supposed to be 45 minutes. Suddenly I realised that the announcement was saying that Jamaica Center was the next stop and that passengers for JFK needed to get out here, so we had to scrabble around and get off the train before we were whisked away! [:0] How had I got it wrong? I looked at the sign and there it was for all to see Sutphin Boulevard/Archer Avenue. No-one had told me about the Archer Avenue bit and it was out of sight from the train. Oh dear! Well at least we were there now and hastened to find the Airtrain. Once there a staff member was circulating around the fare machines and learning that we were a party of three, pressed a few buttons which meant that we only paid $12.50 instead of $15. However we rapidly learned that we had to keep passing the ticket back as it would only let us through one at a time! The Airtrain arrived quickly and after 15 minutes do you hear that Mr Concierge? [V] 15 minutes! we arrived in T4.
Check-in was relatively quiet. We were quickly and efficiently checked in by an agent who, while she would not win a Personality of the Year award, was marginally less sullen and uncommunicative than many of the check-in staff at JFK. Bags were taken to the screening area and then we headed for the Clubhouse. I had warned my friends that the Clubhouse at JFK would not be like the one at LHR but nonetheless they were charmed with it. I had decided that if at all possible I was going to sleep through the flight a decision which was reinforced by looking at the in-flight menu. Oh, dont get me wrong there was nothing wrong with it but it didnt inspire me to stay awake to wait for it. My friends decided they might try it but at the same time they joined me in a meal in the Clubhouse. We read the UK Sunday papers which were available and also checked emails etc and I helped myself to the white chocolate and macadamia cookies as well as sampling the JFK champagne in fact all the things one does in a Clubhouse while waiting to be called to the flight.
We left the Clubhouse when called and used the business class security line which, unlike the last time I was at JFK fed into a separate machine. Actually the lines at security were so light that going through the ordinary line would have been just as quick. My friends panicked slightly as they saw Closing on the monitors but I reminded them we had just been called from the Clubhouse and there would be a further call so we had plenty of time and they relaxed slightly. In fact most of the economy passengers had boarded when we got to the gate. Priority boarding was evident as always and as we passed the gate agent she bade us Have a nice flight, Mrs honey lamb, Have a nice flight, Mrs M, Have a nice flight, Timothy We hooted at that last bit, but I must say I appreciated being addressed by name.
Oh, goody! Weve now come to the bit Ive been dying to tell you about! As you know we always hope to have a good flight. Sometimes we have a not so good flight and other times we have a very good, nay even exceptional flight and this one was in the latter category and as you will see it is the little things that give it the edge.
So teasing Timothy about his new admirer (and laughing because we know him by an entirely different name) we joined the short queue on the jetbridge and as we entered the plane the FSM was standing beside the cabin crew who were welcoming passengers on to the flight and personally greeted all UC passengers before directing them to their seats. We were among the first to be on board and the crew hastened to get drinks, sleep suits and take coats and generally help people to settle. The IFBT came around and I hadnt realised (as I had been asleep) that my friend had received a priority card on the outbound journey even though she had had a treatment in the Clubhouse. I was unsure as to whether or not to have a treatment as it was my avowed intention to sleep and I swithered for a moment before deciding that with the new configuration there were more than enough passengers to deal with and let someone else have a go. The IFBT thanked me for this and I commented, more in passing than anything that I wouldnt have minded a manicure as I had torn a nail on the way to the airport whereupon she offered to give me one of her emery boards after take-off. True to her word she appeared shortly afterwards so that I was able to repair the nail. [y]
We pushed back slightly early and as is the wont at JFK did a lap of the airport before taking off some 45 minutes later. However we had been told this was to be a quick flight and that we would be in LHR early. The cabin crew sprang into action and I, already pyjamed requested cheese and a glass of port which would suffice me till Revivals. At this point the FSM, who you will recall had greeted us personally, then came round the UC cabin to speak to all the passengers individually. I told him how much I appreciated this touch and as he had heard of V-flyer, said that this was something that others had commented on. He thanked me for that and as he was leaving invited me to Come to the bar if you are unable to sleep and we will entertain you. I had a fleeting image of scantily clad cabin crew, prancing on the bar only to be replaced in my mind with a few rousing choruses of Sing-a-long with Virgin Atlantic. Lady in Red perhaps? Come fly with Me, maybe? Or what about Leaving on a Jet Plane? [:w] In any case, although I didnt sleep, I didnt go down to the bar so Im afraid I cant enlighten you. Sorry!
Somewhere south of Iceland I gave up the ghost about sleeping, dressed and converted my suite back to seat mode and enjoyed some fresh fruit, orange juice which was accompanied by a cup of stewed tea. Uuuurgh! In fairness the cabin crew offered to get me a fresh cup but I was fine with juice and water. My friend had awakened in the meantime and also had breakfast and changed before shaking awake her husband at the request of the cabin crew who had been unable to rouse him. That fella could sleep on a clothes line! Soon the cabin was secured for landing and we touched down about 30 minutes early in an overcast and blustery LHR. There was however one final touch to come on this flight. As we were leaving the aircraft.....
....wait for it
....wait for it...
the FSM stood at the door and shook hands with us all while bidding us goodbye. All simple things but which left a lasting impression. [^]
We landed at one of the far gates which meant a long trek to Immigration which was very busy. There was only one lane open for EU passengers but while we were there a 2nd, 3rd and 4th lane were gradually opened. Before anybody says IRIS to me yes, I know about IRIS and would have registered but remember I was with two people for whom this was the first long-haul flight and theres no way I would have abandoned them to their fate in LHR. I suppose we were about 20 minutes at Immigration and by the time we were sprung the bags were coming through. I saw mine and went after it and a couple of minutes later theirs arrived so we were able to make our way to Revivals, a refreshing shower and breakfast before the long trek to T1 and an uneventful flight home.
