This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
It started with a night in one of the local hostelries around the airport perimeter, followed by an early morning dash to board one of the public buses into Heathrow Central Station, and a walk to T3. No, I'm not one of those irrational folks who thinks nothing of buying a transatlantic ticket, yet tries to save on the 4 quid Hoppa trip. It's more that I am tired of standing outside a hotel at 6/6:30am in the freezing cold, waiting for the silly thing (or a taxi for that matter) to show up, watching 20 buses ride into Central Station. At some point, that got to be annoying. [;)]
No need to retell the tale of the checkin facilities at LHR. Virgin have made T3 a place you want to be for their core customers, and that is some achievement. Into the lounge, eggs/smoked salmon breakfast, bit of a walk around, sit by the bar, plug in laptop, Inbox clearing ably assisted by a martini & olives, neck & shoulder (yes yes I'll drink lots of water), more Inbox clearing and further martini, then off you go to Gate 35. Ah ... Gate 35. A total scrum. The waiting area inside the gate is pretty full at this point, so BAA are not letting any further folks into it until boarding starts. Which basically means you don't get to pre-board. Never mind, mustn't grumble, count your blessings, you've had two martinis already. Get in (downstairs, front section), have a Bellini ...
Poking around the OLCI seat assignment screen the previous evening, it must be noted that downstairs in the larger bar area there were maybe 3 seats assigned. Not too heavy load, methinks. I certainly got my preferred seat with no issues. Well, get on board and it's dense, folks. The very nice and courteous FA comes by and tells me how lucky I am to be in the front section, as the back section's a real riot.
The new LHR config is interesting. Right now, UC is doing well enough, PE is selling like crazy on this route. The op-up bell must have been ringing off the charts.
Well, for the most part this wasn't too noticeable in the front cabin. They did run out of crisps; it has been remarked before how silly it is that they won't load six big bags of nice crisps instead of 3, at the cost of $1.99 each in my local, fancy supermarket. If not all the time, at least when PE load looks such that op-ups are likely. That said, I was first or second for an IFBT treatment (hand massage, wonderful, and a very pleasant chat), got all the food and drink I needed, and it was not too noisy in this area.
The bar and back cabin area ... now that was a whole 'nother story alltogether. Think the Good Mixer circa 1993, with the out-of-town tourists piling in for a spotting of Damon or some such 'muso'. Folks were double or triple occupying the ottomans, and you just could not get to the bar without some serious contortions. On top of this, a sizeable PE crowd had congregated by the starboard exit at the front of the cabin after the meal service, right by the bar. The cabin's been buzzing before, but this time it was rock'n'roll. I should imagine this would have had Mr Winner in fits of paroxysm, possibly striking a very different tone in his reviews. [:)]
I for one enjoyed the scene, I've gotten accustomed to spending a fair few hours at the bar on the long day flights if I am not with company and lucky enough to be in UC, I like the 'meeting folk, talking to CC, and enjoying T10&T and sparkling water' deal very much. Afternoon sarnies and two double espresso shots taste much better at the bar. I cannot, however, imagine this being to everyone's taste. You won't find the party on BA, or american carriers, that's for sure. [:0]
I've no sense of whether this was a case of lots of first time UC folks living it up. Good luck to them if so, I certainly have very fond memories of my first experience traveling UC. I do wonder whether the stripping of PE seats from the upper deck was well timed, and worth it. They clearly aren't having any problems selling PE seats left and right, but the main beneficiaries of the extra UC seats seem likely to be FC Au and W/S PE passengers on particularly full PE flights (which is often the case to SFO).
I had a good time on this flight. Virgin could have taped that back area of the UC cabin, and it would have exemplified perfectly the kind of vibe they sometime seem to want to put out, we-vibrant vs others-staid, that sort of message. They certainly broadened the concept of entertainment! Not your parents' BA First flight, for sure (not that my parents or I have ever had the chance!).
