VS019 LHR-SFO 7 Apr 08 (Upper)

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

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First post from a long - term lurker; I've found the info on this site to be useful a number of times so I thought that it was only right that I should post a trip report or two since I have a couple of trips this month.

So - got to Purple Parking to drop the car off spot on 8am; last time I flew UC (to HK at the end of last year) I used the Limo service, and very nice it is too when you swish up the private road to the T3 entrance; just like in the adverts! - this time however Limo was not available since I booked the flight at the sale price, so I had to make my own way. Ive used Purple a number of times over the years without any trouble, but that trip in the bus from the dropoff point to the terminal seems to be taking longer recently - in this case we arrived there at 8.45 which was disappointing; I will have to see if theres another service thats closer for next time I guess.

Checkin was slow ; partly my fault for sticking in a queue behind someone getting rebooked (there seemed to be quite a lot of this going on, possibly after the snow the day before & the fun at T5) but also the checkin lady seemed to be having a go slow morning. Even printing my bording pass & taking my bag (having done online checkin the day before) seemed to take an age & much squinting at the screen... the line in PE seemed to move much faster so I will have to remember to be that side next time.

Just time for a couple of Bloody Marys in the clubhouse (excellent as ever) and off to the plane for champers; sitting in 3K upstairs on the 747. Left pretty much on time, all but one seat taken in UC that I could see (and a party of around 20 teenagers downstairs - bet that was fun). Flight was quite bumpy for the first couple of hours but otherwise uneventful - one of the loos appeared to break & I couldnt get any water from the taps in the other which is a bit poor but we managed.

Food was average, I do think that the Virgin menu is slightly better than the BA one (based on last time I flew with them a year or so ago) but it was a bit .. dull ? .. this flight; I had the fish curry which was ok, but just ok, Cheese was a bit dried out, still just ok. Nice Ice Cream later on & I skipped breakfast.

Crew were excellent & professional, no mucking about with anouncements upstairs - good show & one of the reasons that Ive swapped back to Virgin from BA where everyone is depressed.

Not much else to report - arrived early but had to wait for one of the Virgin America flights to leave the stand before we could get off (going to be trying them later in the Month SFO-LAS) Not much of a problem with immigration (four fingers required here now) & bags appeared promptly for us, there seemed to be a lot of people waiting for bags from the BA flight though. tee hee.

Took a shuttle to the hotel which was cheap but took a long time, the crew appear to be staying here too & got here first, wish I had known 'cos I would have thumbed a lift.

Hope thats not too dull - return flight on Sunday. Oh - Vport was working, trivia quiz high scores here -> http://lh6.ggpht.com/NickC101/R_4b1SU6- ... CF0291.JPG

[HighFlyer]

Thanks for the trip report, Nick [y]

Thee food is a very contentious point with V-Flyers, I really do wish that VS could invest a tiny drop more into their onboard offering to square up with SQ and NZ's J offerings, though with the current aviation climate I dont forsee it. On our flight back from PVG we dicussed how the cheese course has shrunk beyond recognition, and the grapes and celery sticks were noticibly absent.

Still, glad you had a good flight, and hope you have a good stay in SFO [:)]

Thanks,
Sarah

Great trip report. Liked your candor. Sometimes there can be a lot of bull in these trip reports. A lot of making sure we know they've flown Upper before. Thank you.

I wish it wasn't bumpy on the way to and from San Fran. I'm going to see the doctor about getting some anti-anxiety stuff. The antihistamine Hydroxyzine is lovely. I want some of that for my next trip to San Fran.

Originally posted by mcnaugha
Great trip report. Liked your candor. Sometimes there can be a lot of bull in these trip reports. A lot of making sure we know they've flown Upper before. Thank you.

I wish it wasn't bumpy on the way to and from San Fran. I'm going to see the doctor about getting some anti-anxiety stuff. The antihistamine Hydroxyzine is lovely. I want some of that for my next trip to San Fran.

I have a confession - I'm at a conference this week so Work is paying for the flight; with my own money Im PE at best - heck, I would be happy in the cheap seats if I could reasonably guarantee not to be stuck next to some ass who thinks the world revolves around him; sadly as I get older Im finding Im much less forgiving than I used to be.

Thankfully I dont worry about bumpy flights too much - just not when Im getting a coffee refill!

Originally posted by HighFlyer
Thee food is a very contentious point with V-Flyers, I really do wish that VS could invest a tiny drop more into their onboard offering to square up with SQ and NZ's J offerings, though with the current aviation climate I dont forsee it. On our flight back from PVG we dicussed how the cheese course has shrunk beyond recognition, and the grapes and celery sticks were noticibly absent.

Still, glad you had a good flight, and hope you have a good stay in SFO

I have a fair bit of sympathy for the people who do the food - it must be difficult to come up with menus that people actually want to eat & that are within the budget for the class of passenger ; even if its good its never going to please everyone. On this flight the food was ok, nothing more or less.

I did go thru a phase of filling up beforehand (two pints of guinness & then two big macs (!)) back when there was a McDonalds in T4 & I was on BA 'cos I really didn't want to eat anything on the plane but Im not sure I could do that any more.

Looking like its going to be a nice weekend here in SF - glad I packed my shorts...

Great TR! Thanks for posting! And now for something completely different...

I wonder if the redundant IFBTs can't be put to work making cheese? That would give Her Grace a more substantial plat du fromage to enjoy. At any rate, it's a thought...

GJ

Originally posted by HighFlyer
Thanks for the trip report, Nick [y]

Thee food is a very contentious point with V-Flyers, I really do wish that VS could invest a tiny drop more into their onboard offering to square up with SQ and NZ's J offerings, though with the current aviation climate I dont forsee it. On our flight back from PVG we dicussed how the cheese course has shrunk beyond recognition, and the grapes and celery sticks were noticibly absent.

Hmmm yes it has hasn't it - on Emirates there's a cheese board, with about six choices and it's all cut afresh. I don't see why VS couldn't do one on the bar and make it enjoyable again. With EK I always get extra because not everyone has it ... yummy and well served.. On VS, dry, nasty, shrivelled ...

Good TR Nick, enjoy the weather! I'll be there in a month but June can be so variable!