This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
After a quick breakfast in the hotel, a car was waiting to bring us to the airport. It was quite congested there and the driver wasnt able to drop us outside zone 5 so we had to plough our way back to the check-in area. After going through the first screening area we approached the Upper Class line which was quite busy. A couple of guys seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time to be processed at one of the UC desks and in fact were still there when we approached the other one, even though two other people were checked in before us. While we were waiting a VS staff member who was manning the lines came up and asked us if we were travelling in Upper Class which irked me a little bit. When we affirmed we were she then went on to say that UC was severely oversold and would we take a downgrade for compensation of a return economy ticket and 50,000 miles. We politely refused and so she moved on but I was a bit annoyed as my gold card was plain to see and I dont think we should have been asked in that situation. [V] However we were quickly checked in and boarding passes and the invitation to the Gulfair lounge was issued. From there we went to passport control where there is a dedicated First and Business Class lane and then swiftly on to the second security screening again without queues. As Aer John said to me this is the way transit through an airport should be.
We lingered a little while in the Duty Free and bought some stuff but because of the embargo on liquids in the EU it is now virtually impossible to buy alcohol when one has an onward flight. Having said that we did buy one bottle and re-packed it into our case at LHR! From there it was on to the Gulfair lounge which had been re-furbished since our last trip 2 years ago. Gone were the large, squishy sofas and it was now more modern looking and had a lot more tables and chairs than before. There was a self-service area for hot food as well as tea, coffee and other drinks and pastries available. I used the computers to check in for our Aer Lingus flight later that day and also to have a quick scan of V-flyer before joining Aer John at one of the tables. While we were there he noticed from the screen that the BA flight had been cancelled and we were both of the opinion that this is what caused the overbooked situation. There was no announcement in the lounge but just as we decided to leave I noticed the lady at the door coming round to advise people that the flight was being called. We made our way to gate 43 where we went through the final security search. Having gone through two before without a bother I caused this one to beep. [?] I was made take off my watch but when it beeped a second time I was taken into a cubicle, the door bolted and I was given a pat-down search by the security lady before being released. Upper Class passengers were directed to a separate bus from the others and were delivered to the front stairs.
I quickly settled in my seat and was offered a drink. Pavlov would have loved me. No I wasnt salivating like his dogs, but put me in an Upper class suite and offer me a drink while I am fishing out books, iPod, glasses and all the other things necessary for a good flight and I will automatically respond Champagne. Still, it might only be 9:00am in Dubai but the sun was over the yardarm somewhere in the world! [:w] We still had to wait for another busload so I was quietly sitting there and Aer John was looking out of his window at the various aircraft when one of the cabin crew came down the aisle and asked the passengers in front of me, Is this your first time flying Virgin Atlantic? and when they answered in the affirmative, then said Thank you for coming back to us or words to that effect. However she then passed over me and Aer John and asked the same question of the person behind him. Very strange. Actually I thought it was a bit of a silly question as for most people it would be their return flight and so, of course they would have flown VS before if only on the outbound.
There was no IFBT on this flight and having read about the meeting to be held the following day I had not expected there to be one.
We took off shortly afterwards and the cabin crew came round taking what I believed to be lunch orders. Actually what was happening was that the cabin crew would take a couple of orders then head back to the galley emerging a few minutes later with a pot of tea or some other drinks on a tray. It was a slow process and I was getting to be a little bit irritated (cranky b*gger, arent I?) as one hour into the flight I still was unsure as to which cabin crew was looking after us. Eventually he fetched up in front of me and I chose a cup of tea whereupon he asked if I would like a Danish pastry or a muffin. When it was brought I was pleased to note that the tea was freshly made and not stewed as often happens with the breakfast and all in all it was a pleasant snack. After it had been cleared away a message flashed up on the screen to say that they hoped we had enjoyed our little snack and that they would be coming round soon for lunch orders. It was a nice touch and much better than facing into lunch at that early hour. Shortly after, they came around taking lunch orders and told us they would be serving it at 12 noon Dubai time if that was OK with us but we could have it later if we wished. The Freedom menu is alive and well. [y] I chose the mezze platter and the herb-crusted lamb.
I noticed that the crew were circulating constantly in the cabin. Oh, incidentally when the captain was on with his pre-flight message he announced not only who was in charge of the cabins but also said that X was the galley chef. He also gave the name of the FSM which I recognised from a former flight. It had not been one of the memorable ones or if it had, then it had been for the wrong reasons. At no stage did I see her interact with any of the passengers. Anyhow, back to the crew circulating in the cabin. One of the ones was the lady who had passed us over earlier and she stopped to speak to me. I noticed there was something different about her name badge and when I asked in addition to her name and role in the cabin was that of Service Ambassador. I asked her about it and she said her role was to promote service within the cabin. She was aware of V-Flyer and read it regularly, especially the trip reports as she saw it as a good barometer as to how things were working on the flights and what could and should be done to improve matters. I felt most reassured by this and could see little touches here and there that she had brought to the cabin. However there were still some flaws in the service as can be seen from this report.
Shortly after she had left me the mezze platter was delivered to me as the meal service had been started. Oh, I should mention that there was no pre-lunch drinks service so I had gone to the bar for a quick G&T and in fact the bar was quite busy. Anyway I finished the starter and waited, and waited, and waited. In fact they were clearing away the lunch service at the top of the cabin and the PA was announcing that they hoped we had enjoyed our lunch and I was still waiting. I was just contemplating going in search of my main course when the cabin crew arrived with it. To be fair, it is entirely possible that the fact that I had a lengthy chat with the Service ambassador may well have been the reason that my meal was delayed as they may not have wanted to interrupt but I was getting rather hungry at this stage. The lamb when it came was absolutely delicious. I finished up with the cheese plate and some rather nice port.
There was nothing really on V-port that grabbed my attention. I played a couple of rounds of Trivia Challenge but its not much fun by yourself and I had quickly seen off someone from row 62 or thereabouts. Oh, and I also became a millionaire on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, but apart from that there was nothing else. I decided to go to the bar for some water and found that the crew were just going to go round with ice-cream Hagen-Daz no less. Well I cant say no to ice cream so back to my seat for some of that.
Most people had wrapped themselves in duvets as the cabin was slightly on the chilly side. Well it wasnt a night flight, was it when the temperature gets racked up to blast furnace levels? Many were sleeping although I did notice that three people were on jump seats at the front of the aircraft. The crew had told me that the flight was chock-a-block, possibly as a result of the BA cancellation. I had snuggled down in a pashmina and somewhere over Poland or Germany I dozed for a little while. When I awoke I rather fancied a cup of tea but before I could go and ask the crew came round to take orders for a snack from the light bites menu. I chose turkey and leek quiche which was rather tasty and the cup of tea hit the spot.
Shortly after that we began our descent into LHR and landed just after 2:00pm. Although at times service had not gone as smoothly as I would have liked there is no doubt in my mind that the role of the service ambassador was a positive factor on this flight. I was also pleasantly surprised with what was on offer during the flight a snack on boarding, lunch, an ice cream service then afternoon tea and this on a flight of roughly the same length as a JFK flight. It reminded me very much of my first flights in UC and I would love to see it continued throughout the fleet.
Oh, just one other criticism. Aer John was rather annoyed when his tray arrived for lunch. There was no wine glass on it and while he probably would not have had a glass of wine, he was miffed not to have been given the option.
On arrival in LHR Aer John had picked up a Fast Track voucher for Immigration. Although he was behind me leaving the aircraft he waltzed past me as I waited in the Immigration queue grinning wickedly. However I had the last laugh as he got caught behind a large family and I was through in the blink of an eyelid and no, I wasnt using IRIS. In the baggage hall the bags were already coming through so I didnt get a chance to see if priority baggage was working. However both the clubs and the bag arrived very quickly I suspect that it was second time round for the case - and so we were off to T1 and our flight home where EI refused to let us check in our bags for another hour. [?]
