V-Flyer

I arrived at JFK from an internal Delta flight from Vegas. I quickly found the check-in desk and was waiting in line when a chap told me he could check me in at the economy desk to stop me waiting. He was a bit abrubpt and not the most friendly check in staff I have met but he did the job and I was quickly on my way to security. I was surprised to be directed to the business class queue rather than the economy one - I did not realise this was a perk with PE [y]

We were on the aircraft on time and as this was my first experience of the new PE I was pleased with my first impression. I obvioulsy tempted fate when I glanced at my watch on push back and saw we were to the second on time. As I was congratulating myself on a good choice of flight we then stopped on the taxiway. As I remarked to my neighbour, I had not seen rain like it and would be surprised if we were going to take off on time. This was accurate as we didnt take off for another 6 hours!!! Now I wont bore you with the deatails but needless to say the weather was horrendous and JFK was closed for a few hours. Now this would normally turn a trip report into a a bit of a winge but - and here surprising part - I was totally impressed with the Virgin cabin crew during this delay. I realised it was bad when we were served our meal whilst still on the ground - that is never a good sign! [;)] However I had no doubt that the crew and Captain were doing everything they could to get us airborne safely - they were not thinking about getting another night in a hotel - and if we had gone back to the gate I had no doubt I was going to spend an uncomfortable night in the departure lounge as there was about 2000 people looking for hotel rooms! The crew kept smiling and kept us informed as much as they could/knew. We were certainly going to start getting to the crew hours limit but they were totally committed to getting us airborne and home - no matter they had had a long day [y]

We eventually got airborne at 0030 - after getting on the aircraft at 1830. The rest of the flight was uneventful and the Captain had obviously put the foot down as we arrived into Heathrow after 6 hours instead of the 6:30 we were initially told. The food - I had the beef - was not the tastiest thing I had ever eaten but it was not bad.

After 12 hours on the plane I was not expecting to be delighted but I can honestly say it was one of the more enjoyable flights I have been on - and I managed to get some sleep on the new seats. I was also very impressed with the entertainment system.

I will not be flying the Virgin out of Las Vegas anymore [V]- I will not pay the same amount/sometimes extra for such a lower standard. The new set up was really very above average. I will take an internal flight to LAX or SFO to pick up a LHR aircraft

All in all I was delighted with the flight - the crew even had a sense of humour when BAA put us on a remote stand on landing. The crew were making sure as amany as possible could get into buses so we didnt have an even longer journey.

When I got through passport control my luggage was waiting and I was off.

Overall - [y][y][y]

That sounds like a total nightmare at JFK! Glad the crew did their best though.

Big tread on a.net about the delays:
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forum ... in/4027326

I think that is the most positive report I have ever read with a 6 hour stuck on plane. Really good to hear that the crew and flight deck kept you informed....[y]

Dominic

Thanks for the TR. It seems you were very lucky to manage to get away, as from personal experience, once JFK suffers a problem it can quickly turn into a nightmare. Interesting that they served food etc whilst on the ground, I would have thought they would have wanted to be in a position to take off straight away should the opportunity arise, much better for you pax though.

I will not be flying the Virgin out of Las Vegas anymore - I will not pay the same amount/sometimes extra for such a lower standard.

Apart from the seat, and I wouldn't call the LGW fleet PE seats 'such lower standard', the service should be exactly the same on both routes. Ok the IFE is not as good ex LAS but again it surely isn't that bad?

This could all too easily gone the other way and we would have been left reading about your problems of getting information and no-one seeming to care.

Full marks to this particular VS Crew for their commitment and customer service[oo][oo]

I think the reason they served the food was because there was about 40 aircraft in front of us on the taxiway so we were not going anywhere fast!!

I also believe the reason my trip report was so positive is because I really didn't feel stressed about the delay - and I knew I was going to miss my connecting flight to Edinburgh but the crew were doing all they could - and more importatnly they told us what was happening, even when that was nothing much!!

In answer to the LGW servive - I don't disagree about the service being the same - and in fact my last trip report commented on it but the seats and the inflight entertainment is a big part of a trip across the pond and I don't think the LGW fleet can compare to the LHR fleet. I will definately take the inconvienience of lfying to another hub from LAS to pick up a LHR aircraft.

I also would love to hear of others on the aircraft - I really don't believe that this great service was because I was in PE. There was no-one complaining (that I could hear) from any cabins - although the Upper guys all put their beds out and went to sleep!! How I regret my choice - I had chosen to fly Upper back to IAD instead on out from JFK as I wanted to experience the clubhouse on the way back !![:I]

Originally posted by aks120
In answer to the LGW servive - I don't disagree about the service being the same - and in fact my last trip report commented on it but the seats and the inflight entertainment is a big part of a trip across the pond and I don't think the LGW fleet can compare to the LHR fleet. I will definately take the inconvienience of lfying to another hub from LAS to pick up a LHR aircraft.

Great to have a report from 'on the ground' on that disastrous JFK evening!

I'm in agreement with you, now that VAmerica are flying JFK to LAS I'd be tempted to do that route rather than direct from LGW ...