VS601 LHR-JNB 20 Jun 08 (Econ)

This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin

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Right here goesmy first TR! Its a big-un I apologise!!

My wife and I were pretty excited about travelling to Botswana back in June some friends had moved out there with work so we decided it was a great idea to go and see them. So back in February we booked on line direct to JNB in Y (well actually N or X I think no need to book flexible as we knew we would be going for definite). Managed to get a decent price in a sale.

19 June arrived (day before scheduled departure) and I was frantically tying up loose ends at work before the trip and bang there was a massive power cut. Great that saw me going into work on the 20th (day of scheduled departure). Luckily the flight was 20:30 so, even with some quality VS CH time built in, we werent planning to leave until 13:00 for the trip to LHR. So with the mad dash to work at silly oclock to do half a days work in 2 hours and packing still to do, cats to drop off, house to secure etc etc we still managed to leave on time! Phew.

M11/M25 was ok nice and clear. Until we got to around 15 miles before the M1 junction when it became stationary. Wonderful. We crawled and crawled. A text message came in must be someone wishing us a happy holiday..wrong. It was VSYour flight has been delayed until 09:00 on 21st June. It is now VS1601. Gestures will be offered at the airport. It must be a mistake?? We were only 20 miles from LHR so we went for it just in case. Arrived at T3 Zone A and I was pretty impressed to be honest, both with the VS check-in area and the VS ground staff. We went to the colourful UC check-in (being FC Au) and were directed to ground staff who explained that there was a tech issue with our aircraft and confirmed the delay details sent by text message. We were ushered to the little ticket office type thing to the left of the Y check-in and we were met by another VS ground staff who again confirmed the situation and we were given a pack of stuff that included the location of the hotel we had been booked into, a phone card, a letter, a compensation booklet and bus tickets. The whole of check-in was remarkably quiet.

Despite having left extra early so we could have a treatment, drinks a plenty and nice dinner in the CH (all of which we now couldnt do) we took the relaxed approach of theres not much we can do about it and quietly trundled off to the bus station and went to the Premier Inn (I think) on the Bath Road an OK hotel I suppose. We were fed and watered and sat in the bar for a few (well quite a few) drinks.wed also made a call to our friends in Botswana to inform them that we wouldnt be arriving until 21:00 on Saturday, not 09:00 as planned. They decided to drive down anyway and meet us so booked all of us into a nice farm house near Lanseria on the outskirts of JNB for the Saturday night (no chance of getting back to the border by midnight).

So, in the hotel I was reading the bumf that VS had given us and decided that writing to them was best left until we got back. Ill deal with this now just to close this part of the saga out.I emailed VS customer services on our return simply laying out the facts 12 hour delay, missed a day of our holiday, had to overnight in JNB as a direct result of the delay, VS staff very professional, handled it all well etc. Response came in with in about a week from Richard Bransons Exec Assistant apologising and stated that they were offering us 25,000 FC miles each plus they would reimburse the B&B we booked for the overnight in JNB. To be honest I was happy with this.

So the alarm went off at 5.15am for take 2. We took the bus back to T3 and looked at the flights boardwas it there?? Yes it was. Phew. And on time. So we walked up to UC check-in at just after 6am. Again very quiet all round and no queue for UC. We were greeted by a pleasant young man who checked us in without incident. Boarding passes in hand we made our way to the lift. When we got to the top the scanner wasnt working properly so we waited a few minutes and someone opened the door. Through the passports and the private security channel with ease. A quick stop off at WH Smith for a book or 2 and some earphones for the wife and we made our way to the CH just after 06:30. We were a bit surprised as we found a few people waiting outside and the shutters were down transpires that the CH opens at 07:00! Anyway, short wait and we were in..

.we both declined the hotel offering of snack boxes so we made our way to the brassiere straight away for some breakfast. Glad we did as the tables went fairly quickly. I had eggs benedict, OJ, coffee and a fruit smoothie and the wife had the same but had the waffles instead of the egg. Really delicious. We made our way out of the brassiere so no to have others waiting and had a wander round. We decided not to go for a treatment as it would have been too rushed so we settled on a comfy sofa near the (very) big TV, next to the window so we could see some action (we were rewarded with a sighting of the SQ A380!) after taking a paper from the library. We were quickly offered another food order but had coffee instead and we spent the next hour or so relaxing, reading and drinking coffee.

At about 08:30 the flight hadnt been called in the CH yet so I had a wander around and saw that the flight board by the entrance was saying boarding (gate 25 I think). So I went back and we finished up the coffee and meandered down to the gate. Boarding (except those in the CH) had pretty much finished and we handed our boarding passes over to the VS gate lady who handed them back with a have a very enjoyable flight sir that really put a smile on my face!

So, we finally boarded Tubular Belle. We were directed to the rough location of our seats 43H and J (further forward to those allocated but same letters). Some guy was in my seat so asked him to move simple mistake. A lot of people must have got themselves on another flight, cancelled or opted for the 601 on the 21st as the load in Y was very light. After some cargo was loaded, the captain came on and apologized for the delay again and gave us some flight details. Soon after, we were pushed back and made our way to the runway. Without any wait at all we were soon speeding off and the 744 gracefully eased into the air for the 11 or so hour flight.

I decided to take stock of my surroundings and decided I was very pleased with the leg room (Im 5ft 11). The seats were also pretty comfortable with a useful adjustable headrest. Having been on an EZY flight only that Monday reinforced this! I also scoped out the light load and decided that we would move back as there was another passenger (a very leggy Hispanic looking lady) in K. So as soon as the seatbelt light went off we made a dash for row 53ish I think just behind the galley. Went for the H/J/K again as we would have 3 seats to ourselves. Asked a CC member on the ground if we could do this and they said it was fine after take off.

Luckily no-one was in front of us or behind us so we could recline without feeling guilty!

The crew handed out amenity kits and earphones (neither of which we used) and the FSM and CSS came on to introduce the flight and crew. Soon after there was a juice/water round with pretzels followed by breakfast which was a tasty omelette with ham and the usual trimmings. Due to the light load this service was cleared quickly. Our zone was looked after by a couple of nice young ladies one of whom looked remarkably like Cheryl Tweedy (and was from Newcastle) any one know if her sister is VS CC??

After that, the crew closed all the blinds and we settled back into V:Port watching a selection of movies and listening to some music. My screen had to be reset a couple of times but that was done pretty quickly. The rest of the flight was pretty un-eventful yet very enjoyable. Some small talk with the crew in the galley, more movies, more drink (most of which I fetched myself from the galley the crew didnt advertise they would serve from the galley but were more than happy to). On the 2 official drinks runs there was a small snack handed out on one of them around lunch time. At around 6pm there was a dinner service we both went for the chicken which turned out to be pretty damn tasty! It came with rice and some veg, a roll (that was soft and warm) and the Fru pot and some cheese and crackers. Also had some red wine but had to ask for a top up. Coffee followed.

I settled in for another bit of TV viewing (only fools and horses the blow up dolls one I laughed out loud a lot!) and music. We then started our decent in to JNB in the African darkness. V:Port was switched off and the cabin secured for a smooth landing.

On the way off I checked out the new PE seats although they are wider than Y there really didnt seem to be that much more leg-room for the upgrade price.

Disembarkation was swift and we were pleasantly sent on our way by the CC. Immigration at JNB a joke 5 long haul flights and only 2 officers!? Anyhow, that meant that there was no wait for the bags!!

Over all, what a great flight. VS handled the disruption well and the CH and flight themselves were fantastic. Return TR on its way!!

[Neil]

Thanks for the TR David.

Glad that VS handled the situation well and you were happy with the way you were dealt with both at the airport and the prompt reply to your letter. Delays and problems will always happen, it's how they are handled that is the important factor and well handled problems should keep you coming back.

Neil

[Decker]

Wow you were on the same flight as my colleague and his wife then! They turned up all early using CH vouchers we spent Flying Co miles to procure for them only to be bussed to a hotel! They weren't too unhappy tho' as the mileage compensation went a fair way towards an economy flight! Thanks for a very thorough and enjoyableTR!

[buns]

It is good to hear when VS handle an incident like this so professionally at the airport - it may not help getting to the destination any quicker, but does make you feel valued.

Good call on taking the early breakfast [;)]

Thanks for taking the time to recount your journey with us all

buns

[HighFlyer]

A great trip report, and great to hear a positive on a delay. Glad the flight went well [y]

Thanks,
Sarah

Good TR, great to see that VS handled the disruption so well, after we've had reports of nightmares of irregular ops being poorly handled so much in the past.

If only some of the downline stations could handle things as well as LHR seemed to do - though obviously LHR has a lot going for it in terms in this area: VS employed staff (rather than handling agent), experienced and plenty of them.

Another nice detail is that the cabin service was re-organised to take into account the rescheduling making it a day versus night flight - sure, they probably just flipped the breakfast and dinner around, and sorted out a snack lunch too - but a nice touch nonetheless.

Mike

Yes - I was a little concerned after reading some of the posts on here about how delays had been handled. Given we arrived at LHR shortly after the message came through and all the hotels had been booked up, packs sorted etc I reckon that VS knew about this quite a bit before the message was sent. It also transpires that VS 601 was delayed identically the day before.

You are all right about this being handled effectively - communication really is the key! And yes Neil, I will deffinitely be coming back for more - going to go to CPT next winter - SAA were only a click away if VS had screwed up the handling of the delay!

But more than that, I just love the VS brand and corporate ethos - I've spent many a flight on airlines (scheduled and charter) with truly awful service (even when upgrading to their 'premium' cabin). My in-laws went with FCA this summer to mexico and and had instances of CC spilling OJon them before take off and being shushed by the CC when speaking to eachother quietly! Can't imagine VS crew ever doing this! Far too professional...

A great TR thanks for sharing it with us. As others have said good to read that VS dealt with the tech professionally and that you were happy with the outcome.

One thing that does annoy me is on day flights they shut the blinds, is it to do with IFE and seeing the screens? [:(!]

Hope you had a good time in Botswana.

Thanks Dominic

Originally posted by DMetters-Bone
One thing that does annoy me is on day flights they shut the blinds, is it to do with IFE and seeing the screens? [:(!]

I don't know, but I'm a window watcher and I get very upset when a crew member either:

a) leans across from the seat behind and shuts the window blind without asking, or,

b) orders (as opposed to asks) me to close the window blind.

I think that is totally inconsiderate of the passenger's preference to look out of the window, as opposed to watching tv, or reading, or sleeping.

If I'm looking outside on a night flight - which is usually great if the visibility is good and the sky clear - and a crew member is getting antsy about 'it getting light soon' (i.e. in about 4 hours from now), I generally assure them that I will try not to fall asleep with the blind up.

I personally like the way some FSMs/CSDs/Pursers will put it: 'If you're in a window seat and aren't enjoying the view from the window, please lower the window shade so that your neighbours can watch their entertainment or sleep if they wish'. It's just a nice way of asking.

Mike

Originally posted by mike-smashing

Originally posted by DMetters-Bone
One thing that does annoy me is on day flights they shut the blinds, is it to do with IFE and seeing the screens? [:(!]

I don't know, but I'm a window watcher and I get very upset when a crew member either:

a) leans across from the seat behind and shuts the window blind without asking, or,

b) orders (as opposed to asks) me to close the window blind.

I think that is totally inconsiderate of the passenger's preference to look out of the window, as opposed to watching tv, or reading, or sleeping.

If I'm looking outside on a night flight - which is usually great if the visibility is good and the sky clear - and a crew member is getting antsy about 'it getting light soon' (i.e. in about 4 hours from now), I generally assure them that I will try not to fall asleep with the blind up.

I personally like the way some FSMs/CSDs/Pursers will put it: 'If you're in a window seat and aren't enjoying the view from the window, please lower the window shade so that your neighbours can watch their entertainment or sleep if they wish'. It's just a nice way of asking.

Mike

I totally agree, I have been barked at so many times to put my blind down as passengers are sleeping!! If they want to sleep fine and use the eye mask that is what it is there for!!

On our return from MRU to CDG last year we were in J Class and most people were awake looking out at the clear view, I walked back down to Y and it was pitch black! Such a shame if you are not tired or can't sleep....[n]