V-Flyer

Hi
This was my First UC flight having flown VS for a number of years but only now managed to get both the right amount of miles and the availability to book a reward flight in J.
Decided as usual to do twilight check in. There was one family in front of me who were asking the security guard how much it costs to move from Y to J. The guard replied that it was at least 1500 one way and really not worth it for a bit of champagne He then went red faced when I handed him my ticket and he realised I was in UC. Wonder what Virgin think of their front line advert for the upper-class experience! Anyhow checking was easy- the same girl checked me in as on the previous 3 trips- im sure she only works twilight, and she kind of recognised me which was nice.
Next day arrived at a fairly busy Gatwick, could not find Fast rack, but the normal line was less than 10 min wait so joined that and went straight to the clubhouse. There were 2 very famous brothers in the clubhouse that day, i was hoping that they were not going to be on my flight as they come across as rather arrogant and rude in general. I then realised that it was Big fight in Vegas and they were flying out for that so I was saved. Not sure if I am allowed to say their names but there are not many famous brothers from Manchester are there?
Clubhouse was fantastic, ordered a breakfast and a Mojito. Service was very good too.
The plane- cant remember its name but was Odyssey entertainment, was parked in one of the far gates on the main strip- gate 22 I think. Personally I think Jumbos should depart from the Hub as there is much more room, We were told to walk past the queue for priority boarding which we did, but this only puts you into a holding pen of people, unsure what to do we decided to walk straight onto the plane, was not stopped and then found by the aircraft door that we were right behind the people who needed extra time boarding so it worked out ok.

We were first into UC. First impressions were very good, at only 14 seats or so its very private, We had row 9 and 10 which were really good. Drinks order was taken and I decided on the ten and tonic- no lime so settled for lemon. This was to be my mast drink as I was driving in Orlando. My partner however made full use of the bar during the flight- they really do ply you with the drink! There were 2 FSM on board for some reason, but only one in charge, could not fault the crew at all.
The food was very good- portions seemed a little small. I had a roasted parsnip soup to start with bread, which was very tasty. Steak pie was very nice too, I skipped the cheese as I have problems digesting it sometimes and did not want to be ill, and settled on Rhubarb crumble and custard, again very good.
Then converted the seat to a bed and tried to get some sleep. Every time I woke I was asked if i wanted a drink or anything and at one stage I woke just as the crew was reaching over my bet to grab an empty glass of the shelf we both jumped found it rather funny.
I skipped afternoon tea, but the scone did look nice, the sandwiches were rather dry looking though and wilted.
Landing was smooth, and we were first off- well after PE and the small Y cabin. This was the first time I had to be fingerprinted with all 10 fingers and thumbs, and had problems getting my little pinky to scan, it was broken years ago and is a bit wonky- got there in the end.
Bags were first and second off, and was swiftly through customs up the escalators to the tram with our bags- so no double reclaim. Was picking the hire care up 20 mins after leaving the gate, a record I think!

Overall it was a fantastic experience, one I could easily get used too- shame my overdraft cant- I would def do it again if I could use miles to upgrade, however I personally find it hard to spend what Virgin ask for the service, even as good as it was.

Regards

Gav

A good TR Gavin - thanks for posting it. Seems like you had a good first UC flight - but the 'flying Economy today Sir?' bit [or similar] from the MAN pre-check-in screeners seems to be heading South to LGW. When are VS going to learn that if someone approaches the UC check-in line, then they *may* be flying in Upper, or be FC Gold (so a good frequent customer who does not want to be pissed off) flying in a lower cabin?

Think I have guessed who the famous brothers were! Was one called Noel by any chance?

Have to agree that the drinks flow freely in UC - but that is one of the things you pay for (or expect), if you get a good attentive crew. In the past when flying UC to MCO I stopped drinking alcohol after lunch on the flight as I had to drive in MCO - mentioned this to the crew and I was never short of water, soft drinks or coffee for the remainder of the flight.

James

Glad your first UC experience was a good one. It does mke it near in impossible to fly down the back from here on though. Nice celeb spotting in the Clubhouse too [y]

Thanks,
Sarah

Gavin thanks for the TR.I hope you enjoyed your experience as much as we did the first time.

Jurgen and Sue

quote:Originally posted by HighFlyer
Glad your first UC experience was a good one. It does mke it near in impossible to fly down the back from here on though.


Ditto.
Nice to hear of a positive crew experience too.
DL

Thanks for the TR. Interesting point about the finger scanning, I can imagaine a lot of passengers could have similar problems.

Thanks for the TR

quote:but only now managed to get both the right amount of miles and the availability to book a reward flight in J

So they do exist[:0] Congratulations on getting a reward flight[y]

Glad to hear that the Gatwick Clubhouse lived up to expectations and that the overall UC experience was worth all those miles[;)]
quote:was swiftly through customs up the escalators to the tram with our bags- so no double reclaim. Was picking the hire care up 20 mins after leaving the gate
Well done; recently Mrs Buns and I decided not to take the bags on the tram and were waiting over half an hour at the carousel in the A Terminal[n]

buns

Really pleased you enjoyed your UC flight and that the crew were so good.