VS901 NRT-LHR 3 Feb 09 (Upper)
Posted: 11 Feb 2009, 00:52This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Molecular Tapas in the Mandarin Oriental
A city bus tour with a guide who was toe-curlingly bad and pointed out a KFC telling us that the chips were good in the restaurant but bad if you took them home and that Japanese people don't like bones so there are no bones in KFC; that 7-11 is the fastest growing retailer in Japan and when a girl wearing a mini-skirt passed alongside the bus complained that Japanese girls do not cover their 'regs'
A trip on a shinkansen train and discovering a medieval castle open to the public
Finding a Statue of Liberty in the harbour area
it was time to return home. However we were aware of the heavy snowstorms in London and the ensuing disruption and my concern was whether the flight would arrive from LHR. [:0] There was no way of knowing before 10pm that night when the flight was due to leave LHR UK time. There was no point in worrying about it at that stage so we set about enjoying our last day in Tokyo before decamping to the Crowne Plaza at NRT for the night and trying to reduce the four bags that we had somehow acquired into the two each we had come with. [:w] After 10pm the VS website was indicating a delay in departure - well at least it wasn't cancelled so far, but I wouldn't relax until the plane was in the air. Nevertheless I was able to sleep but woke at about 2:15am. This was crunch-time. A quick check to the VS website revealed that the flight was in the air with an arrival time of 11:45 and a new departure time of 13:15 arriving in LHR at 16:45. So far so good, except it was now throwing up a different problem. My onward flight was at 18:00 which wasn't giving much of a transfer time which in turn induced much tossing and turning while I considered the alternatives. Eventually common sense took over. There was nothing I could do until the morning and I turned over and went to sleep.
The next morning I was up fairly early and took the shuttle bus to the airport. The interesting thing about NRT is that there is a security check at the entrance to the airport itself whereby security officers boarded the bus to check passports and the baggage compartment of the bus was also inspected. Once at the terminal I saw that a crowd had begun to gather at the economy counters and that the staff were being briefed. Check-in was due to open in 15 minutes time. While waiting I chatted to a lady who was concerned about getting back to Wales after we landed and looking around I noticed that the BA flight due out about an hour later had been cancelled. Great, thinks I, that means they'll be transferred to ours. The loads had been very light up till now but the portents were auguring for a full one instead. Shortly after that the staff were beginning to move towards their desks so we moved, I to the UC check-in and the Welsh lady to PE. I was second in line and before any of the other lines were opened the first couple were directed to the UC desk and I was sent to the PE one. Now was the time to try out Plan A and I requested if it would be possible to check my bags through to Cork even though I was on a separate ticket. I explained that the delay was seriously cutting into my connecting time unless my on-going flight was also delayed. The check-in guy's original response was to say no because it was on a separate ticket but I cited occasions when it had been done. At that stage I wasn't feeling very hopeful especially as under his name badge I could see he was wearing a United logo-ed sweater. D*mn outsourcing. I considered my options. Did I burst into tears, offer to sleep with him, promise not to sleep with him?? I tried one more plea saying it would be really helpful if VS agreed to do it. At this he decided he would take it to his supervisor (which was going to be Plan
while I waited. I had a hand-wringing wait of some 10 to 15 minutes while passengers were being processed on either side of me. I could see the supervisor on the phone to someone and prayed for a positive outcome. Behind me the crowd was beginning to grow and I could see in the hands of some e-tickets with the BA logo. I was right - they were being transferred to VS. Eventually yer man came back apologising for the delay and informed me that it had been agreed to check my bags all the way through. Resisting the urge to pull my sweater over my face and go careering through the terminal or turn cartwheels around the place I thanked him profusely, collected my boarding pass and lounge invite and headed for security just as a pompous looking man approached the desk almost shoving me out of the way. In tones that suggested he believed he was about to use a vastly inferior product he started 'You won't find us in your system as we were with BA....' At this I fled as I felt I might want to give him a touch of the handbag if I stayed around and groaned as I thought of him being in UC (I forgot at this stage I was at the PE check-in). Security and passport control was so easy and pleasant and before long I was at the Clubhouse.Ah, the Tokyo Clubhouse! It's up there with the best of them. It is small but perfectly formed. Immediately to the right of the entrance is the business centre. In the main area is the bar and tables for the dining area. There is a divider in a bamboo pattern and along the window is a variety of seating consisting of low-level seating, a long breakfast bar type arrangement overlooking the ramp and tarmac and further along some small tables and chairs. It was light and airy and with an air of tranquillity. I was the first person in and welcomed by name and my first task was to check in for the Aer Lingus flight and print my boarding pass. Once in possession of that I was able to relax and headed for the low-level seating by the window. Immediately a staff member was at my side asking what I would like. I was hungry as by this time it was nearly 10:30 and I had had nothing since coffee and pastries had been delivered to the room at 7:30. A sausage and bacon butty was on the menu and I ordered that. It came in the form of a panini with sausages wrapped in bacon and was absolutely delicious and really hit the spot. Once finished I took out my MacBook and as I opened it a staff member was at my side with a 'Mrs honey lamb, I think you will need this' as she presented me with the username and password. The staff checked in regularly to see if I needed anything and at some stage I accepted a glass of champagne. At one stage I looked up just as V-FIZ was landing some 15 minutes early and I breathed a sigh of relief. The Clubhouse in Tokyo was great and if the cabin crew were as attentive as the staff, well it would give airlines like Singapore Airlines a run for their money. Eventually the flight was called. Although I had not been told this directly I had heard that we would be bussed out to the aircraft so no waiting for a second call. The Clubhouse is at gate 26 and we were leaving from gate 28A so it was a quick trot there. Priority boarding was in place and we were directed to a bus. On board was the Welsh lady I had been talking to earlier. I had intended inviting her to the Clubhouse but I was so long at check-in that she had disappeared. I sat beside her and as we chatted she pointed out someone to me saying that he was moaning that he was going on a slower plane!! Who was it? Yes, the pompous looking man behind me at check-in. In vain did the Welsh lady remind him that he was lucky to be flying given the cancellation and the weather in the UK but all he was bothered about was the slower plane! I realised he had not been in the Clubhouse and therefore in PE and felt huge sympathy for the cabin crew in that cabin!
The bus pulled up between the two sets of steps, one at the front and one at the second door. Most people headed for the second set even though they were UC passengers but I and a few others who had had time to suss out the situation went to the front steps and at the top waiting for us was the FSM whom I recognised from another flight and other cabin crew. We were welcomed aboard and as I settled into seat 3K once more a delightful Japanese crew member came to offer me a drink. Champagne was gratefully accepted. The flight was soon fully boarded and as I predicted UC was full - I suspect with BA refugees. The captain came on the PA to welcome us on board. He made reference to the cancelled BA flight and then went on to say 'and for those of you who are with us from BA, we won't hold it against you' All I could think of was the pompous guy and wondered what he made of that! We pushed back slightly ahead of time and soon we were trundling past the Clubhouse en route for the runway. There was no queue for take off and soon we were in the air.
Once service was started I was soon cradling a nice TT&T with lime which was rapidly followed by another one before lunch. [:D] The menu didn't seem to be that much different from the outbound one. I had a salad starter followed by lamb which was absolutely gorgeous and moist followed by raspberry and chocolate ice cream all washed down with a very pleasant shiraz. Nothing really grabbed me on the choice of movies (I'm not really a film goer or watcher) but I did watch Mamma Mia! once more (I now wish I hadn't as I Have ABBA songs whizzing through my brain ever since) before getting bored and heading up to the bar. The couple who had been ahead of me in the UC line at check-in was there and we chatted for a bit. We were joined by a guy who was a pilot with VS and was dead-heading back to the UK with two other pilots who later joined us. I had another glass of champagne (or three) and there was a very pleasant party around the bar. At one stage we were joined briefly by a youngish woman who helped herself to a drink but then went back to her seat with it. A bit later she came back and was helping herself again but the FSM came up to her and asked her where she was sitting (very discreetly - I was only aware of it because I was sitting opposite). It turned out she was from PE and was tactfully sent back to her seat. I think I was the only person apart from the FSM who realised what was happening. Shortly after the seat belt sign came on. The interesting thing was that the three pilots were in their seats and belted up almost before the 'ding' had ceased and certainly while we were still looking up to see it it was the seat belt sign. I expected turbulence but none came and I wondered if it were a ploy to clear the bar! At this stage I didn't really want to sleep but neither a film nor my book was grabbing me and so I decided to convert to a bed and put on the relaxing audio channel. While I didn't sleep I certainly was very relaxed (and no cracks about the champagne, please!). Eventually I decided to return to Planet Earth and found that we were somewhere over northern Norway and just about to start the afternoon tea service. My instincts around food never wavers!! Afternoon tea consisted of sandwiches and a scone and jam (without cream) which was tasty enough but it would have been nice to have had some cream.
Shortly after that we began the descent into LHR. It was strange to see the white fields but to be honest given the reports, I had expected it to be much worse. We landed at LHR 15 minutes ahead of our expected time and only an hour after our scheduled time. Brilliant! It gave me a greater chance to catch my onward flight. For the first time ever at LHR as far as I was concerned they used two jetbridges to depart. The UC one was connected first and I was quickly off. The gate was along the wing that runs parallel to the one where the Clubhouse is based - he one with gates in the 20s.
For the first time in years I was going to use the Flight Connections. There was the usual long walk to the point where the paths diverge and one goes straight ahead for baggage reclaim and to the right for Flight Connections. I went down the stairs to the bus only to see one about to depart for T1&2. The guy patrolling the area was unwilling to let me through to catch the bus which was about to depart and I had to wait with impatience for the next bus which in fairness came in the next few minutes. When we arrived at T1-2 the whole thing had changed. In the past we had gone up the escalator to a security channel sometimes so busy that they had to stop people from using the escalator. After that there had been the check-in/transfer desks of the various airlines followed by passport control and a long yomp to T1. That had all changed. Once up the escalator there was a small bit of a walk before we arrived at passport control (which is now called Border Control) There was a long line of desks but the desks for UK and ROI passports and transfers was to the left of that area and hidden behind a divider. After that was a security channel where I was photographed just as if I had entered from the the main concourse and all of a sudden, after a couple of twists and turns I was at the Aer Lingus desk which is situated just at the edge of the retail area in the former international departure area of T1. What had happened to the trek from the security/transfer/passport area in the old FCC? Whatever it was it was more than welcome. The aircraft had landed at 16:30 and at 17:10 I was having my baggage tags logged at the EI desk. I was relieved but it was clear to me that if I had collected and re-checked my bags I would have missed the flight and was really grateful to VS for checking me through. [^] [^]
After that it was a hop and a skip to gates 80-90. The incoming Aer Lingus flight arrived early, we pushed back early and with the minimum of fuss were in the air in short order. The flight was uneventful and arrived early. My bags were among the first through along with a whole lot of others transferred from other airlines and in no time at all I was scraping the snow off my car before heading west to home and a hearty welcome from the cat.