VS016 MCO-LGW 3 Mar 09 (PE)
Posted: 07 Mar 2009, 19:34This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Making my way back via International Drive and Sand Lake Road, I thought I would be clever by returning the Dollar Rental Car to the 'B' Terminal rather than the 'A' side where the VH Desk is[8D] This piece of advice might however be short lived given the intention of VH to switch Alamo later this year.
This task was quickly completed and with a short walk we were at the Upper Class check in. What a complete contrast to our outbound experience - friendly welcome, courteous and moreover, when we were told we we in 82 A & C, a positive response to our request to see if there was any seats upstairs and were offered 70 A & C[y][y] To cap it all, after being given our boarding passes and Delta Crown Room Invitation the encounter was concluded with 'Thank you for flying with Virgin once again' in recognition of our Gold Status Top Marks[oo]
As is our usual routine, Mrs buns and I retired to the McCoy's Restaurant in the Hyatt Hotel above the airport to partake in our final United States culinary fare. This is the mid point haven of peace and quiet before enduring the security scrum at MCO which is nothing short of chaos with people of all nationalities just choosing a line irrespective of whether they have liquids or are 'a frequent traveller - like me'[:D}. Once through the check, we boarded the monorail to be confronted by a small child who promptly started to scream the place down as he clearly did not want to leave Mickey and his chums.
This tantrum continued into the Satellite Terminal and it would appear nothing would appease the young lad. Thus, the ability to retire to the Delta Crown Room was a welcome invitation. Invitation accepted, the Room looked slightly different and it was quickly evident that the size has been reduced so that it now no longer has a back section with the room ending just beyond the corridor to the loos. This did not stop me grabbing a JD and Diet Coke and Mrs B a G&T - I was asked 'would you like a double?' and the look on my face must have spoken volumes as the drinks were in my hand before I could answer[y]
Soon after, we were joined by Roxy Popsy and Sunshine who were on the same flight. It is always great to meet up with fellow V-Flyers, especially those I have not met before[y][y] In true V-Flyer style, the conversation flowed just as quick as the beverages on offer[}:)][;)][:D]
All too quickly it seemed (well if you ask me, not enough refills[:w]), the flight was called and VS have returned to the old practice of having a staff member come to the Room and offer to escort passengers[y] We all missed out on this, as we made our preparations to leave.
On arrival at the Gate there was the usual throng surrounding the entrances, but the VS staff there are masters of making sure priority passengers are boarded first. The manager was on hand to hold back the PE passengers until Upper and Golds were boarded and again, the acknowledgement of loyalty to VS was more than clear in his expression.
Not surprisingly, we were the first up on the upper deck and quickly set ourselves up in the coveted 70A & C[oo] It soon was apparent that this full flight (the 16 & 28 had been consolidated) was augmented by the redundant VS 27 crew from the day before. I need to make it clear that this TR is not going to degenerate into a 'knock off duty staff' diatribe. Far from it, whilst those in the know would recognise the signs, there was no attempt to distract the working crew from their duties. In fact, one of the displaced crew went downstairs in response to a kind passenger in front of him having their seat fully reclined throughout the flight - even during the meal service[V][V]
A couple quick chats with Roxy Popsy, who was also travelling on the upper deck, before the flight pushed back five minutes ahead of schedule. Very good service throughout the flight and both Mrs buns and I opted for the shrimp and scallop option of which Mrs buns only had a small amount of. Now I cannot say there is a connection, but since our return Mrs buns has not been too well and could have joined the 400 or so who have cited similar symptoms after allegedly eating at the Fat Duck in Bray[:w]
Being on Ladybird, Odyssey IFE was available, now it might have been my seat, but trying to access it proved to be difficult so just had the I-Pod on again.
I managed to grab some sleep - I think aided by the fact that 70A offers plenty of room ad a place to rest your feet. About an hour and a half before landing the McMuffins were handed out [}:)] and not too long after we were given our last chance to use the toilets message before the cabin was closed down.
Landed at 8:15 and after what seemed an eternity got back to the gate. The reason for it taking so long was that we were following another VS 747 and I had visions of having to wait an age for the bags to arrive[:(!]. As we disembarked, the nice passenger who had their seat fully reclined throughout the flight insisted on getting a crew member to take their oversized bag down to the exit door[:0][V]
The Border Agency area is currently not a good advertisement for the UK - to my knowledge the refurbishment has been going on since November last year with little sign of progress and the place looks an absolute mess, exacerbated by an artificial low ceiling which only heightens the sense of claustrophobia[n][n]
By the time we arrived at the carousel, our bags were coming round[y] We once again met up with Sunshine and Roxy Popsy and all exited the Baggage Hall together, it was perhaps fortuitous on our part that the VS flight we had followed in was from Montego Bay and it did seem the attention of the Revenue and customs officers was distracted[:w]
Our Tristar driver was waiting for us and we were escorted to a nice, but small, Mercedes for our trip to home. Apparently the downturn has had an impact so the now little used Prestige Fleet is being diverted to undertake flight work. A quick journey saw us home at 9:30.
Overall, the experience at check in and the professionalism of the VS staff at MCO has secured my continued loyalty to VS[y] any fears that the flight might have been disrupted were unfounded and therefore we cannot wait to book our next flight.
buns