V-Flyer

After a great weekend in Washington DC it was time to head back to JFK to catch my flight home. I know it would have made more sense to fly back from IAD but with a saving of 300, a chance to do some serious shopping at the Jersey Shores Premium Outlets and a quick stop in Manhattan I though the 4 hour drive and $49 car hire including fuel was worth it.

After all of the above I finally arrived at JFK around 7.30pm, dropped off my rental car and jumped on the Airtrain to Terminal 4. The UC check in was empty I was greeted by a very delightful lady who laughed and joked with me, she was one of those slightly over the top characters with a Rusty Lee type laugh. After checking me in she whistled to another employee to come and collect my case and take it to the X-ray machine for me. She then told me to go and enjoy the clubhouse[y].
As I entered the Clubhouse the VS046 was called so after around 10 minutes or so there were less than half a dozen people left. The service was excellent and the entertainment was provided by a very happy member of staff who walked around singing Whitney Houston songs[:D]. The food was very good, I had the Chicken and Bean Soup followed by the Angus Burger. I then played around on my laptop until the flight was called around 10.30pm.

Security was a breeze, I was the only one in the Fast Track line and after a 5 minute walk to gate 28 I boarded the aircraft (Cover Girl) via the priority lane and door L2.

The flight was only around half full and with only 15 passengers in UC and 4 crew it made for good service although I couldn't quite work out what the male crew member was actually doing, he walked up and down alot but never seemed to actually do anything[?]. The FSM was visible on and off, however, he didn't seem to interact with the passengers and there was no greeting from him and other than the initial announcement on the PA system he left all the other work to a female colleague.

Take off was very quick by JFK standards after pushing back from the gate we only stopped once and that was when we actually lined up on the runway[^]. Soon we were airborne, the seat belt light was off and the first round of drinks were delivered. I passed on anything to eat and whilst I got changed into my PJ's the crew made my bed up and after the long day I had had it was bedtime[|)]

After a semi good nights sleep (I always wake up in the middle of the night with cramp on long haul flights) I got up, got changed and returned to my seat where I had a quick flick through Vport. Breakfast was offered but I decided to refrain until revivals. The captain announced that we should arrive around 40 minutes early due to our short flight time of 6 hours 20 minutes and he was hopeful that we wouldn't have to hold.

Sure enough we flew straight in landing on 27L around 35 minutes early only then having to wait over 20 minutes for our stand to become vacant[n]. Only one airbridge (gate 40), although PE and Economy passengers were held back. After what seemed like a walk from one side of the airport to the other I arrived at an empty immigration hall, only 1 Iris machine was working but it didn't matter as I was the only one there! next it was through to the baggage area where my case was already going around on the belt[y]

Rivals was virtually empty, even after having a shower it seemed only one other person off of my flight had appeared there. Treatments were on offer but I just wanted to have breakfast and make my way home. So after the smoked salmon and scrambled egg it was off to find my car which was all of 200 yards away in the short term car park (I had got an excellent offer in the short stay for only 4 more that the long stay)[^]

Positives

Excellent experience at JFK


Negatives

Heathrow gate congestion

-Steve

Even with the noticeably lighter traffic around LHR due to T5 and biz climate, T3 feels just as busy. I've done T1, T2, T3 and T5 the last few weeks, and T3 still has its challenges. They become even more pronounced now that lighter traffic has made many other aspects of travel so much smoother. Still, glad you had a good experience overall. Thanks.

Thanks for a great read, the singing staff member was very amusing! I was surprised how quickly I got through security and onto the plane. I was very shocked at immagration at LHR becuase there was no queue, even in the non-fasttrack lanes!

Thanks for a great TR. JFK T4 used to be my old work station so I have fond memories of the place. Straight out of JFK and straight into LHR. Now that does not happen often[:D]

Thanks
Iain

Thanks for the great TR![y]

All these UC reports are building my anticipation for my own trip...

T3 arrivals is a shocker isn't it?

quote:Originally posted by MarkedMan
Even with the noticeably lighter traffic around LHR due to T5 and biz climate, T3 feels just as busy...


Don't forget that BA has moved some flights to T3 to fill the gaps left by UA and ANZ among others, but yes, I agree that there are noticeably fewer flights currently - I live pretty much under the flight path and I can see a lower frequency of arrivals ...

Back to the TR, thanks [y] ... take off almost right away on the VS046, wonders never cease [:p]. Gate 40 to immigration ... huff puff etc. ... it's almost Bay to Breakers, no, really!