V-Flyer

Having enjoyed a fantastic 10 nights at "The House" it was all too soon to pack up and think about returning home.

Used OLCI the day before departure and it was clear that the flight would be full. We had not managed to secure the bubble on the way home but the lovely A zone in the nose which was excellent.

Arrived at the airport and the ground team were cheery and completed the paperwork quickly. We were soon through Security and into the lounge after a little shopping. The lounge is large and spacious and affords a view across the apron of the airport in one corner - the selection of drinks and snacks was impressive. At 345pm it was time to board and we made ourselves to Gate 12 for boarding.

Priority boarding was in operation and we boarded welcomed by the FSM who did send us the wrong way correcting his mistake quickly - Lady Penelope was in good shape and on finding our seats, the cabin crew swung into action offering champagne and sleep suits.

Boarding seemed to take a long time and only one glass of champagne (it did run out later in the flight so not sure if enough had been loaded) drink orders were taken before take off and not long after 5pm we were in the air on our way to London with a flight time of 7hrs 10mins.

Changed into the sleep suit and it was comfortable.

Upper Class was full - both A and B zones plus the forward section of the bubble - in fact 374 passengers in total. The service from the cabin crew was shaky to start with - three or four different Cabin crew members were working the section and they all seemed confused who was doing what - this ensured a delay occurred in getting the delicious G&T though olives were only offered though I did ask for crisps and these arrived without any fuss.

Tables were laid and then a delay occurred in getting the food but once it was under-way it all seemed to come together. The FSM was visible in the cabin, serving water and bread rolls but did not take anytime to speak to any of the passengers in the A zone. I had to ask the Upper Class supervisor called Alison (permission sought and granted to mention) if we were going to be offered Coffee and anything else as my table had been cleared away without asking. She apologised and explained the section was been worked by a crew member who had not worked in Upper Class before and she agreed with me that it is the little things that matter - a coffee and a large baileys were delivered quickly.

Dinner was:

Seasonal leaf salad with sliced chicken and salsa dressing
or
Chunky Minestrone soup with bread rolls
***
Braised Beef with red-skin potatoes and veggies
or
Grilled Chicken breast with a zingy citrus sauce with rice and glazed carrots
or
Mixed Vegetable lasagne
***

Cheese
Hot apple Strudel
or
Passion Fruit tart

Not sure if this is the summer menu from the islands though it does seem to suggest s summer offering on the menu card for flights VS 30/32/34/36/38/52/58/66/70/78/82

It was then time to pay a quick visit to the bar, we found out that Champagne had run out and I remembered this had happened on the outbound flight but lots of Sparkling wine was available - stuck to baileys but surely this is not right?

Then a medical emergency occurred and the crew were distracted naturally so we returned to our seats and had a little sleep or should that be try to sleep, as the cabin was so hot!

My seat also did suffer some noise form the galley though the crew did their best to keep things low.

Thankfully the passenger who became ill was ok and walked off the plane at Gatwick and thankfully 5 Doctors were on the plane to help the crew.

After resting a light breakfast of bacon roll which was served in a soft white roll and delicious along with coffee and juice, followed by a warm Danish pastry though a full cooked breakfast was available along with cereal and fruit etc.

On arriving at Gatwick 35minutes early, we disembarked with priority disembarking slightly in operation.

Despite early problems with the service this turned out to be another good flight and though short, think we did see flashes of excellence from some of the crew which was pleasing to see.

Will be back on board soon and hopefully will look forward to the same standard of service and care.

Horburyflyer

Horburyflyer

Thanks for the return TR

Clearly your prior lurking on the V-Flyer has allowed you to cover the bits of the journey that we all get obsessed about


You are absolutely right to comment upon the leadership given by the FSM; as they say in training circles "Fail to prepare,......... prepare to fail". Giving precise instructions during the pre-flight briefing as to who was doing what, would have provided passengers with a seamless service

buns

Trust you enjoyed The House and beautiful Payne's Bay. We were at Treasure Beach last month; still missing it terribly...

Yet another complaint about an overheated cabin. It really takes the edge off having a comfy suite to sleep in if it's too hot to actually sleep.

Thanks for two interesting trip reports, hf. And welcome to VF, of course.

Thanks for the TR!

Thanks for your comments - I must say the CSS took the feedback well and things certianly did pick up then but agree passengers really need to enjoy a seamless service from the start.

Mdvipond, Paynes Bay was wonderful as always and "The House" another great experience and with very good weather made this a fantastic holiday - missing it already.

Thank you for the great return TR.