VS019 LHR-SFO 9 SEP 10 (Upper Class)
Posted: 10 Sep 2010, 18:42This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
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No queue, bish bash bosh, up the lift, through private security (nobody else there), through the heaving masses in duty free and up the magic staircase. "Have you been to the Clubhouse before sir?", "Yes fortunately for me."
From arriving at the check in desk to being sat by the window just to the left of the bar, 5 minutes flat, perfect.
Quickly served with champagne, juice and full English, and relaxed into my morning. Most staff were terrific, plenty of refills and a few Virgin Reds too, which really are fabulous concoctions.
However, one of the waiters, male Asian, couldn't find who a plate of food was for and started screaming at one of the other girls from the section. Highly unprofessional, and somewhat disturbing, the last thing you want when trying to relax before a flight
. One of his colleagues did come over to aplogise but I don't think he ever reallised how inappropriate he'd been.All too soon boarding was called and it was off to the gate, seemed the boarding had been called outside much earlier as there was a considerable queue for Economy
Flight was on Tinker Belle, always makes me slightly more relaxed when I see it's a plane I've been on before.
Took a few minutes to get down the gantry as no second entrance
, but quickly sat in 19A with a glass of bubbly in hand.Somehow this was my first time in Zone A, having usually sat upstairs or been on the poxy Airbus to LA, and I have to say I loved it, by far my favourite cabin. I'd ummed and ahhed about whether to sit in 12A or 19A when selecting seats, and was very glad I chose the one I did. 12A is for too intimate with the person opposite, and surely should be held back for honeymooners or couples. I had been concerned that being 6'4 I would get knocked into a little by people passing by but I wasn't touched all flight.
The suite was not exactly sparkling, a few smudges and some coffee stains, but a quick spruce up with the hot towel had it spic and span (now I finally understand why they pass them round
). The little drinks table had had the chips in it delightfully touched up with what looked like Tippex, very resourcefull! 
Pulled away promptly, quickly into the queue and away, with the happy news that we would only be in the air for 10h 10min, a very quick flight heading that way.
You do certainly feel more like you are flying in Zone A, perhaps because of the increased tilt, or because you can easily see out of the windows opposite, but it sure was fun. I was glad that I'd read a warning on here though about how loud the undercarriage is when sat there or it might have freaked me out a bit.
Once in the air normal service was resumed, jack and coke and crisps provided by my excellent flight attendant (thanks K), who hadn't heard of V-flyer
, but knows about it now 
.Had a quick look through duty free mag and the first page I turned to saw a watch that was exactly the style I had been looking for so made a note of it for later as I hadn't worn one for 5 years and needed one now I no longer have a mobile
Dinner service, which I was eager to sample having seen the menu posted here, was started with a nice relaxed pace, no rushing about or pressure, just smooth and easy, was asked if I'd mind changing my main, said I'd prefer not too, and she managed to swap someone elses.
The halibut starter was by far the pretiest dish I've seen on Virgin, and was delicious, washed down with more champagne. The beef dish tatsed like every other beef dish on a flight, and once cut into looked more like a Ginsters steak pie, and tasted a bit like it, the little pot of gravy had no flavour and hardly wet the plate, not quite sure what that was about, glass of Crianza took my mind off it though.
Passed on desert and straight to the cheese, all three very pleasant, though my request for a refill of red was forgotten, a minor inconveniance by that stage and probably for the best given the units racked up already
. All in all an ok meal let down by the main, I wish I'd tried the chicken.Considered watching a movie for about 0.002 seconds before heading to the bar, and settled myself down on the stool front left and introduced myself to the other gentlemen in attendance.
Suffice to say much champagne (actually all the champagne), much whisky and much gin was drunk, and the conversation flowed freely. I tried the ploughmans lunch with the quail scotch egg which was superb.
By now had become quite good friends with the bloke sat next to me, both of us having an eye for the good things in life
, and we swapped details to hopefully meet up for a beer later in the year. We piled into the duty free, I got my watch, he got wife, kids, flight attendances, Lord Lucan and god knows who else gifts and we were all having a bloody marvellous time, made all the more amazing by the fact that they were one crew member short, a really terrific effort and it was completely unnoticeable. Decided to relax a bit and watch a movie, Hot Tub Time Machine, which was ok, had the dry sandwiches and the delicious tea and scones, nice to see the cake tray back.
Before we knew it we were cruising toward the bay with those glorious views of the city you get on a clear day.
Landed early, out through the front door, passed on a big thanks and well done to the FSM and crew and headed for immigration.
Now because of the unusual nature of my trip I had worried that I would get a hard time, and that was to prove the case. The initial chap wasn't satisfied with my reasons for being in the country so I had to go through to secondary questioning
. Obviously by now I was starting to get a little concerned that my travels would come unstuck at the first hurdle, but the second chap was far more understanding and with passport stamped it was off to baggage and because of my 45 minute delay bags were ready and waiting and I was off and away.An absoloutely top class flight, showing that Virgin can still produce when the right FSM and crew are onboard, they were superb (thanks K and G).
