V-Flyer

Well , after the well documented nightmare of the previous day Thursday 24th arrived with me still not having packed .This was soon rectified between the hour of 6.30-7.30pam and Mr DL and I left pretty much on time for the drive up to the M4 to T3 where the nice man from Purple parking Meet and Greet was waiting for us. a quick march into the terminal and we were at the UC check in. Here a dilemma ensued . We were travelling in Y and the cabin was empty (as were the other cabins) An upgrade to UC was £1500 and to PE was £300 +. I tried to move my ticket to an L class but remained unable (the ticketing agent was dour +++) . I know the question was asked as to why I'd booked Y if I didn't want to be there but I had a load of VH vouchers that needed to be used before they expired and VH had nothing in W or J.
Anyway, back to me being stuck in Y. The other option wss to purchase an exit seat which s what I did (I still think charging AUs for this "privilege" stinks though ).
My bags weighed the lightest they ever have 17 kgs and 19 kgs (probably something to do with the lateness of my packing ) and the only thing I seem to be missing is my sunglasses (which aren't needed as it's chilly and has been raining here in LA).
Boarding cards in hand a quick journey up in the lift and we were through in to an empty UC security wing and through in minutes . Up to the CH and treatments arranged for Mr DL and I. We both had a bit of lunch and I had several champagne mojitos (thanks slinks ) and down to boarding which was unproblematic due to waiting for the 2nd call.
No hello welcome back at the door and we made our way to our seats.
31 H and K are the furthest forward Y seats so nice and private. No glass of fizz was forthcoming (or a hello from the
FSM) and there were a total of 169 passeners on board. Boarding complete we made our way out of LHR.
Our lovely cc had obviously had a peek at the manifest and brought a couple of glasses of fizz (in UC glasses) and a plate of UC choccies to us once the service started.
Meal service was good - the meals both Mr DL and I had were both edible (more than can be said in my last 3 trips in UC and I reclined my seat following this.
Well, I remained relined for abot 3 seconds and was swiftly propelled forward .Despite my best efforts (and that of the crew including the FSM) my seat seemed to be possessed by a boomerang !!
I eventually gave up - the CSS suggested I move to an empty extra legroom seat - no thanks I've just paid £75 to sit here (not £35). The FSM also appeared at this point and offered to refund my £75 which I accepted (whether I ever see it again is another matter).
A bottle of champagne in an ice bucket arrived shortly after via our lovely cc to help soften my discomfort (which it did ), and the journey passed without further occourence.
We arrived into a wet and cold LAX and had to hold whilst the aircraft on our gate moved off (the LHR BA flight moved past us to dock on stand whilst we were waiting).
On completion of docking Mr DL and I made a swift exit off thye plane and took the stairs as opposed to the escalator down to immigration (we were by now in front of most of the UC passengers and the BA passsengers were nowhere to be seen).
15 mins and we were through - our bags were off (priority tagging seeming to have worked). Dollar Express ( a godsend at LAX) was supremely efficient and we were on our way 30 mins after clearing immigration.
This was my first VS Y flight in 6 years (I can't count the hour I say in Y on my way to JFK in January- where I was in an exit seat too). Maybe I'm just getting old (or have been spoiled ) but Y is just a discomfort too far . Mr DL has been wracked with discomfort since we got here (and he could recline).
Tomorrow is Vegas . Hoorah .
DL

I was so sure you would have had a last minute reprieve at check in, a call to the reception desk in the CH or even a friendly "bleep" on boarding, but at least the FSM looked after you both - and everyone knows Champagne is the universal currency of happiness. Have a great trip and respect for the light packing, maybe I need to follow your example and do it all last minute next time!

Excellent report DL, thank you.

Pity about the seat recline but at least your cc handled things rather well. And hopefully the £75 will turn up.

Have fun in Vegas.

Glad you made it all ok DL! Shame about the seat recline but pleased to see the CC checked your status, fingers crossed you get the £75 back!

Weather in Vegas is looking great!

Luke x

Well it didn't sound toooo bad. But I agree, I find sitting in Y seats long haul to be pretty insufferable nowadays ... at least you had champers to help nullify!

I did this flight last September and was struck by the amount of food we were given. I had to decline the last offering as I knew we were going out for burgers when I landed.

Glad the crew were on the ball with the service recovery

Thank you for the great TR, sorry to hear that the seat was poor and I hope you'll recieve your £75 quickly.