V-Flyer

Slight delay to this TR; been busy since getting back, did a half-marathon yesterday and was preparing for that last week. Fingers are just about the only part of me working today!

This is the final leg of our Florida Trip; you may recall that we had travelled to JFK from MCO via Jet Blue earlier in the day...

I think I left off by explaining that it was a bit of a jaunt from Terminal 5 to Terminal 4, but really this serves as a good opportunity to stretch the legs, get some fresh(er) air and generally get the blood flowing again after the morning flight.

Got the VA desk at around 13:45 – for our 19:30 departure! Check-in hadn’t opened yet – a lady behind the counter said 14:30. There was already a small group waiting in the Econ queue – presumably for the 18:15 VS4.

I asked the lady at the UC desk about the probability of upgrading – I posted elsewhere regarding this. She checked and said there were plenty of seats but directed me to the ticket desk, which opened in 45minutes, to see if/how to upgrade.

Hung around for a while; turned out to be a bit of a queue by the time the chap turned up. Basically Mrs Monster was on a U, (Econ reward plus AMEX voucher) and I was on a lovely cheap K. Hers was doable, but I didn’t get to find out the milage costs because mine was going to be £375 to get my K to an S plus the miles on top of that.

I didn’t think this represented good value!!! But as often mentioned here – anything can happen at the airport so I though I'd ask. Saw the TR from a V-Flyer who got upgrades for 12,500 miles but this was from two Us. Anyway, PE for a 6 hour night flight with V:Port isn't bad.

Check in was good; the lady was pleasant and efficient, although with a heavy African accent. Had to carry own bags to the guys who put them through the scanners. No idea why US airports don't seem to be able to use their conveyers behind the check-in desks. This was the same at MCO in 2009 if I remember.

Saw the Clubhouse across the way; completely empty – but it was still early for both flights really. Looks more like a Club Mezzanine rather than a House...

Still, went downstairs to the long, narrowish shopping/restaurant area. Some parts were fairly busy, particularly Au Bon Pain – we both remembered enjoying soups, bagels and sandwiches on a previous Boston trip. We wanted somewhere to eat a bit quieter and where we could take our time.
So we went to a restaurant right near the security gate – can't remember the name. It was pretty expensive for what it was – I had a Cobb Salad, my wife had a Tuna starter. My Sam Adams was $10! All-in-all more expensive than anywhere we ate in Florida! But what airports don't bump their prices...?

Security was quick, we went through at the same time as the VS4 crew – one CC chap was sweating and complaining about the heat – it was hot. Redressed on the other side, grabbed a coffee and a tea and wandered down to gate 27. All very quiet; VS4 was at gate 28. Not many people waiting. I quite like this gate area; CNN on the TV's which could be heard from the multiple speakers. Lots of windows, plenty to see. I walked to the end, (gate 30?). There was an Emirates A380 there and an Israeli Air 747. I took a few pics to send to my mother on the BlackBerry. Then we saw Lady Penelope taxi to the gate – always impressed by the 747 – looked massive next to the A346.

Watched some more TV; really nasty tornado damage across the US Midwest. One town completely devastated. Plus the CNN take on the latest Iceland Volcano - “Europe is closed”. Luckily fellow V-Flyers put us right on that one via this forum!

Priority boarding was in the offing, children, UC, PE and Au. There weren’t many people at the gate yet – looked like a light load. This was still 40 minutes to go mind...
We boarded and were offered sparklingly wine really quickly. I took one – obviously, (this had been skipped on the outbound leg). We had seats 34H&K. Worth noting that there isn’t a window really associated with this row – one slightly in front and one behind. Not a really an issue for us though – not usually much to look at during the night...

Loads of spare seats – I reckon about 18ish in PE – certainly there were three complete rows in the centre empty. I think it was similar in the front and the back – slightly galling not to have been able to upgrade with the miles given that the load was so light. Some kind of flexibility would have seemed sensible at the airport.

We taxied for 40 minutes!! The captain didn’t sound too happy. We had basically 'driven' all over the airfield.

Eventually took off. Flight time was a quick 6 hours 5 minutes.

Hot towels were provided – used to wipe the centre armrest as usual. Dinner followed soon after – I had chicken. Mrs Monster had decided on a Diazepam appetiser so had kinda passed out – with the seat reclined!!! No preflight drink but I assume this was because of the later departure time? I was trying to get her to move it forward but she was gone. She had asked the lady behind if it was OK to recline before doing so earlier – out of politeness, but I was conscious that with dinner being served it really should be upright! Still, no major problem for our fellow passengers – the CC told me that she would keep some food warm for about an hour if she woke – really good CC, Virgin of old; attentive, friendly, professional but not aloof. Spot on. The FSM was visible – he did a few checks of the cabin and seemed to be working well with his team.

Perhaps the light load helped, but a good crew all the same.

Lights went out soon after dinner – I can't remember if there was an after dinner drink; usually is. We'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I finished typing the TR from the Jet Blue flight, went to the loo and got my head down for a couple of hours.

The purple PE seats proved to be very comfortable again; I don't know if it's because I've lost some weight over the last couple of years but the extra width makes it really easy to twist around rather than staying in a traditional, seated position. The wife is small enough to be able to tuck her legs underneath her and almost lie on her side. The folding headrests are really beneficial here; coupled with a cushion or two.

During the night, the elderly gentleman in front made a visit to the bathroom; when he returned he mistook my wife's seat for his – but she was still in it! Bit of a shock for both when he sat on her! But to be fair, the cabin was really dark, no-one had reading lights on, curtains were drawn, blinds were down. Plus Mrs Monster was covered in a purple blanket in a purple seat with purple eye covers. Andy McNab would’ve been proud of her level of camouflage!

Apparently he was most apologetic – I slept through the whole thing.

With regard to breakfast; I remember smelling eggs but just slept through. The CC were good enough to leave us. By the time we properly woke we were 40 mins out of LHR; flying across Wales I think and the breakfast was gone. I don't mind missing this for extra sleep – we usually stop on the drive back to the Westcountry to get something to eat.

Time to brush teeth and try to look like we hadn't slept in our clothes before the seatbelt light came on. A couple of circuits west of LHR I think before we swung round in a bigger loop to approach the runway from the east – amazing views of central London from the starboard side, where we were; London eye, Westminster, Buck Palace, and then Wembley in the distance.

Nice smooth landing, relatively short taxi and off promptly. We were held back, rightly so, so those upstairs could disembark – for the benefit of the UC pax presumably. I asked the CC if there were still Econ/UC upstairs, she replied in the affirmative but said she hoped this would change at some stage soon. She didn't seem too impressed with the set-up.

Short wait in the horrible immigration hall and bags were off promptly again so the PE labelling is working well.

We called Purple Parking who said it would be 25mins and wandered out to departures to wait.

Really nice morning – sunny and bright. Spent the time watching people being dropped off and getting some (slightly) fresher air.

Car arrived and collected – really easy. Then it was just M4, M25, M3, A303, A30, M5, A38 – home. Two or three stops on the way. (Managed just under 55mpg for total journey – including the time Purple Parking had it).

All-in-all another good PE flight, good value in the cheaper fare buckets I think. The seat width is the key for me, plus the effort the crew put in to make the PE cabin a separate space. The loo thing is a bit of a nonsense; the block of four behind us had two labelled as PE only – but really, who is going to wait for one of the two Econ loos if a PE one is empty? I just waited my turn, letting Econ people use them because they had been waiting longer – it's not like I was going to wet myself.

Got to try to get another couple of cheap Ks for October to travel down to MCO; we both think this is the best way to get to Orlando now, maybe via MIA but people here haven’t written good things about that airport or the drive to Orlando so JKF – MCO will be our preferred option.

Fingers crossed for availability in the coming weeks...

Good TR - I think PE on the LHR 744 is a really nice spacious cabin.

Oh and you're right about the lack of a drinks round after take off - there isn't one as the departure is after 7pm.

Thanks for the TR. It was interesting that PE was empty on your flight from JFK and on mine from MCO on the same day. Obviously not a popular date

Sunshine

Thanks for the TR. MIA is a cess pit . I truly loathe the place, and will do all I can to avoid entry there . The drive up to Orlando is a doddle though, so not worth discounting entirely if you can get a good deal/reward seats.
DL

Great TR, very amusing story of the old guy sitting in the wrong seat, I must say I've done this before!

Thanks for the TR