VS007 LHR-LAX 31 MAY 11 (Economy)
Posted: 13 Jun 2011, 18:25This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin
Ground Staff
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When I did OLCI on Monday evening, I was surprised that I could choose my seat and it wasn't an exit row. I was suspicious as I have done this before, and previously it did not let me select my seat as VS normally only allocate these seats at the check-in desk.
When I got to check in there was a big queue at the UC desk.
I'm not a waiter (in the timeliness sense) so I went over to one of the ladies who work from the desks at the front of T3 where they sell upgrades and exit row seats. She was very helpful and confirmed that they had not charged my card and therefore I did not have an exit row seat. (I have encountered this before and this problem now seems to be cropping up quite frequently judging by other recent comments). Fortunately one seat was left, 31H so I snapped it up with gusto and was told to go to desks 10/11 to pay my £75. I ignored this advice because I know how long it can take at those desks (did I mention I wasn't a waiter
) and went instead to the UC ticketing which had no queue and within a few minutes I was sorted, through fast track security and in the CH.I sat down in the gallery area and ordered a Bucks fizz, Gardner's breakfast and pot of tea. As I was enjoying my late breakfast, I checked in for my flight later in the day on Virgin America to Seattle (VX 797). That was fine so I thought I'd print my boarding pass. I went over to concierge with the PDF on memory stick, but she said she could not print it. She referred me to the business centre, which I have never used before and I sat at one of the laptops there. I couldn't get the BP to print, so I asked one of the waitresses if the printer was working and she helpfully said try another one, some don't print. She was spot on and this worked fine. I was impressed because although I expect the CH staff to be good at serving food and drinks etc, I was pleasantly surprised that they have good IT skills too!
I headed over to gate 19 and there was a reasonable queue even for priority boarding. I'm not sure why, but it was a very slow process at the gate for both lines - they seemed to be checking names etc much more than usual and then looking them up on the computer. Got through and was soon onto Miss Kitty.
The FSM announced the flight time would be 11hrs 23mins. The captain apologised for things taking a bit longer in terminal but we would be on our way soon. He also said it may be a bit bumpy over Scotland due to strong winds (or maybe it was devolution
. There were 290 pax + 15 crew on board. The ground staff were told to leave at 11:38; we pushed back at 11:40; take off was at 12:03. There was then a Scottish CC making the usual announcements about only drinking alcohol served on board and then added an unusually colouful bit of language about not serving people who appear to be :....intoxicated, trousered, blutered"! Very amusing and important in the light of the brawl at 30,000ft thread.I ordered my bloody Mary on the drinks round and just when it had been served, the FSM, Amanda Emmerson (name requested for V-flyer and permission gratefully received*) came to my seat in economy with a tray with 4 glasses of champagne. Real PE glass too - not the plastic stuff my bloody Mary was in! She welcomed me by name as a gold card holder and asked if I would like a glass of champagne which I gratefully accepted. she also asked if I was travelling with a companion and would he like one too. The chap I was sitting next to and had been chatting to was offered one but declined. It was a lovely touch
- more so because it was completely unexpected. She stayed and chatted for a short while, asked how long I was staying in LA for (4 hours) and how long was I out in the USA (3 nights - LAX-SEA-SAN-LAX). She looked horrified 
but I said it was just like her job really!Scotland's anticipated turbulence was on schedule, but short and not very powerful. (Rather like Alex Salmond)
I had the prawn cocktail (small but tasty) and the beef stew with mash, carrots and beans (again tasty) (OK I admit, I'm easy to please on the food front). One of the CC followed swiftly with the drinks trolley and I had my usual red wine. I noticed on her name badge a small silver heart shaped sticker so I asked what that was for. She said some crew have a French or Japanese flag to indicate their second language .... she the said her heart indicated she was an expert in the "language of love"! I roared with laughter and said her secret was safe with me!
During my meal I also discovered that my BlackBerry Torch - on which I write TRs on the go - is mashed potato-proof to a depth of 2cm. A quick wipe down with a Virgin Atlantic napkin is all that is required to restore it to normal operation.
I watched an episode of Cougar Town. My US sitcoms are getting confused because Jennifer Aniston was playing the part of a therapist. Isn't she supposed to be in Sex and the City ... or was it Friends. Oh well - must get out more!
During the flight quite a few Y pax used the PE loo just ahead of the curtain, myself included. From my vantage point in 31H I could see if the PE loo was busy or not and fortunately there were no poor souls in the deadly 23D and F so there was no need to feel guilty.
The FSM was notable by her presence, working with the other CC in Y on the many drinks rounds. She was a great advocate of "lead by example", and I'm sure this good work ethic rubbed off on all the other crew members.
Ice creams were served while I watched a couple of episodes of Glee. I'd not seen it before, but it has a sing-along feelgood factor that made it highly enjoyable. I then got my laptop out and did a couple of hours of work.
On the wrap round I opted for the spinach and ricotta variant which was OK. I was more pleased by the fact that I did not squirt the lava-like contents into my lap! Again the crew excelled. I asked for a cup of tea not remembering that they just had cold drinks to serve with the wraps: "No problem" said the helpful Nathan (NRFVAPGR*) "How do you take it?" He also wrote down my seat number. (Good attention to detail
)When I said don't worry I'll have an apple juice he gave me that and said he would bring me the tea. Sure enough he was back in a few minutes with mine and "special" drinks for a couple of other pax. In itself its a small gesture, and some may say its just his job, but the willingness, attentiveness and cheery attitude make all the difference.
My seat (31H) was fine being at the very front of the Y cabin with the generous legroom only afforded exit rows. On the right side of the 346 there are no crew seats facing you, so you can stretch out the whole time. The only two slight niggles with my seat were the socket for the headphones which was a bit temperamental with a poor connection; and the armrest covering the tray table, which had the annoying habit of dropping down into the arm when you put weight on it as you propped yourself up.
[Thought to self. V-flyers could log maintenance requests about specific seat problems. Then VS engineers (SHG take note) could read these and fix them in a systematic way. The main problem with niggling faults is that most people don't bother to report them, so they go unfixed - mildly irritating pax after pax.] The sandwich round came about 3 hrs out of LAX and I opted for the coronation chicken. You really don't need more food at this stage, but it helps to pass away a bit more time.
I had another chat with my new found friend, Amanda the FSM, when she was doing yet another juice round and I thought it only fair to complement her and her crew.
At about 2.55 pm we began our descent into LAX. The seemingly tireless crew tidied the cabin and my favourite FSM came past to check I had had a good flight and wished me well on my onward journey. The usual love hearts were given out as we made our descent.
Touch down was at 3.23pm and at 3.30pm the engines died right down and people began standing up but in fact we weren't on stand so everyone was made to sit down again and 3 minutes later we were, so the seatbelt light finally went off.
I was in the terminal within a few minutes (power walking to get there) and despite there originally being no officers at at their desks in the immigration hall, I was through by 4pm.
As I went up the escalators to go over to T3 at LAX to get my VX connecting flight, I noticed the chap ahead of me was wearing a Virgin uniform with 4 gold bands on the wrists of his jacket. I asked him if he had just flown VS07 over - which he had. He mentioned the headwind had delayed him a bit. I told him what an excellent cabin crew he had on board and that I'd drop a note to Crawley to thank them.
All in all an excellent flight, even in good old (and cheap) economy.
) - it costs virtually nothing (both in terms of time or finance) for the FSM to stop and say "hello -welcome back" but actually leaves a lasting impression