V-Flyer

I usually wait until I'm back home, before submitting reports, but, since arriving in Orlando on wednesday evening, my body clock hasn't readjusted yet, and this is my 3rd consecutive morning that I've been up at 7am or earlier. I'm sure I won't be able to sustain such a blistering pace!

Anyway, on to the TR.

I've lost count how many Man-Mco flights with VA we've done over the last 20 years, but it's well into double figures, and we've never had a bad experience. Our flight on Vs 073 ( G-VROS) was no exception.

I booked our tickets the day they were released sometime towards the end of july last year, using m + m. I didn't want to risk playing the waiting game, as I've lost out on availability in the past , especially with m + m .
On our last 3 trips, we have travelled with our dear son. He absolutely loves the flight, but finds boarding a little stressful. Those of you with Autistic children will relate to this I'm sure. So, i decided that i would speak to special assistance, for guidance on a less stressful boarding process. The lady i spoke to was exceptionally helpful, friendly, and courteous, offering us a request of bulkhead seats, to be allocated either for o.l.can.i or at airport check in.
I was able to do o.l.c.i, and print off boarding cards for seats 21 HJK- brilliant!

Man. Airport was fairly quiet when we arrived at 1045. Bag drop and security dispensed with in minutes. The security staff at Man. were particularly courteous- a stark contrast to some of the officious homeland security members.

The ground staff at gate 212 were equally helpful, allowing us to board last, to enable a smooth transition. This pleased dear wife very much, as it gave her another 15 mins to add another half dozen or so cheeky squirts of duty free tester perfume to an already saturated arm! Lol!

Boarding was a breeze, and we were sitting in our seats within a minute or so. I was immediately struck with how quiet the flight was. Nearly every other similar flight has been jam packed. Whether this was down to peoples preference to Vs75, or time of year
I'm not sure. Now I'm beginning to realize why va were offering us a P.E upgrade for £298 p.p return. Not one of the P.E seats was occupied downstairs, although Uc looked a bit more productive. Given the fact that our seats offered excellent seat pitch, and given the fact that only 21abc and our seats were occupied, and the 2 rows behind us were completely empty, P.E would've been an expensive proposition.

The cabin crew were especially friendly, whether that had anything to do with the fact that the plane was only 50% full, I couldn't say. They were especially friendly, and attentive, and they were very good with Ds.

In flight meals were your typical average fare. I' ve never been a huge fan of them, regardless of the carrier. To me, they are a diversion- something to make the tedium more bearable. DW and I both opted for the fish pie, for no other reason than it sounded more appetizing than macaroni cheese, or sausage no mash. To be honest, it wasn't too bad- a bit too reminiscent of NHS food for my liking, but ok. The afternoon tuna sandwich was really quite nice.

My dear Wife is not a confident flyer at the best of times, bless her, so, when we started ours descent, through a succession of bumpy storm clouds, her distress was palpable. This was compounded by the plane taking power again, as if doing a go around. This frightened her greatly. A brief announcement came over the pa from the 1st officer, in that unflappable style, so characterized by pilots, aplogizing for any alarm caused. We were re-routed to a southern runway at mco, so we would be in the air a few mins longer than expected. This was somewhat reassuring to DW, and we did indeed land several mins later.

I.f.e is looking tired now, but I'm not going to lament it's shortcomings, as I know a refit is in the pipeline. Not sure how long the pipeline is though! Lol! Moreover, i didn't watch a single film or programme on the i.f.e, which was a first for me. Instead, in between eating and drinking, I sat laughing out loud at karl Pilkington's hilarious "Happy slapped by a jellyfish book! Highly recommended!

We were quickly off the Aircraft, and walked purposefully to immigration. I had heard that the previous "Toll Booth" system had been replaced by a Uk post office queuing system, and this was essentially so. However, all positions were open, and I did manage to buy a lottery ticket as well, so on balance, I guess I'm happy!

There was a slight delay with baggage claim, due to the lighting storms forcing the ground staff indoors until it had passed.

I used the alamo kiosk for the first time, which was brilliant! That saved unnecessary queing at the desk.

So, all in all, an excellent experience, that will hopefully be repeated on our return trip on Vso74 on july 1st!









absolutely loves the flight,

Thanks for the TR

Glad you had a good flight and everything went well, enjoy your time in MCO

Thanks,
Neil

Great TR, so nice when you have room to spread out - hope you have a fab holiday

Brill TR always enjoy reading these.

We're travelling on that flight in six weeks, hopefully ours will be as quiet as yours, still looks wide open for availability at the moment even though it's school holidays.

Good to hear you had a good flight experience, we hear all too many reports when it's bad.

Know what you mean about the early mornings, you can always tell which folks have just arrived by their morning routines we're the same

thelaceys

Thank you for the TR. Glad everything went well.

Really enjoyed reading your TR.
I know exactly what you mean about the early mornings ...for about the first 3-4 days I'm wired, takes me a while to get into holiday mode.

Have a fab holiday

Thanks for the TR. Pleased to here the flight was good. Economy on an empty-ish flight is usually much more comfortable as both space and service are not under pressure.

If you win the lottery - do you have to go back to the immigration desk to collect your winnings??? That'll make Officer Groutface happy

I love Stateside jetlag; up at 6, not sleeping until after midnight. Who wants to waste time sleeping on holiday?!

Sounds like a great experience! Hope the holiday and return flight are good too!

I hear it's very hot out there at the moment!

Thanks for the kind wishes. Yes, it's very hot and humid at the moment. So hot in fact that I made the fatal mistake of sitting sraight down in the car, and almost melted the skin on my legs! I got up pretty sharpish and dragged myself back outs of the car with a noise that wasn't too dissimilar to 2 strips of parting velcro. There's been thunder and lighting every day, as is customary at this time of year, but they have been all in the evening, and to be honest, they bring some relief! Daytime highs have been averaging 95, with lows about 20 degrees cooler.

I didn't win the lottery, so no return visit to MCO immigration! Lol!

Thanks for the TR - enjoy your holiday and the return flight.

Jon

Thanks for the TR, i'm going to send you a message in private about something, please check on your profile page.

craigmonster wrote:I love Stateside jetlag; up at 6, not sleeping until after midnight. Who wants to waste time sleeping on holiday?!

Here here
When im away i prefer waking early cos by the end of the holiday the day doesnt get started until 11am and to me the day feels lost.

Great TR btw

cheers

alex

Thanks for the TR, hope the rest of your holiday goes well