VS019 LHR-SFO 30 DEC 11 (Upper Class)
Posted: 13 Jan 2012, 10:24This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
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I'm calling this trip "My Steak Trip" because I don't think a single day went by when I didn't have steak of some description. From the (actually very nice) steak in La Vivre in the Terminal 5 Sofitel the night before departure, to the onboard meal, to the monsters served in the Cheesecake Factory and at Mortons, I don't think I had one bad piece of meat. Granted, the onboard steak wasn't quite up to the standards of the freshly cooked one, but it was surprisingly juicy and tasty.
But back to the TR. We arrived at check-in at about 6:50am, with one other person in front of us, we were promptly pointed towards the PE check-in, bags taken and boarding cards printed. 10 mins later after a quick duty free purchase we were settled into the gallery of the Clubhouse. We both booked treatments for 8am, ordered breakfast - with us both choosing the egg on muffin combos and both of us being asked if we wanted to double up - and then settled into quaffing a few glasses of bubbly. Sorry, no mojitos here, can't stand the things (I know, blasphemy on VFlyer
). The staff in the Clubhouse were excellent, as usual, attentive but not intrusive and before we knew it, it was time to board. We were both welcomed onboard and directed to our seats and more bubbly was offered and accepted. The crew that we came into contact with were excellent - A & T serving and J the FSM were all very personable and engaging. It really can't be said enough, but it's the crew that makes a flight and this team made for a great flight.
I thought the onboard meal was probably the best I've had. The soup was gorgeous, just the right amount of zing to perk the tastebuds up and the steak and sweet potato mash worked really well together. We asked about procuring the salt and pepper shakers, which was allowed, but A requested we do it on the return leg as they only get loaded on in the UK, and because of the rapport we gladly returned them.
After the meal, I settled in to watch X-Men, but must have fallen asleep as I woke during the credits. At this point I headed to the bar and had a chat with a lovely couple from Oregon. The crew paid regular visits to make sure drinks were topped up and offered additional advice on what to do for NYE in SF. Again, the general atmosphere was professional but fun and light-hearted which to me is the definition of the service I've come to expect.
The rest of the flight carried on in that manner, I really can't praise the crew enough.
The landing into SFO was "weird", whereby we touched down smoothly enough, but when the brakes were applied, everyone slid forward in their seats and looked around. It was definitely the hardest application of breaks I've experienced, but after the initial stop, we seemed to cross the runways and taxi lanes at a great speed. I couldn't remember what it was like 5 years ago so I can't say if it was normal - but it was a little bit of fun to get the heart pumping after a long relaxing flight.
We disembarked quickly and had collected bags and were through security/immigration within 25 minutes. It was this bit that really made me happy to be at SFO instead of JFK.
All told, this was an excellent experience and I'm now really looking forward to our west coast trip in the summer.
Very nice to hear you had such a positive experience on the flight.
I've always wanted to take them home but thought it was a bit obvious who had taken them if they were missing from my tray! 