V-Flyer

Great journey down from The Cotswolds with roads clear :-) We stayed at the Ramada Plaza on the night before as a surprise to our friends. Had a good meal, a few drinks and a good sleep ready for flight day.  Very pleasant place to stay if you need an overnighter prior to our light - 10 mins to LGW.
The usual excellent service from Meteor Meet and Greet saw us in the check in area in good time.  We knew that the flight was empty ish from checking a few days previous and our requested seats being changed (weight balancing) so we waited to check in til the morning. 
 
Arrived at zone A which was very quiet and we were greeted with an upgrade offer to premium for £249 but declined and went to the self service kiosk where not 1 but 2 machines crashed on us half way through. So we were escorted by a lovely assistant to a desk to complete the process.  We were seen by a very polite and efficiently seen by the agent who actually weighed our hand luggage (hasn't been done or at least 6 years!).

Went through the very nice and shiny new security which was also pretty empty and
then drifted off to the No.1 lounge and found ourselves upstairs on some comfy sofas.  Eggs benedict, snacks and drinks were great and the service was excellent.  Although it was busy to start it soon quietened down and it was a great place to relax prior to the flight.  Nice views from the lower floor of the runway and taxiways - well worth the pound notes!

Got  to gate 17 with 40 minutes to spare..it was sparsely populated to say the least with English Rose waiting for us!! 



Boarding started almost immediately and we were greeted (not by name) and sent to our seats at the back of the plane.  FSM was buzzing about and cabin crew looked relaxed...it was then announced that there were 110 passengers on board the 455 capacity 747!!! Marvellous!  







We were requested to move to exit row seats for the off, then moved to a row on our own for the rest of the flight :-) Happy days.  Menus handed out, drinks served and dinner on its way in super fast time.  CC were very chilled and the atmosphere on the flight was very relaxed due to the Low numbers - awesome!!



Dinner was pretty good although the salad lacked any dressing.  Sausage and mash for main was really good - now I have slated the food on previous flights but this was great! 
Dessert came about 10 mins after I finished my main course and it was a lovely Uglies caramel chocolate mousse.  Tea served and then time for sleep using the entire 35 KJH for a flat bed!! This did mean I missed out on the cheese & onion sandwich which apparently was "ok" according to my friend!





Service throughout the flight was good with ice creams and drinks available in abundance.  I must say that I really enjoyed the company of the CC who were very chatty, at one stage we had six just taking a few moments out to have a discussion about their plans in Orlando!

Pilot came on to announce that we would start our decent for landing and soon enough we were on the Tarmac for the smoothest landing I have ever experienced - great job.  When taxiing I saw 3 VS planes at the gate (VGAL, VSXY and one other that I can't remember!) 

It seems that as we exited the plane into immigration we did so just after the VS 73 from Manchester as the immigration hall was packed!! So slow progress made but after about 45 minutes we drifted through, took our bags with us instead of putting them on the conveyor belt of hell and then headed straight to the car rental pick up for Alamo. I have said this before but checking in with Alamo prior to departure is a great time saver as you just skip the queues and go straight to you class of cars and pick one of your choosing! 

So, in summary, this was my best VS flight for a long time due to the light loads, great CC and decent food! Thanks VS - let's hope the return is as good.

Will add pictures when I get home as I don't seem to be able to do it on my iPad!

Sounds like a great trip. Thanks for posting.

And there's something an iPad cannot do?

Thanks for the TR

Such bliss having some many seats available Don't get too comfortable as it may not be the same coming home

The No1 Lounge does look inviting and may well be my port of call in the future

Enjoy Florida - thanks for posting so quick

buns

Thanks for the TR and great to hear you had a good flight

Thanks for a great trip report -- sounds like a good flight.

I do wish people would post reports more promptly though. Having to wait a whole day for one really is most distressing.

Thank you for the great Tr.

at240 wrote:Thanks for a great trip report -- sounds like a good flight.

I do wish people would post reports more promptly though. Having to wait a whole day for one really is most distressing.

Sounds likes a new thread "most prompt TR "

Great TR. Can't remember the last time I was on a flight with a light load

at240 wrote:Thanks for a great trip report -- sounds like a good flight.

I do wish people would post reports more promptly though. Having to wait a whole day for one really is most distressing.

I do feel as though I've let everyone on v-flyer down...

Petmadness wrote:I do feel as though I've let everyone on v-flyer down...

Good, well let that be a lesson to you then!! Ha Ha.

Excellent TR Petmadness, thank you.

NOW WITH ADDED PHOTOS!!