VS045 LHR-JFK 11 MAR 12 (Premium Economy)
Posted: 20 Mar 2012, 00:23This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
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Got to Terminal 3 at 8:30am after being dropped off by my parents, I was surprised at how quiet it was. Travelling to New York as part of a university field trip so originally book into Economy. As I was sat waiting from the rest of the group to arrive I spotted the upgrade counter and went over to enquire about an upgrade to PE. I was quoted £250 and thought it was worth it. Having only flown Economy before and enviously read lots of trip reports on here I thought I might as well treat myself. I suffer from travel sickness too so figured the extra space and comfort may help (weak justification perhaps?). Upgraded and checked in by a super friendly attendant who was also training another staff member so apologised for the slight delay in carrying everything out.
Headed through security which wasn’t too busy, although if people actually got themselves sorted before they reached the X ray machine the queues would definitely be shorter! Flight was called and I headed to the gate, (19/20 I think). I was pleased to see the priority lane was in operation as the Economy lane was snaking down the corridor; there was only about 5 or 6 people in the priority lane. This initial relief was short lived however. It turns out people with assistance/wheelchair users also use this lane and there were 3 of these in front of me. Each one in turn had issues with their boarding cards when there were scanned which took the staff member about 5 minutes each to deal with. We were not called over by the other staff members so by the time each one of these had been dealt it my friends who joined the back of the economy line were nearly to the front! Not very priority at all! Still, the staff member apologised and wished me a pleasant flight by name. I should add that all these people were travelling economy and once on board the plane were walking totally fine unaided, it appeared that being overweight is a disability these days! (but that’s a whole other discussion…) Would have been nice if the other staff members had noticed the increasing priority lane and quickly dealt with the 5 of us that were stuck there for quite some time.
In to the little loading pen that quickly filled up. Definitely not big enough for a jumbo jet full of people, even with the seats literally squeezed in! Boarding was slightly delayed but once called priority boarding was enforced.
On board and sat in 33D and was offered Champagne or Orange Juice almost immediately. Had to stick to orange juice, as I’m not meant to drink alcohol on the travel sickness medication that I take. Also offered newspapers (choice of FT and the Observer if I remember correctly). Doors were then closed with the PE cabin being under half full. I had a row of 4 seats to myself! Economy looked pretty full though with only a handful of empty seats from what I could see. The extra space provided in PE is certainly welcomed. I’m 6ft tall and there was ample room to stretch out. The whole row of 4 to myself also helped as I could spread all my stuff out over the seats. The cabin also looked good with the Purple mood lightening which I thought was exclusive to Upper Class?
Once in the air menus were handed out and hot towels were passed around. We had two male flight attendants who I have to say were both excellent. I noted down their names and will be writing a letter to VA complimented them both shortly. Credit where credit’s due. A drinks service was then carried out, with drinks served in nice VA glasses. I stuck to Ginger Ale as it’s meant to be good for travel sickness.
Menu was as follows:
Starter
Tomato and cucumber with seasonal leaves
Mains
Braised beef brisket in red wine sauce with rosemary potatoes and root vegetables
Chicken and mushroom fricassee with whole-grain mustard mashed potatoes and winter greens
Basil and ricotta ravioli with bell pepper and cheese sauce (V)
Bread
Your choice of oven baked bread rolls
Dessert
Lily O’Brien’s chocolate caramel mousse
Cheese and biscuits
Croxton Manor red Leicester with cracked black pepper crackers
Wines
Whispering Thorn South African Chenin Blanc 2010
La Merite French Merlot 2010
The food was excellent, although from previously travelling economy my expectations of airline food are low. The dessert was particularly enjoyable. After dinner liqueurs were then served which I had to pass on owing to my medication.
I then reclined my seat and enjoyed watching The Hanover Part 2 and Puss in Boots, I did want to watch Tinker Sailor Solider Spy but wanted to appreciate the theatrics more on a bigger/better quality screen. A fruit bowl and Hagen-Daaz ice cream came through the cabin as well regular orange juice and water runs. I must say the 2 male cabin crew were always around the cabin making sure everyone was comfortable, they were truly excellent.
Afternoon sea was served towards the end of the flight, which was the same as what Economy was served but just on a tray rather than a in a box. The scone was nice even though it was not warmed; Emirates managed it in Economy on an A380 so surely Virgin could at least do it in PE as well as Upper? Still it was very nice, although I did not eat the sandwiches, cheese and onion didn’t appeal to me.
Shortly before landing love hearts were handed around and I quickly popped my head into the galley to compliment the crew on the excellent flight. Landed on time I think and had a long taxi to the gate. Eventually came to a stop but deplaning was delayed by a jet way malfunction. Captain came on to apologise for the day and said someone was en route to solve the problem. Was off the plane after 10mins and into a pretty empty immigration hall. After reading various trip reports from here about the insanely busy immigration hall at the time VS45 lands I was pleasantly surprised. Through in 10 minutes and my suitcase was already on the belt.
All in all this was an amazing flight. Perhaps I have nothing to compare it to having only flown Economy previously but I could not see any way the crew could have nicer of more helpful. The extra space and comfort of the seat was definitely appreciated, as was the empty cabin.
Now for a week in New York doing a mixture of work and shopping…. Look out for my return trip report which I should upload in the next for days to see if I have caught the PE bug and upgrade again! Thanks for reading.
Always good to hear when an upgrade is taken and the original cabin is full...makes it even more worthwhile 
, (or PE at a push) - did travelling in PE make you feel better? Lol