V-Flyer

A quick report on this one, which was another miles-upgraded economy ticket.

Check-in took about 30 seconds with a smile and no queue. Security was swift and it was straight through to the Clubhouse where I had the vegetarian cooked breakfast -- very nice. I was seated in the restaurant section and service was good for me, but hit and miss for others -- I observed one situation in which a very elderly lady was completely ignored for about 5 minutes after arrival (and she then left without even having been spoken to or handed a menu). I noticed a waitress watching her leave, so it wasn't just that she was overlooked -- pretty unimpressive, really, because the place was deserted. In fact, it was a good time to arrive -- right in the gap between the morning departures to the US and then the handful of lunchtime flights.

After doing a bit of work in the library I wandered out into the main lounge and was surprised to find that it had filled up considerably. The flight was called on time and it was a fairly short walk (by T3 standards) across to Tinker Belle. From the outside she looks terrific in her new livery, but inside the cabin she looked a bit bashed -- the 747s are getting mucky and tatty, in my opinion, and there was water dripping from the aircon onto various UC seats, including mine. The seat itself had clearly been cleaned, but an experiment with a hot towel reveals the build up of grime on the ledges in the suite walls. Still, you can't beat a seat in the nose -- the space is fabulous, and the seat next to me was vacant so I had some privacy too.

The flight was terrific. The crew were all noticeably older than other crews I have witnessed on VS, and their experience was much appreciated. The guy who looked after my side of the cabin really did his job well -- for instance, when my headphones didn't work properly, not only did he sort me out a fresh pair quickly, but he also checked to see whether the new pair worked, because if not, he said, he would write up a report saying that the IFE on the seat itself was faulty. Top marks. The service, too, was well organised and professional. I was offered the new cocktail thing and I tried it (it is basically gin and cranberry + lime) -- not bad, but a bit sickly. I ate exactly the same food as on my last outbound trip -- the Thai chicken curry is really pretty good, as is the toffee pudding. The cheese trolley came round and I took far too much. Afternoon tea was served later in the flight -- the scone was nice, and the sandwiches were a bit dry but still tasty. The cake-stands are hilarious: I love the way VS put a nice refined British cream tea on the menu, and then give it to you on a bit of plastic that is assembled in front of you on a trolley! Upper Class it most certainly ain't, but I am not complaining!

I didn't bother with v-port because I'm starting to find it difficult to find appealing films on it -- I think I'm getting old. I also wish there were a better radio selection and indeed more classical music. Obviously not the VS target market...

Descent and landing were swift and we exited into a very busy immigration hall. This was my first experience of VS45 and I was dreading the queues, having read so much about them -- but it only took 45 minutes to get through, which is a lot better than my 2-hour wait on VS9 in April. Needless to say, the bags were waiting, and then off I trundled to the LIRR.

It was a great flight -- only downsides were: no sign of the FSM (although does it really matter?), and the disembarkation was messy because basically everyone just piled off at once. I am not a fan of the interior condition of the 747s; before long people are going to start moaning... But none of this took the shine off a very good crew, nice food, and a very professional and comfortable experience overall.

Andrew,45 mins is bloody good.agree about the cake stands , more time spent putting them together then taking them apart that being used. a gimmic IMO

Thanks for the interesting TR

Ace on getting that Miles upgrade and putting it to good use in both the Clubhouse and on board

I remain a great fan of the 747 (goes back a long, long way as the first large jet I flew on ) but all Airlines do need to keep their interiors up to scratch. That said, if VS are focusing on the LGW/MAN Fleet for the time being then I am not complaining

buns

Thanks for the TR. Recently the service in the CH has been very good so disappointing to hear there are still problems. I totally agree about the film selection at the moment, when I flew last month I couldn't find anything to watch!

Many thanks for the TR.

I am on the VS045 this Saturday & fortunately have a seat in the nose.

oldboy

Thanks for the comments!

The one thing I omitted from the report was that there were loads of booths open at immigration -- thank goodness -- so although the hall was heaving, the line moved quickly.

I should perhaps qualify my comments about the 747 interior. It certainly wasn't terrible -- it's just that you can see the deterioration in the cabin and the suite itself and I wonder how long it will be until we start to hear comments about the LHR fleet that compare with those about LGW/MAN pre-refurb. Incidentally, the PE cabin looks much better; I guess the seats are newer but maybe I'm wrong.

I'm actually on the 45 again on Friday, so will be interesting to compare this aspect if I get a different plane.

Thanks for posting your TR. Glad to hear the experience was a good one. I'm on the 45 a week on Saturday, well excited as I'm in the nose for the first time, I usually sit in the bubble, but wanted to try the A zone for a change.