VS007 LHR-LAX 19 JUL 12 (Upper Class)
Posted: 05 Sep 2012, 09:37This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
As the miles count had hit topped K400, it was time to blow them on our American trip. We were moderately flexible on the dates; well, as flexible as you can be with kids at school. So as soon as the window was open I started looking for UC reward seats into Los Angeles, San Francisco or Las Vegas. There were 4 available for LAX on 19th July, which I took. It would mean taking the kids out of school for a day (Formally. The appropriate begging letters written, the ‘approved but consider your child’s education and you can be fined were permission not granted etc.’ letter received), but as J is still at primary and V has a sports day on her last day, I wasn’t too concerned.
Now; the 3 week wait for the return leg. Availability out of LAX, LAS and SFO was not good, at least not for dates we really wanted. My wife then suggested Washington, as she had been there before and wanted to show the rest of us around. There was availability, so I asked the wife “Are you sure?” She wanted to think about it, meanwhile I was checking constantly, still for the West Coast, but keeping an eye on Washington but that availability was holding steady… (You know where this is going don’t you?).
Needless to see, come the day I get the “I definitely want to go to Washington” confirmation, the flights are gone!
But Washington was now definitely part of our Itinerary, Thankfully there were loads of rewards out of New York or Newark, so Newark was chosen for the trip home. It’s only about a 4 hour drive between DC and Jersey City (where we stayed before flying home) and it offered the opportunity to have a quick stop in Philadelphia.
Overall, it was not too painful getting the flights we wanted and, to repeat an oft said piece of advice given on the forum, a little flexibility goes a long way.
12/14 A,K were requested for both trips, and the time between then and the start of the holiday filled with hotel selections, Internal flight choice and the construction of the countdown calendar for the kids.
Finally July came. I went into work the day before the flight (OLCI was completed in the office and we were still in our requested seats), leaving my wife the usually holiday instructions of putting everything that needs to be packed on our bed….. then to halve the amount she has put out, and then halve it again. I know there is a larger allowance for UC, but, as I have mentioned before to her, it is an ‘allowance’ not an ‘invitation’. I also reminded her to only put anything on the bed that was to go. Last year, instead of putting my daughter’s non-holiday ironed clothed in my daughter’s bedroom she left it on our bed (“to put away later”). My, what a lot of clothes V had to choose from when we were away.
Our trip to the airport would be via MMA (My Mate Alan). I had booked DTCI for the opening time as a) more clubhouse time and b) to beat the M25 traffic, so at 05:15 we were packing the car. This year we had decided to try some toast for my son’s breakfast as, for the last 3 years, he has been sick on the journey to the airport (usually in the tunnel as you enter Heathrow… and still MMA offers to take us!!). This year, the announcement of “I don’t feel very well” occurred 200 yards into the journey. He lasted until around the M23; thank heavens for the supply of VA sick bags we have accumulated. (It is now ‘officially’ confirmed as ‘holiday excitement’ and not car sickness)
We arrived at DTCI just as it opened (much to the surprise of the kids, we hadn’t told them they were going UC). We were greeted very enthusiastically, our bags whisked away into the reception area. Even the disposal of a certain bag was cheerily dealt with, with ‘ahhs’ and ‘poor lad’ directed my son’s way.
Apparently API was showing my sons DOB as the 26th instead of the 28th (?? I’d only checked it about 10 times before???). However, it was swiftly dealt with and we were soon through security and on our way to the Clubhouse, with hardly a glance at any retail opportunities.
At that time the clubhouse only had a few occupants. We booked treatments with no problem and made our way to the restaurant area for breakfast. We all had variations on the Full English, with the kids following up with an extra order of bacon before going on a muffin hunt. The meal was nicely cooked, not a big breakfast, but, given more could be ordered, this is not an issue. Oh, the first Champaign was ordered whilst eating.
The clubhouse was starting to fill but there was still plenty of seating. We made our way over to the green sofas at the back near the business centre. The kids spent their time either on the computers outside the business centre (instructions to come away if anyone needed to use them) or plane watching or, much to the delight of my daughter when her ipod connected to the free wi-fi, Facebooking.
Service was attentive and we were soon on our third fizz. It’s a wonderful place to wait for your flight, time passes quite quickly and it was soon treatment time. My shave was fine, my wife enjoyed her massage and my son returned from his manicure (?) clutching a gift of a silver pen with small red tail fin!!
We decided to move on from Champaign and, whilst nursing a few Redheads and Mojitos, we relaxed into a bit of people watching. The clubhouse was now quite busy, but still not crowded. Enough room for the lady on the sofas next to us to lie out under a VA blanket (she could still reach her drink, though) and for the businessman the other side to be able to individually seat his many pieces of carry-on whilst broadcasting his entire flight schedule for the next month on his moblie. Our Celeb tally amounted to one; a certain singer who would next be seen performing on a boat at the Olympic Closing ceremony.
Our flight was called and we slightly reluctantly left the clubhouse to walk to the gate. There was a small queue for economy, and none the upper line. We were directed to board via gate ‘B’, but on going through the door we found a security barrier and L1 clearly closed, so we carried on walking and hit the queue for L2. It moved quickly though and we were met at the door (no name) and directed to turn left and go right down to the front.
We knew about the lack of overheads in 12/14, but that was not a problem as our carry on was small. A quick look around the suite and it look, initially, in good order, clean, with just a couple of nail varnish lines near the drinks tray. Pre-flight Champaign was quickly offered and accepted (OJ for the kids) and I settled to have a look around the cabin. First time in the A zone I immediately understood the appeal particularly from the 12/14 seat, a nice sense of space as well as privacy.
From what I could make out the rest of the A zone seats were taken up by three generations of the same family. There were a couple of young kids, one an infant, who, though whilst occasionally boisterous, where not too much trouble, the additional space in the cabin absorbing their excitement.
The plane was soon loaded, I didn’t catch the passenger count but Upper was full. As the safety announcement started I discovered my IFE screen was dead. After pointing it out to the crew, I was given my own personal safety demonstration whilst taxiing.
The taxi wasn’t too long and after a smooth take the crew were quickly into the drinks run. A G&T was order and quickly delivered, with its accompaniment of a small bowl of crisps. Dinner orders were taken, the crew member sitting on the ottoman. I opted for the tomato soup and beef fillet. We did not order a kid’s meal for my youngest as he seldom eats them. He opted for the soup and, not fancying the mains on the dinner menu, was delighted to be offered a burger off the graze menu.
A couple of reboots of my IFE did not fix the problem. I was offered the use of a DVD player, but there was nothing on the film list that I fancied. (The FSM came along later, apologising and saying 4000 FC miles would be credited to my account). I settled down to enjoy my drink, reading a book on my Galaxy Tab. I had brought both my tablet and netbook to see how they fared as holiday PCs, the tablet taking an early lead thanks to Kindle app and Amazon allowing a number of registered devices per account.
Dinner was served. I quite liked the cloth and runner, not so much the cocktail shaker S&P, which I thought was a little fragile (Confirmed a little later when the man next my wife deposited all his pepper into his soup as the shaker fell apart). I enjoyed my dinner. The soup was tasty and hot, the beef reasonably tender, given the circumstances in which it was served. The spicy chicken and burger received a thumb ups from the rest of the family. The chocolate and salty caramel pudding was lovely. It was all washed down with a glass of red (I don’t recall which one), and sparkling water.
The cheese trolley arrived. I do like the crew interaction opportunity it offers and the cheeses and port weren’t too bad either.
I settled back to my book. I didn’t miss having the IFE, you are obviously more comfortable with the upper class space and so with reading, chatting and wandering around (usually to fill the water bottle, gotta balance that alcohol intake…) it was soon at Haagen Dazs time.
A word about the crew. Excellent. Very attentive without being intrusive, always seemed to have an eye on the cabin, even during the ‘quiet’ parts of the flight. The FSM was very visible, often helping with service and just generally being around. In the A zone she also did the Tea run.
Again, I think this works well in the space of the A zone. I’m not sure about the cake stands though, but the selection of cakes if good, although I think the sandwiches could be improve with regards the quality and quantity of filling.
I may have had a little doze later, but time seemed to fly and we were soon descending into Los Angeles. The flight had been very smooth; I can’t recall any seat belt sign for turbulence. Disembarkation was via L2, PE and EC were held back. Sadly, on entering the immigration hall, we were greeted with half an Air New Zealand flight still queuing. However, it moved quickly and we were soon processed by a moderately friendly agent. Our bags were out by the time we were through and we made our way to the Car Rental shuttles.
Thankfully, Dollar Express was on form and after selecting a Ford Edge, we were soon on the car park also known as the I-405. 2 hours (!!!) later we arrived at the Hyatt at Newport Beach where we stayed for the first 4 day of a holiday.
