V-Flyer

We decided to try to 'get away from it all' over Christmas and I booked a flight on Christmas Day, thinking that it would be quiet! How wrong I was!

Drove up to Heathrow mid-afternoon - traffic was very light and made LHR in record time. We have used Purple Parking for a few years now and have always found their service very reliable. Drop off and collection arrangements have changed this year so that you now drive up to the third floor in the Short Stay Car Park and they take your car from there - all went well and without a hitch.

Dropped off bags and made our way to the No. 1 Lounge which we were using for the first time. It was packed solid and to be honest I was not very impressed for the £70 charge. The food offerings were quite poor and although it is quite an attractive lounge, it was boiling hot in there - perhaps they didn't want to encourage people to stay too long!!

Anyway, soon it was time for boarding and we were on G-WCKD. It was completely full - not a spare seat to be had in any cabin. My heart sank to see 2 small children in 20 D and E, but actually they were perfectly behaved once they had settled down - the parents were excellent with them. Unfortunately, yet again I seemed to get the short straw where my seat was concerned - it would not lock into the recline position so that it was fine when I was actually leaning back in the seat, but as soon as I leant forward, the seat came too!!! It was like this throughout the flight - you might say whey didn't I alert the CC to this fact, but I figured that as the flight was full, there wouldn't be a solution to this in terms of a different seat. It was annoying enough for me, but I felt really bad for the person sitting behind me who must have wondered why I couldn't sit still! I apologised to her for being a nuisance and she said "I did wonder what you were doing!!".

The flight was a short 6 hours and 20 minutes so not much time for dozing once the dinner had been served. The choice was roast turkey or beef lasagne - the turkey was actually quite good and served with all the trimmings. CC very chatty and friendly as she served the dinner - made a nice change. The promised mince pie and Lindt chocolate never made an appearance which was a shame.

No water or OJ runs during the night and breakfast was a bit disappointing as the only option seemed to be 'vegetarian breakfast' which would not be my first choice!

Arrived 15 mins early into DXB to a beautiful sunlit, warm morning.

Turquoise wrote: you might say whey didn't I alert the CC to this fact, but I figured that as the flight was full, there wouldn't be a solution to this in terms of a different seat. .

Always let the crew know if a seat or ife is faulty - even if the flight is full and you can't be moved... it enables the crew to write up the defect and get it fixed otherwise it could eb flying around broken for longer.

Thanks for the TR, it does sound as if the flight could have been better. It is always worth reporting a fault as it is then formally recorded by the crew. It doesn't always ensure the problem will help you, but hopefully another passenger will benefit.

Thanks for your replies. Of course you are quite right about reporting the fault with the seat. I guess it's not too late to bring this to the attention of VS - I will send them a note.

Turquoise wrote:Thanks for your replies. Of course you are quite right about reporting the fault with the seat. I guess it's not too late to bring this to the attention of VS - I will send them a note.

Thanks for posting your TR - what a shame about the seat issue. Do write and let VS know now for sure.

The crew would have been able to report the problem even though would not have been able to move you if your cabin was full but do let them know, especially as it did affect your experience on the flight.

What a shame about the missing "festive" treats too

I bet the warm Dubai air was welcome and that you had a good time.

Jon

friends of mine were flying US air on Xmas day LGW-CHA-MCO. due to a tech issue they got put onto the direct VS flight into MCO and said that was packed too . unusual for Xmas day

Orlando normally always packed on Christmas day

I've been looking forward to a Christmas TR. Shame that the promised treats weren't offered.