V-Flyer

Arrived at JFK on what can only be described as a biblical morning. Severe storms the night before had caused mayhem at JFK with delays and cancellations. The VS26 was on time – happy days.

Checked in with ease, and through security which is now on the upper concourse at JFK and the fast track lane in operation.

Got to the CH in 5 mins and settled down to a Full English which was mediocre to say the least. Not sure where they get their baked beans from, but they’re not up to scratch and neither is the bacon. The service provided in the mornings needs some attention, slow, inattentive and lacking that provided by the evening crew who are among some of the best CH staff in the world.

I’m not a fan of the A333 but on discovering I would be flying G-VGEM aka ‘Diamond Girl’ was excited to be able to finally try the onboard WIFI. Coupled with it being a day flight, I was set for a full day’s work at 35,000 feet. I was assigned 8A which was a little too close to the bar for my liking so switched to and found the best seat on the aircraft, There is plenty more room in this seat, and it felt more like sitting in the older UC suite.

Skipped breakfast having already eaten in the lounge and waited for us to exit US airspace and for the wifi to kick in. It’s not cheap, but to be able to crack on with work, speak to my team on the ground using ichat, skype and what not, £20 was money well spent. The FSM on board was simply incredible. I won’t name her after a previous faux pas but the lady in question was actually an FSS promoted to FSM for this flight only. First class service from beginning to end from her entire team.

My only gripe with the flight was being asked to refrain from charging my devices. This is an impossibility considering you are offered 2 x USB ports, plus a UK plug socket! It was explained that unless I am actively using the device, ie – holding the iphone or tapping away at the macbook, that I needed to unplug. The power sockets that come with the older UC suite do not allow the mac to charge, they simply keep power going into the device to sustain charge. Therefore – how on earth do you not charge your device if it is connected by USB? It’s impossible to enforce and therefore ridiculous for any cabin crew to mention. Virgin need to address this issue rather than try and prevent people from charging.

Landed slightly ahead of time, and out of the airport in 15 mins.

Overall and due to the fact the plane had WIFI, this would have to be one of the most productive and quickest flights I’ve ever taken in terms of not noticing the time go by. I shall be hoping I’m flying one of the three aircrafts with WIFI every time.

Thanks for the TR..

getinjonathan wrote:Got to the CH in 5 mins and settled down to a Full English which was mediocre to say the least. Not sure where they get their baked beans from, but they’re not up to scratch and neither is the bacon.

Both over sweetened if I remember correctly

getinjonathan wrote:My only gripe with the flight was being asked to refrain from charging my devices.

I seem to recall reading something a while back about overloading the circuits if everyone left their devices plugged in....

It's interesting to think that there were at least 3 v-flyers on that flight. Slinky and I were on the K side.

I agree about the British breakfast. Especially the bacon,it was dire.

It's interesting to think that there were at least 3 v-flyers on that flight. Slinky and I were on the K side.

I agree about the British breakfast. Especially the bacon,it was dire.

Tinuks wrote:It's interesting to think that there were at least 3 v-flyers on that flight. Slinky and I were on the K side.


I agree about the British breakfast. Especially the bacon,it was dire.

8K per chance? Two guys sat in the lounge having water and tomato juice?

getinjonathan wrote:My only gripe with the flight was being asked to refrain from charging my devices. This is an impossibility considering you are offered 2 x USB ports, plus a UK plug socket! It was explained that unless I am actively using the device, ie – holding the iphone or tapping away at the macbook, that I needed to unplug. The power sockets that come with the older UC suite do not allow the mac to charge, they simply keep power going into the device to sustain charge. Therefore – how on earth do you not charge your device if it is connected by USB? It’s impossible to enforce and therefore ridiculous for any cabin crew to mention. Virgin need to address this issue rather than try and prevent people from charging.

Most tablets/phones use lithium-ion batteries, which are prone to 'runaway fires' which I believe are caused by excess heat build up in the battery leading to a fire.

This has happened on aircraft before, and clearly a fire of any description at 35,000ft is very bad news.

Current rules on VS and BA (maybe others too) are to prohibit charging of devices because it's believed that people may leave a device plugged in and fall asleep/go to the bar etc, which may delay detection of a heat/fire incident. Also, whilst you're using a device even if it's charging you're draining the battery as well as allowing it to build up.

Essentially, its for everyone's safety and I think it's very much common sense.

getinjonathan wrote:

Tinuks wrote:It's interesting to think that there were at least 3 v-flyers on that flight. Slinky and I were on the K side.


I agree about the British breakfast. Especially the bacon,it was dire.

8K per chance? Two guys sat in the lounge having water and tomato juice?

No... that won't be Tinuks and slinky!

Thanks for the TR btw.


Oh, and the best seat on the aircraft was turned into an emoticon! V-Flyer's way of keeping this a secret!

Well I did get to say hi to the lovely Tinuks but we missed you Jonathan. Could have had a social!

Strange that where we were in the lounge the service was very attentive and most pleasant ... I had a sausage sandwich though and while the sausages were nice the dry brown toast they came in was odd ... we'd been to a friend''s wedding at their parents beautiful antebellum mansion on Long Island (think Gone With the Wind!!!), the water and TJ were required to rehydrate!

A. the FSM was lovely wasn't she, I found the crew all lovely and we had two friends in the back who said they had a very good flight too. All my recent flights have been fantastic and on the way over last week I was talking with some of the CC who shared the initiatives VS is taking to turn the clock back to when it really was special - this is all wonderful news.

I was going to try the WiFi and also do some work, but decided to can that idea and watched Django (totally hilarious) and Side Effects (good thriller) while sipping wine etc.

slinky09 wrote:All my recent flights have been fantastic and on the way over last week I was talking with some of the CC who shared the initiatives VS is taking to turn the clock back to when it really was special - this is all wonderful news.

Great to hear...

slinky09 wrote:watched Django (totally hilarious)

One of the funniest films I've seen for a long time, owing more to "Blazing Saddles" than to "Reservoir Dogs". Even with gate to gate IFE I didn't finish it so am looking forward to completing it on Blu Ray..

Know what you mean about the baked beans !
Thanks for posting ,great TR

A very enjoyable read, thanks for posting Great news re:back to the good old days of VS - long may it be consistent!!!!!

Thanks Jonathan - a very useful TR. I am flying on a 3 class 330 back from Mumbai in a couple of weeks and I was wondering about the "best seat on the aircraft". I assume 8 D becomes the smiley !

I currently have 9A, but I'm wondering if I'm too close to the bar (if such a thing is possible!)

Martin wrote:Thanks Jonathan - a very useful TR. I am flying on a 3 class 330 back from Mumbai in a couple of weeks and I was wondering about the "best seat on the aircraft". I assume 8 D becomes the smiley !

I currently have 9A, but I'm wondering if I'm too close to the bar (if such a thing is possible!)

FYI, Row 9 has no window to look out of.

How many planes have wifi? I've only had the 3g/dataroaming options so far?

itisme wrote:How many planes have wifi? I've only had the 3g/dataroaming options so far?

3 of our 330's are trialing the wifi at the moment. G-VINE (LGW) G-VGEM and G-VLUV (both LHR a/c)

G

cheers for the quick response