This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
This flight was the end of an era - the very last VS2 departing EWR late evening on a 747. It now leaves earlier on an A333
I was originally booked in PE but in the end decided to try for a miles upgrade at EWR so I was first at bag drop when it opened at 6.15pm. After a quick call to Crawley the agent told me no problem as it was a very light load - so light (145 to be precise) that the official V-Flyer favourite seats 19A and K were both still available! I plumped for K. Additional taxes & fees came to £54 or $89.
Oh and I even managed SEQ1!
So to the new EWR Clubhouse, my first visit there - and I was very impressed. For the first 20 mins or so I was the only person there, and the staff couldn't have been more obliging. My waitress, who was amazing, virtually insisted that I should try the whole menu and I have to confess I very nearly achieved it! She was particularly keen to know how I thought the EWR CH compared to the one at JFK - I wonder if there's a bit of inter-Clubhouse rivalry! In my opinion, the food and service at both are better than LHR where the sheer size of the place and the number of people can cause service issues at times.
Anyone who read my TR for the outgoing LAX flight will know one senior CC member particularly impressed me with his commitment to great service and passion for and knowledge of VS. Well we'd established then that he was also working my return flight (the chances of which must be pretty slim on an airline with over 4,000 crew) so it's fair to say I was exceptionally well looked after: he remembered my favourite drink and had it waiting at my seat when I boarded, never let my glass become empty and was once again more than happy to spend a couple of hours chatting about all things VS at the bar. Hey, who needs sleep??!!
For those who were interested we were on Tubular Belle (G-VHOT); the A Zone in the nose was quite full but the B Zone behind was virtually empty. Flight time was 6 hours 15 minutes and we were about 30 mins early into LHR - only to pull up at the dreaded Gate 13 (definitely unlucky!). For the uninitiated (which I was until today), the jetway at Gate 13 can only be used for departing flights as it isn't connected to the arrivals walkway so we had to deplane by steps (!!!) and be bussed to the gate normally used by BA's short haul T3 arrivals. A bit of a surprise but in the event immigration was empty so it was no big deal.
So all in all another superb flight that proved once again that the people - both on the ground and in the air - are VS's greatest asset.
Oh - and the UC menu for flights 2,10,12 & 46 (dated March 2014):
Herb-infused seared fillet of beef with fondant potato & green beans in a (somewhat lurid coloured but tasty) roasted red pepper sauce
Pan-sauteed free-range chicken breast in a cheese sauce with gnocchi, baby broccoli & carrot puree
Sweet pea & mint ravioli in a lemon sauce with sugarsnap peas and microgreens
Oreo cookies & cream cheesecake
