V-Flyer

Barbados to Gatwick
2 says before the flight upgraded a couple of the PE passengers who were on full fares to Upper for a small fee (£45) and some miles. Handled very quickly on the phone by Virgin. Got to the airport on good time, the check desks for Virgin whilst under a roof are actually outside, so it can get very humid. All the passengers were checked in quickly apart from the 2 that had upgraded from PE to UC. For some reason the check in staff decided it was a problem as the payment was not showing on their system despite email confirmation being sent, shown on the internet etc. To be honest the check in staff came across as a little clueless and were not able to give a clear reason as to the problem. This minor problem delayed check in by about 1 hour, by which time we were all a little hot and bothered. Maybe it was off day but Virgin could do better here (have sometimes found check in at the other end a little slow and unfriendly at times at other locations). Through security quiet quickly and had about 10 minutes to sample the lounge. Very basic, some sandwiches, crisps, soft drinks and a fridge full of the local banks beer. Will remember next time to spend a little more time at the hotel, beach, pool etc rather than checking in too early. Cabin Crew were efficient without being overly friendly like the outbound sector, probably just about right for a night flight.

Flight called and on to the plane, no air bridges at BGI so up the steps to the plane, another Airbus 330. Full cabin this time and the journey was a lot quicker on the way back. Managed a few hours sleep and I guess the food was a little better on the way back (GF again), although I can't remember anything I had! Whilst sleeping I did not notice the problem with the slightly smaller suite or perhaps the crew were doing a very good job of not knocking people's feet.

Other members of the party were in PE and they had no complaints about their cabin and also managed to sleep. All other cabins were also full, I think there was 1 spare seat on the entire plane.

Wow, it's a shame the ground staff were so disorganised. It should have only taken phone call to FC to confirm the payment had gone through.

Aside from that, it sounds like a pretty solid experience for the night flight home.

Cheers for the TR

I did this trip last October in PE which I thought was better value for money as I'm not particularly fond of the UCDS and I found the PE seat more comfortable than UCDS.