VS026 JFK-LHR 17 NOV 14 (Economy)

This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

After 3 nights in NY we made the early morning journey to JFK - first major problem occurred with the Sky train being down to take us final stretch from the metro, even after paying for the ticket - seemed it had opened from overnight engineering works but had to close again with another technical fault. Seemed to be half hour wait for replacement buses so we shared a taxi with two other passengers. Despite being rather ripped off on the fare, we made it to airport terminal 4 and were thankful we'd allowed good time for the journey. Checked in at the special Delta/Virgin Upper Check in area to the right hsnd side. Slight complication for the staff member on the system when checking in, but phone call seemed to do the trick. We were together this time, at front of Economy with the bassinet in left two of the centre seats.

Took good 15 mins to get thru security, and then to clubhouse. Had about 1 hour in clubhouse. First time in this one. Was impressed. Spacious and seemed fairly quiet at least at the outset. Took two seats to the left window in a quiet area for baby to stretch legs. Breakfast not as good as LHR/LGW, but still good.

Boarded and found ourselves next an another passenger with a slightly younger baby. Makes it a little easier to have a baby next door, as they often can play or be entertained by each other. Her baby was young enough to use bassinet so slept on our off thru the flight.

Flight took off on time. Breakfast was served quite quickly - useful muffin, yoghurt etc. Nothing else was served until dinner about 3 hours before landing which I opted for the tasty Japanese chicken rather than the typical beef stew which I never enjoy. Baby meal was a pasta again. As normal always hard to eat with a baby so always a relief when trays collected.

Crew very helpful and chatty throughout. Happy to talk to and smile to baby and talk about their children etc. FSM happily filled up her milk a few times from the galley. Baby slept for around 2 hours providing welcome relief. Was well behaved for remainder of flight, again playing on lap, floor. The drawback of having a baby next door is that when she awoke, her crying woke ours up.

Fight passed very quickly and smoothly - we arrived about 40 mins early which was great, given the evening arrival time and our desire to get home quickly.

Overall a good trip - uneventful flights, but smooth, on time and efficient and friendly crew on both directions.

Thanks for the TR. Sounds like an excellent flight - I know we all love UC, but I think the service in Economy really sets VS apart from many of its competitors.