V-Flyer

We've been back from our trip to California for a few days now and I decided it was high time to get a TR written!

We were heading to CA for work and needed to be in the San Jose area, so SFO was the obvious airport choice. We decided last year to add a few days to the trip for more business and to see friends, so our return flight (TR to follow) was out of LAX.

As the VS41 was due to fly at 15:35, we decided that we'd drive down early in the morning rather than overnight it in a hotel the night before. We set off just before 7am from our home in Yorkshire and had a great run down with minimal traffic. We decided not to eat anything before we set off, or on the way, in order to save ourselves for the Clubhouse Probably not the best idea as we were ravenous when we arrived, but it was worth it We arrived just before 11am.

We parked in the Short Stay car park at T3 and were through to check-in in under 5 minutes. It wasn't busy at all and we were seen fairly quickly by an efficient lady at the check-in desk who tagged our luggage (all three bags of it... a real pain to drag around without a trolley when you also have cabin baggage, in case anyone was wondering!) and sent us on our way. We went up through the private security channel. This ended up being the only frustrating part of the journey. We got everything ready to go through (tablets out, shoes and jackets off, pockets empty etc.) only for everyone in the queue to then be told by a really surly woman that we needed to remove ALL electronic devices for screening. This meant that even though there was only about 6 of us that it took more like 15 minutes to get through security and the security staff weren't nearly as pleasant as they usually are. The bags all got treated quite badly as they shoved things around and piled things on top of one another.

Anyway, after retrieving all our goods it was through to the oasis that is the Clubhouse! We found a seat (this took a couple of minutes as it was quite busy, but we found a nice spot overlooking that delightful temporary "hut" that now blocks the view out of the windows behind the bar) and I then went to book our treatments. I opted for the Bumble & Bumble conditioning treatment (free) along with a blow dry, and my OH got a hair cut (also free!) We then settled in and had something to eat. I had Egg Florentine, he opted for Egg Benedict. Both were really tasty, but I do sort of wish you got two eggs, rather than one! A little later on we both went for our treatments; mine was first. The B&B conditioning treatment isn't bad, but it's VERY short (you basically get some conditioner put on, and a head massage for 20 seconds). I opted for it as I wanted a blow dry anyway, but I don't think it made a noticeable difference to the condition of my hair. The stylist who did my hair was lovely and remembered me from when I was in the CH back in December! She did my sister's hair that day and remembered us both, and even remembered what my husband and I did for a living. I was very impressed as she must see so many people coming through. My husband also had her for his haircut and she did a fantastic job, we both looked and felt much better afterwards.

At around 2pm we ordered a bit more food. I went with some of the tapas options (you'll have to click as I couldn't get the photos to show):

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 07947d29f2

From left to right, it was artichoke soup, chilli and salt edamame beans and a devilled egg. All were delicious. I also had my first Redhead!

https://scontent-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot ... e=55C74937

My OH opted for the burger. I told him it was meant to be good having read one or two favourable reports here. He can be a little picky about that sort of thing, but he really liked it, especially as it was quite generous! Generally the service was very good throughout, only one time did I struggle to flag anyone down even though it wasn't very busy later on during our time there.

After the food, my OH fell asleep in his chair whilst I caught up on one or two work e-mails. A little while before boarding was due to commence we decided to head out to the shops to look for a gift for someone. We were unsuccessful and so decided to head to the gate. When we arrived we found that boarding had commenced and the boarding area was almost empty. We were ushered through the priority lane and boarded, only to find we were the first UC passengers on the aircraft. This was quite nice, as it meant we had plenty of time and space to stow our baggage before other passengers started to filter into the cabin. We were in seats 4K and 5K, and were offered drinks very quickly, and the FSM introduced himself to us and told us to ask if we needed anything during the flight. It instantly made us feel welcome and at home.

We settled in and got comfortable. I don't know if the flight left on time or not as I wasn't paying attention... I was pretty happy where I was Not long after take off they started taking orders for the meal service. OH opted for the chicken satay followed by the Thai beef salad, and I had the mozzarella and tomato salad and the seafood linguine. He was happy with everything, and so was I. The salad was good, but the linguine was genuinely great! Definitely recommended, especially as I saw ScoobySu also had it on her flight out and was similarly impressed! We also finished up with the brioche and butter pudding, which was also delicious. Definitely the best meal I've had in UC so far (out of three flights!)

I don't like to drink when I fly, so mainly opted for green tea and water throughout the flight, the former of which the friendly CC were always happy to provide. After the meal service was cleared away we both settled down for a nap (we'd not had much sleep the night before) and the flight really did go by in a flash. Soon it was time for the afternoon tea. After the delicious brioche a few hours earlier my sweet tooth was still sated, so I opted to skip the cakes and had a selection of sandwiches (just the prawn and egg varieties as I don't eat chicken). They were OK, but always by this stage in the flight I find the bread to have gone a little dry.

We landed and were off to immigration very quickly. We arrived just at the right time as our wait was quite short, probably no more than 10 minutes. We usually find the staff at SFO to be very good, and this time was no exception. The immigration officer we dealt with asked us one or two questions, but then got very excited when we explained what my OH did and why we were in the US, so we ended up chatting to him for another three or four minutes (sorry to anyone in the queue behind us, but when a US immigration official fancies a chat, you don't say no!! Hahah).

Our bags arrived reasonably swiftly. They definitely weren't the first out so I'm not sure how efficient the priority baggage handling really is, but everything was in one piece.

It really was a super flight, everything from the CH to the crew onboard did a great job and we were very happy with all elements. We have another UC return flight to look forward to this month, but then after that I need to get to work on redeeming some more miles!

Thanks for reading!

Hi Spacedog, nice trip report but you put me to shame as I know I should be thinking of posting something after my VS7 to LAX on same day as yourself We must have just missed you in the Clubhouse (we left at the first call which I think was about 10am)
Glad you had a good flight without any traumas to write about.
Hope you had better weather in California than we did. Ours was very cool and cloudy

Thanks for the TR Spacedog, pleased to hear that you had such a good flight.

oldboy

And thanks for posting SD , a pretty decent all round UC experience by the sounds of it ,
Look forward to reading the return

Thanks for a lovely TR Spacedog, sounds like it was a good positive experience all round (barr the surly security persons) and I hope you had a super trip.

Thank you for such a positive TR. It is really nice to read good things about a VS flight.
Just a shame about the security folk at the beginning.

Thanks so much, all! Everything went really well. I'll update about the return trip soon; sadly it wasn't quite up to the standard of this one! But not terrible.

Thank you for an interesting and informative TR. I love reading these as it does give an insight as to how the cabin crew can differ on each flight. I shall look forward to reading your inbound TR

Anna

Spacedog, I felt like I was there with you. Great TR, thank you. Loved the photos, great camera. Looking forward to the next one.

Super read, great detail A top notch UC experience, well done VS Thanks for posting Spacedog

Thanks, everyone, for the lovely comments; I'm glad it was of interest! I think VS did a fantastic job with this flight, we were very happy with the whole experience.

marshy11, believe it or not, both photos were taken with my phone, it's just a Samsung Galaxy S4. When the light is good it takes really nice, clear photos. Once the light goes a bit, it's almost impossible to get a clear photo as blur and grain are big issues, but for a phone I'm pretty happy

Thanks SpaceDog for the TR - sorry to hear that your hair treatment was so brief - my hairdresser was impressed with the condition of mine when I saw her this weekend compared to how it had been!

And yes - the linguine was nice too!