This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Off again for another work trip stateside. Didn't get off to the best of starts as I got sort of 'lost' approaching the airport along Ringway Rd. I guess I was on autopilot since I drive there a lot and wasn't paying any attention to the temporary road layout or signs that have appeared and/or changed significantly since I was last there. I ended up being forced back out on the M56 and then got stuck in traffic at my chosen turn around junction for added fun. Let's hope all the mess at MAN currently is worth it in the long run! Clubhouse anyone!?
Once in the airport, things ran smoothly. Had to stop off at a friendly checkin desk to get my boarding pass. I'd happily just print my boarding pass at home and head straight to security at the airport, but you need the priority security sticker from a checkin desk at MAN. Not that priority security usually makes that much difference at MAN, but now and then it does and this was to be such an occasion. The normal queue was quite long when I arrived and so was the priority lane as it was full of passengers requiring extra time/assistance. Luckily they opened a new lane and invited much of the priority queue to join it 1st, so it only took 5 minutes or so in the end.
Headed straight to the lounge and it seems to me that VS' exclusive use of the smaller escape lounge might be permanent? Part of me prefers the larger escape lounge, mostly because it has external windows and natural light. However since Mondays only have the 1 flight (109 MAN - ATL) at this time of year, the smaller lounger was nice and spacious. Not sure what it will be like in the summer months when VS have upto 4? or so flights a day on some days. It's well documented that the escape lounge is no clubhouse, so I won't go into too much detail, but it was decent enough to spend half an hour or so in and get a half decent bacon sandwich. Please can we have a proper clubhouse at MAN once T2 is r-done!
Boarding started on time, but I took my time. I figured being a re-config'd 330 and me being in an A seat that there would be no fighting overhead bin space. I've never totally understood the rush to get on 1st and sit on the plane for an extra 20 mins at least. I also find VS are quite good at having a clearly marked premium boarding queue active throughout the whole boarding process, so I find it's effective board on demand. So I boarded quite late on and I'm glad I did in end...
Once onboard, it's clear the over head bin space on the re-config'd 330 is great now, there's acres of space available for the A seats. The cabin looks fresh and shiny as you would expect. It also looks more open and spacious to me, even with the introduction of the centre overhead bins bringing the ceiling height down. I settled into the new seat. Sat upright, I actually found myself feeling oddly watched from the person behind me. I guess I'm so used to the higher sides on the previous dream suite. However, apart from that, everything is better than it was. We pushed back slightly late and then just sat there for 15 minutes or more. The captain announced there was a paperwork discrepency and that we would have to return to stand to offload a palette of cargo to be sure of the aircrafts weight. Seemed strange and was defintely a 1st for me. This cost us another 20 minutes and then we pushed back again. Operations at MAN were to the NE and so we headed out towards 05L. Then we sat still for another while and it appears that MAN is 'fiddling' with the taxi ways near the start of 05L. Planes were queueing up to enter the runway and taxi to the end before turning around and coming back for takeoff, a process the captain labelled as 'like pulling teeth'. 05R/23L didn't appear to be in use at all. We took off about 90 minutes late and that plus a 9 hour flight time meant my connection was looking very bleak.
Once airborne, the drinks round commnenced as usual. Service was very good on the A side, the attendant there was very cheerful and friendly. No AU welcome though on this flight, in fact I hardly remember seeing the FSM at all. I opted for the tomato soup starter and beef main. I had missed the tomato soup as it wasn't available on my last couple of flights. The beef also seemed improved to me, maybe because it's paired with someting simple (mashed potato) at the minute which is more to my simple tastes. I can't remember what I had for desert, my 1st choice of sticky toffee pudding was gone by the time they asked me if I wanted any.
I paid for WiFi access, partly to do some work and partly for messaging. It worked great for an hour or 2 and then I just couldn't connect at all after trying to swap devices from my laptop to my phone. It was weird that I could connect to the online help chat easily, but couldn't get back online at all. Eventually the Gogo agent escalated my complaint and then suggested they were to drop some of the login requirements for the rest of the flight and I got back online. I wonder if someone who hadn't paid at this point could get in now for free, because I didn't have to login in at all and could access WiFi on both devices at the same time from this point on.
I sat at the bar for a while which is also much improved. I like the TV screen showing the map and you comfortably get your legs between the bar when sat on a stool. Then I took a little nap with a few hours to go. The new seat seemed to be a lot comfier in bed mode, much softer and felt wider from the hips up, so I actually slept well for an hour or more. Then had the burger and scones for a quick bite before arrival into ATL.
It always amazes me that the busiest airport in the world never seems to have any holding pattern in operation for arriving aircraft, compare that to LHR! We arrived on stand and the jetbridge was connected pretty quickly which I was thankful for, since as I stepped off the plane, I had 55 minutes before my connecting flight departed. A ground agent had announced that for people that had missed connections, a VS agent would be at the top of the jet bridge to hand out new boarding passes. I had checked the app onboard and noticed I had been rebooked on a flight 5 hours later. But I still figured I had a chance of making my original flight if immigration and security were kind. So I skipped getting a new boarding pass from the VS agent, instead opting to save a valuable few minutes on the assumption I could get another one printed elsewhere in the terminal if I needed it. Immigration was about average, the repeat ESTA line was relatively short, but so much priority is given to US citizens it still took about 25 minutes. I was hand baggage only and luckily security was very quiet, so I was on plane train with 25 minutes to go. Naturally my flight was leaving from the furthest terminal and the furthest gate away from the plan train in said terminal. I literally ran from the train to the gate and arrived just as they were about to close the door to the jetbridge. The gate agent asked my name and said "ok, you can board, you get the last seat". I had made it with only 10 minutes till departure time. And the best part? The only seat left was in 1st class, so my 1st ever free op-up!
