This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
We arrived at MAN at about 7.15am having decided not to chance leaving it later due to congestion on the motorways during rush hour. No queue at check-in so we were seen to quickly and then up to security where we were directed to the Fast Track queue meaning the whole process from being dropped off to checking in and clearing security took 15 minutes max. By my reckoning from past experience, apart from flights where I've checked in online and travelling hand luggage only, this is a record for MAN. There was not much else to do, so we got breakfast at Frankie & Benny's, milled around the shops and grabbed a coffee. There were three VS aircraft on the ground that morning - 2x 747's that had come from MCO and BGI and an A340-600 from ATL. G-VXLG was on stand and would be our aircraft today and just happened to have been the last VS 747 I rode on 2 years ago back from MCO.
Boarding started under an hour before departure, starting off with UC/FC Gold, then PE and then Economy. One thing I had noticed was that people were now queuing at the gate well in advance of boarding commencing. I was used to this happening with LCC's where some airlines used to have a free for all policy when it came to seating and, latterly, with more people travelling hand luggage only cottoning on to the fact that they needed to be one of the first on to ensure there's enough space on board. I was surprised and disappointed to see that this has spread to VS. Whether the introduction of Economy Light fares has had an impact on this I don't know, but I suppose standing up for a bit prior to being sat down for several hours is no bad thing.
We took our seats where the crew and FSM welcomed us on board and an announcement was made that today's flight would only take 6h30m which seemed quite fast for a westbound crossing. The FSM also announced that there were just under 400 people on board, so it was a busy flight. Boarding completed on time and after a short delay due to other aircraft, we pushed back, taxied to the runway and took off.
Drinks came round about half an hour or so after take off and lunch was served not long afterwards. I opted for the chicken curry option which I thought was very tasty and probably one of the tastiest meals I've had on a plane. After lunch, I settled down to watch the IFE and a film on my iPad with the crew coming round regularly with drinks. Not much to report through the flight other than the seat belt sign coming on for turbulence which didn't happen. Afternoon tea came round about 90mins before landing.
I have to say, the FSM on the flight was very cheery and an asset to VS. I've read other TR's on here where service from FSM's can sadly be inconsistent, but I intend to write in complementing him as great customer service goes a long way and sets an example for others to go by.
Whilst flying over Boston, the captain came on announcing we would soon be descending into JFK and before long we landed over half an hour early and taxied to the stand. Just before disembarking, one of the ground staff came on the tannoy to announce which carousel to use for reclaiming bags. Disembarking was prompt and in the usual order, however clearing immigration took some time, so it had been nearly an hour by the time we cleared. Our cases (along with those of others) were on the carousel waiting for us, so we claimed them, went into arrivals and took a taxi into Manhattan.
Return TR to follow.
