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#957864 by marklife
03 Nov 2020, 00:43
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I see the last trip report was posted back in March (!) so I thought I would share one.

This was a flight originally booked for May - we had left it as an 'open ticket' when that trip didn't happen. Back then we decided to keep the ticket since it was a good price and there would be no fee or fare difference if we used it before November (I think).

Sadly a funeral back home in the UK proved to be the reason to finally use that ticket.

Rebooking was easy on the phone, with no fuss and no fees or fare difference as promised. We would have paid more had we needed to book a new ticket. Miles (I should say 'points') upgrades were available, so we went for Premium both ways.

Overall the journey was surreal in that everything was empty and covid-ified, but also strangely normal. JFK Terminal 4 was quiet but not dead, and some shops/eateries were open. The place had that 'last flight of the night' feeling even though it was late afternoon. The Clubhouse was closed but we were invited to use the Sky Club. The Sky Club has improved since our last visit - the food is now served to you at new counter, like the 'deli' in the LHR Clubhouse. The options were limited due to the current circumstances, but there was a decent hot meal and some soup and salad stuff. We were impressed. The bar now serves Clubhouse-quality cocktails too, which are not free, but you can pay with a few Delta miles rather than cash if you have them.

The plane was quiet. I didn't hear a passenger count announcement but it was empty. Maybe 20-30 passengers. The lady in front of me had brought an elaborate slip-over seat cover thing, so watching her wrestle with that helped to pass the time before departure. She turned out to be a fidgety recliner unfortunately, her seat going back and forth all night. Just like a normal flight lol!

One thing that wasn't normal was the food. It was terrible. I don't mean a little disappointing, I mean revolting. They're still offering 3 choices but I think they might do better to focus on one good one if they need to cut back. Economy meals are currently being served in Premium, but this was way below normal Economy quality. We were glad we ate in the Sky Club.

Anyway, the FSM had plied us with some nicer wine from the front and a little 'welcome back' chat in recognition of our AU status, so that cheered us up and we settled down for the night. It was bumpy most of the way, nothing dramatic, but tough to sleep.

I wouldn't say that wearing a mask the whole time bothered me much. We were all given a special foil covid amenity kit with masks and wipes. This was in addition to the usual toothbrush one. It looked very smart, this was a nice touch. They suggested changing our mask every 2 hours.

Arriving into LHR Terminal 2 was unusual but no problem. We spent the long long walk from the B gates wondering why they are using the B gates if there are so few flights but I'm sure there's a reason. We had dutifully completed our special UK covid arrival form online before we left, and there were several signs warning you to do it now if you hadn't already, but in the end nobody asked to see it. We went through the e-passport gates and that was it.

All-in-all an easy and actually quite pleasant journey, with no drama or difficulties, and it meant that we could spend a worthwhile week with family.

Great to be back on a VS flight at last!

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