Edinburgh for me is so convenient being a leisurely 40 min drive from the house. It’s takes away any jeopardy using BA - will they go, will they not and in these days takes away what turns into a horrendously expensive overnight trip to Heathrow.
This was originally that, being a 3 week trip to Florida booked in one of the many miles sales that seem to spring up like a certain sofa manufacturer but had to be changed at pretty much the last moment due to work issues. These also meant that there had been no shuttle or hotel booked but 1 month before had been costed at nearly £1400 so that saving along with a weeks less car hire meant over £1500 saving as we still come back into Heathrow.
The outbound change was relatively easy but is also a little worry when the staff member calls it Edinburg - pretty sure it wasn’t Swansea. The cost £30 and a few extra miles to make up for the sale fare where taken immediately but the savings flying out from Edinburgh more than made up for any issues.
The day started with a text saying 1 hour delay. It only meant for a stop for breakfast before hand and we were soon getting dropped off at the terminal which now costs £5. They must be making a fortune.
Check in was empty, being a little early but very easy with happy staff and we were soon onto a slightly chaotic security and through into Edinburghs departure area. Virgin now use the Plaza Premium lounge unlike the last time when it was the Aspire (but that was the first flight so maybe adjustments were needed). It was a bit of a scrum to get in with PP customers causing a little chaos but all too soon were given a small receipt to show at the bar for any drinks including premium brands.
The food was the usual stuff with chicken beef and a pasta dish available which did have that generic lounge food taste and smell. It did get pretty busy with staff shuffling around chairs and tables to try and accommodate groups.
There was another small delay but eventually the plane arrived was refuelled and we began boarding around 2 hours late.
Now, I need to start by saying I’m not an A350 fan. I don’t find the seats particularly comfy, the controls particularly easy to understand and the quality of the interior particularly good
I don’t know if virgin picked a cheaper spec or if that’s just standard Airbus fittings but they don’t seem to be wearing very well - people complain about the A330’s, I wonder what they will be saying about the A350’s in a few years.
Ours was Wendy Darling, I believe around 3 months old. Yes 3 months.
So, the seat. Again I seem to have had issues with the controls in the past. You seem to press buttons again and again to try and get your seat to move then things move which you don’t expect. Normally. Not this one. It make a small jolt then stopped. Ok, get a grip. It’s a seat, it can’t be that difficult. Let’s try some more buttons. Another jolt then nothing. Ok is it me ? Let’s try some more different buttons. Same again. Ok, the fantastic crew will fix it. The drinks come round - are the glasses getting smaller again ? “I think my seat needs a reset” Ok. Give men2 mins and I’ll be back. All good. So the background video is playing and I notice the screen freezes then seems to catch up. We will mention this as well.
So the genuinely wonderful crew appear. Start by pressing some hidden button in the base the resets the seat. The lights go out, come back on then we try again. Jolt then nothing. Mmmm? Let’s try something else. Takes the seat base off, fiddles around and then says I’ll come back after we take off and try and manually put it where you want.
So we take off, and I try the screen. It glitches and then the sound goes on and off. Crew come back. Take the base off and jiggle stuff about to recline the back rest and bring up the foot rest a bit. That’s fine I said, don’t worry, we can work with this but now can you fix my screen. I’ll go and reboot it. She comes back, any better ? Nope. The pictures fine but no sound at all. I’ll get another set of earphone. Still nothing. Ah. I’ve actioned some compensation. Would you like £100 or 10,000 miles ? Miles please.
So there’s an empty seat in the middle next to someone which I can use if I want to watch anything, but once your kinda settled in you don’t want to move and you know, this is really the first issue like this I’ve had in over 100 flights with virgin. The crew have been so good and are genuinely concerned but it’s fine. We will survive. I just want to get some days off, some sunshine and a wee rest. We’re all good.
The food. The food was actually ok if a little kids portion size. The soup was tasty. The chicken was fine I passed on the desert - rhubarb cake or tiramisu - nope and the cheese and biscuits fine although again a touch on the small size. Infact the grapes were tiny.
Luckily my 20 year old Sony mp3 player is still going strong and paired with some excellent Shure SE535 takes a bit of a beating and kept me happy for most of the flight. (The films were a bit poor anyways)
Afternoon tea was very nice with a nice piece of Birthday Cake and soon we were ready for the decent. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t ready for the decent. A few circles then landing into a storm with the ramp closed meant a 30 minute wait before we could get to the gate. That’s one part of the A350’s I like. The cameras. Really good and interesting to see the landing from a different view.
The Wi-Fi however, was a different story.
Global entry was a breeze unlike the bags which seem to come off after everyone’s else and an extremely long wait so after the delays etc, we arrived at Disneys Saratoga springs around 2am UK time just in time to see the finishes of both fireworks and the new drone show (the 30 seconds we seen looked unbelievable).
Woke up this morning at stupid o’clock to find an email from Virgin about the seat etc and find the miles have indeed already posted.
You know, sometimes things go wrong and there’s not a lot you can do. They shouldn’t (especially on a 3 months old plane) but they do and having dealt with the public for over 30 years, the last few showing how utterly stupid, grumpy and downright rude some of us have become as a country, I for one wasn’t going to go off on a rant. I think the crew appreciated that and for that reason, I will reply to the email praising them. They are indeed what makes Virgin Atlantic special.
I will try and post some pics after more coffee. Thanks for reading.
David.
