This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
It was the first time I had been to SFO since the staff had been outsourced and immediately I could see subtle differences. Check-in had not formally opened but on my previous occasions there had always been someone at Upper class check-in (and indeed that has always been the case at other different stations) I noticed that Economy was open and I could have joined that queue, but in any case the security guy was beginning to set up his podium so I opted to wait and sat back to watch. The line was small but a trickle of passengers joined it from time to time. I watched as a toddler about 18 months old or so was rampaging through the barriers and around the airport shepherded by her mum and obviously was a leading exponent in the use of the word No! Ah, well. That neednt bother me. They were in Economy [:p]
Shortly after that the security guy came up to the podium; the UC check-in guy came out incongruously carrying the orchid for the desk and we were ready for the off! I was joined on the carpet by a nice young man from Dublin and away we went. The security guy was as pleasant a person as you could wish for but he suddenly realised he had forgotten his security stickers and so processed each of us and allowed us to proceed to check-in while he went back to retrieve them. Once at check-in I tried to blag my way to getting my luggage checked all the way through to Cork but unfortunately the computer said no. [V] I was pleasantly surprised though, when I put my case on the scales to find it weighed 19.9kgs. I was sure it was going to be heavier than that and I was going to get caught for excess baggage at LHR which was one of the reasons I wanted them through-checked. Just as I was finished the security guy returned once more and proceeded to put the security sticker on the passport. Released from check-in I winged my way up to the Clubhouse ..
to find it closed! [:(!] That never would have happened in Claires day. There was a notice saying it would be open at 1:45. When I went back after that time it was still closed and didnt open till after 1:50. I was the first person in the Clubhouse or was I? When I went in some of the wait staff were standing around chatting to a passenger sitting in one of the seats by the window opposite the bar, but when they saw me one of them made a sign and quick as a flash the passenger shot out of the chair revealing himself to be one of the wait staff. Covered in confusion and embarrassment he hastened to attend to my needs but having given me my glass of champagne thereby redeeming himself in his eyes, he turned his attention to the rest of the staff and their absorbing conversation which I had so rudely interrupted by my arrival. When I wanted to order something to eat they all had their backs to the room and there was nothing for it but to go up to the bar to place my order. I think they realised at that stage that people were beginning to arrive and thereafter were as attentive as anyone could wish for but certainly at the beginning the impression was not good. [V]
Remember the toddler at check-in? Duly fed and watered and having watched V-HOT coming for to carry me home, I sat back to watch the world go by and who was in this little world? Yup! Toddler and Mum with toddler still showing her expertise in the use of the word No! Still, they could be in the front section of the plane. Or upstairs. Or maybe they were gold members travelling in PE or economy [:p]
Towards the end of my stay in the Clubhouse I was totally fascinated by two pre-teens who were there. They were dressed in typical Californian pre-teen smart casual and accessorised to the nth degree, to the extent that the younger one who was wearing a mauve jacket also had 3 or 4 mauve hair extensions woven into her blonde pony tail. That wasnt what attracted me however. No, it was their total air of assurance and self-confidence which so far has alluded me. They sat at the bar as if to the manner born sipping their tea as if they had every right to be there which of course they had. Such poise in girls so young.
I left the Clubhouse shortly before the flight was called and went down to security which was quite empty at that time with very short lines. However there were only two machines in use and the next thing was a group of cabin crew arrived and effectively blocked up one of the machines and we were down to one line, which was slow because of the number of people not preparing themselves for screening, or not taking laptops out and having to go back to do so. In the meantime the line got back up with a sudden influx of passengers none of which were from the Clubhouse so I dont know what it was like when they came down. Once through security I strolled down to gate A8 all the while looking for those exit machines but I couldnt see any. Down at the gate they were preparing for boarding and I joined the Priority Boarding line. They called for the usual pre-boards to come forward and at one stage it looked as if they were going to start boarding the Economy passengers before those in the priority line as that door was open but ours remained steadfastly shut. Passengers at the front of both lines were straining like greyhounds in the traps ready for the off, eyeing each other with a wild look in their eyes to see who would be first. The signal was given, the door opened and Theyre off! In the passageway a staff member was barking out orders Keep right! Keep right! and when I got to the turn for UC passengers she tried to herd me along to the other door until I showed her my boarding card. We went along the jetway only to find that the crew were not quite ready for us but after a couple of moments we were allowed into the hallowed area of Upper Class.
For this flight I had given up my beloved 16K for 16A in memory of a truly great flight I had had from SFO a couple of years ago. I was hoping to recreate the experience but it really needed the Greek god who looked after me on that flight to do that and as I sat down I mourned the loss of a favourite seat. Silly girl! The cabin crew introduced herself and said she recognised me from a former flight. She produced a glass of champagne for me and also a sleep suit and I decided to change before the rush. Remember that toddler at check-in? Just as I got to the loo mum appeared with toddler in arms. Oh, well. Maybe they were heading for upstairs. Wrong! Guess who was ensconced in 15C when I came out? Yup! Mum and toddler! [B)] Now dont get me wrong. Im not against children in Upper Class even though on one occasion a child screamed his way across the Atlantic to MCO. What I do object to is parents who do nothing to make a flight easier for the children. This mum had allowed her child to run around in the airport and the Clubhouse and had done nothing to entertain or amuse her, and as for dad I thought he was non-existent until I realised he was in the suite in front of me. He did nothing to interact with the child or ease the burden for mum. To make matters worse this was a whingey, whiney child who objected vociferously to being strapped in on mums lap and made sure we all knew about it. Mums reaction to this was to repeatedly say Ssshhh! but I think a toy or two, a book or a favourite blanket might have helped. There really was nothing to distract her. To be fair though, not long after take-off mum changed her and put her into her pyjamas and she slept for the rest of the flight.
Anyhow, back to the boarding process. Something was not quite right but I couldnt put my finger on it. I pondered on it for a bit and then it suddenly hit me. No IFBT! I asked one of the cabin crew and she told me that unfortunately there wasnt as she had broken her arm. Oh dear sez I. How did that happen? Oh she was cycling on the Golden Gate Bridge and she went over the top of it Erm, I hope you mean the bike and not the bridge She thought for a minute and then laughed and assured me she meant the bike.
We pushed back more or less on time and I remembered for the second time why I like 16K so much. You get better views in the climb. Ill remember the next time.
Drinks were served and v-port was switched on. The iMap was showing us somewhere between Portland and SFO with an hour remaining of the flight and it was to stay that way throughout the flight. Shame, as I like to see where we are. I looked at an episode of The New Adventures of Old Christine for obvious reasons. It was a series I had not seen before but it failed to catch my attention and so I tried the Trivia challenge. I came in at the tail end of a session in which two guys were playing and was doing quite nicely when somehow, I managed to exit from the game. I got back in just as a new session was starting and managed to whup the hide of the guys in 76A and 74H. Sorry boys! [:D]
The FSM came round with the basket of goodies. She was *ahem!* slightly older than the majority of the cabin crew and didnt say much but she was very visible throughout the flight, worked her socks off and ran a tight ship. Dinner orders were taken and I had a savoury tartlet, steak which was very nice and, I think, ice cream and chocolate sauce. The meal was fine not as good as the outbound but up there with the good ones. After dinner it was lights out but I was not quite ready for bed so I went up to the bar. However we hit a bit of turbulence and so I had to return to my made up bed and decided to turn in for the night.
I didnt really sleep and so got up and changed before they started serving breakfast. I had pre-ordered scrambled eggs and I was sorry I had not because there was anything wrong with them. There wasnt. I just didnt feel like them *Note to self. Dont pre-order breakfast in future. See what you feel like when you wake.
Shortly after that the cabin was prepared for landing and all too soon we were descending into the murky skies of London after a sojourn in sunny California. We landed at gate 32 or thereabouts and thus began the long trek to Customs and Immigration. I was one of the first off the plane and when we arrived at Immigration the place was almost deserted. I was through in minutes and waited for the bags to come through. Priority baggage was working and my case was about the seventh to come through and in no time at all I was in a welcoming shower in Revivals
This was a good flight. In fact it was a very good flight. I did however have a difficulty in marking it as, when you have an excellent flight it becomes the benchmark against which you then judge all other flights. My outbound had been such a flight. I decided however to judge it in isolation but I do have to say that good as it was, it lacked the gloss of the earlier flight.
