This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
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OK here we go.
Imagine our dismay on the morning of the 10th when we heard about the arrests and subsequent security clampdown. I felt sorry for all the people affected that day as at least we were able to prepare for no cabin baggage etc.
After discovering that OLCI was unavailable on Friday we deciced to arrive a little earlier on Saturday morning and when we got there at 7.30 everything seemed pretty normal. There were about a dozen people in front of us in the PE queue and with only 1 check in working it took about 30 minutes to get the the front.
All checked in with 74A,C & H as per our our on line selection a few months ago we decided to go straight to Security. The queue here was huge in both directions out from the entrance but actually it moved quite quickly and we were through to airside within about 45 minutes. Like most other people we had the single plastic bag with our tickets, passports, wallets and keys but was suprised at the number of people who thought that the restrictions didn't apply to them, trying to take bottles and food through security. Duh.
1 chap in front of us was complaining that the packet of fags and lighter he was being asked to give up was an infringment of his rights until the (very patient) airport worker made it very clear that he had 2 choices, deposit said items in the plastic bag she was holding or smoke the rest of the packet in a smoking zone before going through security. Eventually the penny dropped as did said items in the bag and he moved on. As we went past the bag she was holding it was obvious that he wasn't her first customer that morning.
So after checking the departure board at seeing that we were on time (11.30) and with just a wait to see which gate we were going from we went to TGI's for breakfast. After this we had a look around the shops to kill time although we couldn't buy anything for obvious reasons.
By about 10.30 the gate still hadn't been called. Now I tend to work on the basis that if the gate isn't showing an hour before you're due to go, your going to be late. So at 11.00 we wandered around the the VS desk to see what was going on. The young lady there was very pleasent and said that we were going to be delayed until 2.00. Resigned to our fate we had another look around the shops and a coffee and then noticed the time on the board had changed but not to 2.00 but to 3.30. So we decided to but a couple of cheap magazines and sat down for the extended wait.
By around 2.30 we still had no gate and woking on my previous theory I began to think that 3.30 was probably optomistic. Now at this point the VS24 had been called and I was starting to wish we'd booked the later flight. I also wished that I'd taken the plunge and spent the 150 to get into the Clubhouse, but hey you can't have everything.
At around 3.30 the announcement came out for meal vouchers and our hearts sank. This was going to go on for a bit longer that we had thought. So we got the vouchers (6.00 each) and got some food. While eating this I looked at the board and was dissapointed to see that VS23 had left and then suprised to see that our gate had been announced (44 I think). By now I think it was sometime after 4.00 so we packed up our stuff and headed off.
On the way we passed a large crowd at another gate. When we got to our gate we were told that they had got the gate number wrong and that large crowd was waiting for the same flight as us. Once we'd walked back I went to the window to see what plane we were on but was supprised to see there wasn't a plane there.
However after a while an announcement was made that the plane was on a remote stand and we were going to be bused there. After another wait the first call was made for families with small children and everyone was being patted down. I was a bit sad to see children having to give up books and crayons that had been bought to try and keep them amused during the day. It was also clear that this was also going to take a lot longer than a normal boarding exercise.
Next call was for ULC & PE so we joined the queue. Eventually it was our turn to be searched and we handed over our boarding cards. I think by now it was just after 5.00 and then when the chap at the desk put the cards through the machine he had to check something on the computer and then announced that we had been upgraded.
Well all the frustration of the the last 10 hours dissapeared in an instant. With renumbered cards in hand we made our way down to the bus and shortley after that we were taken to the plane. We made our way up the stairs and the FA directed us to the back section of UC and we sat down. Within a few moments we were offered a glass of champagne and told to make ourselves comfortable as it was going to take a while to get everyone checked through security and bused over. So we did just that.
The chap in the next row got talking to one of the FAs and I think she told him that they had flown over from Gatwick 2 hours earlier and weren't sure if they were going anywhere until the first bus full of passengers turned up. We were then offered the in flight treatments which I declined but my wife gratefully accepted and then the next bus arrived. This was about 40 minutes after ours.
After a few more drinks and a chat with the crew another bus turned up and then the FAs seemed to be deep in discussion with some of the ground crew. It was then announced that because of the delay the crew would be out of hours and so a new crew had to be brought over (I think they were swapped with the Boston crew).
Eventually all the buses with the remaining passengers came, the new crew arrived and within a short time we taxied to the runway and we were off. It was just after 8.00 pm.
The flight was great and all the FAs were brilliant. I had the lamb shank for dinner and watched Ice Age 2 before having my bed made and got my head down. I slept for about 3 hours which is unheard of for me. The most I get normally is 30 minutes if that.
With about 3 hours left till landing I got up and sat at the bar talking to a couple of other passengers and crew recounting the days events. One of them had heard that all the other flights after ours had been cancelled including the Boston flight our original crew had gone to do. It became clear during this conversation that VS had really pulled the stops out to get us to our destination.
I think we landed at LAX at around 11.30 local time and went to a remote stand. I think the VS23 was still there at the nomal gate which meant that the people on the VS 8 had been waining as long as we had. I remember feeling really sorry for them as T2 at LAX is really boring for 2 hours let alone more than 10.
Being in UC we were amongst the first off the plane and got onto the first bus. We were in the terminal and through immigration fairly quickly and although we waited longer than usual for them to arrive our bags were amongst the first onto the belt. We got the bus to Doller and I treated myself to an upgrade to a 300C.
40 minutes later we were at the Universal Hilton and more good luck. The room we were in had a broken toilet so we were upgraded to a suite on the top floor. Result. I remember my head hitting the pillow and looking at the bedside clock which read 1.08am. What a trip!
Observations of the day were:
1. Overall we consider ourselves to be very fortunate for the upgrades and will always be grateful for the UC experiance and the Hilton suite after the days events.
2. Both VS crews were fantastic. Professional, humourous and attentive, a real asset to Virgin.
3. After my conversation at the bar I beleive that VS went above and beyond to get us to LA on the 12th and for this I will always be extremely grateful.
4. All 3 of the above will continue to ensure my loyalty to VS for my future transatlatic needs.
5. I think this one might seem negative but it is an opinion. When I originally made this booking I checked the price of UC for our trip and it was over 3500 a head (nearly 11,000 in total). I didn't book it because even though we had never experianced UC, we didn't this it was worth the extra over the cost of PE (4500). In conclusion while our experiance of UC was exceptional I still don't think it would have been worth the money we would have had to pay if you excluded the extrordinary events of the day.
6. The one frustration of the day was the lack in information during our wait in T3. However this is probably my fault for being a bit of a control freak and my natural need to be kept acccurately informed of whats going on.
7. We still woke up at 5.00 am on Sunday morning which is pretty much BAU for us on our first day in the US so in the grand scheme of things all we lost was a few hours in the evening when we would have been knackered anyway.
8. We had a great holiday and in no time at all it was time to come home. But that'll be in the next TR and a lot shorter than this one.
Cheers
Miopyk
