VS044 LAS-LGW 9 Jan 07 (Upper)

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

Well after a fab week in Vegas, ace meal at the strat, amazing meal at Prime Bellagio and front row centre to see celine, she actually spoke to my partner, it was time to go home.

Did olci the night before no problems, due to having to vacate our fab room at the Luxor ( 19th floor East tower overlooking runway )
we arrived at the airport very early. They let us check in our bags straight away and were very polite and chatty.

Had a ciggie or two before charging up my nicorette inhaler and up to the lounge, I found the lounge very nice and calm, the ladies in there were very sweet and attentive, must say having to buzz the door for entry gave me a bit of a buzz as well.

Went to the duty free shop which looked quite empty on the shelves, but managed to get a few bottles of smelly.

People started to queue at the UCS/Gold card/PE sign, to my complete suprize a scottish couple breezed past us all and demanded to be let on first cause they were Upper, first time I ever saw an Upper passenger actually 'push in' front of the other Upper ones. I didn't say anything but the lady at the gate checking the tickets just gave me a wry smile, clearly she was thinking the same as me.

Off we went, we could see the scottish couple almost sprinting on to the plane, I sent him indoors down whilst I got my duty free stuff, telling him to make sure we got our stuff in the overhead because I couldn't think what other reason an upper passenger would want to push in for. Arrived at the plane door to be very loudly welcomed aboard 'Hellllllloooo Mr.Sunley', er Hi said I.

The Scotts where ensconced in 6a/6k demanding extra pillows ( for their feet[:0] ), they were given one extra from an empty suite, then they were demanding extra quilts and get me a drink now please.

I was pleased to note that the race to board was for pillows and not the overhead, Steve as instructed had claimed it anyway.

The Suite was a bit battered, but clean and functional, I was relieved not to see any plastic ties on the seatbelt. I have learned with VA if anythings going to go wrong its gonna be on the way home, not this time though.

I nabbed a couple of sleep suites, mine to wear and Steves to use as an extra pillow, I rolled my quilt up to use as an extra one.

I was given no less than three bucks fizz and was already beginning to get squiffy.

A crew member came round with this flights version of an amenity kit, this was the one that would usually be given to PE pax on the inbound.
Profuse apologies were given to each person for the lack of UCS packs.

Flight was a little late and then FSM came and personally apologised about the delay and the kit, I said it was fine and much better than a cardboard envelope, those little plastic zip things are perfect for putting stuff in when your in Orlando and want to keep stuff dry on wet rides. She then went on to say how embarrased she was about hose and the new kits would soon be available AND would include Molton Brown stuff. She also said there were some improvements planned for UCS but could say no more.

The cabin crew were fantastic, one especially ( who was clearly on our bus so to speak ) absolutely hilarious all the way, he had us in stitches with his quips and jokes and made sure our every whim was catered for, it got to the point where we couldn't even look at each other without laughing. He was actually the perfect example of the image Virgin is known for ( even if its not always present today ) professional. quirky fun and polite.

The food was just average in my view acceptable and nothing wrong with it, but nothing to get exited about either.

Once again as with the flight out I got the impression that we were given more attention from the cabin crew than was usual, which was nice, though the many drinks refils left us both very typsy. More brandy sir, yup there ya go.

It was a bumby ride most of the way but I managed to keep most of the brandy in the glass.

I thought the films were a bit crap personally, but I was very proud to unpack my new QC3's, the two people opposite had them too, and knowing looks were exchanged. Steve had to use the ones onboard, although this was the first time that I have seen solid headphones handed out which appeared to be noise cancelling themselves ( not as good as mine though lol ).

I was once again hacked off with PE pax hogging the loo's, though did notice the FSM closing the curtains more often, and on one occaision blocking the way so a UCS passenger could get in first.

I think I slept for 3 hours of the flight, possibly a result of half a bottle of brandy, to be honest I don't find the bed very comfortable at all, it is like sleeping on the floor and I think you need to be squiffy not to notice it.

The two Scotts where very condescending to the crew all the way, they handled it with charm though. Having had one of their spotlights shining in my face for an hour I decided to politely ask him to angle it down a bit ( spotlights give me migraine ) given that it was clear he wasn't actually using it I thought it would be alright to ask. As it happened he was ok with it, but his wife in 6a tutted and was clearly not impressed I had dared to ask.

At the end of the day this flight was quite frankly brillient, I made sure to vote for the cabin crew members that amused me so much.

Sounds like you had a fun flight! [y][y]

Glad you had a good time,

Dominic

Ohh Egg,

I must point out that thankfully we scots arent all the same! That couple have put our nation to shame.[:I]

i bet they live in Mearnskirk or Milngavie.(Thats if they had a Glasgow accent)

Complete contrast to when i flew recently in Upper i was quiet as a mouse!(even with a hangover)


Hope you both had a fab time & is it a sore subject to ask if you heard yet from VS from your last flight?[B)]

Ger xx[:X]

No still nothing.

Great TR. I think sometimes when passangers fly Club / First / UC they think they have the right to be impolite and be demanding. In my mind thats a load of bollox and passangers like that should be put in their place by the FA in charge. I agree if everything is not up to standard the passanger has a right to make it known he / she is not happy but to snarl and generally think you own the airline I would have put them in their place - Maybe they lost a packet at the tables - lol

Originally posted by porsche911
Great TR. I think sometimes when passangers fly Club / First / UC they think they have the right to be impolite and be demanding.

It is my opinion that in general those that act in this way are the ones that don't fly very often, or if they do it's at the blunt end.

Cheers, Howard

I blush in shame for/of my fellow Scots; how rude! Gives the rest of us a bad name.

I'm glad this was a better flight experience for you both, and I do hope you get a response on the *other* flight soon.

I wonder if the attentive service was due to some of the crew having read your TRs on this forum? If that's the case, I thank them for listening to us! [^]

Happy Travels

Originally posted by porsche911
Great TR. I think sometimes when passangers fly Club / First / UC they think they have the right to be impolite and be demanding.

They also have the right to keep moving in the cabin when the seat belt sign has come on and they want to get out of their sleep suit and go get dressed, pack their bags, etc. it seems.

Enjoyed both reports EGG, thanks. Glad you had a greeat holiday and two good VA trips.

I also had a spotlight accross from me that was a big nuisance and I couldn't hide it behind my tv screen whatever I did! Eventually I had to ask the cabin crew to ask the passenger to angle it away. He wasn't using it and actually switched it off, no problems, he hadn't realised.

As far as getting off your seat when the seat belt sign comes on, we had a couple who did that each time, deciding that the baby needed changing and they needed the loo. In fact we were almost taking off when they eventually returned to their seat the first time!

I've never had one of the spotlights shining in my face, and hadn't realised it could be a problem... but now thinking about it, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often. I'll be extra careful next time to ensure mine is pointing downwards, or switched off..

Glad you had a good trip I just realised i was working that flight... but down the back not sure if i even made it to upper for a chat on that flight! The scots you commented on were noted by the seniors thats all il say! and oh yeh i know the crew member your talking about hes V.funny kept us amused at the bar(s)in vegas.

Originally posted by JoeyVS
The scots you commented on were noted by the seniors thats all il say!

Sounds like something from Air Babylon!!!

Originally posted by JoeyVS
Glad you had a good trip I just realised i was working that flight... but down the back not sure if i even made it to upper for a chat on that flight! The scots you commented on were noted by the seniors thats all il say! and oh yeh i know the crew member your talking about hes V.funny kept us amused at the bar(s)in vegas.

Thanks Joey, I nominated him on VA for the hero thing but only remembered his first name, will he still get the nomination?

yeh he will - the FSM will prob add his surname or a manager will look it up when they get the form. He just got CSS so think his virgin flare is paying off anyway!

[ChuckC]

Egg,
Very entertaining report, that's for certain. So glad you enjoyed Vegas as well!

Chuck-

Good TR, Thank you.[:)]

Thanks for the TR, EGG[y] I trust this flight was better than your last inbound[;)]

There's currently a thread on a.net about whether the FAs or the pax have the right to be rude. TBH, I don't think I either party does. One of the problems of flying up front is being subjected to self-important idiots who think that everyone else is there to serve them and possess very little in the way of social skills. However, I've never thought of a way that the cew could deal with them in a belittling yet witty way.[:I]

VS.

Originally posted by VS045
Thanks for the TR, EGG[y] I trust this flight was better than your last inbound[;)]

There's currently a thread on a.net about whether the FAs or the pax have the right to be rude. TBH, I don't think I either party does. One of the problems of flying up front is being subjected to self-important idiots who think that everyone else is there to serve them and possess very little in the way of social skills. However, I've never thought of a way that the cew could deal with them in a belittling yet witty way.[:I]

VS.

Do the crew need to belittle them ? Characters such as these are usually quite adept at doing it themselves. As long as they aren't spoiling your fun or likely to go postal, it can all add to the fun of people watching.

I fully agree though that neither crew nor passenger have the right to be rude.

Paul

I just thought they exhibited the fact that as people they had no class whatsoever let alone Upper. They personified for me the type of people that justify people who fly coach thinking we are aloof snobs.

The cabin crew treated them with respect and offered the service paid for, it was clear they went the extra mile with everyone else though, they took the time to have conversations with everyone else which was lovely.

It wasn't me (or the Mrs) !!!

Regards

John