This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
This is my first TR. Sorry but it is about 2 months old.
I haven't seen any trip reports to LOS so I am assuming that this is the first on this board. I will be adding more in the future though.
Well the LOS flight usually leaves about 10:00pm but I like to allow plenty of time for the check-in queues, security as well as browsing through duty-free.
I left home at 5:45pm (being dropped by a friend). I only live about 15 miles from Heathrow but given the fact that I was leaving at rush hour it took me about an hour to get to T3. To my surprise the setting down area outside T3 was not as busy as I used to remember it.
The queue for PE check-in was pretty long compared to previous journies with about 10 people ahead of me but it moved quite fast and in no time at all I was at the desk. I thought about a free upgrade but then the coward in me took over and instead I asked for the bulkhead seat which I was given. Result!!!!
After leaving check-in I then went upstairs to join what was a long snake like security queue. In fact I can confidently say that the queue was as long as half of the terminal building (not an exaggeration). There were various BAA staff reminding us not to take any liquids through and asking us to make sure we only had one piece of hand luggage. So there was a lot of frantic passengers trying to stuff big bags into small laptop-sized briefcases. Nothing like being prepared, eh?? It took me about 30 minutes to go through security.
My next stop was duty free to pick up the compulsory confectionary as well as a couple of bottle of Mint Chocolate Baileysmmmmmm. I then found my self a comfortable seat and sat reading for an hour. Upon looking up at the screen I saw that VS651 was boarding at Gate 27. So I grabbed my carry-on bag and proceeded to Gate 27 only to find that the doors to the departure lounge had not yet opened which was a bit of a pain so there were groups of passengers hanging around outside the doors and causing somewhat of an obstacle to other passengers trying to reach other Gates..After 20 minutes the doors opened but without any recognizable queue for priority boarding.
Once inside our tickets and passports were checked and again we sat down for about another 40 minutes before boarding was announced. This time there was priority boarding called but unfortunately noone bothered to check BCs to make sure that people boarding were indeed UC or PE and that resulted in a surge of people from all classes. [n]
Once on board I was a bit disappointed to see that we had the old PE seats but I guess that is the luck of the draw. We were immediately offered some bucks fizz which I downed in one go. The flight was fairly busy as they usually are to LOS but we managed to get away about 30 mins late. Not long after take off the meal service started. There was a choice of Chicken or Beef with Jollof Rice. Although Jollof Rice is a very popular Nigerian dish it would have been nice to have an alternative. However the food was delicious and together with some couscous and moist strawberry cheesecake the meal went down well with me.
Now, I didnt have much to complain about on the flight as everything worked etc.. but the lack of attention from CC was a bit concerning. After the meal it seemed as if all of them just disappeared. I know you can always call for CC but this sometimes makes you feel like you are being a pain. I would rather they stroll down the aisle one in a while just in case someone needs something even if half of the pax are asleep on this nightflight. [:(!]
As I was very tired I wasn't too bothered with the entertainment and didn't bother to check it out.
Upon arriving in Lagos the plane taxied to its tight parking spot and had to be towed in to avoid hitting any other planes. This took all of 7 minutes. When the doors open the first thing that happens is that you are hit with a very warm rush of air. Upon disembarking I was pleased to see that the airports airconditioning was working very well. It was a quick trot to immigration where the entire hall was empty apart from staff (one of the joys of arriving in LOS in the early morning). It took literally less than 5 mins to get through immigration and then I had to rent a trolley for 200 naira (about 80 pence). You were offered a porter for an additional 100 naira (about 40 pence) which I declined as my luggage was manageable.
I am delighted to say the priority tagging on luggage seems to work in Lagos and within 15-20 minutes my luggage was out. So about 40 minutes after landing I was on my way out not bad. And no, I didnt get one request for a bribe or tip. In addition those waiting for passengers now have to wait outside the terminal building. This was a ploy to stop taxi touts from harassing passengers and also to create more space as the area outside the arrivals hall is relatively small. This is good 'cos it means you don't have to navigate your way through a crowd of people when you leave arrivals as you do in other airports.
Lagos airport has had quite a rough time of it after bad reviews courtesy of the infamous fly-on-the wall documentary shown in the UK, but to be fair things are much improved. The state of the airport is much better although it still needs some work here and there and a lot of the red tape is gone making your arrival much faster and smoother. I think BA and Virgin share a lounge at the airport. Having visited the lounge, whilst it cant be compared to the CH at Heathrow it is a welcome change to the regular departure lounge.
One thing I need to say is, I have flown VS several times to LOS both in PE and UC (both old and new config) as well as to the US. I am sorry to say but the attitude of the crew on the LOS route is not as good as those on other routes. Whilst I appreciate that the LOS route is not popular with VS Crew and maybe this depresses them, professionalism is professionalism is professionalism.
Overall I would say that my flight was pretty good but the CC could put in a bit more effort.
