This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
This was my 61st transatlantic flight with Virgin - the vast majority in Y, so they are a little routine now. [;)] A pr_cis of our outbound flight is that it was very good, but unremarkable.
Apart from seeing Jerry Springer in the Clubhouse before we boarded, there was nothing out of the ordinary to report. The staff were all very good, check in was a breeze and we were given our vouchers for pre-paying APD. The aircraft was the 747 Lady Penelope, we pushed back 10 minutes late and wheels up was 30 minutes after the scheduled take off time. The flight was full down the back and appeared full in PE. Flying time was 9 hours and 10 minutes.
The meal was a choice of chicken with pasta, beef casserole or veggie risotto. I had the chicken, which I enjoyed. I watched The Departed, which is a great film, Top Gear and a few episodes of the Simpsons and Phoenix Nights all of which I had seen before.
Tea was a choice of cream cheese or chicken sandwiches with a bag of fruit. We got great views of a VERY cold and snowbound New England coast before it clouded over for the rest of the trip down the eastern seaboard. Despite our late take off, we landed on time, had almost no delay at Immigration but then a 20 minute wait for our priority bags.
It was then off to the Dollar depot, where we picked up our beast a Chrysler Pacifica for a few days of fun in the sun before our return journey:
The Return
Our return was our first experience of the new PE, so I will go into a bit more detail.
We dropped off the car at the Dollar deport and got the shuttle bus to the terminal. There was only one couple at the UC check in when we arrived and no one at PE, so we went over to the PE area. We there met one of the most surly and unfriendly VS staff members I have ever encountered. Apart from asking how many bags we were checking in, there was almost no conversation or interaction from her at all. When I dared to ask about bulk head seats, I was told in no uncertain terms that we couldnt have one. I then made the mistake of asking for directions to the lounge.
Reply You cant go in the lounge your are only Premium economy
Me But I have a Gold card
Reply There are three of you, you can only take one guest in.
Me But my son has a gold card too!
Reply I want to see them then
Me Doesnt the computer, show our Flying Club numbers, surely you can see we are gold?
Reply It doesnt tell me whether it expires. I need to see your cards.
Cards are then produced and our friend then spends ages writing out two invitations, muttering all the time about how Virgin dont own the lounge and have to pay for our entry.
Feeling like real valued customers we made our way to the Club America lounge which is before security at the entrance to the E gates. It is a bit of a maze as you enter with a mirrored corridor leading to a reception desk. There are then three or four separate lounges inside, with one of them being reserved for Virgin Atlantic customers. Inside the VS section there are series of alcoves with settees and tables.
There is an area with self service hot and cold drinks with a few cookies, and the staff keep the nibbles jar on each table well stocked up. I was surprised that there were no newspapers just a few arty magazines. Fortunately we were well stocked up with reading material. There is free wi-fi once you figure out how to get the access code, and every now and again one of the staff brings in a tray of assorted baguettes which consisted of egg, chicken or tuna. They were quite nice, but disappeared within a minute or two of being brought in every time.
All in all it is a very pleasant area to wait, with quite a few friendly staff wandering round collecting and re-stocking. We were called to board and made our way through security which didnt have a line and wasnt a problem.
Priority boarding was well signposted and was also well marshalled, which was nice. We went down the jet way onto the Airbus Surfer Girl. As we sat down we were offered drinks and there were a few English newspapers handed out. We actually pushed back a few minutes early and were in the air by 7.50pm not bad for a 7.40pm scheduled departure. Flying time was announced at 7 hours and 40 minutes again, quite quick.
As soon as we levelled out, we had another drinks service and menus were handed out. It seemed ages before V-Port was switched on and then the FSM apologised for the fact that we would have to sit through a 20 minute trailer programme before the main choices were available.
The full meal choice was :
Caesar salad, followed by a choice of:
a: Chicken fillets in BBQ sauce, served with mashed red bliss potatoes, mixed vegetable and sweetcorn.
b: Beef bourguignon served with pilaf rice, carrots and green beans.
c: Vegetable lasagne served with broccoli and squash.
We were also given warm ciabatta bread, then there was tiramisu for dessert and cheese & biscuits.
Service was excellent throughout the part of the flight that I was awake for. Lots of offers of drink refills and prompt clearing of trays once the meal was done. I must say, metal cutlery and real glasses are a huge plus.
I found sleeping in the new seats very easy and managed to get a good few hours half decent kip. Breakfast was a bowl of fruit and a muffin and we were stacked for about 15 minutes over Central London. Despite this we still landed early. There was a minor queue for Immigration but only a few minutes and our bags were among the first to appear, which was nice.
Revivals was very quiet, but it was nice to get a proper breakfast, UK papers and a freshen up before heading home.
All in all another excellent VS experience - with the one hardly notable exception. I know many comments have already been made about the outsourcing ground staff in the US, so I will leave it at that.
Nick
