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#248457 by mas66
23 Mar 2007, 03:18
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Arrived at Heathrow T3 just after 8.15 (an hour later than planned !) ..... dropped the car off with valet parking outside T3 (good value if you book via BAA website) ..... short walk into Zone A ..... a totally painless check-in with a huge 2 min wait at UC desks ! .... received our boarding cards for 72 A & C in PE as pre booked ...... Security was quite busy thru fast track but it was nice to see that they opened up 2 more screening routes while I was there for fast track pax to ease the queue. Probably took around 25 min to get thru the main screening and the infamous shoe queue which I have to say was very efficient today.

Straight up to the CH for a smoked salmon & cream cheese bagel !! and for Mrs S to have a manicure. We were greeted with the news that the flight would be delayed by 1 hour which was great as we now had a little more shopping time for Mrs S to buy her Clarins that I normally run around for when Im on my own !!

The CH seemed very busy however there were plenty of staff and the service was excellent and quick.

I visited concierge to sort out pre paying for some extra CH guests on my next trip, I casually asked how busy the flight was etc etc etc, then finished pre paying and sat down.

5 min later I received a visit from the concierge agent who presented me with 2 UC boarding cards .... what a result being as Mrs S was with me in PE on a companion ticket !!! [:D]

We were called around 11.20 for the long walk to gate 35 !! ... greeted by a huge queue which was being efficiently managed and seemed to pass quickly.

Settled in to our unexpected UC seats and eventually left the ground at 1235.

I have to say the crew looking after our section were first class and the service was better than I have had in a long time, they were a great bunch.

I had Smoked Salmon starter followed by the sausages ..... washed down with honeycomb ice cream topped with a giant chocolate button..... delicious :)
The remainder of the flight was uneventful ........ I managed a couple of hours sleep and a couple of episodes of Extras ..... by which time it was time for sandwiches and a delicious scone !! ...... another bit of shut eye and we were approaching SFO.

We landed about an hour late...... a swift exit from the aircraft and into a completely empty Immigration hall !!! ... a very polite immigration agent became a bit frustrated with his fingerprint reader and nearly smashed it .... it had probs reading Mrs Ss prints ... fortunately I dont have to do mine....... straight into the baggage hall ... UC bags were out within 5 mins and we were away.

We made our way to the car rental centre on the blue line rail shuttle (or whatever its called) straight to Avis and into the car.

This must be a record for me ! .. I was sitting in the car within 20 min of stepping off the aircraft .

Nice easy drive into the centre of town ...a bit of grief trying to sort my room but just managed to finish check-in before the VS crew arrived at the hotel (or 'Red Coats' as the receptionist called them) ......

...... and now a nice relaxing 3 day break ..... back on the VS 20 on Sunday.


Cheers

Mark [:D]
#399702 by davidfsmith
23 Mar 2007, 05:53
Nice work with the upgrades, I missed out on the ice cream with the giant chocolate button....
#399703 by Mavrick
23 Mar 2007, 07:28
Good TR, and well done on the upgrade. [y]
#399708 by slinky09
23 Mar 2007, 08:39
Great TR, thanks. I'm intrigued why you don't have to do your fingerprints?
#399720 by MarkJ
23 Mar 2007, 11:06
Gotta love those upgrades - even better on a companion ticket [y]
#399727 by DMetters-Bone
23 Mar 2007, 12:08
NIce TR, well done on the upgreade, always a welcome surprise! [y]

Enjoy SFO! My favourite city in the US! [^]

Dominic
#399728 by Juliet
23 Mar 2007, 12:17
Originally posted by slinky09
Great TR, thanks. I'm intrigued why you don't have to do your fingerprints?


I suspect Mas66 has US passport, hence no scan of iris or fingerprints.....
#399729 by mas66
23 Mar 2007, 12:40
Originally posted by slinky09
Great TR, thanks. I'm intrigued why you don't have to do your fingerprints?


My visa type does not require photo to be taken (other the one on the visa and in my passport ) or fingerprints.

Cheers

Mark [:D]
#399753 by Jon Morgan
23 Mar 2007, 18:50
I'll hope for the same good fortune on my SFO flight on Tuesday. The flight looks crazy busy actually, with only a few seats in UC and full fare Economy available. I've got used to the flight being half empty the last few times I've done it.

Glad you had a good trip, even with the delay.
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