VS601 LHR-JNB 11 Jul 07 (Upper)

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

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Hello all,

This is my first attempt at a TR so please be gentle with me![}:)]

Well, yesterday saw the first of 4 VS flights that I will be taking over the next 10 days or so - all on the LHR-JNB-LHR route so I should be able to comment on consistency.

Pick up by car worked fine - bang on time and friendly driver.

Checked in at Manchester for the BMI flight to LHR to join the 601. No problems here except I wasn't given lounge access to the BMI lounge at Manchester. Virgin had apparently booked me on a BMI 'discounted' premium economy ticket without checking with me (I asked for PE - BMI's highest class on this route) The discounted ticket I learnt doesn't allow lounge access (even though I tried very hard!!)[n] If anyone is in a simliar situation and wants to use the lounge, check that you are booked in Y and not S class with BMI. I have managed to change it for the way back for an extra 40.

For some reason, they tagged my bag through to CPT (I was flying MAN-LHR-JNB-CPT), but I still had to collect it in JNB to clear customs before checking in again with SAA where they promptly retagged it!

The clubhouse was as good as ever with the burger going down a treat with a few glasses of fizzy stuff - even managed to sneak a haircut in!

Boarding Miss Kitty was on-time, with PE and UC priority boarding first followed by one of the biggest scrums of passengers I have ever seen! Many people were paying no attention whatsoever to ther 'we are boarding by row numbers' and just went for it - only to be turned back, but in doing so completely blocking access to everyone else who should have been boarding......

No greeting for individual UC pax on arrival. It seemed to me that there were quite a few new staff (or staff new to this route). A lot of 'what should I do now?' questions were being asked by a couple of crew members. The FSM was very low profile during the flight - she came round with bread, and then didn't see her again until in JNB.

Pushed back about 40 mins late due to late passengers. Flight was completely full. IFBT was great, but didnt get to me - no priority card for next time either [V] . Do Virgin still do give these out?

Suite was in perfect condition and it had the new 'button covers' fitted.

I had an incident with my headphones which got hotter and hotter when plugged in. I don't know what would have happened if it hadn't unplugged them as they were by that stage too hot to touch on one side! No spare UC headsets on board - so I got some economy ones (just as good!!)

Interestingly, the guy sat next to me plugged his VS headset into his iPod and left the end of the jack plug in there - he wasn't a happy bunny - it was new apparently!!! Are headphone problems common?

Food - I went for prawn cocktail (average - how they manage to provide stale bread when we are only just leaving LHR is beyond me!) followed by lamb (v good) and cheese (great). Food service was a bit slow - probably due to numbers on board.

Wine came round x3 but in very close succession (hic...) After the meal service, the crew seemed in a great hurry to turn the lights off! At this stage the crew discovered they were 2 duvets short (mine plus an elderly lady!). These were later found with 2 other passengers who had decided they fancied 2 duvets each........Now didn't I read on here once before that you should snaffle a second duvet to lie on if you find the bed too hard!!!!!

Flight was pretty uneventful - usual middle of the night turbulence over mid-Africa. Cabin was far too hot as often seems the case.

Breakfast was good, but they did seem to wake us very early (2 1/2 hours out). Had to ask for landing cards as they had forgotten about them.... Individual crew members were really friendly and helpful - just seemed a bit disorganised.

Landed more or less on time and UC passengers were sent off on their own bus to immigration. Cleared immigration fine.

Luggage was slow. All the crew bags were off first - this always annoys me!!! All the passengers bags seemed to come out mixed up. Mine was practically the last bag off 30 minutes later and it was half open (one zip). On checking, someone had clearly been through it (??security), but nothing was missing - just not put back very tidily!

Just managed to catch connecting flight to CPT. Would not have been happy if I had missed that due to luggage delay!

Now sat in Cape Town with a large cool beer! The sun is out, Table mountain is on one side of me and the Atlantic on the other. All is well with the world! Pity I've got to go and do some work now.......

Ian

Thanks Ian for your tr no need to worry it was a good read and I am looking forward to your future tr's. you are right re putting the pax to bed its happened on all our overnight filghts and it's a bit annoying if you dont comply you feel like naughty kids. this seems to apply in all cabins

Great TR thanks very much, shame the FA seemed to be disorganised [:?]

Enjoy CPT! [y]

Dominic

[buns]

Ian

Thanks for your TR[y][y]

You need not worry about fellow V-flyers being gentle with you, your TR is a good read.

It is the FSM who can make a flight, here, your experience of 'low profile' and a crew anxious to bed down pax I suspect is not entirely disconnected.

Never heard of problems on the Headphones front[:?][:?] I am surprised there were no pax in UC using there own which would have freed up one for you.

Thanks once again

buns

Originally posted by buns4vs

Never heard of problems on the Headphones front[:?][:?] I am surprised there were no pax in UC using there own which would have freed up one for you.

Thanks once again

buns

hi buns,
actually, glad you brought that up as it's something i definitely *have* noticed. last march/april, i had the misfortune of getting shocks from my headphones (in UC)...and this was both out- and inbound! IIRC, it turned out to be something with the console itself...trying another set of headphones didn't fix the problem, the shocks kept coming. v.unnerving!
i'm flying the same route beginning this sunday (in UC again), so i'll definitely let you all know in my trip report.

cheers,
VS020

They do still give out priority cards as I received one on my trip back from LHR pn 6 July. Just another case of inconsistent service, I'm afraid.

GJ

Ian,

Thanks for your interesting TR, no need to be gentle as it was spot on [y]
I look forward for the comparison ones and I hope the service improves for you.

Iain

Great trip report - thank you! Looking forward to reading the next one and hopefully you will have better service.

'"Luggage was slow. All the crew bags were off first - this always annoys me!!!' Reason's for this are that;
A) The crew bags are located in a seperate bin or in the bulk & are loaded last (last in first out).
The crew have also just been on duty for over 14 hours so perhaps deserve to get their bags & get to bed!!!"

[Decker]

Thanks for the TR - we always love fresh meat .

Must admit I've never begrudged crew getting their bags first - they were at the airport hours before me and (in the case of 343s) haven't had a place to kip during the flight so the sooner they're home the better

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't having a go at the crew at all. I think that the Virgin crew are on the whole superb and work a damn sight harder in-flight than many other airlines. The point I was making that the crew bags came off first and then just sat there until the crew arrived which was after almost everyone else's luggage had come off (IE only waiting for mine!!). My point was simply that as the crew have to be last off the plane, why does their luggage automatically come off first?

Ian

[Decker]

'Cos normally as they use crew immigration channels they're at the carousel before our bags have arrived [;)].

Ian

I fly this route once or twice a year and they never hand out landing cards without being asked. In fact I've wandered through Economy and seen people with them, and then none available for UC.

Great trip report for my favorite route.

Originally posted by napamatt
Ian

I fly this route once or twice a year and they never hand out landing cards without being asked. In fact I've wandered through Economy and seen people with them, and then none available for UC.

Great trip report for my favorite route.

I was given mine in the SFO CH and on return trip was given it onboard.

GJ

Originally posted by Denzil
'Luggage was slow. All the crew bags were off first - this always annoys me!!!' Reason's for this are that;
A) The crew bags are located in a seperate bin or in the bulk & are loaded last (last in first out).
The crew have also just been on duty for over 14 hours so perhaps deserve to get their bags & get to bed!!!

Ahem ....

On VS flights the crew baggage always goes in the the bulk hold at the rear of the aircraft, not into a separate baggage bin.

I'm not sure what happens at out-stations, but at Heathrow ...
The crew supervise the disembarkation of passengers, and then perform a security/lost property check; they gather their own stuff, and then disembark to a waiting coach; the coach takes them to the back of the aircraft where we (hopefully) have their bags on the tarmac waiting for them. They collect their bags and load them into the coach, and the coach takes them all away.

I know so , because I load-em and unload-em!

... and ...

Originally posted by Decker
Must admit I've never begrudged crew getting their bags first - they were at the airport hours before me and (in the case of 343s) haven't had a place to kip during the flight so the sooner they're home the better

Some of the A343s have a crew-rest compartment, I have loaded and unloaded a few from A343s - VELD just last week.