This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
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Regrettably, I didn't get to speak to him. I wanted to respect his privacy and wasn't sure how he would react to a fan approaching him during his stay in the NZ lounge or onboard the flight. I have it on good authority he's not comfortable with random approachees.
Anyway, cut to me... I was leaving Las Vegas, but had chosen not to fly home from there. Instead I flew to LAX on Southwest. A fun, but very cheapy airline. The SleazyJet of the US. 500 year old 737. The crew seemed very casual and friendly almost amaturish, different from the atmosphere on VX or VS. This flight was incredibly short. Probably no more than 45 mins. Southwest fly you in to T1 at LAX. VS fly out of T2. T2 is a short walk outside from T1.
I was very early for my confirmed booking for the VS024 so I approached ticket sales to beg for a seat on the VS008. I was instantly rejected as though stupid, but this was simply because it was a sold-out flight. In hindsight I'm glad I didn't get the VS008 now. I worried they'd tell me to go away until a more suitable time to check-in for the VS024, but thankfully they checked me in, gave me my lounge pass, and marked my bags for the VS24 so they wouldn't get loaded on the VS8.
Security was busy but not too painful. Headed up to the NZ Lounge. The doors open automatically but there is also a button which says Press to enter. This turns out to be a door bell and not the door opener. I didn't press it, but it gets pressed repeatedly causing a door bell sound even at the back of the lounge leading to much confusion. I was greeted by a charming New Zealander, who seems to be the type of guy who just can't stop smiling. Lovely. The lounge was nice too. Food wasn't too thrilling but better than nowt.
In the lounge, I was sitting in view of the entrance when in walks Jake Gyllenhaal with two companions. One was a butch-looking security type and the other was a blonde female assistant-looking type. He was wearing a grey hoodie, perhaps to reduce recognisability and also seemingly to hide long hair perhaps for his role in the Prince of Persia. He walked in and we made that kind of prolonged eye contact. I held his stare but forced myself to remain unreactive on the outside. Inside I was freaking out and wondering if I was visibly flushing. God I wish I'd just let out a big smile and waved, but then I feared that may have been cheesy. He didn't appear to want to court attention anyway. After arrival in the lounge the three promptly left again to come back about ten minutes later. Perhaps there was something he wanted to buy at the shops. He went all the way to the back of the lounge - where I had been sitting but left because it's kind of boring and I wanted to sit near the TV in the end. While we waited for the boarding call I popped up to the back a couple of times to look down at the gate. I walked right behind him and I could have patted him on the head. Each time Jake was sitting on his own on his mobile to someone. Reece maybe? He must have stayed on that mobile for the entire time of his stay in the lounge. His minders did not sit with him. They hung around outside of the lounge mostly.
When boarding time came, I thought this was going to be interesting... how would they get him onto the plane... would he wait in an airbridge queue? I can't resist mentioning his arrival to my FA. She's glad to get the confirmation as they'd heard he was coming but they were all thinking it was a rumour. Turned out they timed it so that most of the plane was boarded before he came on. He came on without the minders. He seemed a little sad actually. Lonely perhaps? I leaned forward as he walked past me and tried to see if I could smell his cologne. I couldn't smell anything. He was mere millimetres away from me. In fact it could have looked as if I was trying to sniff his groin. [:o)] He had a backpack and a smaller bag which scraped along the back of the seats in the middle of the cabin. He found his seat, which seemed miles away from where I was. As he sat down he looked back and again we appeared to make eye contact. Again I held any reaction appear not to care less. He was in row 4, but I was in row 17 - the last in the cabin. It was an A346 aircraft known simply as Bubbles, born less than two years ago. Very clean and very modern feeling. Toilets were a breath of fresh air.
Then I notice Guy Burnet, who played Craig Dean in Hollyoaks, hanging about the door wearing a daft hat. I point him out to my FA and I say 'I wonder who's more famous' in a sarcastic tone and in perfect comedy timing he turned right! [:o)] My FA instantly saw the comic coincidence and said 'Obviously not him'. Phew I thought Jake was going to have some competition in UC for a moment there... NOT.
Jake didn't accept an offer of a sleeper suit and stayed in his clothes. I changed however. It helps you feel a little more fresher when you arrive. I didn't actually see him use a WC the whole flight... but then I was out of it for six hours.
I wondered if Jake was a seasoned Virgin flyer or if this was his first time. Something told me it was his first time. The way the minders didn't seem to know what to do with boarding him and the unfamiliar look on his face as he first gazed around the cabin.
Jake wasn't using the IFE. He appeared to have his own little DVD player. I didn't know if he got it from the crew or if it was his own. It's ironic; a year ago the in-flight system had several of his movies. Right now it had none. Think he took a year out to do theatre and stuff... or is his career in a slump after the gay role?
Dinner time came and Jake must have requested a special meal as he was served first with something which wasn't on the menu. Perhaps he went low fat? Would he go kosher being mostly Jewish? It looked like a salad. That was all he ate. I wondered if he had a anti-jetlag plan.
I had the mushroom soup. This was surprisingly well seasoned and quite enjoyable. I followed with the beef. This was edible but nothing to write v-flyer about. [;)] Fatty here had to have the cheesecake which sadly didn't meet the standards of the one I had on my outbound. I'm now thinking what I had on the outbound was more akin to Key Lime pie than cheesecake. FSM was very attentive on this flight. I got four helpings of bread from him and two water refills. Woohoo... amn't I special.
The next unusual event was when Jake had half the UC cabin crew searching for something in his seat. I overheard them saying he dropped something and lost it down the seat. The Upper Class suites are terrible for this. Jake spent the next 30 mins bent over looking for this... so was forced to stare at his ass for the duration. Such a hardship. I don't know if they found anything, but it was a serious carry-on. The FSM and two or three flight attendants were involved in literally dismantling his seat.
I slept for the next six hours. Was quite shocked I'd achieved that actually. I did however take 50mg Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride to help. I'll not really know if it did help as it was the natural time (as far as PDT goes) for me to be sleeping anyway.
It was breakfast time and Jake appeared only to have OJ, which he never finished - in fact barely touched. I had the bacon roll which wasn't stale and was quite nice. Coffee was typical American weak nonsense. Coffee out of Heathrow was way better.
Just before landing an FA approached Jake, asked him something and he got up and wondered through the curtain which leads to the flight deck and forward crew lounge. I don't know whether he was meeting and greeting the captain or something. At one point the curtain flashed open and he was just standing smiling surrounded by some crew. No sign of the flight crew though. He returned to his seat and was then approached by one of the senior cabin crew supervisors with one of the Upper Class menus which she got him to autograph. I wish I'd thought of that. Actually it was quite funny to observe the crew literally fight over who was serving Jake the whole flight. 'Oh don't bother... I've already asked him. He doesn't want anything'. You can imagine the jealousy smirks.
Jake's hoodie never came down the whole flight.
Disembarkation time came and I was first off - the whole reason for me choosing 17A (that and the privacy from behind). I wondered how Jake would leave. As I exit the airbridge there was a guy holding a Jake Gyllenhaal sign with a huge grin on his face. I laughed as though acknowledging the almost stupidity at having a sign with his name on it. You'd think the guy could just wait to see him and then show an ID card or something. Rather embarrassing for Jake I thought. Everyone leaving that plane will have seen this guy. Lucky him though, having airside pick-up.
At immigration I forgot I could be using the Fast Track and the FA who hung up my suit jacket didn't give me my boarding pass back anyway. Jake was the last off the plane it seemed as he was last in the Fast Track queue. I got through normal queue faster than 90% of the Upper Classers who did use Fast Track. [:o)]
At baggage reclaim Jake promptly left without collecting anything. He had a sports bag and backpack. Can't be here for long or doesn't need the three bags I had. I had hoped to grab a photo op at this point but it was worthless as he left and I was too far away.
I needed to get back to GLA on BA and annoyingly thanks to Heathrow landing delay I missed the closing of the earlier flight by ten minutes. ARGH! Then I got someone else's coffee at Starbucks... I ordered decaf as I'm highly caf sensitive... I was shaking like a 743 in heavy turbulance within half an hour. Anyhoo, BA flight was nothing worth writing v-flyer about.
The end. [;)] (written under the influence of jetlag - may seem a little schizophrenic - couldn't find energy to proof read thoroughly)
