This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Am out in Chicago, on the beginning of a small N America holiday. Flew out on VS yesterday, and it was a very good flight.. and yet the whole experience seemed topsy-turvy. I mean, everything was sort of opposite my recent experiences of VS Upper...
Check-in: rubbish. Dozens of people at UC check-in, in no discernible queue (they have taken the ropes away) and no-one efficiently co-ordinating the increasingly grumpy UC pax. I don't think there were any computer problems, or a particularly busy morning.. they just didn't have any staff member on the floor helping and directing. Previously, check-in had always been easy for me.
Shoe carnival: got caught this time.. always managed to avoid before!
Clubhouse: my last few visits it was really quiet.. yesterday it was hoaching. We got the last free table in the restaurant. Service was slower than usual. But the wireless internet worked perfectly! How unusual...
Flight..
Cabin crew: Male FSM (not had that before) who was excellent, and ran a very good team. They were friendly, but professional. Visible but efficient. A really impressive and nice group of people. Chatted to them again in the evening, as they're staying in the same hotel as us in Chicago.
Seat: everything worked.
IFE: Odyssey. Boo-hiss!! What a pile of nonsense.. Having got used to V-Port on all previous trips, this just seems awful by comparison. Gave up and sat at the bar for most of the flight.
Food: OMG! 'VS in rather tasty Upper food shocker'!!! Lunch was served about 1.5h in, and I picked the salmon ceviche to start (which was delicate, herby and quite nice indeed.) Mrs. McCoy had the baby gem salad with feta cheese, which was reportedly also quite nice. Mains.. I had the beef/red wine sauce/potato/veg and it was really yummy. Beef was very tender and fell apart nicely, veg were cooked well, and I could have easily had 'seconds' but was quite full. Mrs had flounder/prawns/sorrel sauce/potato/veg which was almost as good.. potatoes a bit undercooked, but otherwise gobbled up! Yum yum.
Wine: same old.. nothing wonderful. The Boudinaud chardonnary isn't too bad.
Sleep Suit: asked for one, so I could put the top on over my t-shirt.. as it was quite cool in the flight. As per others' reports, my usual Medium seems to have shrunk a bit. Previously a Medium would be quite baggy on me.. now it's a snug fit.
Flight was full in all classes.. again not very common on the ORD flight. All seemed clean enough.
US immigration at ORD: quick and pleasant.
So yeah.. a trip of opposites. The normally bad (eg food, immigration) was good. The normally good (eg. check-in, IFE) was below average. But the crew were great, and overall it was a good flight.
We'll be in Chicago for a few days, and then off to Calgary and Vancouver next week.
