This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Anyway, by the time 04 July this year arrived, I was at a fever pitch of anticipation and excitement, to such an extent that my nearest and dearest commented that I am a very sad person and indeed a bit of an anorak. I class my self more of a light wind cheater actually.
VS 071 was scheduled for departure at 14.05 and we arrived at check-in at 10.00 not really expecting the desks to be open. However, they were, which was a bonus as we didnt have to hang around too long. In fact, check-in was a breeze and we managed to secure the seats that had been pre booked months earlier. As an aside, I had tried to check in on-line the night before but the VS website wouldnt play ball. Still it didnt matter in the end.
VGAL appeared on the horizon just before noon and I had an almost irresistible urge to shout to the non VS passengers my planes bigger than your plane as Jersey Girl drew up to gate. I managed to keep my gob shut though. She did look rather lovely next to the more prosaic 737s and 320s that are the usual visitors to Glasgow although the Emirates 777, also scheduled for a 14.05 departure, cut quite a dash too.
Boarding started about 13.30 and seemed quite organised. Unusually, security staff were positioned directly at the gate and were carrying out random body searches despite the fact that we had already cleared security. We must have looked ok as none of my party was subjected to the dreaded pat down and leg rub routine.
We boarded the aircraft, turning right and took the long walk to the back. However, it did serve to reiterate just how big these things are and we liked that the crew welcomed us at different stages as we advanced up the aisle. Our seats were 60 H,J and K. There are three of us and no matter the flight, we always arrange ourselves in the same order: daughter at the window, me in the middle and husband on the aisle (so he can stick his legs out for more room). God knows what we would have done if wed been allocated the seats in the middle of the row! Anyway, we seated our selves true to form and whiled away the time until push back by exploring the amenity pack; trying and failing through lack of space to put on the flight socks I had brought; trying and failing to eject the IFE control from the arm rest and reading the retail therapy magazine. We discovered later that the IFE doofer isnt meant to come away from the arm rest on VGAL which incidentally I was glad to find out because I was beginning to think we were being really thick.
The skymap appeared on the IFE screen prior to take off indicating that a journey time of 38 minutes had elapsed. This made us giggle because we were still at the gate. However closer scrutiny showed that the time was indicative of VGALs journey up to Scotland from Manchester.
Looking around I could see that the economy was full. However, everyone got themselves settled fairly quickly and we eventually pushed back about 30 minutes late. The safety video wouldnt behave and the flight crew had to take over. There must have been gremlins in the works because the IFE wouldnt behave either but thankfully it got reset about 45 minutes into the flight and worked fine after that. Ive jumped ahead a bit because I havent told you about the wonderful zoom up the runway and magnificent views of the Scottish islands and the Mull of Kintyre as we departed out of Glasgow. Made me come over all patriotic.
The drinks service was completed speedily, efficiently and with a smile. We were served a hot lunch which was perfectly acceptable as an offering in the economy section. It was nice to be offered wine in a proper, grown up glass. I hate it when airlines use plastic; makes me feel a bit pre-school.
We settled down to watch our respective selections of films and TV programmes. I amused myself by watching 27 Dresses which was ok and kept me entertained. Also watched an episode of Blackadder, turnips n all. There wasnt another drinks service but the crew were happy to serve passengers from the galley so that wasnt a problem. In fact, I quite liked wandering up, seeing what the crew were up to and a having a general nose around. About an hour out of MCO, us plebs in economy were offered sandwiches. I really liked them and they were better than the ones Ive been offered in the past by BA and KLM.
On approach to MCO the captain pointed out the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral. Unfortunately we were on the wrong side of the a/c and had to content ourselves with the backs of peoples heads as they strained to get a view. Still the space centre was on our todo list so we didnt feel deprived!
Landing was perfectly executed and we taxied to our gate noticing other VS a/c on the ground. We disembarked pretty quickly and much to our relief the wait at immigration was short. Guess the gods were looking after us. Luggage retrieval was quick and painless. Husband was particularly interested in the monorail as he is a coachbuilder and has been involved in building monorail vehicles for USA airports. I got a long explanation of the main features of the vehicle we were travelling in, down to where the computer systems are housed enthralling stuff.
My first trip with VS was a positive experience and lived up to my expectations. Loved the luggage allowance. We are predominantly charter flyers so it was great to have the extra allowance and I must admit that we took advantage of this, especially our 14 year old who bought-up most of the malls in Orlando. Legroom in economy was as expected but bearable for an 8 hour flight. In future I think we will probably upgrade to PE purely to get a bit more space. My husband is over 6 feet tall and he did struggle a bit with comfort. However well definitely travel with VS again especially if they continue to offer flights from Glasgow to MCO as we just loved Florida. I'll post something on VS 072 soon - need to tell you about hot-lung, red eye and dolphins.
