VS076 MCO-MAN 27 Sep 08 (Upper)

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

Well, what a difference from the trip on the way out! We checked into the Hyatt the day before flying so we could relax, I paid extra for to extend the room till 6pm on the day we were flying so that we could check in early and then go for a final swim and sunbathe. All the Staff at the Hyatt were brilliant as usual and so friendly. We were escorted by the bell hop with our luggage to the Virgin UC check in, he stayed until all the luggage had been checked in and hauled it all on and off the trolley for us, and then round to the security, he was very friendly and helpful as were the girls at check in, Man pay attention! The girls were very friendly, chatty and genuine. Flew through security and duty free minus a few dollars! Onto the plane and were greeted by friendly, happy staff who were the BEST ever Virgin staff I have had the pleasure to meet. The lady opposite had a problem with her seat that was unable to be fixed, so she had to be moved for take off and landing as the tray would not fold away. During the flight the service was superb and very attentive staff. As the lights were dimmed, the lady opposite was giving the crew some grief because she could not sleep because of the tray, so I offered to swap seats for the night so she could sleep, and would give the crew some peace! To say she was a moaner would be an understatement, however i never sleep on a flight so it was not a problem. We arrived early after a great flight, but now the down side! The plane parked away from the terminal, and we had to disembark down stairs and onto a waiting bus which took us to the terminal, not a problem with that except that when we were dropped off, the passport control was miles away. Why drop you that far away when they bus you to the terminal? It is ok for able bodied people to walk, but my wife has a problem walking long distances and nobody said a word of how far it would be to walk, very bad I thought. Overall, the best experience from Orlando until we arrived at Man, welcome home! Thank you to the staff, especially the young lady and gentleman who looked after us so well, you are what Virgin is all about, and you certainly did them proud. See you in April[:D]

A great TR, thanks. Good to read that your return flight was much better than your outward one (not difficult by all counts!)

I agree 100% that if you get a good crew, the flight is good, even if there are slight defects with the seats / other things not as they should be.

The out-sourced ground staff at Orlando are also excellent - they manage to pull off good, friendly service at both check-in and boarding even when they have anything up to 5 flights a day in high season. The MAN ground staff (unsure if they are out-sourced or not) struggle to get it right with a maximum of two flights a day (although the remote stand thingy is not down to them - blame the VS bean counters for that).

5 weeks today for my next Orlando trip... and I'm counting.

James

Great TR.

I agree about the MCO Hyatt - use it both out and in - and the comparison with the MAN Radisson bell-hop service is marked.
The Hyatt makes up for the lack of CH at MCO - usually it is worth asking about the possibilities of an extension foc - they usually help out if you are Gold member.

The remote stand/bus issue is a problem on the MAN flights - particularly annoying when the actual saving the bean counters have achieved is only 75p per passenger per flight. Well worth raising that with VS in writing - they say it is a 'trial' so need to know how we feel.
75p makes a mockery of their 'Time is precious' advert. The stairs/bus/walk makes a mockery of Steve Ridgeway's letter saying 'We also need you to look for opportunities to conserve cash, but not at the expense of our products and facilities. We must not let these deteriorate just because times are hard.'

Originally posted by Bill S
Great TR.

I agree about the MCO Hyatt - use it both out and in - and the comparison with the MAN Radisson bell-hop service is marked.
The Hyatt makes up for the lack of CH at MCO - usually it is worth asking about the possibilities of an extension foc - they usually help out if you are Gold member.

The remote stand/bus issue is a problem on the MAN flights - particularly annoying when the actual saving the bean counters have achieved is only 75p per passenger per flight. Well worth raising that with VS in writing - they say it is a 'trial' so need to know how we feel.
75p makes a mockery of their 'Time is precious' advert. The stairs/bus/walk makes a mockery of Steve Ridgeway's letter saying 'We also need you to look for opportunities to conserve cash, but not at the expense of our products and facilities. We must not let these deteriorate just because times are hard.'

Hi Bill,
Thanks for the tips about the Hyatt.
I will certainly write to Steve Ridgeway regarding the 'money saving' excercise, 'excercise' is certainly what you get with that walk!
How stupid to save 75p per passenger, if they would have asked or even bothered to explain to their customers before making the decision, I feel sure that the majority of people would have been more than willing to pay the extra 75p to save the walk!
I understand that with the rising costs in the airline business that they have to save where they can, but when you pay what we as customers pay for a ticket, i really cannot see how saving 75p comes into play, when keeping the customer happy should be what it is all about, or is that just me. I will let you know if I get a reply from Mr. Ridgeway, and will also badger my family who are also V-flyers to write too. Thanks again for the reply and tips.

Written to VS, still waiting for reply! Oct 13th and counting.