This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
All too soon after a fabulous few days in Hong Kong and Macau, it was time to head home. Many thanks to Tinkerbelle, JP, Dean and many others who gave us advice about our trip. It was our first time here, but it wont be our last. The place is brilliant, the people are so friendly, the hotels are fabulous, (the Venetian in Macau is the biggest building in Asia!!) and the food is simply wonderful. It really is a place that has to be experienced. The amount of people that are transported, fed, and looked after with awe inspiring efficiency just has to be seen to be believed.
The efficiency extends to the flying experience. We were able to check our bags and get our boarding passes / Clubhouse invitations 10 hours before our flight at the Airport Express in-town check in facility. This service is free to all passengers who use the Airport Express to get out to the airport and is just brilliant. (I am already running out of superlatives). The staff didnt wear VS uniforms, but were very switched on to VS systems and gave us the CH pass without me saying anything about being Au.
Checking in early meant we were able to head back out to Kowloon for some more shopping and then watch the 8pm New Years fireworks in the harbour. These were also amazing, which will come as no surprise, I am sure.
Even with the awful state of the pound at the moment, it is still possible to get some great deals in the many restaurants, shops, malls and markets here.
Once the fireworks were over, we headed out on the Airport Express, and breezed through passport control and security without a problem. We were soon on the train to the Clubhouse, which is tucked away overlooking one of the many shopping concourses.
The staff in the Clubhouse were as friendly as any we had encountered on the trip and service was just amazing. I had developed a taste for Tsingtao lager on the trip, so I let the trend continue. We also had a bite to eat.
Dinner menu:
Lighter bites.
Jasmine scented pumpkin latte soup
Jalapeno peppers with red pepper hummous
Mini quiche with sausage and mushrooms.
Bigger bites.
Grilled sole with coconut rice and Chinese greens
Cabbage leaf rolls on focaccia bread with mushrooms and tomato rice.
Lamb burger on focaccia bread with caramelised onions
Naughty but nice.
Chocolate banana bread and butter pudding with whiskey caramel sauce.
Selection of cheese and accompaniments.
I had the lamb burger and Sue had the cabbage leaf rolls both very nice, but not overly filling. We then had the slightly surreal experience of a Skype video chat with Chris, who we had cruelly left behind at Uni! We still had time to read the UK papers and catch up on V-Flyer, as the Clubhouse steadily filled up. The Clubhouse staff remained friendly and attentive throughout our stay, and we managed to swap our seats for window / aisle ones without a problem.
We were called to board at 10.55pm and made our way to Gate 36 again no problems or queue to board and we were soon sat on the plane, which was a lot fuller than our outbound. We were in the back seats in PE, so didnt have to worry about reclining our seats at all.
It has been said on V-Flyer many times that a good FSM can make a flight and tonight was a classic example of this right from the cheery welcome message well off the script, to the personal visit to our seat to thank me for being a gold card holder. I know it is BS, but it is good BS and really helps to foster brand loyalty.
From the FSM's announcements I learned that our flying time would be 13 hours and 3 minutes, the plane we were on was Soul Sister, I was one of 239 passengers. I was also informed that our speed at take off would be 178mph and this was needed to lift the 295 metric tonne plane off the ground. Finally, our cruising speed would be 85% of the speed of sound.
Pushback was at 11.50pm and there was a long taxi to runway 07R before wheels up at 12.12am. As soon as we were level, we had drinks and then the meal was served. Again, very nice crew who seemed to be working hard and also enjoying their job.
Dinner menu.
Pan seared sole with caper, olive oil and basil tomato sauce, mustard potato wedges, carrots and spinach.
Mixed mushroom lasagne with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese.
Braised beef in chu hau sauce with steamed rice and Chinese vegetables.
Sue and I both had the sole and thought it was very tasty, my veg were a bit soggy though.
After we had eaten I watched a bit of TV then settled down into a deep sleep. (Thanks to the late hour and the Tsingtao )
During the night I was vaguely aware of drinks and fruit runs, but didnt partake.
Breakfast was a choice of full English, omelette or Chinese noodles. I had the full English, which was a little bland to say the least, but it was certainly nice to have a second hot meal.
A smooth landing into a drizzly dark and surprisingly busy Heathrow at 5.15am. Luggage appeared fairly quickly and I was soon the first customer in Revivals.
In conclusion, I had been a little wary of this trip given all the comments abut cut backs and shoddy service that have appeared on here recently, but I have to say that both flights were spot on. All of the staff we encountered were a credit to Virgin and I am certainly pleased I have nailed my colours to this particular brand.
Sorry to have rambled on, but thanks for reading and thanks for the kind comments about my outbound effort.
Nick
