This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
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Cabin Crew
So, I potter around for a while around the airport, doing some work on the laptop, waiting for my friend to leave the conference so we can catch our flight together (totally unaware of being on the same flight as each other, what are the chances???). First to check in, ensconced in the bubble and looking forward to it. Finally we hit the CH at opening time (2pm due to the clocks going forward here earlier than in Europe), we have the usual very nice lunch, drinks, etc etc. Menu is the same as last time I was here, really nice pasta incidentally, creamy artichoke sauce. No Artichoke/Lemon soup which i had here a few months ago, and was fantastic. Ah well ......
Really, really tired ... I struggle onto the plane and have water. WATER. But this time I did drink a good deal in the CH, so it was only fair, last time I had this much to drink before boarding a plane I barely made it to the main course ... [;)]
not gonna happen this time!
This being a Saturday, and around spring break time in the US, the flight is full at back and in PE; they were actively soliciting frequent flyers in PE to upgrade to UC at check-in, in fact, and my friend was able to upgrade with miles from a K ticket, with no charge. So yes, be in the right place at the right time and all is possible. UC did havre a few empty seats.
Upon take-off proceed to the usual G&T+Lime (lime present this time), the crew member coming over to take my drinks order with a 'know you fly with VS a lot, thanks so much for being back', nice touch and all. Meander down to the bar to pick up the drink, better luck on the snack front this time, some decent olives and crisps, which did not run out. Meet a woman who happens to have worked at Stanford many years ago, with a good friend down there with whom we had dinner on Thursday, and had actually met my friend many years ago. This was a flight of long odds!
So, food ... had an excellent asparagus soup and the artichoke tempura to start, the tempura being OK too. You could make a meal of the two starters and all the snack bites, IMO, on this menu. I'd have fancied trying it all. Had the steak for a main, which was a bust as far as the meat went - dry and overcooked - but everything else was actually very good, even though the onion rings were obviously a bit steamed. I'm a bit sorry I didn't go for the veg option, but there you go. The spanish red was not the right choice for this, but I fancied seeing what it would be like, OK but a bit on the young side for my taste. Having had a 1992 Hafner on Thursday, I wasn't in the mood. Cheesecake was sweet .... too sweet for my taste, but good if you like that sort of stuff. I was deadly tired by then anyway, and no sooner had the dining apparatus been cleared that I bedded down. Solid. Which makes this a much quicker TR to write. Woke up 45 minutes to landing at the announcement, cleaned up a bit and settled in with the iPod. In early, straight to revivals, where I sit awaiting the flight(s) that will take me to Italy, to pick up the BH. Really looking forward to flying back on Tuesday on United econ .....
A very good pair of flights this week, I have to say. Quite right Mike, there are way worse ways to do this, as we will no doubt discover on Tuesday if we cannot upgrade, with a companion who is unable to really move. Excellent crew, smooth, no issues at all, found the food mostly palatable, all in all a good experience all round. It's made the back-n-forth, to and fro much more palatable, easier to bear. Can't really ask for any more than that.
