This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Check In
Arrived quite close to the end of check-in due to a tight connecting flight, didn't really have to queue that much at JFK, only had two people in front of me. As mentioned before, I was pretty nervous about the upcoming flight, and I'd already spoken to the Special Assistance department at VS a few days earlier. Unfortunately the note they said they'd put on my booking didn't appear to have made it through to the airport, but a quick chat with the girl on check-in desk and one of the supervisors there, and everything was sorted.
The girl at the desk printed out my boarding pass, and did a small amount of paperwork which I assume related to the assistance request, and then closed up her counter and walked me through to the gate and onto the plane (Tinkerbell) where she introduced me to the cabin crew and made them aware that I was extremely anxious. The cabin crew were absolutely wonderful and supportive when they were made aware, and made sure I got to my seat and met the specific crew in charge of my area before we left the gate.
Flight
We were sat on the runway at JFK for quite a while due to overcrowding at the airport, with a long line of other aircraft ahead of us. Not long after takeoff I had a panic attack (the first of several unfortunately) and one of the crew came over to my seat and walked me back to the crew seats by one of the rear exit doors next to the galley, and got me some water and hooked me up to a small oxygen cyclinder for a while until I got my breathing under control again.
The whole time I spent sitting back there the crew went out of their way to make sure that I was alright, that I didn't need anything and when they had time would sit and talk to me to keep my mind off the flight. I was never at any point made to feel like a burden, and couldn't have asked for a better CC on this flight. There were several further panic attacks throughout the flight, but each one was dealt with in a caring and supportive manner, and definitely made me want to use Virgin for my future flights as well as recommend them to other people. Before leaving the aircraft I made sure I also filled out a customer feedback form thanking all the crew involved, because I honestly feel they went above and beyond in looking after me throughout the flight.
Food and Drink
The food was surprisingly tasty, I went for the chicken and pasta meal and found my only complaint was that I could have eaten it again given half a chance, will definitely be ordering that on future flights in economy. As for drinks, there was a steady flow of drinks services, and a small mini juice 'bar' was set up in the rear galley for anyone who wanted a drink inbetween.
Entertainment
For the very limited time actually spent in my own seat, I was very impressed with the V:Port system, and found it easy to use, didn't crash on me, and it had a pretty good selection of movies and videos listed. The new map system that they've got on there is also a nice evolution of the traditional inflight map systems.
Cabin Crew
Not sure what else I can say here, other than that they were a true credit to Virgin, and after the length they went to on this flight seriously deserve some form of commendation on their records. Quite honestly, I can't actually find anything to complain about with their customer service throughout the flight, and any company would be proud to have them.
Got my flight back into JFK coming up on Tuesday, so hopefully will be able to post an equally positive TR about VS003 too! Also, on the extremely small off-chance that one of the crew involved sees this, I'd like to say thank you again for putting up with me!
