This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
On the day of our flight we travelled down to London from Stafford on Virgin Trains and had a pleasant hour and a half reading and catching up with work e-mails using the wi-fi on board. Took the HEX to T3 which was as usual pleasant and uneventful and arrived at LHR at about 1530. I had wanted to arrive a little earlier to make more use of the CH but had to go into work in the morning briefly to sort out a mini crisis! [n]
Arrived at the Check-in area and there were no queues at the UCS desk and the lovely check-in agent was efficient and pleasant and changed our seats from 20 A/C to 18 H/K with no trouble. My first choice of 18 A/C had already gone but at least I managed to secure row 18. Was a shame going back to Red boarding cards however as I was getting quite used to the purple ones. [V] Soon we were in the lift to the private security channel. Looking at the masses of people gathered in the regular security queue just reminded me how much I love the addition of this service and why I wanted to make sure I retain my AU status for when I have to slum it in PE in the future! I also decided to register for IRIS after security as I have never bothered before and have a few flights coming up in the next couple of months. This took absolutely ages to do however as my girlfriend was suffering badly with her hayfever and found it very difficult to get her eyes open wide enough to get the photo taken! In fact I actually had to hold her head still with her hair off her face before it would work!!
Ambled over to the CH and couldn't believe how quiet it was. There were staff stood around everywhere looking bored and hardly anyone about. Natalie took the opportunity to sit by the window in her favourite seats with a glass of champagne. We decided not to eat until after our treatments. I had originally booked a facial but changed to a shave on seeing that I resembled a caveman in the mirror on the train on the way here! [:0] This was as ever nice and relaxing whilst not the closest shave you will ever receive. Decided then to sit down and eat before the flight was called and we both had the 25th anniversary prawn cocktail martini which was very good. Natalie then had the duck a lorange which was lovely despite being miniscule and I had the always excellent burger. This was washed down with a mojito or two and a few more glasses of fizz.
Soon after dinner we were called to gate 19 for our flight. The gate areas here really are in a state and resemble a building site a bit. Hopefully they will do a good job as it certainly seems to need it. Was surprised and delighted to get the magic beep and to be told that we had been moved to 3 A/D in UCS. [y][y][oo] I had not expected this and had actually forgotten all about the fact that we were travelling in PE so this was a welcome bonus. Plane was G-VSEA Plane Sailing and boarding was annouced a little late at 1730. This was the usual scrum with everyone completely ignoring the announcement and we had to fight our way to the front to board.
Greeted by name and welcomed back at the door which is a nice touch that many seem to forget and were soon in our suites with another glass of bubbly. The flight today was completely full and oversold in Y which was obviously why we got the op-up and nice to see full flights in this turbulent economic climate. Advised by the captain of a flight time of 7 hours 18 mins and that we would be delayed pushing back as LHR was having some delays all round the airport today. This meant that we sat on the stand for about 40 minutes. Whilst on the stand the CC serving me introduced himself, acknowledged my AU status and had a quick chat whilst taking food and drinks orders for the flight. Thought this was a good idea to get done whilst we were still on the ground as saved time in flight. After pushing back we were quickly taking off as seemed to be no queues ahead of us. The menu has been discussed on here before and to be honest there was not a great deal on there that I fancied. In the end I went for the Steak and Mushroom pie which was reasonable. After dinner we decided to go and sit at the bar for a drink. This ended up being around 4 hours and I dread to think how many drinks. [:w] Had a lovely time chatting to the crew and the FSM and trying different cocktails including the birthday one. It was only when the crew started clearing up that we realized the time and thought that we had better leave them in peace, so we walked staggered back to our seats and had a quick doze before we landed. We were pretty much on time landing and were soon off the plane waving goodbye to the crew and into the nightmare that is IAD airport.
Once we had disembarked we waited for a bus to take us over to customs and immigration. The customs hall was packed with only around half of the desks manned. We were there for just under an hour before we were seen and then grilled as to what the purpose of our visit were etc. Once we were through to baggage claim the bags were strewn all over the floor and it took ages to find our cases. Although this was in no way hampered by the alcohol consumption on board. [:w] Once through customs we found a waiting taxi which took us into town to our hotel. Washington was incredibly hot and humid and really needed the thunderstorm we had on the second day where I saw hailstones the size of which I have never seen before in my life!
It is a shame that the arrival in the US was such a let down as this was probably one of the best flights I have ever had with VS. The crew were all attentive, friendly and chatty and it made the flight pass so quickly. It seemed that nothing was too much trouble for them and they gave the impression that they really enjoyed what they do. The FSM was excellent and led his team well and it underlined what a difference in service you can receive. The op-up was very welcome and unexpected and made me glad that I made the effort to reach AU status.
Sorry I have rambled on a bit but I do get carried away with these TRs once I start! [:#]
