This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
We were making our own way to Heathrow T3 and on arrival had a very smooth and pleasant check-in and were quickly directed up through the fast-track security channel. Within 10 minutes (half of them taken up with me getting a belt on and off) we were heading towards the Clubhouse where we received a warm welcome. As we advised this was our first visit we were given a quick indication of the various areas of the Clubhouse. By now it was about 9.10am and we had treatments booked for 10am so settled down in the raised dining area for breakfast. I'm afraid things didn't really get off to a great start and despite being quickly seated and offered drinks it was a good 10 minutes before we had an order taken. Our orders were taken at 9.30 and we checked when ordering if time would be a problem bearing in mind our 10am appointments but were assured it wouldn't be. I was having the Cumberland Sausage Sandwich and Mrs Girders was having the full Farmhouse Breakfast and to be fair they arrived inside 10 minutes and both were up to our expectations. Breakfast was finished with just enough time for Mrs Girders to have a quick glass of champagne before we headed to the Cowshed. Mrs Girders was having a facial and I was having a shave - both of which were thoroughly relaxing, and thanks to reading v-flyer we were prepared to leave an appropriate tip. The Clubhouse was pretty busy at this point and we headed for the window seats at the far end with a couple of drinks - including a Mojito for Mrs Girders. By 11.45 we were ready for a spot of lunch and this time around service was of a much higher standard. We both opted for the scrambled eggs and salmon which was top class and I was then taken a bit by surprise when I ordered the Black Forest Gateaux - which arrived as seperate brownie pieces, cherries and a shot glass of chocolate sauce. Very nice it was too. We retired to the cinema area and took advantage of the wifi facilities to Skype a family member and I was surprised how well it coped with the video call.
Our flight was due to depart at 13.45 so at 13.00 we were called to make our way along to the gate. We were welcomed on board and shown our seats - 7A & 7D at which point we realised our research hadn't been as thorough as we thought. We knew the UC layout isn't really ideal for people travelling together but had settled for seats across the aisle - or so we thought. Turns out that due to the stagger, 7D is really across from 6A and unfortunately one of the cabin crew advised that that seat was taken. We were given a quick demo of the suite and offered our pre-take-off drinks. Due to congestion over Heathrow we were delayed taking off and it was around 14.30 that we finally got airborne. While sitting at the stand we watched our co-passengers board - one of whom was a rock star with a bit of a reputation for being difficult who immediately made his presence known by shaking hands with all the passengers sitting near him - unfortunately including me. To be fair, while he was typically loudmouthed he happily chatted away and passed around strawberry bonbons, and my concerns of a seriously problematic flight proved unfounded (although more on this later).
After take off it became clear that seat 8A directly behind Mrs Girders was vacant and with the permission of the Cabin Crew I moved over there - partly to be closer to Mrs Girders and partly to be further from Mr Rock Star. Dinner orders were taken about an hour into the flight and I opted for the Salmon and leaf salad followed by the Japanese Chicken skewers. Both were perfectly satisfactory although I can't say they were hugely better than the delicious chicken salad we had unexpectedly received on our domestic BA flight the day before. Mrs Girders was impressed with her Bento box although couldn't manage it all and had no room for dessert. I on the other hand had a rather nice cheesecake. Service was good and drinks were regularly offered throughout the flight.
We worked our way through a couple of films on the V:Port and neither of us encountered any problems with it at all. The suites in general were well designed and of a good size but did look a little on the shabby side - certainly in need of a refresh. Shortly after dinner we both asked for our suites to be turned into beds and Mrs Girders changed into her sleepsuit. I was impressed by the bed and could easily see myself getting a full nights sleep in the right circumstances - but the time difference just didn't quite work for me and I was trying to force myself to sleep. I managed about three hours on and off but never really hit the quality sleep I believe the bed could have provided. With about 2 hours of the flight remaining we converted our suites back into seats without any problems and soon it was time for breakfast - a perfectly pleasant bacon roll.
Now back to Mr Rock Star. Midway through the flight we discovered that we also had a young pop starlet travelling with us who was on 'cosy' terms with Mr Rock Star. The held court at the bar for much of the flight so it wasn't a problem but for an hour or so Ms Popstarlet was wandering the aisles, clambering over the partition between the D seats and the aisle on their right and squeezing herself alongside Mr Rock Star in his suite. Now there wasn't anything indecent going on (unless you were Mrs Rock Star or Mr Popstarlet) but it was the kind of behaviour that I would expect to see challenged by CC. I'm not sure if it wasn't because we were in UC or if it was because of who they were, but I know if someone was clambering over seats the way they were in economy they get a right telling off at least.
Anyway, soon it was time for our arrival at Narita which was entirely uneventful. We had a quick exit from the doors at the front of the cabin and made our way to immigration which was pretty painless - taking less than 10 minutes. We arrived at Baggage collection just as our cases were arriving (having clearly been given priority treatment). And within another 20 minutes we had gout our combined Narita Express & Suica (Tokyo's Oyster card) Tickets and were on our way to Tokyo.
Overall a very enjoyable experience and I'm looking forward to our return flight in a week or so. And sorry for the lack of photos - we didn't want to appear as if this wasn't the way we always fly...
