This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
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Towards the end of October the rumour was out that BA were going to have a fare sale and where fare sales are concerned, whither BA goes Virgin Atlantic generally follows. Sure enough, on the eve of the BA sale the word was out that VS was doing likewise and indeed a dummy booking showed that the fares were already loaded. WooHoo!
Now plans could be made but first I needed to make sure my plans would not interfere with any his family might have made so a little teaser asking how I should celebrate it was posted on Facebook as a lure. It never occurred to me that anyone else would answer but someone did with suggestions appertaining to the sale - namely that I should take him away somewhere but after an exchange of private messages these were cleared and I was ready to see if he would take the bait. He did! Indeed he did! 
Dates were researched and agreed upon and connecting flights were also researched. It seemed my plans were coming to fruition but all of a sudden someone else also took the bait! A post from my nephew, Michael suddenly popped up on FB asking about the fares and hinting he would like to go! However he wasn't coming back to me and time was a-wasting. Already my first outbound date had crept up from the original cheap fare so, sorry Michael!, I booked. And the Aer Lingus flights! And the South African Airways ones to Durban! So there was I on a little pink cloud of happiness when all of a sudden a black cloud of guilt blocked out the sunshine. 
Perhaps he really did want to come with me. After all he wasn't a seasoned traveller (like me). And there was I in Upper Class and if he did come, how could I leave him down the back in economy? After all his sister had travelled with me in UC. How could I make fish of one and flesh of the other? *Deepest of deep sighs* My Flying Club account was called up and dummy bookings were made. UC was available outbound but only PE inbound. Ah well, it was still better than down the back and maybe availability would come nearer the time. A message was sent via FB but of all evenings this was the one he wasn't gracing it with his presence and that was my only point of contact. Another sister provided his mobile number and a message was sent. Within minutes my phone rang. Yes he wanted to come and yes he wanted to come with me and yes the dates suited him as his contract was up at the beginning of March. Wow! Before I knew it the flights were booked and the two of us were on our way!! "The two of us" did I say?
Huh! I should have known better. Over the next couple of days Michael indicated that his mother (my sister) would be interested in coming but was put off by the long journey. As he put it "her old bones would not be up to it." Cheeky brat! 
My bones are older than hers so a quick call was made. She was undecided but a couple of days later she called back and two became three!! Oh dear! More problems. Certainly there was no way she could be left in the back of the bus but the piggy bank of miles had been well and truly raided and there wasn't enough for two Gs. The only alternative was an L or an S and upgrade. The outbound was no problem as Gs were readily available but for the return all we could do was wait and sweat it out. And sweat I did! On a daily, nay hourly basis Gs were sought on our return dates since they were the ones that were problematic. At one stage it looked like they were going to be imminent but all of a sudden none were available at all! What is more Expertflyer was showing that Zs which had been plentiful the previous week were now non-existent. Panic set in! 
A call was made and it was confirmed that this was so and to ensure that my sister was to travel in style and comfort a D was purchased. Shortly after it dawned on my that there was a benefit in it. She and her son would be entitled to a CDC on the return journey and a second realisation dawned that with miles they could also have a CDC to LHR with miles and so that too was booked. Oh dear! If only I had waited. The second fare sale occurred and Zs proliferated, I tried to see if I could change the D to a Z but because the L fare was a restricted fare it couldn't be done. Ah well! Some you win, some you lose! The upside was that they were having the benefit of the CDC so all was not lost. There was still the "problem" of my nephew in PE for the return but one morning bright and early a dummy booking revealed a G. A quick call to the Premier Team and we were all in the pointy bit. The best part was when I went into his Manage my Booking page I found he had already been assigned to a suite next to his mother. That's service! My original plan had been to fly over on the Tuesday and meet my family in the security channel. However EI712 has a horrendously low on-time arrival rate of 38% and Sod's Law would dictate I would be one of the 62% (of course if I changed the flight then it was bound to come in on time!) What to do? Risk it? Change to EI710 and getting up at 4:00am? Go out the night before? The dilemma was resolved by the fact that my sister had to fly in from Knock to Luton and there was no way she could connect to VS 601 on the same day. Well she could but there was no margin of error - and more importantly, no Clubhouse!! I changed my booking to E1722 for the Monday. I had thought of staying near Heathrow but then I decided that having sprung miles for the CDC, I too should have the benefit of it, and so I relocated to Watford where my nephew was staying. It was a fortuitous decision. My sister, having arrived earlier took one look at her 23 year old son's gaff and decided she would stay with me in Jury's Inn. Her declared reason was that she thought I would be lonely on my own, conveniently ignoring the fact that I happily gad about the world on my own. LOL!!
EI722 was late!
It didn't really matter and there was an advantage as I was able to use the free WiFi in Cork airport to snag 12 A&K for my sister and myself some two hours before OLCI opened as well as to move Michael to 15K as row 14 was already taken. The journey over was uneventful and soon we were all re-united.The big day we had plotted and planned for so long and with much excitement finally arrived and with it Michael resplendent in a Newcastle United football shirt!
It was gently suggested to him that he might like to change. I think the words used were, "Don't think you're coming with me if you're going to be wearing THAT!", echoed by "You're not wearing THAT!" from his mother. We might as well have saved our breath. He had come only with his passport, money, underwear and the avowed intention of purchasing a summer wardrobe once we arrived! In any case the CDC arrived nice and early and we were on our way with nary a flinch from the driver at the offending shirt. The driver was lovely and all too soon we were arriving at the DTCI. Now, I have seen it from inside the building when I was sent there to check in on one occasion, but even I was totally unprepared for the stunning effect when you round the corner and three "Wow!"s could be heard from inside the car. We were greeted at the door by the check-in lady who blinked almost imperceptibly at the shirt and soon were in possession of our boarding cards and on our way to the private security channel. The effect here was slightly marred as there were three people there who had come from the main check-in and were taking their time sorting out their possessions to go into the trays so no swanning straight through. However once the others saw the main security area they really appreciated how lucky we were to have the private channel.Our passage through the Duty Free area was brief with a slight detour to Boots. A t-shirt purchase was also suggested but turned down and we headed off to the Clubhouse.
The stairs gained another Wow! before we were welcomed into the Clubhouse, again with an almost imperceptible blink at the football shirt. Our first mission was to try and get treatments and so we headed to the spa area to book facials for my sister and myself and although Michael initially declined one he then decided that perhaps a haircut was in order and so one was booked too. Result! From there it was off to the brasserie where we were ushered into one of the booths that are normally marked Reserved. Maybe they wanted the football shirt out of view! LOL! 
I had the vegetarian option. I can't remember what it was other than it was delicious. My sister had the Clubhouse burger and my nephew the mixed grill. Both declared them to be delicious with Michael saying it was the nicest liver he had ever eaten - and he eats a lot of liver. 
After we had eaten we headed off to the concierge to see if we could get one of the row 14 seats for him before breaking into the champagne. In the fullness of time, mother and son headed off for their treatments while I caught up with what was happening in the world and V-Flyer. They returned happy with what they had received to some more champagne while I went off for my treatment which was simply lovely. I returned to find that they had ordered me a G&T (even though I still had some champagne left) and that Michael, feeling a bit peckish had headed off to the deli for a snack. There was a tour round the Clubhouse and the obligatory photos in the hanging chairs when there was a call for Michael to come to the desk. 14K was now his. Shortly after that there was a call for the flight but as we were leaving the Clubhouse we were asked to return as there was congestion at the gate. We willingly did so and some 15 minutes later we were released to gate 18 where G-VWOW was waiting for us. Boarding hadn't commenced but it looked like we were to be boarded through two doors as there were two different boards indicating UC/PE/Au at one and Economy at the other. We had been asked to go to the appropriate door and while we were waiting other UC passengers arrived and headed to the front much to the indignation of one or two in the queue behind us. However before WW3 could break out the door was opened, the waiting masses rose as one and were immediately ordered to sit down until UC passengers had boarded. There was only a brief delay in the jetway and soon we were on our way to the very pointy bit. We were followed to our seats by a very attentive staff whom I recognised from a previous flight and were quickly in possession of champagne and sleep suits which meant the end of the football shirt for the time being. God bless sleep suits! 
Because it was the others first time in UC photos recording the happy event were taken with the cabin crew kindly obliging to take one of the three of us. The guy who had kindly swapped seats to enable us to be together arrived to 15K and was profusely thanked by us. He was very charming but it turned out he was seeking to get a seat upstairs as a work colleague was there and he wanted to be near him. Another passenger agreed and once the game of Musical Suites was finished the doors were closed and we were on our way. We only had a short trundle to the runway where there was very little traffic and although we had pushed back a little late, we were quickly on our way.Once we were airborne the crew came round for drinks orders. Being in row 12 it seemed odd that one crew looked after my sister and another one looked after me. I can understand that crew look after either the A or K side and it doesn't bother me (unless there is a major discrepancy in service) but at the very pointy end it does seem strange.
No guesses for what I had! A G&T for me. My sister had a Bacardi and Coke and his nibs had a beer. All were served with crisps which to my mind were slightly greasy. A second round was offered and I informed my party that to refuse would be bad manners. Dinner orders were taken. The menu was similar to the UK/USA one posted but with the slight variation in the lamb dish of a lamb tomato bredie which is a South African type of stew. I had the asparagus soup which was gorgeous followed by the bredie and pecan tart washed down with a rather nice Shiraz Viognier. It was absolutely delicious - one of the nicest ones I have had on board. My nephew had the same and thought it was great, while my sister had the cod and declared it to be very nice. There was a second wine run and I recognised the crew serving it (it had been the FSM the first time round). He had served the wine on a flight I had taken some five years ago and had flounced off in a huff when a passenger didn't take his recommendation. He laughed and sheepishly admitted that he may well have done. Well he was French and perhaps it was understandable! LOL! Incidentally we all ate together. My nephew sat at my sister's ottoman and I sat on mine so we were both looking down the cabin. It worked well as we were able to chat without shouting across the cabin at each other. After dinner we headed back to our respective seats but a bit later I suggested we repair to the bar. Well I wanted them to experience the full UC experience, didn't I?
There we met with other passengers and chatted with the cabin crew. My sister soon left as she declared herself tired. Lightweight! Michael and I continued on till the seat belt sign came on and we repaired to our seats. He reckoned it had been put on to clear the bar and he was probably right. I toyed with the idea of reading but then decided sleep was the order of the day. The cabin was relatively cool - certainly not racked up to the equatorial temperatures we have come to expect and I quickly fell asleep, slumbering till we were about 90 minutes away from landing. I had the hot breakfast of omelette, sausage, bacon and baked beans which was very tasty. My sister had the bacon roll which she enjoyed and my nephew had the hot breakfast and the bacon roll! The gannet!! Incidentally he didn't sleep at all but stayed up watching the IFE which he thought was amazing. However what impressed him most was the fact that the cabin crew came to him at regular intervals throughout the night and offered him a drink. He reckoned that they came through every half an hour and his whiskey glass was never empty. A perfect flight in fact, from his perspective! Shortly after that the cabin was secured for landing. It was St Patrick's Day and in the absence of any shamrock because of agricultural restrictions, we donned badges. My sister and I also had extremely tacky sequinned shamrock boppers to wear on our heads once we were through Immigration. The crew who knew we had them expressed disappointment that we were not wearing them but we didn't want to be deported the minute we arrived. Immigration was a doddle and I was pleased to see that the baggage hall was no longer the cramped, airless area I had endured two years ago. Our bags came off very quickly and with some difficulty we found our way through the brand new and excellent terminal to the domestic terminal for our flight to Durban where we were swiftly checked in. Because we had arrived early I tried for an earlier flight but alas there was no room for three. Not to worry! After a quick coffee (where we donned the aforementioned boppers!) we headed to the gate where McGinty's bar was located. OK, it was only 9:00am but it was Paddy's Day and a beer was called for.
In the bar in spite of the fact that the native South African staff were all wearing t-shirts saying "St Patrick's Day - March 17th" they all asked about our badges and head gear!! Several passers-by stopped and spoke to us acknowledging the date or smiled benignly at the two elderly mad women! The SAA flight was soon called. It is not a bad service. Seat pitch is better than domestics flights over here and complimentary food and drink is on offer. We flew in past the new stadium for the World Cup and landed about 50 minutes after departure. Bags came off quickly and we ventured into the Arrivals area .....
...... where my brother refused to acknowledge us with the boppers, saying he had never been so embarrassed in his life!!! Good!
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