This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
I haven’t done one for my last few flights, not because they weren’t good – quite the opposite – they were all spot on, but there was nothing special that leapt out to make them remarkable. We have come to expect a certain standard, and it only becomes noteworthy if the standard is greatly exceeded, or not met.
A quick word about the outbound – it was slightly late in, but the reported horrors of IAD immigration queues didn’t materialise. There were only a dozen or so people in the huge hall when we arrived and about 10 desks open.
We spent a very pleasant few days in DC doing a fair amount of shopping at Potomac Mills and doing the tourist bit. I would certainly recommend DC as a tourist destination, it is difficult not to be impressed with how well that US Governments throughout history have spent taxpayer dollars on their own impressive buildings and monuments. From the White House, through the various Presidential memorials and libraries, the Supreme Court building and the headquarters of many other public bodies many, many billions of dollars have been well spent on quality projects. Public Service budgets didn't seem to be an issue.
The last one we visited was the new (ish) Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, very close to Dulles. Entry is free (though there is a $15 charge for the car park), inside the many exhibits include the Virgin Atlantic Challenger donated by the Late Steve Fossett, an Air France Concorde, the Space Shuttle Enterprise and the Enola Gay. All in all well worth a visit.
Anyway, on with the trip report. We arrived at the VS check ins just as they were opening and were dealt with quickly and efficiently. The same couldn’t be said about the TSA, I found them surly and pedantic – they have a job to do but they don’t do it very well; and don’t appear to be enjoying it in the slightest.
Once we had cleared security, we got the train to the A gates, even though our flight goes from gate B41 – the Clubhouse is opposite Gate A32 – this used to be the VS gate and, according to staff, will be again from next week once some building work has finished there. A quick word about the shops and restaurants in the gate area – they are excellent, really good value gift shops selling quality gear, which is a real rarity in an airport outside Asia. If you need to do some gift shopping in Washington, it isn’t a problem to leave it until you get to Dulles.
We went to the Clubhouse and were subject to a very thorough examination to ensure we could be allowed in – first our names were checked to make sure they appeared on the manifest of passengers with access, then our boarding passes, passport and the expiry date of our gold cards were checked!!
Once inside it was very nice – good views of the runway and a comprehensive menu -
Lighter bites
Chicken Tortilla soup – garnished with crispy corn tortillas aged cheddar and scallions
Strawberry Fields Salad – baby greens with fresh strawberries, red onion, gorgonzola and toasted walnuts, with a honey and poppy seed dressing
Simple asparagus – gently grilled asparagus spears with lemon. Olive oil, parmesan and cracked black pepper.
Bigger bites
Grilled fillet of salmon on wild rice and a pineapple pico de gallo salsa
California chicken sandwich - a toasted ciabatta roll filled with roasted chicken, spinach, tomatoes, cheese, crispy bacon and avacado.
Zucchini and vegetable frittata – individual home baked frittata served with crisps garden leaves and fresh zucchini ribbons.
Naughty but nice
Key lime pie
Artisan cheese
I had the chicken sandwich and Sue had the salmon – both very good. There is free wi-fi and the NFL was showing on a couple of big TVs. When the plane came in, I left the lounge to go and say hello to Pete and Marcus who were flying in – or at least say hello as well as it is possible to, through a thick glass screen.
A short time later the UK papers appeared in the lounge.
The flight itself was pretty unremarkable – the plane was G-VHOT, so we had the horrible Odyssey IFE. We boarded at 1820, there were 189 passengers on board – PE was full but there were spare seats in UC and a lot in Y. Flight time was announced as a fast 6 hours and 36 minutes.
Pushback was at 1837 and there was a short taxi to the northwest runway before wheels up at 1843.
The menu for the meal was -
Salad – smoked salmon salad
Mains – Roasted beef and horseradish sauce with potato gratin and seasonal vegetables.
Chilli chicken with eggplant confit and vegetable pilau rice.
Mediterranean style baked tofu with linguine pasta.
Dessert – Cream pastry puff.
However, as I had eaten in the Clubhouse and the IFE was poor, I went straight to sleep so didn’t have anything to eat or drink. I woke for breakfast, which was a quite nice cheese and bacon bagel, which is a lot better than the recent breakfast offerings.
The usual mêlée over LHR meant we were stacked for a while, but landed early and then had to wait in the baggage hall for a few minutes for a belt to be allocated. Priority baggage seemed to work. Revivals was busy but not rammed and there was only a short wait for a shower.
All in all a more than acceptable flight – good crew (2 FSMs) and this flight means I keep my gold card though the end of November 2011.
Nick
