This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
I had the misfortune to contract a pretty severe case of bi-lateral pneumonia in January, having planned and booked the trip the previous April. VS were great, through industry contacts, we changed the flight dates when I produced the necessary medical documents, but the pre-booked oxygen wasn't available either out or back.
"Welcome to our first ever global TV advert. Featuring the strap-line 'Your airline's either got it or it hasn't', the campaign takes the viewer on a metaphorical flight with Virgin Atlantic - a surreal and glamorous world of airline iconography and dramatising how it feels to fly with the airline."
So, let us start with the strapline: Virgin simply doesn't have IT : it is simply marketing puff, and a waste of money on models for the ad, ( OK so my degree is 40 years out of date and I never used it - ( went down a different career path)
Check In - Was it the way we were dressed? Something I said? A cheery "Good Morning" couldn't crack the ice: so we all have bad days but don't take it out on the customer! Not so much as a smile and the entire process, we were the only ones at UC, seemed to have put a slight damper on her day.
Nevertheless, lounge invites in hand we set off through Fast Track, did the mandatory shopping and headed for the Clubhouse.
Clubhouse: Faultless. What a welcome: asked if it was our first visit, shown around, everything explained to us. Settled in for some breakfast and a RedHead ( interesting - but I'll stick to the Bloody Mary thanks) and offered breakfast. I opted for the full breakfast and D had the smoked salmon and scrambled. Could not be bettered, apart from the view. The staff were amazing, friendly, helpful and light years better than the BA staff in the BA lounge at LGW. Without a doubt this was the highlight of the trip out. 10 out of 10 for the Clubhouse staff.
Boarding: Ambled down to the gate - miles to walk and the auld lungs are still getting over the disease - in shed loads of time. What a shambles: no defined UC line or priority boarding. They set about boarding the special assistance pax and then called the UC and FF pax. We stepped up to the gate and were stopped as we presented our boarding cards to let an elderly special assist couple through. I don't have a problem with any airline pre-boarding special assists or families with small children first - hell, I was down on the manifest as special assist due the auld lungs meself, but Jaysus, this was chaos! And I didn't get any special assist BTW!
Finally on board and settled in to 6A and K: the UC deckchairs.
"The Upper Class Suite boasts one of the longest fully flat beds in business class air travel, allowing you to work, relax or sleep in complete comfort."
Apart from low cost carriers I have never travelled in a more uncomfortable seat. Now, by way of experience, I have spent considerable time sitting on me fat a**e on BA, KLM, Air France, BMI, Northwest, Emirates, PIA and good old Pan Am, and this "suite" comes close to settling down on a park bench for 9 hours. It is thin, hard, doesn't have sufficient recline and as for the "Ottoman", that is a an abuse of a once mighty empire's name.
I took a few pictures of the damage, dust and rubbsh on our seats: if I want to fly with a loco I will, but when you present an expectation of some "style" and charge me for it, I expect you to deliver! Wasn't me who told me how "you have have it" after all!
We tried to sleep on it: it doesn't "flip over": it "folds". When it folds, it leaves a a ridge across your back, just below the shoulder blades. The shoulder width is inadequate: why put an air vent with "DO NOT COVER" just where the pillow goes? The " Ottoman " isn't wide enough to put 2 size 10s on....do I need to go on? In short, sleep is fitful: what would I give for the BA seat!!!
Service: Faultless. I can't praise the cabin crew enough: they are working with a product flawed in the extreme, but they are absolutely superb. I would love to name names, praise them, but etiquette prohibits this. If there is a single redeeming feature it is the quality of the crew, but VS cannot go on relying on them to redeem a a less than mediocre product.
IFE: Stop me laughing here, not that I did: a loop system???? Yep Virgin have got it! I tried to listen to the Audio 1, Ce Lo Green's new album: how come he sounds like Bruce Springsteen? The screen was dirty, the brightness control didn't work and to cap it all the screen was TINY! AND NO AVOD!!! Even Gulf have AVOD and the are lower than a duck's ass in the pecking order of major airlines!
Food: Trio of prawns: exactly that. 3 prawns. Lancashire Hot Pot.....the potato was plentiful, the lamb, what there was of it, tasty. The cheese plate.......come on: bring me a cheese board, let me choose. You have 9 hours, it shouldn't be a problem! PIA bring the food round and let me chosse, why can't VS? I didn't bother with sandwiches for afternoon tea, however, my son, who went out a week before, said they were great; he had extra beef and horseradish. I had the scone which was good but which part of tea, black, no sugar, did the cabin crew not understand?
OK, I will stop now: my TR for the return will follow, but I need to think about it carefully, and I'm going to run it past a Mod before I submit it as it was that bad!
I short, we normally fly BA to MBJ ( we go every year in Feb or March) but this was our first VS experience due to convenience of flight dates. The experience of both flights ensures that we will never, ever, fly VS again. I would sooner go through MIA or DFW with AA than suffer the catastrophe of VS service.
Whilst I can understand your reluctance to read my TR on the retrun flight, if you can put up with my moans it will be be an eye opener.
By way of establishing my credibility, I have to own up and say that I am not expert flyer: I fly perhaps 200 sectors a year and consult, advising airlines on their operations customer service. Rank amateur.
) and the AVOD is a pain (but still on a par with some of the US carriers offerings).
