VS075 MAN-MCO 22 JUN 11 (Premium Economy)

This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

Having arrived at Manchester airport at 7-00am, we dropped our bags off only getting seq 5,6,7 and strolled through immigration and down to airside shops. Vsxy beauty queen. Was waiting at gate 206 and services were in full swing. We were told we would be boarding at 10am and after having a light breakfast at the food court, Boarding did commence on time. But they never called out for priority boarding even though they said they did, so it was a bit of a scramble to get on. It was shocking to see that premium economy was not full and the amount of empty seats there were.My husband loved three seats to himself, He needed a good sleep after just leaving a night shift.

We were very supprised at how nice the premium economy section was fitted out. The leather seats were very comfy and nice and after a while started to soften up. We settled into 20 A,C,D and had a nice drink of champagne, my only problem was, when taking out the food tray out of the seat it does not leave enough room if you have a bit of a tummy on you (not over fat) And then it sits uneven and not very comfortable. I suggest it is made to extend a little more forward and that would solve the problem. There would be room for that.

We loved the new IFE System and watched around 3 films, played lots of CDs and used the roving map. Yes I did lose the end of one of the films when we had to start our decent into Orlando.

The meal was really nice to say it's a plane meal which surprised me, and was served early 12:15 and pictures are enclosed. There was no fault with it. Followed by tea and coffee and baileys.

The usual duty free trolly went around the isles and then the water bottle runs through the afternoon. And for the whole trip we only had a little turbulence across to nova scotia were we had to have our seat belts on.
The ice cream run came around 4:30.

We were told not to use the forward toilets, but after 3 hours people just started to use them and the cabin crew didn't mind, but I think it was because the toilets behind premium economy had become a bit smelly (yuk).

Tea was served at around 6pm with a choice of either Tuna or Egg Mayo sandwiches. I had the Egg Mayo along with my eldest son while my husband had the Tuna one. These again were very nice. But I think the best bit was the soft chocolate cookie. Also the cabin crew come round with a nice selection of fruit which you could pick out what ever you preferred. More tea and coffee followed.

When tea was being served we was told that we would be descending around 7pm. We landed at around 7:41 or 2:41 local time, with a rather bumpy landing, but ok.

The only gripe with the trip would be the amount of small children and babies that were in premium economy. Which did get a bit noisy and with some children not being told to sit down and be quite. Topped with a baby in front of us crying most of the way you couldn't get any sleep even if you wanted to. I love babies and kids but sometimes when l fly,l like some piece and quiet. We got none. Its a lot of money to upgrade and you can feel a little cheated.

When we got off we had to go through immigration which was long winded due to the amount of finger prints and having to do them again with the other hand. Then we had to have photos taken but over all not to bad as our suitcases came out almost first so we had a clear dash to the car rentals,where we had a good choice of SUVs.

Hope you like the TR and Pictures
Wendy

Great TR and pics! Really glad to hear of a good flight!

Nice TR -the food sounds good. Shame about priority boarding. Don't why they it can't be consistently managed properly.

Thank you so much for the pics. Really clear. Good job we don't have sound to accompany them with the non stop crying baby ! It is such a shame how children - delightful at times - can ruin people's experience.
regards
hiljil

Thank you for the great Tr and pics.

Many thanks for the pictures. I enjoyed your TR too.

Sorry about all the noise - it can be a bit wearing after the first few hours. We once had a child who was allowed to thump up & down the aisle for a good few hours. It seemed like she was wearing steel cloge and peoples' nerves were in shreds. The parents did absolutely nothing until one older guy put his hand over the aisle obstructing the child. I didn't see what happened next but things did improve after that.
I'm glad you had a good trip regardless & I do like all your photo's.

Katie

Thank you for all your replys. I dont think it would have been to bad, with the baby, if my hubby had not needed a good sleep before we arrived in Orlando to start our holiday, after a long night shift at work.

Wendy.

Hi

Great TR. We are going out to Orlando on 1st Sept on the A330-300 in Premium Economy, Did the seat side fold away? on the 747's they were solid sided and very uncomfortable if you were, like me on the large side!
My Son is coming and he is 6ft 4" and 17stones, (all muscle, not like his Dad!) will he be ok in the seats?

Thanks for the TR Lucy - its always great to see some pics too.

If you do regular long haul then a set of noise cancelling headphones are a great asset. Many of us here use the Bose ones and they're great when you are awake - with or without music.

I also find the earplugs good for sleeping - when they are in properly they stop pretty much everthing - including screaming babies

The table slides into the side of the seat no problems there.But i dont think it comes out of the seat towards your knees as far so sits on your tummy. Needs to slide forward a bit more.Most people near us said the same.My son is 6ft 8in so yes there was enough room for him and his 18 stone frame. He is also a games freak and loved the new system.