VS016 MCO-LGW 11 SEP 11 (Premium Economy)

This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

After a brilliant fly drive around Florida it was sadly time to come home. We checked in at Downtown Disney at about 11.00 am ish and there was no-one else around. We had done on-line check in the night before (seq 31 & 32) but didn’t print boarding passes so we collected these and did the bag drop at Downtown Disney. Our cases were tagged with a Premium Economy tag too which was great for getting our luggage back at LGW. The staff there were very friendly and efficient and even gave us a map of Downtown Disney to help with my shopping! It was well worth the $10 each to get rid of our cases and enjoy the rest of the day in Orlando.

Once we had returned the rental car (great to just have hand luggage to carry in) we arrived at MCO and spent a bit of time in the shops before clearing security. Security was quick and efficient – we were expecting some delays with security considering our date of travel – but we found it the same as normal.

We headed down to Gate 85 to find Hot Lips had come in on time. We boarded around 6.50 pm ish (413 passengers) and had seats in the bubble. It was nice and roomy up there and we appreciated the side lockers instead of having to keep getting up to use the overhead ones. Having a wider aisle also made it easier for getting up and pass the trolley to use the facilities. The bubble was certainly nice and quiet. We did however find the seats less comfortable than the LHR planes – they were quite upright and didn’t recline as much (which obviously gave us more space for our feet but wasn’t comfortable for trying to sleep). Had the welcome sparkling wine and then took off at 7.50 pm – just 20 minutes late – but with a flight time of 7 hours 21 minutes we would arrive a little early. After 2 reboots of the in-flight system it worked OK – sadly though we had been spoilt on our outbound journey from LHR – the choice of films on the LGW flights are considerably less – there was only one film I wanted to see. Had the chicken for dinner which was OK, the pudding was nice though! Cabin crew were polite and friendly – didn’t see many drinks runs though after the lights went out. Managed to nod off for about an hour but sadly that was it (I so regretted that later on!). After the full English breakfast which was OK we circled for about 15-20 minutes before landing 10 minutes early. It was very bumpy approach due to the high winds in the UK on that day but a good landing. We were instructed to use a special zone for security (can’t remember the name of it but there was a yellow signpost for us to follow) but it was great – only our flight – and as we were pretty much off the plane first – no queue. By the time we got to the baggage hall our cases were around on the carousel. Customs was clear and we were home by 11.00 am – and managed to stay awake until 9.00 pm!

Just need to start planning the next trip now to avoid severe Post Holiday Depression!

Another great TR, glad to hear you had a lovely time in Florida.

Sounds like a very smooth ride. The new LHR PE seats in the bubble would be perfect (IMO) as I prefer the newer PE seats.

Thanks for posting.

Cal

Thanks for the TR. What a short flight. It must have been a tail wind. I always wish that the outward bound could be the shorter so there is more time to try to sleep on the way home.
Like you ,I always start thinking about my next trip to cheer myself up when I arrive home....

Thank you for the TR.

Glad to hear you had a good trip and flight.