VS200 LHR-SYD 22 JAN 12 (Premium Economy)

This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin

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My annual trip to visit brother and fast growing family in Australia started with a hard look at fare costs. I usually fly UC - but when I priced this flight with economy at 'X', PE at 2X UC at over 4X did not seem worth the premium - and with Gold status requalification now more challenging I reckoned the premium was not worth it - I'll enjoy the status while it lasts, but once it's gone I'll be back on the market again researching Virgin's competition.

The trip from Central London (Covent Garden) to T3 by tube was very smoth - as was check-in and security (no queues) - so door to Clubhouse was a record 1'10" - probably never to be repeated! At check in I asked how busy the flight was and told 11 spare seats - by the time the cabin doors closed that was down to 3 - so quite a few upgrades had gone on.

Gold status on the ground is still great -private security channel and lounge access. I arrived in plenty of time so had time for afternoon tea, booked a foot massage and haircut, some brief shopping in the bedlam downstairs, then back for supper - the website menu is out of date, so what I had planned to have was unavailable and settled for a slightly bizarre boeuf bourgignon - not like any I'd had before (steak surrounded by sauce) - so not quite up to the usual standard. A refreshing shower left me enough time to pop up to the Grey Goose loft - I hadn't noticed it before - its a lovely spot where a very capable barman mixed a couple of excellent martinis.Overall service in the Clubhouse was excellent (cowshed, loft) to very good (the rest), then it was off to board "Sleeping Beauty" for the trek to Australia.

No queue saw me swiftly onboard - but no acknowledgement whatsoever of Gold status - on other flights it's been "Welcome back, Mr Name", followed by a visit from the CSD "welcome back, Thankyou for your business, if there's anything I can do, don't hesitate etc etc.' Here, nothing, nada, nowt - just a smile and "straight ahead, turn left". I did wonder if the practice I'd seen in UC of asking Gold first what their menu choices were, so if there were run outs they happen to others would be repeatedc- and got my hopes up when the CSD came over for a chat - but it was simply to ask me to fill in a questionnaire "sir".....

All this said, along with the other passengers in PE I thought we had a friendly, efficient service - I had expected a drinks run before dinner - but it was straight on to dinner -which on a late flight may be no bad thing - food was served quickly and trays cleared promptly - and it was actually pretty good - fresh cous cous salad, followed by chicken and vegetable fried rice. I wonder if aiming for a lower target than UC they hit it more consistently. The wine (small individual bottles) was perfectly drinkable, and the Brandy/Baileys service followed swiftly after tea/coffee. Then it was lights out so those who wanted to(or could) sleep could do so. There were frequent water runs and the flight passed smoothly and uneventfully. As there were only~120 onboard those in economy could stretch out, while in PE the immovable arm rests kept us all in our places. I never sleep particularly well on planes - even in UC - so this was little different - but the greater space in PE over E makes a big difference. Breakfast service started 1'30" before landing in Hong Kong - and again was pretty reasonable and served and cleared promptly. Once off the plane and through security I made my way to the lounge where they as in London asked to see my Gold card- even tho the boarding pass has the 009 FF# on it - don't they trust their own system? A shower was immediately available so refreshed by that I tried the Hong Kong dry martinis - not bad, but not quite as good as London's.

Swift boarding on time saw me back on a pretty much full plane (Chinese New Year) and as on the first leg, friendly efficient service, with zero recognition of Gold status - if they can't be bothered I may as well take a leaf out of their book! Pushback on time, food noticeably poorer than on the first leg (from "quite good" to "ok") - for example, the first leg breakfast had OJ, and muesli as well as muffin and hot food - second leg the first two were dropped. They also started serving breakfast 2" out from Sydney, vs 1'30" from Hong Kong- which given its a shorter flight, struck me as more for their convenience than ours. As on the first flight frequent water runs - but this time also a curious announcement from the CSD at the start of the flight about alcohol and how they would refuse to serve it to anyone who'd had too much -"based not only on behaviour but also on consumption" - which rather made me wonder about that second glass of champagne I'd asked for on boarding!

No delays at Sydney saw us on the ground promptly, there seemed to be little if any priority handling of luggage - my case came out quite a while after a lot of E ones - but overall didn't take too long - then on to Customs (are they taking a bossy leaf out of the US's Department of Fatherland Security?) and out into the Sydney traffic.

Overall I was happy with my PE experience - friendly crew, ok to good food and enough space in the PE seat not to feel cramped - and on day 2 in Sydney, I'm coping with the jet lag reasonably well (famous last words). My one disappointment was that while the Gold card carries great benefits on the ground, it carries none in the air - which seems a pity - and if they can't be bothered, perhaps I shouldn't either.

Happy to answer any questions.

Thanks for the TR for the full run through to Sydney - sounds like a good trip and VS delivered well, apart from recognising you.

It's worth checking your Au renewal since VS moved the dates back for the highere requalification, especially since you enjoyed so much of the Au benefits on the ground at Heathrow (which made me wonder why you wanted to enjoy the status now then go elsewhere without trying to renew?).

On renewall, if I am flying business in another airline I'll have access to some lounge of sorts - I know nowhere near as good as the Clubhouse (the SQ lounge, last time I was in it, was dire - not even much of the principle advantage of "getting away from the crowd", as it was crowded) - and there won't be food or drink as good, but there will be time to chill out. I will have had access via Fast Track - nowhere near as good as the private channel, and sometimes not much better than regular - but BAA are being forced to get their wait times down in any case. So while VS is clearly better, I'm not sure it deserves the premium it charges. In the air, on SQ, where I was Solitaire status for over a decade I always had a personal greeting and if the CSD did not see me at the door, would come and search me out, even in E. I am curious about the inconsistency on handling AU on VS - in the past it's been there- is this a change, or just inconsistency?

Thank you for the great TR, not often we get a PE one for the LHR-SYD route.

... (the SQ lounge, last time I was in it, was dire - not even much of the principle advantage of "getting away from the crowd", as it was crowded) ...

That's certainly true at LHR!

just a smile and "straight ahead, turn left"

Ahem -- straight ahead, turn right on this occasion

Thanks for a great TR, really enjoyed it. I agree with what you say about the recognition of status. I did the SYD route in PE a few years ago and, like you, felt it actually wasn't too bad.

... (the SQ lounge, last time I was in it, was dire - not even much of the principle advantage of "getting away from the crowd", as it was crowded) ...

That's certainly true at LHR!

The SIN lounges are better - but not as good as they used to be - for one thing they went for this monumental Fascist architectural style .....and not a patch on the LHR VS

just a smile and "straight ahead, turn left"

Ahem -- straight ahead, turn right on this occasion

Thanks for a great TR, really enjoyed it. I agree with what you say about the recognition of status. I did the SYD route in PE a few years ago and, like you, felt it actually wasn't too bad.

Quite true- force of habit! Unless there was a really good deal in UC, I'd do PE next time, assuming I'm on VS.

Thanks for the TR and for your other post on Au recognition. Judging by the number of responses to that, it's a topic close to many of our hearts.

I'm doing the LHR-SYD in a couple of weeks so its good to hear that hardier types can cope with the jetlag, but I'm cheating on the way out by having 3 days in Hong Kong (and by using miles for a couple of G rewards ).

Thanks for the TR. I've always been sceptical about long haul flights in any cabin except UC which is why I haven't dared to try a long haul trip for fear of breaking the bank. From what you've said though, I think I may be tempted to try the Far East soon.

I think I may be tempted to try the Far East soon.

I think Hong Kong in PE is a "no brainer" - onwards same day to Sydney would be I thought before I tried it a bit grim - but in the end, refreshed by a shower in the lounge (or in a "pay for" lounge in HK) it proved perfectly do-able.