This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Firstly I had done OLCI and had hoped to change my previously requested seats on the Airbus 330. I was disappointed that this was not possible although I had gained seq.5&6. However in the end my concerns were not justified in any way
Prior to our flight, we had stayed overnight at the Gatwick Hilton which was a good decision as the area was blanketed in fog on the morning of our flight. The twilight bag drop off had been empty when we arrived and the friendly agent again confirmed the flight was full and so no seat changes possible.
Flight was on time despite the fog. We breezed through security, had a quick look around the shops and then the boarding gate was announced. This all went very smoothly and no-one hung around the boarding exit until their seat numbers were announced.
My first impression of the Airbus was how airy it felt and everything was still new. Settled into our seats 36 F&G in the middle row. I personally feel these seats offer more room than economy on the 747 and the IFE was just great.
The cabin crew were efficient and friendly. The first drink run was then followed by dinner. I made a mistake choosing the veggie option of pasta and something – sausage and mash looked better. I had taken a ham salad roll on board just in case so that was ok. The afternoon tea and ice-cream both enjoyable.
The couple in the seats in front were given a lot of attention from the FSM and other CC, who spoke to them numerous times during the flight. At first I thought they were selected for the survey thing but after a several offers of ‘champers’ and lengthy chats, I decided they were probably ‘status’ members travelling economy. Their young son behaved impeccably throughout the whole flight and the added bonus was he sat in the seat directly in front of me and his chair was not reclined.
Arrived in Orlando at least 30 minutes early. Exiting the aircraft well organised and very quick. Straight through Immigration but it took ages for luggage to appear. We took it with us onto the transit rather than dropping it back for them to take to terminal. Within 45 minutes of landing, we were sipping a nice white wine as we sat around the Hyatt Airport hotel pool in the sunshine. Had a pleasant evening meal at the hotel McCoys restaurant.
Finally, we had booked our ‘economy’ car through Dollar. We were up and buzzing early and went over to collect the car from the Dollar Express kiosk at 6.30am as we was driving up North. Got upgraded to a brand new mid-size Chrysler with lots of extra bits on it, including a stat nav.
Thanks to Virgin Atlantic for starting off our short vacation so well
I will have no hesitation booking an ecomony ticket on an Airbus 330 ever again.
