VS019 LHR-SFO 21 MAY 12 (Upper Class)

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

Off to sunny Mountain View CA for work again:

Should have known not to arrive at Paddington on the Hammersmith and City Line. The station is a total disgrace, looks like it's been bombed. Fought my way out through the surprisingly large Sunday evening crowds to the mainline station and Heathrow Express.

Nothing says "Welcome to Britain" quite like an outrageous rip-off and that pretty much sums up this train for me. Found the quiet coach, where they still insist on playing safety announcements the whole short trip. Shut up!

Now just had to get to the T4 Hilton, dodging the intervening crowds of people who seem unable to travel without the entire contents of their house.

Once checked in I tried the Executive Lounge for a few 'free' beers. Wanted to read but was annoyed by people talking loudly about nothing so retired to my room for peace and quiet. Quite an expensive hotel but modern and I had a good sleep. If you live a long way from the airport like I do it's an effective way of cutting the stress of travelling.

In the morning a short train hop to T3 and UC check-in. Was about 8AM, no queues at the desk and was then through the fast track security in about 30 seconds.


A warm welcome at the LHR clubhouse. It's really impressive. I've only been to those in the US before and this is bigger and better. Having polished off a decent breakfast I had about an hour to relax before the flight was called. I drank a lot of tea and watched the airport operations.

We were called at about the expected time I wandered down to gate 18, packed full as usual. Noticed there are now "No toilets here - turn back!" signs all the way from the concourse. I only ever see this sort of stuff in the UK. I wonder what visitors think.

Had to wait a few mins before boarding started. As usual there were huge crowds of people around the UC door. I sometimes think I should tell them they're at the wrong one but why spoil their excitement?

Soon on board and getting set up in 18K. Nice feeling of space, which I appreciate having done this route several times in economy.

Departure was almost exactly on time, a few mins hold up during taxi and then airborne from 27L. Typical route over Iceland / Greenland. Only minor turbulence as we reached 38,000 feet.

Surprised by the number of people that wanted to sleep the whole flight. I know the bed is one of the main perks of UC but getting further out of sync seems like a mistake. As an insomniac it's off the table for me anyway.

The menu looked ok but in practice revealed all the issues reported on here by many others so I'll summarize to save time.

What I've taken to calling the Abusee Muche after reading TRs, doesn't really seem worth the effort to serve it.

Graze menu - Odd set of choices, didn't see anyone who wanted it. Seems like a waste of time.

Pea soup for starter. I liked this, had a decent flavour.

Thai chicken curry main course wasn't that great. It wasn't really a curry, more like pieces of plain chicken on plain noodles with a bit of sauce in the bottom of the bowl. Quite bland, the added red chilli couldn't rescue it.

Lemon tart dessert - pretty good. No complaints.

Cheese board - again. It's more work to serve and blocks the aisle. I enjoyed the cheese though.

So overall the new UC menu seems to be a bit lower quality and makes more work for the crew. Oh dear. Maybe the other main courses are better? That was the weakest link in quality terms compared to previous UC trips.

BTW I've never been given a survey form and I've now done 15 trips across the atlantic with VS. Why don't they send FC members a link by email after each flight?

Service was really good throughout the flight and the cabin crew seemed to be in good spirits.

I'm never excited by the IFE choices. I wish they'd load up more documentaries. 1 episode of a 2 year old BBC4 series isn't enough. I watched Sherlock again in the end, which leaves me nothing but my iPod for the trip back. I spent most of the rest of the trip reading.

Afternoon tea was new for me as I usually fly UC overnight. Just had the sandwiches and tea, though the cakes looked tempting. I think it's fun to have this quintissentially English meal at 38,000 feet.

Having climbed to 40,000 feet to dodge turbulence our swift descent to 28L was uneventful. The only excitement being a loud bang just after touchdown. Not heard that before but it didn't seem to be a problem.

I like SFO, it's a modern and efficient airport. In some ways the opposite end of the spectrum from Heathrow T3.

Was about second off the plane and into the Immigration area so beat that queue as well. Was collecting my bags and saw that those who didn't run quite as fast hadn't been so lucky.

An enjoyable flight and I headed to the taxi rank feeling much more relaxed than I usually do. There's something to be said for UC on the way out instead of back, especially if you don't sleep well on planes.

Thanks for posting your TR.

[buns]

Thanks for the interesting TR

Your observations on the trip to Heathrow and also the "Turn Back" sign just show how far the notion of "Cool Britannia" does just not work in reality - being from London goes to show just how much I take this bad state of affairs for granted

Perhaps the only saving grace is that we here in the UK do not have the monopoly on slow Immigration

buns

Great TR and lots of comments I empathize with, for example, I too don't understand why people sleep all the time, I try to get a snooze in, but sleeping makes the body clock even worse IMO. However I don't think the food is worse, I agree about the frippery, and I enjoyed a mini burger from the graze on my last flight. Your comment about printed questionnaires vs online forms is spot on, sadly a testament to VS's IT prowess. Enjoy San Francisco, I'll be back in two weeks.

Thanks for the trip report. I too agree about the sleep thing -- I just can't understand it on a westbound day flight, but you see it all the time. It is especially irritating when the crew shut the window blinds to aid it.

Also agree about the IFE choices, BTW. I just find a lot of it pretty juvenile these days.

Surprised, though, that you think the food is lower quality -- I feel there's been an improvement overall. Presumably you were on a 747 in the nose, so a bit odd to say that the cheese trolley blocks the aisle! What aisle?

Thanks for the TR, it shows that T2 can't come soon enough.
Also the H&C line station at Paddington will be rebuilt as part of Crossrail, but that will still be a few years yet.

We live a considerable distance from the UK airports and have a 2 1/2 hour drive once we arrive in Florida. On our most recent trip, the total journey time from home to destination was 18 hours - a sleep on the UC bed was most welcome and ensured that we were safe to drive in Florida!

Thanks for the comments on my first TR.

Should probably clarify that I don't think the food is overall worse, just the main course I had wasn't as good as previous trips. Starter and dessert were perfectly fine. Personally I'd rather have nicer food than over-elaborate service.

Yes, the crew closed the windows for most of the flight. I'd say half the section I was in were trying to sleep the entire flight.

Also the trolley. Yes, not a problem for where I was sitting but those further forward and back had it in their way.

Graze menu: Happy to accept some people like it. Just didn't see anyone having it and it's not something I was interested in. Why don't they offer sandwiches as part of this? They've already got them for the tea.

Finally, an American colleague summed up the UK mentality by his claim that we seem to think putting up a sign saying "X is broken" as being as good as fixing X.

how far the notion of "Cool Britannia" does just not work in reality - being from London goes to show just how much I take this bad state of affairs for granted

I think it's a real shame as London and the rest of the UK hold so much for the visitor. For us London, whether walking between offices during the working week or on a Saturday or over a weekend, never fails to reveal delightful surprises, as do Manchester and Edinburgh. (And I only mention those as they are the places we visit most frequently).

Not sure about Hull though

A very informative and enjoyable TR, thanks or posting

I sleep in UC even when going west. I'm usually a night owl and have to lose a lot of sleep for a couple of nights before the flight to do the 6am wakeups.. so I'm totally shattered by the time I fly, have a short low quality sleep on the plane, and it's enough to get me to 10-11pm on the west coast. Works for me!

I visit friends in Lake Tahoe around three time a year mostly during the Winter months and the VS19 is my choice, it's always been a great flight for me.

I too like to get around five hours sleep on that flight to make up for the early alarm call and to ensure that I'm well rested for the drive up to Lake Tahoe which is usually around four hours and can spend time with my friends without falling asleep in my diner.

I have also taken the flight straight from work after finishing a week of nightshifts where my body clock is suitably screwed up enough to think it's in California already but needed a few hours rest so the bed is like a little gift from heaven for my tired body.

Thanks for the trip report, I will be taking this flight on my way back from a vacation in August. I hope you are enjoying your time in the bay area. SFO has done a great job upgrading over the last few years. I haven't heard much about the graze menu, is it you just pick something when hungry and don't want the regular meal service? The pictures on the website don't make it look attractive.

[honey lamb]

Thanks for the trip report, I will be taking this flight on my way back from a vacation in August. I hope you are enjoying your time in the bay area. SFO has done a great job upgrading over the last few years. I haven't heard much about the graze menu, is it you just pick something when hungry and don't want the regular meal service? The pictures on the website don't make it look attractive.

The graze menu is a new addition to the menu - or perhaps a replacement for the Lite Bites. It's available for you to choose during the flight and not necessarily instead of the regular meal offering. Indeed as far as I can see from what few reports we have had about it, it certainly wouldn't be filling enough to replace a full meal unless you have made a complete pig of yourself in the CH