This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
I did try and change seats but as many have discovered and described more eloquently in these forums was not able to do so.
Made our journey North on the morning to get to MAN where we had pre-booked valet parking which could not have been more convenient - from parking to off-loading bags at the counter in less than 5 minutes. I would recommend this to other travellers for the ease and speed with which it can be undertaken.
Swiftly through security and into the Virgin Holidays V-room experience where staff could not have been more helpful and food and drink plentiful.
Fortified by my bacon and sausage barm cake ( roll - for those of who do not have Northern roots)it was onto the a/c (Ruby Tuesday)and a warm welcome from the crew.
Having reviewed V-flyer before our trip I was half knowing what to expect in terms of IFE/seat/cabin experience and although the appearance was dated, the level of care and attention from the crew more than compensated for the less than modern cabin experience.
Drinks were served smartly after take-off and climb-out followed by lunch. I took the beef and Mrs TJ1 had a watery chicken which as she is wont to remind me did not compare to the lamb biryani we once had on Emirates - this has become the benchmark for all airline food in her opinion, despite it being about 5 years ago!
The bottle of red helped the flight progress smoothly and either my palette was deserting me at high altitude or it wasn't that bad but I really quite enjoyed it.
Drinks were frequent as required and a very welcome sorbet about 6 hours into the flight was very refreshing. About two hours before landing we were offered further light refreshments in the shape of afternoon tea - a cheese sandwich (Urrgh I hear you groan!) and a scone.
Landed at McCarran Airport and parked alongside sister ship with fellow travellers from LGW. This meant the queue for immigration checks and passport control was quite long and further exacerbated by another queue for customs clearance due to only one officer processing the forms.
In summary, I found the PE experience really good due to the crew and the added space which meant the 10 hour flight passed without me needing to resort to watching the IFE or getting too bored. I did take a walk downstairs mid-flight to stretch my legs and was grateful we had secured seats upstairs.
I would like to also add my thanks to all those who have previously posted in these forums as this answered many of the questions I had before we departed in terms of selecting seats/ what to expect/etc.
From first to last the customer service has been excellent and in my opinion much better than other carriers who have previously earned that reputation.
Finally I would not hesitate to recommend VS and we are already looking forward to booking with them again - next time hoping that we will be in a refitted a/c.
