VS004 JFK-LHR 26 AUG 12 (Upper Class)

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

Beginning part 2 of this trip with the journey from the hotel to the airport. Basically awesome... a taxi driver that was not afraid to speak to me... needless to say, lots of conversation and yes Wimbledon is a better tennis tournament than the US open.... ha. Fool.. Managed SEQ 1 at T-24 and found out that I will be traveling on the A340-600 as opposed to the new A330-300... sorry people, maybe a run of the mill TR ahead.

Arrived at terminal 4 and headed to the upper class check in desks. I must confess the line sorter was more useless than a condom in a nunnery. Eventually was called forward after the lady in front of me had finished her pitch for an upgrade..... not being entitled again but you pay for an economy ticket, no matter if you judge the check in agent at economy of being rude (yep that was her grounds for upgrade!!!) you fly economy.. off she waddled looking defeated Delay aside, check in was painless and the case swiftly disappeared onto the porters trolley, made a few jokes with the check in agent and then on my way through to the main terminal, which by the way is currently a building site

Made the walk downstairs and then through to security, which was actually on form today Next up the lounge... now those observant amongst you will know that I am definitely in favour of the old lounge over this new one.... however after 6 months I am finally going to concede and accept it When it’s near empty this lounge looks amazing. It is only when it starts to fill with people from other airlines that I begin to long for the openness of the other one - the beeping from the security scanner didn’t bother me and I actually miss the birds flying around .

I was greeted at the doors and asked if this was my first time here, if the answer was yes they show you around but I come through here a fair amount so no tour necessary, dumped my bag in the little ante room and it finally dawned on me.. the silver apple sculpture in the bag area was from the old CH.. ahh at least part of it survives.

As I entered I saw a couple of people playing pool and it reminded me of the layout of the Heathrow clubhouse some what. The thing that Heathrow has over JFK is it does not feel as enclosed and the reason has got to be the sculptured railing that runs through the middle of the Clubhouse. It sections off the restaurant area from the rest of the lounge and whilst a bit of privacy for people who want to have a quiet dinner might be appreciated I think they have gone a bit too far. Just my view though. Did the cursory circuit of the different seating areas and settled next to the windows looking out at the airport to watch the Airtrain zipping past every now and again and the planes taxiing onto stand.

Well diversions aside, had an amazing dinner of a burger with actual pieces of fried potato (chips!!!) as opposed to the usual smattering of walkers ready salted!! they are clearly learning from my rants to crawley towers... Also tucked into the chocolate fondant and it was truly amazing... I love my chocolate too much, nearly ordered seconds but instead settled with a nice glass of red . Fun chats with the CH staff and unfortunately learnt that my favorite staffer will be leaving oh well, onwards and upwards I say to her

An amazing time had in the CH all in all. The only thing I regret is not trying the Kitchen Table desert, oh well maybe next time. Boarding called and onto gate A4, a short hop from the lounge.


Greeted on board and shown to the seat... Glass of orange juice and a quick chat with the CC covering the section, he was glad it wasn’t the A330-300 as well Take off was relatively smooth although we did have to wait about 30 mins for the backlog from earlier for a slot, oh well, you win some you lose some at JFK.

Right after take off I was welcomed onboard by the FSM by name and thanked for being a frequent flyer! Looking around there was only one other greeted by name and thanked so looks like only 2 AU in this cabin..... wow!! A chat with the FSM later revealed they have been mandated by corporate to meet and greet frequent fliers but on some flights there are simply too many people to see in the time allotted - I suggested waiting until october..

Orders taken for drinks and food by the CC, and as for once I was not rushing off to work in the morn I’m going to enjoy this... whiskey ordered, snacks delivered and food also requested. I ordered the salmon and then asked for the beef sirloin, no breakfast needed... that is what revivals is for

Unfortunately I had to ask for the IFE to be reset, first off it was black and white and then I was greeted by the green screen had a nice chat with the FSM in regards to the IFE’s failing of late and yep I am clearly a curse, reset done.... ahh back to black and white... yay!!

At this point, the FSM is massively deserving of one of my extremely rare messages off to corporate, here is hoping that his actions and etiquette will be adopted by the remainder of the FSMs out there... Was offered a new seat or a DVD player and some miles for my trouble.... luckily it wasn't a full flight, although there were a lot of people with IFE problems I decided to leave the IFE well alone and just enjoy the flight... Cudos VS no complaint, praise in fact for a job well done at dealing with tech failures, I know praise from me .... well you have more chance of being struck by lightning.... I must confess here that I took the noble path and offered to stay put in favour of those that may not have flown UC before, I had plenty to keep myself busy.

Dinner was served and aside from watching the CC struggling with the table release it was pretty uneventful. The salmon starter was good, a fair portion and tasted awesome. The beef, exactly the same - I would really like to know what they put in their gravy as it is the thing that has made the last couple of meals for me

After dinner service was finished I decided to camp at the bar to have the cheesecake desert and tea - oh yeh no green tea again!!!! What is it with flights coming out of the US and their lack of green tea?!?!? Oh well I will settle for another glass of whiskey my good man Incidentally, I did come close to finishing their supply of JD again, luckily I met a kindred spirit who didn’t fancy sleep either, so I was not alone at keeping the crew distracted.

Hours at the bar swapping notes on travel was fascinating, joined by the CC on occasion all made the hours fly by - The CC were always around filling up our drinks, and so I am inclined to blame them for our random chats and nearly falling off the bar stalls

Breakfast service started and decided on a bacon roll and a lot of coffee! About an hour out of Heathrow we hit some turbulence and had to resume our seats, guess they had to clear the bar some how

Interestingly I did come across a CC that liked the new A333s, she pointed out they were the future and that they couldn’t do much but accept it. I suppose she has a point. Throughout the flight, the crew excelled gallantly, some I have come across before although none recognised me, I suppose the amount of people they see on a daily basis it isn’t surprising. A message off to Crawley towers is currently being thrown together. Cudos to the crew of the VS4.

The cabin was prepped for landing and began our descent into Heathrow, we landed and taxied all in good time and next up border control. I was a tad groggy but the line moved quickly, bags collected and off to revivals. All showered and chowed down a second breakfast it was time to grab the CDC home. I do love the staff at revivals, always a nice welcome and a great start to the morning - let’s see how long I stay conscious today ....

Thanks for reading guys

[buns]

Well for somebody who feels groggy, you do write exceedingly good TRs

My first visit to the new JFK Clubhouse was last month and I do say, I fell in love with it straight away - the absence of the birds and the sound of the rollers was the start of making the ambience just right for Mrs Buns and myself

As for your return FSM, if VS can invest to ensure all FSMs deliver like that, then their commercial future is a little more settled

As for downing the 4 mini bottles of JD, I think I did that once on a West Coast outbound

Thanks once again

buns

Excellent TR, I can hardly bite my finger nails when coming off an overnight flight, so top marks lol. Sounds like a smashing flight with a smashing crew

Great TR
But... no green tea again? And you are coming round to the new JFK Clubhouse?

- I would really like to know what they put in their gravy as it is the thing that has made the last couple of meals for me

MSG

Great TR, thanks for putting it together.

Paul

The tea and coffee box is round tripped from the uk so maybe they had excessive green tea drinkers on the way out lol! Glad the FSM was actually doing his job on this sector!

Sounds like a much better return flight, a good FSM does make all the difference .

Thank you for the great TR.

I love the JFK CH and in particular the staff who remember me between flights which just makes me feel so valued and my business appreciated - they are stars all of them and one of my favourite servers is leaving too....must be the same one!!

Sounds like an "on the ball" FSM which is good to hear about and a decent crew too.....at least you enjoyed the bar Boo hoo for the IFE problems you encountered though

Well done and thanks for sharing.

Jon

Wow, more.... I feel popular

Well for somebody who feels groggy, you do write exceedingly good TRs

I should have posted the mad ramblings in the first draft... pretty sure that would not be the conclusion reached then

As for downing the 4 mini bottles of JD, I think I did that once on a West Coast outbound

I am pretty sure there were a few more than 4 unless the crew went ahead and switched whiskey on me... they probably would have gotten away with it..

But... no green tea again? And you are coming round to the new JFK Clubhouse?

I know shocking about the green tea isn't it... what did I say last time about human rights violations... time to alert The Hague!!

Nope said I would accept the new CH - don't worry I still prefer the last one. Although I do believe we are the only ones

MSG

Ha probably.

Cheers again guys