VS077 MAN-BGI 17 SEP 12 (Upper Class)

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

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Hello

1st time trip report posting but I've been a long time lurker so thought it was time I contributed....

After looking forward to our 1st UC trip for the last 3 months, the day finally arrived with me waking about 5am due to having flight/airport anxiety. I've flown long haul at least 15 times in the last 10 years, but due to a bad experience on our last flight to St Lucia in October 2009, I hadn't flown long haul since.

Anyway, we decided it was time to give it another go otherwise I'd be stuck with the confines of the UK/Western Europe And after this wash out of a summer, we needed some sunshine.

I'd decided it would be easiest to spend the least amount of time in the airport fretting about the flight, and given we live 10mins away from MAN, there is no chance of us getting stuck in traffic. The flight was at 13.45, and given that I'd checked in online the day before, my plan was to arrive at MAN at 12.30, drop the bags off, through security and in to the lounge and board the aircraft as late as possible once the scrum for boarding had passed (more on that later).

So after watching a half hour of the delightful Holly and Philip on This Morning, followed by a trip to Sainsburys to pick up some last minute toiletries and some Fever Tree tonic (non of that Schweppes nonsense!) for 1 pre-airport calming G&T, the taxi arrived at 12.20.

At 12.27 (and a £6 taxi fare lighter ) we were deposited outside T2. We entered the departure hall to find an empty Virgin check-in, well there was no-one at UC/PE and probably 6 people in the EC queue.

We dropped the bags off at the UC desk within a couple of minutes, where a very nice check-in lady issued us with new boarding cards as my pre-printed ones "looked a little large" (her words not mine).

She instructed us to go through the fast track security, and as I had already paid for this the previous day on the MAN website (it was £7 in total as I wasn't sure if you got this and I wasn't taking any chances) she joked that I should write for a refund when we returned

Through fast track security in 2mins, although I would estimate the normal line would have only taken a couple of minutes extra as it was quite empty.

For those of you who don't know T2, it's hardly the greatest shopping experience, but wifey still did her best in trying to make use of our gold card

So 13.00 and we were walking in to the Executive lounge.....to be met by a friendly receptionist who instructed us to head in to the business lounge rather than the Escape lounge. Having been in neither before, we just followed her in to a (smallish) lounge with a self service bar and limited snacks. Not wanting the calming effects of my pre-airport G&T to wear off, I thought I better have something, and after spending a couple of minutes looking at the choice of 4 wines (none of them looked very appealing), decided on a glass of Chilean white and wifey had a G&T (Gordons.....pah!).

Now the plan was always to board the aircraft in say the last 20 passengers as this would mean less time fretting, and I was keeping an eye on the clock, but by the time I'd checked my emails and looked at the clock again it was 13.20. So I probably downed a 2/3 full glass of wine in half the time it takes Usain Bolt to run the 100 metres, and we were briskly heading out of the lounge.

Wifey then decides she'll just make a visit to the ladies, and needs a last magazine for the flight, so it was 13.25 as we were walking towards the gate.

Straight away we could see about 6 VA staff (not sure if they were cabin crew but I thought I recognised the lady who checked us in?) and not a single passenger

We were greeted with "Mr and Mrs Taylor, we were getting worried about you, where have you been??" to which I replied "having a drink". Well there was no point making any other excuse up was there

We were escorted swiftly down the tunnel, with the nice lady telling us we were the last to board and we'd probably get a cheer as we walked on

Well there was no cheer, but I did notice as we stepped on to the aircraft (sorry didn't catch the name) that the cabin crew secured the door immediately behind us! So it was a left turn and through a deserted few rows of PE, in to the haven of the UC section.

We were warmly greeted by the FSM, who showed us to our suites, only to find someone in mine. I've always wondered why people do this, and this guy was no exception.....the FSM looked at his ticket and pointed out he was in 10A and should have been 11A, to which I don't think he liked it as it looked like he'd already made it his home for the next 8 hours. Maybe he was hoping I'd sit in 11A instead, but as that meant there would be someone between wifey and I, I didn't really fancy it, so just stood there waiting for him to collect his stuff (besides it's not my fault if he can't read ). So 2mins later I was settling in to a warm 10A, with the FSM bringing over a glass of champagne (Lanson).

We were pushing back within 5 minutes and airborne at 13.55. It was announced that it was a half empty flight (200 and some onboard) and that once we were airborne, people could move seats in EC for more room. I noticed when I visited the toilets, that the whole downstairs PE section was empty, so maybe they had just decided to use the upstairs PE instead.

The cabin crew were swiftly in action, taking drinks orders, bringing round a bowl of crisps and this basically set the tone for the next 8hours. One thing I did notice, and became even more apparent during the flight, was that out of the 9 of us in UC, at least 3 were off-duty cabin crew (2 men sat in the front 2 suites, and a lady travelling on her own in suite 10K). Now I'm all for a work freebie/perk, and I've absolutely no idea what they would have had to pay for theirs, but I'm certain it wouldn't have been the £4.5k I'd paid for 2 returns. So it would have been nice for them to have been discreet about it, but the cabin crew definitely gave them more attention than they did the others. As soon as the crew were able to move about, they were pouring 2 grey goose vodkas and lemonades and bounding down to see the men at the front, were they proceeded to chat for 10mins. I think they were practically finishing their second drink by the time my G&T arrived (Tanqueray and not the T10 version ). The female off-duty cabin crew in 10K also received a visit from someone from the flight deck during the flight for a chat.....did they bother speaking to any of the other passengers? Nope.

Having never flown UC before my first impressions were that it was nice, but the suites were looking very tired. The seat functions worked ok, but when you looked closely in the nooks and crannies, it was a little crummy. As you've already gathered, we weren't on a refitted plane (we were on the way home but I'l save that for the return TR). I didn't bother even taking out the screen on my suite as had no intentions of even giving the entertainment system a go.....my ipad and Dr Dre Beats headphones were going to be my entertainment for the next 8 hours. I also really don't see what the big deal is with the bar? Maybe my expectations were too high, but after seeing it, I didn't even fancy sitting at it. There were literally 2 stools to the front of it, and only 2 passengers (husband and wife from 7 A/K) sat at it for about 20mins. I'd read a thread on here about the bar and how people liked a change of scenery from their suite and the socialising side of it.....really?? I could have stepped from the end of my seat, on to the stool. It was about 3 foot away! And 2 seats at the bar....socialising...hmmmm

Lunch was served 90mins in to the flight, and the drinks kept flowing. Lunch was soup and a roll, a chicken dish, followed by a warm chocolate pudding. This was then followed by cheese and port.

My bed was converted about 3 hours in to the flight where I managed to doze off for 60-90mins. As soon as I had woken, the crew were round again asking if I needed anything. I took this as code for "do you need another drink?" to which it was rude to say no.

Afternoon tea was served around 2 hours out of Barbados, and again was very nice. The crew asked if I wanted to have it with my wife, so I joined her on her ottoman. Again, I felt this was a bit of a novelty, and I would have quite happily just had it in my own suite. But the sandwiches, cakes, scones and clotted cream were very nice, and very British.

The crew battened down the hatches about 30mins out of Barbados, and we landed smoothly from the Eastern direction. This was my 8th visit to the island and we've never landed that way.....just means we missed the nice cruise down the West coast.

As we were waiting to disembark, we were chatting with the crew who said their illustrious leader (Richard Branson) had flown on this very aircraft the week before and sat in suite 11A. I don't know if they were just trying to impress us (I wasn't) or take away from the fact we'd flown out on a non-refitted plane.

For those of you who have flown to the Caribbean, there is something magical about them opening the doors and walking down those steps from the 747 in to the Caribbean heat, and this was no different. I think I was second off the aircraft and in to the immigration hall, to be met by a representative from Barbados Platinum Services and whisked through immigration in 30 seconds, where our bags were first off, and again then whisked through customs.

No exageration.....it was 5mins from the aircraft door being opened to us being stood outside the airport waiting for the car to Tamarind hotel.

So to sum up our 1st UC flight.....did it help my flight anxiety? Yes (in fact I'd actually never felt so relaxed on a flight). Was it worth it in monetary terms? No (they don't usually have sale fares on the MAN flight and it's approx. £2,400 return per person in UC). Would we fly UC again? Without a doubt we will be.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for posting!

UC to the Caribbean must be the perfect start to the holiday - I've only ever managed it charter / BA economy.

Sounds like a fabulous crew on board, yes perhaps they should have not treated their fellow crew to first drinks but all round they sounded very good.

It's a good thing you didn't wait any longer on the ground, they might have gone without you and it obviously pays to research fast track at MAN before paying!

They were a good crew in fairness.

The only other thing I forgot to mention about them was that they were a little "mumsy"......I was permanently referred to as "darling" and my wife as "sweet".

Given that we're both 32, we both said afterwards that it was a little "mumsy".

A small gripe though for a thoroughly enjoyable flight.

Thanks for a detailed TR.

Did you consider the services from Barbados Platinum Services worth the money I as am considering using them next year?

[Neil]

Thanks for the TR.

I understand what you are saying about the bar, but I think you would have a very different perception if you fly out of LHR. Because the cabin is so small on the LGW a/c, like you say, it really isn't much of a change, but on the much larger LHR cabin, there are more people using it and especially on the LHR 747's it is in quite different part of the a/c (if you are in the A zone or upstairs cabins).

The lady in 10k was probably one of Tue flight crews wives or daughters accompanying them on the trip which is probably why they popped down to say hi to her

Glad you had a good trip

BGI Platinum Services were great - they are just inside the doors of the arrivals with a sign with your name, and they literally escort you down the side of the immigration lanes straight to an immigration officer, and then they grab your baggage for you, and then straight to the customs officer. They are very professional, and due to my flight anxieties, worth every penny (to me).

Would I use them again on the Manchester flight given that it's the last international flight in on a Monday evening? Probably not. But if you are on the BA/VA Gatwick flights which arrive at the same time as some of the American/Canadian flights, mid-afternoon, then I can see Platinum Services being worth their weight in gold.

It all depends how you value your time really.

Just out of interest, does anyone know what the deal is for off-duty crew/family/relatives travelling? I presume they would have to pay the taxes element but just wondered if VA literally gave them UC seats for free?

Thanks for this. We will be a group of 9 on the Virgin Gatwick flight and my wife cannot stand for long periods so BGI Platinum Services certainly sounds worthwhile.

There were a couple in our hotel who were on the Gatwick flight, and had had well over an hour queue at immigration.

But it depends where you're sat on the plane and whether you land before/after the other big airlines, mid-afternoon is the busy time at BGI though.

In fairness the immigration hall at BGI is air-conditioned, unlike other caribbean islands we've been to!

Thanks for the TR, hope you have a great holiday. Also glad the nerves were kept at bay as much as possible. Airports can be stressful places

Just out of interest, does anyone know what the deal is for off-duty crew/family/relatives travelling? I presume they would have to pay the taxes element but just wondered if VA literally gave them UC seats for free?

I'm not sure about staff travel at Virgin but I imagine it will be standby tickets where you pay the tax. I imagine staff are upgraded aswell.

At Ryanair there are 2 ways:
1) Blue tickets - these are standby only tickets which you are entitled to a certain number of each year. If there is space you can go, you can sit in a cabin crew jumpseat if there isn't enough space and the Captain says yes.
2) For pilots you can jumpseat in the flightdeck of any flight if the Captain agrees (they agree 99.9999% of the time), free of charge. The only stipulation is that you have to be in uniform.

Some airlines offer discounted staff travel on other airlines. Each airline employee has an airline I.D and if you work airside an airside pass. These pieces of I.D will very often score you an upgrade on flights.

If I can ever help you with your flight anxiety please PM me: I'm a Training Captain with a different a airline and glad to help.

[buns]

Thank you for sharing your flight experience with us here on V Flyer

Your account will encourage others who visit the Site and looking for tips and pointers on overcoming flight anxieties and you are to be congratulated in having in not only taking the flight but sharing with us all

Hope Barbados met all your desires and I look forward to your return TR

buns

Thanks for the TR, and glad it proved a great experience.

You're evidently a cool customer with your timing. This I understand. What I don't understand is people like the man inhabiting your suite when you got on. Do they really think you're going to say "oh, ok, never mind having spent time making sure I got that particular seat, I'll let you have it"?

I too get referred to as "darling" by the crew, but in the way that implies "time to have you nap darling before we stick you in front of Countdown"...

I had exactly the same experience you relate on waking up from sleep and being asked if you'd like anything. It's not necessarily either big or clever, but hell, you're on holiday and it's not something you do every day. Well, I don't.

For us, the ottoman and shared dining experience is part of the fun of the flight rather than a novelty. Otherwise I think it can feel a bit like 8 hours watching TV.

Like the idea of 5 minutes to get out of the airport, aircon or no....

Thanks again, and looking forward to the return report.

Paul