VS003 LHR-JFK 24 OCT 12 (Upper Class)

[Darren Wheeler]

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

It’s actually a little lame that I’ve never submitted a TR until now, so I’ll do my very best to make it a worthwhile read – if it isn’t – let me know.

Okay, so first off… Why the hell I booked myself on the VS3 and 4 I’ll never know. I’ve taken this flight so many times since they introduced the A333 with ‘Dream Suite’, and the reason being is that I’ve been desperate for the previous experiences I’ve had in those seats to spin positive. In a nutshell, it’ll never happen, although this trip in particular was a slight improvement.

I arrived at LHR at around 90 mins prior to boarding… was ushered upstairs to the drive thru check in as ground floor UC check in was packed, and with only two desks open. Security always pleasant in the private channel, no drama, no shoes off, just straight through. I headed direct to the lounge where I as greeted by someone I’ve not seen before and asked ‘are you familiar with the lounge sir to which I replied…‘Ummm yes I am, I’ve been gold for 5 years was my reply, to which the lady apologized profusely and showed me through. (it was early, she was allowed that one).

I opted not to down as much Lanson as possible, feeling a little guilty of the early hour. A bacon roll with added egg and cheese was perfect. We were called to board at around 8.45 and a quick 5-minute walk was more than welcome. ‘Golden Girl’ was awaiting us at the gate, my third time on G-VGBR. The first criticism I have is one that seems to becoming more frequent on Virgin flights I take. No ‘Welcome Mr ‘name check’. It might sound petty, but for those of us who do invest our flying preference with ONE airline, it does make that small difference. I obviously knew where I was heading so walked on and began to get organized. The cabin as ever was blaring way too loud music; this apparently can’t be turned down. It’s super annoying; it’s super inappropriate for that time of the morning and does not make for a good start. As more passengers began boarding the more of a shambles it became. As has been mentioned time and time again – the new seats being rolled out on the A333’s were never designed for the aircraft. Rolled out after a premature announcement by Virgin that the UC suites were being updated and not much thought put into how they’d work. There is simply NO ROOM for anything. They were designed for the 787 aircraft yet rushed out, delivered and executed with huge failure. I pains me to write such things about an airline I love so much, but it needs saying – Virgin – you got it wrong! Now, as rumour has it, Steve (departing- Ridgeway has a stake in the company who builds/provides the seating for VS aircraft – whether that’s true or not, who knows.. whatever – it’s been a huge fail. The technology with the new entertainment system is flawed. It did not support my iphones (4s and 5) neither did it support my ipad. I was told it needed updating for the new iphone 5… as to why the ipad wouldn’t work – nobody knew.

The crew were fabulous it has to be said. The FSM (xxx) came to me 30 mins into flight, apologized he hadn’t made himself known sooner and we had a great chat. He recalled comments I’d made to a previous FSM (xxx) which made me feel kinda good – knowing that there is communication and process after each fight and that us GC holders are taken considered to some extent. Food was great, though I avoided the ‘slow cooked feather steak’ as it reminds me of dog food or something out of a tin! It is truly vile and needs removing from the menu. I went for the Chicken, Gnocchi and truffle Cream – only issue with that was that the chicken can never be perfect on a flight, not unless cooked fresh. For the record, I’ve had one of the best steaks I’ve ever had on a VS flight out of JFK… I don’t eat dessert so asked for the cheese to come with the main – crumbled it up and threw it in – DIVINE! 2 glasses of red later and it was time for a nap.

The bed! I don’t care what anyone says – that Dream Suite bed is smaller! You cannot move about as much as you can when in the other variation. I am 5’9, not long enough to touch the end of the half-baked Ottoman found on the A333, but with tossing from left side to right, it’s hideous! I did however and after the 3 reds sleep for around 2 hours.

When awake I was offered the mini burger or sandwiches. Ok, so let me let rip here… Finger sandwiches in UC are NO different to the sandwiches you get in PE or EC. It is outrageous that this be an UC option considering the money people pay to travel UC. Two fingers = half a slice of white bread… IF THAT! It’s a joke and it’s ridiculous! VA need to sort our the ‘High Tea – coz it ain’t High Class. I was offered more cheese and more fingers to which I stuffed the ham and mustard with loads of cheese – only then was it a pleasure to eat.

We landed ahead of schedule, the FSM asked me how my flight was, immigration was PURE HEAVEN – nobody there, and into a car to Manhattan I went.

Overall – seats on those planes will always be an issue, but unfortunately it is too late to repair the damage caused when Ridgeway rolled them out. Having taken delivery of Miss England just last week and with more to follow, the Dream Suite on aircraft they were not designed to be installed on is irreversible.

[buns]

Thanks for the TR - obviously written from the heart

The A330 is getting a reputation akin to Marmite - you either love it or hate it - with more and more opting for the latter

Thanks

buns

Thank you for the TR. This just sums up my concerns that we have an increasing number of passengers who after suffering a steady downgrade in the service over the last few years are now finding the flawed design of the A330 the final straw. I really hope VS find a way to keep them on board.

a good first TR. the 330 does indeed seem unpopular, I have managed to avoid it so far

Thanks for the great TR. Sadly your excellent flight was marred by the "Dream Suite".

Call me crazy but after reading your TR, I've started looking at flights to NY just to try it out for myself. Not that I don't believe you but I'm just curious to see what it's like

Two ladies who had obviously come in on the VS4 were loudly complaining about the whole cabin and not just the seat in Revivals when I was in there recently. Essentially echoing the remarks that have been made here on various occasions.

Thanks for the TR

Thanks, and apologies for naming crew, I had no idea it was forbidden without consent. Regardless of the fact I spoke very highly of them both, I appreciate and understand the need for crew to remain anonymous.

Speaking of crew in general on these A333 flights, and they are being trained at a rate of more than 5+ a week I am told - the general consensus is that the majority agree with us about the Dream Suites on this aircraft - they just don't work, and crew do not enjoy working them. I think Virgin are in a very unfortunate position in that they cannot reverse the process having spent so much money.

My colleague flew back on the VS4 this morning (3 days ahead of original flight due to the storm about to slam into NYC) and sat in Premium - said he had one of the best flights he's ever had with Virgin. The new seats in that cabin are apparently a great improvement on the previous version - I've yet to try.

I on the other hand cashed in 60k Avios and flew FIRST on BA, and only booked it 5 hours to departure - I found that pretty impressive, a shame Virgin doesn't operate 'immediate' miles redemption. I have to say - FIRST is quite something! I'd never fork out on a revenue fare, regardless of the fact it does provide another class of flying, the pricing is slightly ridiculous.

I'm taking a friend to NYC for Xmas and have unfortunately booked us on the 25! AGH! - another 333 experience! Still - it's an evening flight, so compulsive bar time may lessen the time spent in the seat. ;-)

Roll on the 787!

Thanks for the TR Jonathan, a fair read and def echoes the current view of the A333... shame but hell, we are stuck with it for the moment.

For reference VS does operate an immediate miles redemption.... if there are seats available they are going to 'sell' them.. As an example I have managed to snag a pair of PE reward seats first thing on a Monday morning, travelling that afternoon - last minute work changes

BA First is definitely on my to do list.... might be a while though

PE seats on the new A333s are the same as the rest of the LHR fleet. Only new thing is the IFE - JAM (no I am not calling it VERA touch ) JAM is an awesome IFE - definitely a step in the right direction to keep people flying VS, now if they could only manage to iron out a few service inconstancies then I would be happy

Cheers for posting

BOM-LHR yesterday and I was looking forward to the (downplayed launched) Dream Suite. Really not up to much. couple of seats broken, mine (4A) one of them. So relocated to 8K. Bed would not go down. Side panels flimsy and no privacy. Worst part is the bed. Longer, yes, but much narrower, esp at the top. Seat belt short so cannot roll over easily. Really not of any quality construction either. Nowhere to store things. Whole set up with galley at one end an bar at other, so nowhere to get away from the noise and clatter - and chatter. All feels as if it is so much moe crowded and done for purely revenue generation reasons - pack'em in.

LHR-SIN-PVG with SQ next week, and looking forward to A380 BC. Might be a bit of a difference. Now that's the way to go.

Cannot think that the celebs are going to stick with VS if this new UC suite rolls out on all planes.

I have heard a rumour, nothing more, that on the A333 VS is going to take out one of the centre lines of the new UCDS, so it will be back to three across. I have no idea if this has any validity, but it would address many of the issues with UC on the 333, although it would also reduce the number of seats.