VS004 JFK-LHR 4 NOV 12 (Premium Economy)

This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

Return flight back from New York to Heathrow, at the time of booking cheapest PE tickets were either VS004 or VS010. Never flown on VS004 before, always preferred a later departure from New York. The Airbus A330 was also going to be a new experience and having read mixed reports it looks like we would either love it or hate it . With the disruption to public transport and the fuel shortage after hurricane we caught the bus from Grand Central to JFK leaving just after 1400. We knew that Queens Midtown tunnel was still closed so bus would have to take longer route. Bus operated by NYC Airporter and we had booked tickets online. Traffic not too bad and we got to JFK T4 in just over an hour. Had done OLCI previous night in Starbucks as hotel wanted $18 to use internet . PE check in relatively quick and easy and headed to security which in the past has been busy, but on this occasion was very quiet . I guess one of the advantages of VS004 is that being relatively early you beat the busy period and we were through security in a few minutes. Plenty of time to visit duty free shops and have a drink before flight.
Boarding commenced about 1730 and although aircraft was loaded in good time there was a slight delay waiting paperwork and we pushed back from Gate at 1820 with take off at 1850.
First impressions of the PE cabin in the Airbus A330 :
Once inside it was very similar to Airbus A340-600, although the overhead luggage bin seemed slightly smaller compared to the Airbus A340-600 or Boeing 747.
Comfort – as good as the Airbus A340-600 or Boeing 747.
We were sat at the rear of the PE cabin and the toilets are situated at the front of cabin by galley.
The aircraft seemed very quiet and take off was very smooth .
The big plus is the In flight Entertainment – the new system is a massive improvement compared to the V-Port (VERA) on the Airbus A340-600 or Boeing 747; but still not as good as what we experienced on Virgin America.
The service from the Cabin Crew was excellent and what we have come to expect travelling in in PE . The menu as per previous flights.
After the food & drink service managed to get some sleep before waking up to breakfast service.
One of the disadvantages of VS004 is that with a planned arrival around 0630 you are awake very early. We touched down just before 0630 and arrived at the gate about 10 minutes later.
Off the aircraft and headed to Passport Control which compared to last flight was very quiet and we were through in a few minutes. By the time we got to baggage claim our bags were just arriving and shortly after we were heading to collect the car.
In summary I was quite impressed with my first flight on Airbus A330 although VS004 is probably just a bit too early and in future will stick with VS001, 46 or 10. The Cabin Crew ensured that the PE service remains good and we’ll continue to fly PE (subject to price being reasonable) .

Glad to see that all went well.

Which IFE did you have on this flight?

The IFE was the new VERA touch (aka JAM?).

Thanks for the TR.

I completely agree with you -- PE in the A333 is great but the VS4 is pretty brutal for jetlag. Last time I was on it I didn't even try to sleep (although I dropped off by accident), and funnily enough that seemed to work better than catching a quick 3 hours!

Nice TR, good to hear the CC were on form.

Yep a brutal jet lag transition from the VS4. Although if you are going straight back into work then the whole don't sleep onboard thing really does not work... you end up either nodding off at your desk or locking yourself in the conference room for a few hours.. Not that I have done either

Cheers for posting

I have a slightly random question but hope you can help :-)

We're flying PE on the VS9 in March, which will be our first trip on the A330.

I'm trying to work out which row of seats has a missing window, as with row 19 on the A340-600. Also are the bulkhead seats (18AC, 19HK, 20DFG) bassinet seats and only bookable at check in as per the other aircraft?

Any help is much appreciated!

The front "row" is held back for check in - can't remember how many bassinets there are. I was also told there was a wheelchair seat but I'm not really sure what that means.

I may be misremembering but on my recent flight in a 333 in PE the front section of the cabin was held back for seat requests until just before OLCI (as per economy). Not sure if this was a one off.

As for windows, I'm afraid I can't remember - sorry. I think row 20 (which I was in) was OK, but again I may be misremembering.

Hi,

Was there a solid bulkhead behind row 25 or just a curtain?

Thanks.

Hi Carumba,

from what I can remember, there was just a curtain behind row 25.