This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
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I always go for the International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference around this time every year. This year, it’s holding in Boston – a place I’ve always wanted to visit – so I was really looking forward to it. But as I was looking at dates and VS seemed intent to put me on DL metal for all the dates that made sense (but I guess with thousands of lawyers leaving BOS at the same time there will be limited seats available). I started feeling a bit put out, especially because one of the things I’m looking forward to is the Boston CH.
Events overtook my decision making and it became imperative that I get some much required R and R and I thought where better than the Caribbean. I did a bit of research and settled on Barbados as the ideal place. I checked wit Virgin Holidays and saw (what I think is a reasonable deal) for a PE flight (I was forbidden to book UC and had to negotiate to at least get PE as 9 hours is too long to be sat in Y ). So I called VH up and made the booking and asked on this wonderful forum for things to do and got really useful replies that have helped me have an idea of what to do and also led to the planning of a mini v-flyer social out here in Barbados.
Anyway, I digress.
So VH package was booked and the minutes kept ticking slowly away until at last, it was time to check in. I did OLCI at T-24 and bagged seq. 1. Sent the boarding pass to passbook and upgraded to ios 7.2 – big mistake because my boarding pass disappeared from passbook and I could not download it again.
I discussed options of getting to LGW with my friend and it was decided that the best way was to get the Gatwick Express from Victoria. We checked their website and everything seemed fine so I got dropped off at Victoria at 7:15 AM and got the bad news that the Gatwick Express trains weren’t running but the Southern trains were and I know that’s about 15 minutes slower than the Gatwick Express. The next train was at 7:40 which wasn’t too bad. At the time, the only thing I thought I would be missing out on was the first 20 laps of the Korean GP (shame about Webber’s car) so I was still a bit relaxed. The train left the station bang on time so I was feeling good about things and was just following the race on BBC Sport on my phone.
But after a while I began to get edgy as the train seemed to be moving really slowly and by 8:00 we eventually got to Croydon. We were held there for 15 minutes and started to move again but stopped at every single signal on the way and kept having to wait outside stations for trains to pull out. To cut a long story short, we got to Gatwick station at 8:55 and it was a mad dash for the VS check in area. I only just made it had to get a boarding pass printed got the Premium Gatwick sticker on it, but general security area seemed free so I just went there instead. I made a beeline for the lounges and found the Gatwick CH. I figured I would only have time for a quick drink so I sat close to the bar and had an OJ and got some papers and magazines for the flight. Boarding was called circa 9:15 so I finished my OJ and headed to the gates where Champagne Belle awaited gleaming in the morning sunshine.
This was my second time in the A33. The first time was the VS 23 in UC. It wasn’t so great then it did feel a little cramped and the angle just seemed weird so I wasn’t tempted to try the seat out in bed mode but on the plus side, the seat recline was much better than in the A346. I digress again. The PE cabin in the A333 looks a bit more spacious than in the 346s and 747 but maybe that’s just me. I also took a walk down to Y and the fact that those dividing walls were taken out seemed to open up the Y cabin as well. So my verdict is that in W and Y, the A333 is well laid out.
So the actual flight. Service was good. First drinks run with the pretzels, then lunch was served a little later. I initially asked for the Thai Green Curry but that was awful so I got the Herb Crusted Tilapia with Mango Salsa, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli and Toasted Almonds. I’m not sure if it was really that great, but compared to that awful green curry, it was delicious. The Baileys/Amaretto run was done shortly after, followed by tea/coffee (I had hot chocolate) and several water/juice runs. There was High Tea about an hour before descent. Cheese and pickle sandwich and banana toffee cupcake.
Generally got the efficient and friendly VS service. You didn't get the feeling that anything was too much and at a point CC from UC got me a glass of wine when the PE/Y CC were unavailable and she seemed happy to help.
This would have been a full 5 star flight but food was let down by the horrendous Thai Green Curry and the sandwich wasn't fantastic.
Entertainment wise, I maybe suffer from what most movie buffs and FFs suffer - not enough to choose from. And vera touch isn't that responsive, I found it easier to use the keypad. It was cool to have wifi on the flight but it was a bit slow, and I couldn't even manage to send my Hello from Champagne Belle shout out before my 15 free minutes timed out. I considered paying but I had no work to do and didn't see the point.
The flight didn’t seem to drag and soon enough, we landed at BGI. Immigration was cleared quickly but there was a bit of a wait for the bags but got my suitcase eventually, cleared customs and it was off into the warm sunshine of Barbados. Virgin got us a van operated by Suntours to get us from the airport to our hotels. The driver acted as a tour guide and gave us bits of info on places of interest as we drove past.
Got to the hotel and got a welcome rum punch and got showed to my room with a lovely view of the Caribbean Sea.
Thanks for reading.
Loyal VS Flyer since 2003
