This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
No queue at the First Class check-in and the very nice lady set to checking our bags in, I asked if there were any First upgrades available to which she said yes and promptly told her colleagues on the adjacent desks not to sell/allocate these seats as she was busy working out the fare difference. First allows two checked bags per person and I had already paid for an extra bag each so that had to be deducted then she realised she was charging us the Main Cabin to First supplement rather than the Main Cabin Select supplement, then the bag tags wouldn’t print correctly, nor the boarding passes, receipts or Clubhouse invites. She was very positive and kept apologising for keeping us but we just kept smiling and acknowledged that she was not responsible for the foibles of the printer. After a good 10 minutes we were wished a pleasant flight and were on our way.
A very pleasant experience at security no queues anywhere and all done efficiently. We then made our way to the A gates and could not find any signs to any lounges so after a bit of walking we found the Clubhouse and were warmly welcomed. We partook of a bit of lunch and champagne. It felt slightly wrong quaffing champagne and eating pork products sat in front a Saudi 777 – but hey ho. The service was very attentive throughout our stay and refills offered, but declined, on a number of occasions. Interestingly the menu’s cards are swapped once the VS flight leaves but the offering remains the same.
All too soon it was time to find our gate, at the B end, a long walk and to our surprise it was not busy so we found a seat and waited. An announcement was made ‘Hi y’all – who wants to go to LA? Anyone? Now boarding First Class rows 1 and 2 only.’ Something totally different.
Well, we smiled at each other and went up to the podium, BPs scanned and off down the jetway. No one wanted to see our BPs at the door so we took our seats and were quickly offered a drink from the bar – nice touch. The mood lighting was on and it gave the cabin a nice ambience, however that was the only lighting throughout the entire flight. The size of allowed the carry on baggage was astounding and we even saw two handbag sized dogs go past.
Interestingly the Captain spent most of the boarding process stood outside the cockpit and even did his welcome announcement from door L1. One passenger had misplaced their scarf and even left the aircraft to go look for it. Here if you cannot leave after boarding – a crew member may go off but not a passenger. The elusive scarf was not found – even the Captain went for a search at one point.
At some point the boarding music was stopped and a new song came on and it was not until the CC clicked the seat buckle together did I realised this was the ‘safety announcement’. Very clever and gimmicky but I understood absolutely none of it. Over the PA it was relatively quiet, and on questioning later, I was told most people had their headphones plugged in and if it was turned up it could be too loud for them! Even the CS annoucements were inaudible, the couple in front complained, and all I understood was 'thank you' at the end of each annoucement.
The nice white leather seats are very comfortable and the on board service was fine. Drinks flowed, if requested, the meal was adequate but each course was brought out a different tray with different cutlery. Salad, saltimbocca and a nice pudding. Snacks were handed out mid-flight too. My IFE didn’t work despite being reset and having all four corners touched in sequence. The cabin supervisor apologised and said she could do no more but I could move to the spare seat if I wanted to. I just went to sleep.
It was a long 6 hour flight, due to strong headwinds, and quite bumpy at times for which the Captain apologised but said we could not reroute around it.
All in all I am glad we took the upgrade as it made for a very relaxing flight, that said row 3, where we were originally booked, as was the rest of the aircraft, was very quiet. On arrival in LA the bags came of relatively quickly, well the 3 with priority tags on did, the elusive 4th took a while. It is all a very laid back experience and I have to say the most pleasant internal US flight I have ever taken. I have given the CS a good rather than excellent as I thought she did what she was supposed to do but didn't go the extra mile, not what I am used to for a premium cabin.
Rob
