This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Our journey began very early on Saturday morning when we travelled down from Sheffield to Heathrow, taking only just 3 hours as there was barely any traffic on the road. We were straight up to check in at the UC check in desk, and were soon being whisked through a fairly empty security and into the Clubhouse. I have used the Clubhouse on a number of occasions previously, but have never really taken full advantage of their facilities until this time. My partner booked in for a hair trim as soon as we arrived, and then we relaxed in some of the comfy chairs. It took around 10 minutes for the first person to actually acknowledge us for drinks, but after that it was excellent service. And, I kept being brought two Virgin Redheads each time for some reason, and I was more than happy to make sure they didn’t go to waste. After a while we went over to the dining area and had burgers. Preceded by starters from the deli. Followed by sticky toffee puddings. All the way through accompanied by plenty of fizz and wine. We are a very impressionable group, so we were very easily lead by the lovely insistent lady who was serving us. She really was fantastic. After a while we went to play pool and some of the retro games, my partner had his haircut, and all too soon it was time to board.
We were very quickly onto the plane. Greeted and sent to our seats in the nose, we quickly settled in and had a glass of champagne in our hands. Now I know they might be impractical, I know they barely fit on the little fold-down table, and I KNOW that they spill easily…but I love those glasses. I think it’s the little things that make all the difference, and that is one ‘little touch’ that I really like. We pushed back just about on time I think, but I actually nodded off for a while to wake and find that we were still on the ground. I could hear whirring noises coming from different sides of the airplane at different times, and it turned out that they were trying all of the engines. I think the Captain referred to the problem as a ‘sticky fuel line’, but fairly soon we were on our way, in all around an hour late for take-off. Gotta say, it didn’t bother me, I was napping.
After we were in the air, the cabin crew came round and introduced themselves and took our drinks orders, which of course involved more champagne. I had a little sit on my ottoman so I was closer to my fiancé (we were in the 12’s so already pretty close) while we perused the menu and drank the champagne. The crew were absolutely fantastic on this flight. So friendly, helpful, chatty but not in an inappropriate way, just brilliant. The lady who took my drinks order asked why we were off to NYC and I mentioned that, whilst not the entire reason, I would be looking for my bridal shoes whilst over there. Within minutes of her going away to do the drinks, the cabin supervisor came over, popped herself into my seat to give me some tips on where to go wedding shopping! They were just a brilliant crew, definitely the best I’ve had.
The food was also really good on this flight. I can’t remember everything about the menu, but there was either tomato soup or salmon mousse to start, and the mains were a fillet of beef, chicken, tortellini or prawn noodles. I had the salmon mousse followed by the chicken, both of which were really very good, the chicken was not dry at all. Other members of my family had the soup, the tortellini and the prawn noodles and all had nothing but praise for them. Of course, it was at the moment that the soup had been served to my partner that the turbulence kicked in. He actually managed not to spill any soup but my champagne ended up on my table/in my lap/up my arm/in my starter! Do you know, I really cannot remember if I had dessert or not. I would hazard a guess that I had some cheese but I can’t be sure. Anyway when I had finished my cheese (or not as the case may be) we headed to the bar for a couple of drinkies. We actually only went there for a short amount of time, had a chat with a couple of lovely guys who were in the same part of the plane as us and with the cabin crew that were manning the bar, and then went back to the seats (armed with some fizz to keep us going).
I had been so excited about the on-board entertainment, checking the film listings numerous times prior to the flight, but I watched nothing. I got back to the seat, converted it into a bed, and slept for around 3 hours, waking up just once to notice that everyone had ice cream and I had not, and then quickly falling back to sleep. When I woke up we were just one hour from New York, so I headed back to the bar to pick up a glass of coke, converted my bed back in to a seat, and then settled back to enjoy the view of New York by night. We landed just about on time, security was really easy and quick, and the luggage was out in no time.
All in all, I could not fault the flight, it was perfect. I will post the return report as soon as I get chance.
hence the mad idea of running.
