This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
We arrived at LHR early and asked about mileage upgrades at the ticket desk. Unfortunately, whilst the seats were available, the restrictions on our PE tickets (themselves upgraded with cash via MMB) would force a switch to a W fare, which is just too much money. It was annoying because reward seats on the HKG route are not exactly plentiful, but you can't win 'em all. The ticketing agent kindly checked us in there and then to save us trundling over to the UC check-in.
Off we went to the very, very quiet Clubhouse, via a deserted UC wing and very quick security. Treatments were quickly booked, and then a glass of champagne brought by the very attentive waitress. In fact, the service was by some distance the best I've ever had in the CH -- it was noticeably much sharper than in the past. Treatments were enjoyed; a lovely meal was eaten (they have a quite nice Malbec at the moment); and then it was time to relax before the flight was called.
Boarding had been executed well, so it was straight onto the plane and into the comfy PE seats. The cabin was nearly full, but there was plenty of space for bags (as usual). The flight attendant looking after us was first-rate. Her work ethic was terrific and she could not be faulted. (She mixed a good bloody Mary.)
The most pleasant surprise of all was the food. After having taken several PE flights in which I had been horrified by the decline in standard of the main meal, it was great to be greeted by a clearly much better offering. I also see that cheese and biscuits has returned to the tray -- a welcome development.
The menu, in case anyone is interested, was:
Mixed leaf and cherry tomato (!!) salad
Cottage pie
Sweet chilli chicken
Spinach and ricotta cannelloni
Chocolate profiterole cake
Crackers and cream cheese
It was also nice to be greeted by some fresh choices on the IFE. I tried to watch something but fell asleep and dozed for about 5 hours. This was about as much as I would want on a HKG flight, given VS's timings, so I was pleased. Towards the end of the flight, a cooked breakfast was served (there were 3 other options, though -- muffin + yoghurt, or cheese omelette, or congee), which was pretty good really. And then before long we landed and were off the plane and through immigration pretty quickly, to be greeted by the bags (priority baggage had worked well).
Well, what else can I say? It was a great flight, a great lounge experience, and all those little extras (which can so often go astray when you get an indifferent crew) were present. I don't know whether I just got lucky, or whether VS are trying to pull their socks up. I hope it is the latter, because this was a great experience in the PE cabin and it reminds me just how strong a product PE can be when everything goes well.
