This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
I almost exclusively spend my mileage on G upgrades these days, as I feel that is the most "bang for your buck" as many other v-flyers have noted.
Anyway, on to the report. My first one, so please bear with me.
This was not my first trip in UC on this route, so I had a feeling of what to expect. Extremely sad to be leaving my fiancee, but she'll be following me in a couple of weeks time!
I was met (not greeted) at the UC check-in desk by the agent who seemed to very absorbed in the conversation with the staff member next to him, as the first question he asked was "only 1 bag?" Not even a hello! At one point, he even seemed to forget I had a second bag, for as I was awkwardly staring at him he said, "Oh!" and asked me to put my second bag on the belt. Then, happily carried on his conversation. Not a great way to start, but I knew I had the Clubhouse ahead of me to wipe away these early bumps.
I was not disappointed. While busy, I made efficient use of the shower facilities and demolished a clubhouse burger before making my way to gate 24e. Now here is where the fun begins. I knew the moment I was going down towards the gate that this meant bus. So, after a 10 minute hot and stuffy bus ride through the bowels of Heathrow airport, we emerged through a tunnel to see Tubular Belle waiting there for us at what appeared to be a maintenance stand in the midst of T5.
Sure enough, we were told on board that the plane had maintenance done the night before, and had they moved her to the gate, it would have delayed the flight. I must say, there is nothing quite like boarding a 747 via air stairs. I should have turned, paused and waved
Settled into one of my favorite single seats, 17K and was greeted! by lovely cabin crew who offered me a drink. We were advised that our flight time would be 7 hours. After an arduous boarding process (one bus every 10 minutes), we were pushed back and after a short taxi were airborne.
Drink orders were taken and the cabin was prepped for dinner service. I chose the Minestrone soup to start, which was very good and the steak. While I was not too hungry from the clubhouse burger, I did not find the steak all that good. A little bit too dry, it didn't live up the menu description of "The most prized cut of beef for many." The chocolate cake made up for it, however, and while I declined the cheese and port service, others around me seemed to be enjoying it.
I'd be happy to post the menu if anyone is interested, but does it not change soon? Says March 2014 in the footnotes.
The IFE is your standard VERA On-Demand. Maybe it's just me, but with how technology is these days, I find it hard to watch these screens. Whether its the resolution, contrast or something else, I just prefer to watch what I have pre-downloaded on my iPad and/or laptop. That is not to say, however, that both the selection and the IFE experience itself on VS is not good, it just feels dated to me. I also would rather get some sleep and enjoy the flat-bed seat than watch a film that I can watch on my TV at home
A few pax were mingling at the bar for what seemed like the entire flight, and overall it was rather uneventful, but very pleasant. The cabin crew were great, and one even went out of her way to keep my cake slice chilled in the fridge so I could eat it later, instead of during the allocated meal service time. As others have said, the cabin crew on VS really shine through, and are often the highlight of my flight.
We made good time and landed in a very, very wet Newark even earlier than anticipated. Straight through immigration and bags came out in the first batch. Perfect. Can't believe the sun just came out in London today only for me to leave!
Unfortunately, I won't get the opportunity to fly with VS again until the Fall, but I'm looking forward to it nonetheless!
