VS043 LGW-LAS 19 FEB 14 (Premium Economy)

This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin

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let me set the scene a little. This year through a fluke of circumstances saw me achieve the upper echelons of Gold. By a happy coincidence it also saw one of my good work colleagues turn 50 - he made the happy choice to celebrate this birthday in Vegas. naturally we couldn't let him do this alone so a group of 11 of us also looked to book.

I cleared this with Mrs Fainty and a permission slip was granted with the rather hefty caveat of taking her back to Vegas later in the year - in truth a bit of a win win situation for me .

However looking at the finances it quickly became apparent that a upper flight was out of the question and a G was no where to be seen. Not surprising on this route but this didn't stop me keeping an eye out.

I started to explore the other options open to me. This ended with me using my AMEX upgrade vouchers. I booked a economy flight with miles in a reward sales and then upgraded to PE with the voucher. All in all not too bad 35k miles and the taxes etc. Then came the hole debate about where to sit. Previously I have only ever flown in the bubble with the previous configuration and had the internal wrestle of what to do. I eagerly scanned every TR on this site looking for a definitive answer, but as I knew all along it really came to personal choice. I eventually opted to stay in the bubble, one of my friends was also traveling with me and he had never been in PE or upstairs in a 747 so that swayed the decision and we booked the back row of PE (away from the toilets).

We traveled down to LGW the night before and got a B and B, in true fashion we had one or two more drinks that night than we should have done but hey we were going to Vegas during this beer fueled anticipation we did complete OLCI and one of our parties seat request had been moved from the bubble to down stairs for some reason. He was fuming so we obviously added to his fury but insistently ribbing him.

Morning came and with a bit of a thick head we headed down to the terminal. I did ask about a upgrade at the desk but not that lucky - Upper was full. Oh well I knew that really but as I have found on this site - if you don't ask you don't get!

With my nice new sparkly gold card in hand my mate and I proceeded to the upper check in desks, whilst the rest of the party started their long winding wait at the Economy desks. Really quick and efficient check in and on our way to security in under 5 mins. In the premium security lane and waiting for the scanners - it really mazes me that people still get all the way to the front and only then start to think that they might actually have to empty their pockets and stuff - GRRRRRR

Still that little bit of anger was quickly dispatched as we made our way to the clubhouse. I was met with exceptional proffesionalisum at reception and we were instantly welcomed in. I felt guilty about my mate whose seat had been moved so I asked about paying for him to come in as well as my mother mate who I was guesting in. The receptionist was very accommodating and agreed that once he was through security we could come and meet him and pay for him to come in. About 20 mins later he joined us and handed over £45. It turns out he had got his original seat back and was happy as Larry. We sat down for a few drinks to clear our heads - the redhead was the drink of choice. Seemed quite busy in the clubhouse but the staff were, as always very attentive. A quick back massage and then a short walk down to the gate.

Still a little hopeful that the magic fairy would make my boarding card bleep - but no happy ending - I knew that really but doesn't stop me hoping!

Boarded quickly and upstairs we went. I have to say I was not overly impressed from the outset as the bubble seemed to have lost its calmness and space. With that said as soon as we went into the PE section it did open out. Nearly all the rest of my colleagues were in economy on the upper deck. They were given the good news that the flight was not full and they could have 3 seats between 2 - result for them. Took off on time and was pleasantly surprised that the bubble was still a good place to be. Traffic going past was minimal and the Servcie was good. Don't get me wrong it's not Upper class but still not bad at all.

Disembarkation was ok and economy downstairs had been held back, Unfortunatley that did not stop a 90 min wait at immigration .

We then went to the NY NY hotel and I'm afraid (as per the rules) the rest of this story has to stay in Vegas

In summary Check in and the clubhouse were flawless. PE in the bubble was still good but as many have said before me - it ain't what it used to be. With that said I would still consider it as a nice option - but that's just my opinion.

Reminds me of many a trip to vegas myself. My wife kindly paid for me last time with a similar rule - she must come next time. She's the lucky one anyhow, so I don't complain at that (we had 2 major wins last time)

Chances of upgrade on the route are rarer than anything though - 14 seats in uc only sees to that. I've been on revenue on route once for work - but was hunting all morning for a G to no avail. People ARE getting them though - a couple on the last VS44 I was on were quite proud of getting the reward flights on the route at the bar.

Still wife signed off on us going back ourselves during our 2015 tour.... My hope is I can go back sooner on a work extension though.

Excellent TR fainty, thanks for sharing, sounds like alcohol fuelled fun was had by all!

I have yet to have the pleasure of flying in a 747, but the experience always sounds great.

Thanks again

Thank you for an entertaining TR.
I was particularly interested in your comments about the bubble.