This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Having been camping in Kirby Cove for the past 2 nights with no shower facilities we felt in need of a wash! We were disappointed to discover there were no general shower facilities, and only what seemed like a private business charging $15(!!!) a shower (although this did include 15 minutes in a massage chair(!) and toiletries, not that we wanted that). After much umming and ahhing we bit the bullet, and feeling refreshed headed to check in.
We headed straight for a desk, and after enquiring about some exit row seats (I had miscalculated when I needed to go online to book seats and missed out on the bubble, ending up at the back of the plane on a pair of seats) I was told I could either buy some exit row seats downstairs for $120 each, or go upstair in the bubble for free as the entertainment system wasn't working on that row. We decided to stick with what we had, not wanting to splash the cash or sit for 9 and a half hours with no entertainment!
We headed off for a late lunch, saw England lose their first World Cup match and then headed down to the gate. After a 20 minute delay boarding due to cabin crew carrying out 'security checks' we boarded Mustang Sally. I was SO dissapointed to see that she clearly hadn't had a refit in a long time and was no where near up to the standard of Barbarella who we flew into Las Vegas on.
After we made ourselves comfy I mentioned to the Stewardess that I wasn't keen on flying, and she was very sweet and said she'd pop over to see me and again offered me a cup of tea. I took the chance to have a chat with her about the plane, and she said it was one of the few that hadn't been refitted yet, and Virgin were expecting their Dreamliners to be delivered later this year (although its still unclear if Mustang Sally is due a bit of TLC).
One of the downsides of Mustang Sally is the Vera On Demand system - the screens looked like they had Vaseline smeared over them, and weren't very fun to watch. I would say that I found controlling the system easier with the controller than the grumpy touch screen on Barbarella though!
Take off was nice and smooth, and despite forgetting to sort seats in the bubble the rows of 2 seats aren't too bad, and come with some extra bulkhead room (my row was sadly missing a window). Dinner followed shortly (salad, beef stew and another GU pot), with a drinks round afterwards.
No sooner had the cabin crew served everyones drinks (red wine!) than the seatbelt sign on. What followed was around 45 minutes of the worst turbulence I've experienced with the cabin crew having to go and sit down too. After 5 minutes of cradling my drink I did the sensible thing and downed it, not wanting to be wearing it (I think a lot of others did too!). I tried carrying on with my film during the turbulence but found it all a bit too distracting, as did my Wife. Fortunately(?) she really wasn't enjoying the flight by this point, which distracted me a bit.
After it finally calmed down the cabin crew announced they weren't going to serve hot drinks, and cleared away the dinner stuff (including the bits now strewn around the plane). The stewardess I spoke to at the start of the flight did also come over and speak to me a number of times, along with another one. I know there isn't much they can do, but their reassurance is always welcome (although one did admit that even they found it unsettling, and it had been particularly bad!).
It was a bumpy ride on and off for the next few hours until we got out over the Atlantic where it seemed to settle down. I managed to get a few hours dozing after this before the lights came on for breakfast (muffin, nature valley bar and an orange juice).
Shortly after breakfast we passed over England and joined the queue for Heathrow for around 15 minutes. Having found it quite unpleasant on previous occasions I was pleased that I barely noticed it - we circled gently a few times before heading in for a very smooth landing.
After heading to the terminal we had to wait around 15 minutes before getting off the plane. Immigration was reasonably quick and our bags were even quicker.
A reasonable flight given the turbulence. Both this and the trip to Las Vegas seem to have helped with my dislike of flying though, which can only be good! Hopefully I'll be flying with Virgin again soon!
