This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
I used one of the 2 fast ferry services to/from Provincetown. The World Trade Centre MBTA Silverline stop is only a block or two away from the Seaport ferry dock. Traffic was building up as it was around 5pm so took 10-15mins to get back to the airport.
Check-in was quick and pleasant. VS check-in seems to move every time I use BOS as it's now at the complete opposite end of terminal E compared to where it was last year?
Even though it's not advertised BOS terminal E does have a full proper TSA-Pre lane which I was through in no time at all. So so much easier than trying to get through MAN!!! I headed down to the Clubhouse which to be honest isn't my favourite and never has been. It doesn't even have a shower which is just ridiculous IMHO. Service was good in there though even though the Clubhouse was pretty busy.
The flight was called around 19:20 for a 19:55 departure. Boarding was pretty chaotic as it always is at BOS. We boarding G-VLNM at gate E7. The same A332 that flew me out to BOS.
I was welcomed at the door. I was soon offered the usual pre-departure drink (I use the singular term here as well - one drink that was it). The cabin was once again very warm as it was on the outbound flight. There are no adjustable air vents in the J cabin (at least on G-VLNM).
Once again, lots of confusion over seat numbers with several pax. It was the same on the outbound flight. It's a very confusing seat number layout in J on the A332's. Quite a few pax seemed to be expecting to sit together and where not so there was quite a bit of seat swapping.
The old style sleep suits where still being handed out. Menus where handout after take-off but there where no breakfast cards?
As already mentioned on here and as with the Delta One seat, once you recline you’re seat, it starts to become awkward to get in and out of it.
Whilst the FSM was working in J most of the flight, she didn't seem to want to interact with any of the pax. As an AU, I got no recognition at all from anyone of this flight home, unlike the outbound flight where both the FSM and the CSS came and said hello and chatted with me.
We pushed back at 20:27 with 252 pax onboard (I think there where around 224 on the outbound flight). J and W where both full both ways.
The cabin service started after takeoff, but in all honesty there's where it also pretty much ended as well. I wasn't even offered a drink after takeoff. OK yes I'd gone to the washroom to change into my shorts/t-shirt to sleep in but there was nothing from any one of the crew from that point onwards until I woke for breakfast. Granted I didn't want anything to eat as I always skip the meal on the flight home (especially on shorts flights like this one) but I was never actually given an opportunity to order food even if I wanted to
They seem to all be fussing over the pax sat in front of me because they had not got his pre-order meal choice right on this or the previous flights.
I managed a few hours sleep but that seat is not great in bed mode. It's noticeably narrower than the other VS J seats. A major design flaw is IMHO the (huge) metal table bracket takes up seat width when trying to sleep. The seat cover only covers the seat section and not the ottoman so if you switch sides when sleeping (which I do) you end of getting wrapped up in that cover. It feels like you are going to fall out of one side as well as there is a big gap between the seat and the cabin wall (I was in 3A a window seat).
I woke up about 90 mins before landing, got changed. At least I was offered breakfast, though not having a breakfast card I had to ask what there was. The bacon rolls are getting smaller now so ask for 2!
If you use your own headphones, the socket a strange 3 pin socket which I've never seen before and so you really have to fiddle to get standard single pin headphones to work with the IFE. A double pin aircraft adapter does seem to work a little better; but even that's not great.
After breakfast, the cabin was secured for our approach into MAN. We parked at one of the old terminal gates. Immigration was quick and my bag was the first one off . That is the first time that has eve happened in all the years I've been travelling. My bag was off within the first 10 bags or so on the inbound into BOS as well
Overall a very poor VS flight. The FSM and the crew where just not interested on this flight. That was actually probably one of the worst VS flights I had in terms of crew and lack of service (that was VS flight # 127 for me in the 21 years I've been flying VS now)
With that and the shockingly bad airport facilities at MAN, I'm done flying VS from MAN now and will stick to LHR every time now. My next 2 VS flights are FLL via JFK in Dec and LAX in Feb both from LHR anyway.
Regards
James Mitchell
James Mitchell