das
Aug 14, 05, 10:43 pm
I arrived at the airport a bit late - around 1:30pm for a 2:45pm departure, and was quickly checked in by the contract staff. Since I had a one way ticket to HKG, and no proof of onward travel (I’d booked a one way ticket to PEK for the next day, but needed to issue it in HKG, due to lack of e-tickets), the check in agent was concerned about whether I would be admitted into Hong Kong. A supervisor said it would be no problem, but I took note to always keep proper proof of onward travel. (Was surprised this was an issue because I’ve been traveling on one way intl tickets – often with no onward travel booked - for the past couple months)
Since I was late, I proceeded straight to the gate after doing some quick shopping. I have no Virgin status and there are no lounge privileges for Premium Economy passengers, so no lounge report. Boarding didn’t begin until around 2:15pm, and there was a priority line for Upper Class and Premium Economy.
Premium Economy on the A340-600 is 4 rows of 2-3-2 situated just behind the entrance door. Upper Class is in front of the entrance door and thus was completely private and invisible to the masses. The cabin looked new, and the Premium Economy seats seemed comparable to domestic F, perhaps the seats were a bit narrower, but the pitch slightly greater. There is a footrest and legrest, and a large PTV on the seat in front.
Today’s load appeared to be very heavy in Y, around 50% in Premium Economy, and I have no idea about Upper. It was a Saturday afternoon, and the majority of passengers seemed to be Chinese returning home – I’ve heard that VS sells few SYD-LHR tickets because demand is so strong for local traffic on the continuing HKG-LHR sector.
Pre departure drinks of orange juice and champagne were offered in glasses to Premium Economy, and we pushed back right on schedule. The cabin crew was a mix of HKG and LHR based, with the majority of the crew serving Premium Economy and Economy being junior HKG based crew. Amenity kits were distributed to all Y passengers – a bag with toothbrush, socks, eyeshades, tissues, paper, pen, and earplugs. I didn’t really need it for a day flight, but it was appreciated. (This kit was slightly downgraded from what Virgin distributed back when I flew them in 1997 – when the bag would turn into a mini travel backpack) It was also interesting that the amenity kits (and the contents) were color coordinated and there were a number of different colors to choose from.
We took off and proceeded northeast across Australia – the view was quite spectacular for the first couple hours. As you know, Premium Economy has a bigger seat, bigger pitch, and front of the cabin location. I had an empty seat next to me, which gave me some added space. Other than pre departure beverages, the service is the same as Y, except that you get served first.
Service began with a full beverage cart and spiced pretzels, and the F/As offered second rounds on their way back from finishing the service. Dinner followed shortly thereafter, with a choice of some meat dish, fish, or a vegetable stir fry (Virgin offers a vegetarian option on all of its flights). I selected the fish, which was fairly tasty and came with mini-potatoes and vegetables. The tray also included a nicely garnished salad, dessert, cheese, crackers, and some appetizer that I don’t remember.
Wine was served from large screwtop bottles into small wine glasses. I asked for white wine, which the F/A repeated as “white wine” but proceeded to pour me red wine. Either her English was bad or she was sloppy, but I didn’t really care. At the conclusion of the dinner service, tea (jasmine or English) and coffee were offered. Everyone was turning down the English tea, which was offered before the jasmine tea.
Mid flight there were very occasional water services (I was awake for 1 of them), but I carry my own water bottle on long haul flights so this is no big deal. There was also a mango ice cream bar offered mid-flight. The IFE was fairly good – a variety of movies and audio, as well as games to play – the menu interface took some time getting used to. I’m not normally into video games, but I spent a lot of time playing Tetris.
As we crossed over the Philippines, there was some fairly heavy turbulence, and then it was time for the pre-arrival snack service. I’ve noticed that pre-arrival meals have been dramatically cut back over the past few years, and this was no exception. We were served a warm, packaged sausage roll or a spinach/ricotta roll, with a side of fruit. Tea and coffee were offered, but no full beverage cart was available. The emphasis on caffeinated beverages for pre-landing meal services always puzzles me – in this case, it’s a late night arrival….
We landed in HKG right on schedule, just before 10pm, and I was off to the Langham Place Mongkok (a really awesome hotel, with plasma screen TVs and other high tech goodies – read the reviews on Trip Advisor) to rest up for my onward journey.
Since I was late, I proceeded straight to the gate after doing some quick shopping. I have no Virgin status and there are no lounge privileges for Premium Economy passengers, so no lounge report. Boarding didn’t begin until around 2:15pm, and there was a priority line for Upper Class and Premium Economy.
Premium Economy on the A340-600 is 4 rows of 2-3-2 situated just behind the entrance door. Upper Class is in front of the entrance door and thus was completely private and invisible to the masses. The cabin looked new, and the Premium Economy seats seemed comparable to domestic F, perhaps the seats were a bit narrower, but the pitch slightly greater. There is a footrest and legrest, and a large PTV on the seat in front.
Today’s load appeared to be very heavy in Y, around 50% in Premium Economy, and I have no idea about Upper. It was a Saturday afternoon, and the majority of passengers seemed to be Chinese returning home – I’ve heard that VS sells few SYD-LHR tickets because demand is so strong for local traffic on the continuing HKG-LHR sector.
Pre departure drinks of orange juice and champagne were offered in glasses to Premium Economy, and we pushed back right on schedule. The cabin crew was a mix of HKG and LHR based, with the majority of the crew serving Premium Economy and Economy being junior HKG based crew. Amenity kits were distributed to all Y passengers – a bag with toothbrush, socks, eyeshades, tissues, paper, pen, and earplugs. I didn’t really need it for a day flight, but it was appreciated. (This kit was slightly downgraded from what Virgin distributed back when I flew them in 1997 – when the bag would turn into a mini travel backpack) It was also interesting that the amenity kits (and the contents) were color coordinated and there were a number of different colors to choose from.
We took off and proceeded northeast across Australia – the view was quite spectacular for the first couple hours. As you know, Premium Economy has a bigger seat, bigger pitch, and front of the cabin location. I had an empty seat next to me, which gave me some added space. Other than pre departure beverages, the service is the same as Y, except that you get served first.
Service began with a full beverage cart and spiced pretzels, and the F/As offered second rounds on their way back from finishing the service. Dinner followed shortly thereafter, with a choice of some meat dish, fish, or a vegetable stir fry (Virgin offers a vegetarian option on all of its flights). I selected the fish, which was fairly tasty and came with mini-potatoes and vegetables. The tray also included a nicely garnished salad, dessert, cheese, crackers, and some appetizer that I don’t remember.
Wine was served from large screwtop bottles into small wine glasses. I asked for white wine, which the F/A repeated as “white wine” but proceeded to pour me red wine. Either her English was bad or she was sloppy, but I didn’t really care. At the conclusion of the dinner service, tea (jasmine or English) and coffee were offered. Everyone was turning down the English tea, which was offered before the jasmine tea.
Mid flight there were very occasional water services (I was awake for 1 of them), but I carry my own water bottle on long haul flights so this is no big deal. There was also a mango ice cream bar offered mid-flight. The IFE was fairly good – a variety of movies and audio, as well as games to play – the menu interface took some time getting used to. I’m not normally into video games, but I spent a lot of time playing Tetris.
As we crossed over the Philippines, there was some fairly heavy turbulence, and then it was time for the pre-arrival snack service. I’ve noticed that pre-arrival meals have been dramatically cut back over the past few years, and this was no exception. We were served a warm, packaged sausage roll or a spinach/ricotta roll, with a side of fruit. Tea and coffee were offered, but no full beverage cart was available. The emphasis on caffeinated beverages for pre-landing meal services always puzzles me – in this case, it’s a late night arrival….
We landed in HKG right on schedule, just before 10pm, and I was off to the Langham Place Mongkok (a really awesome hotel, with plasma screen TVs and other high tech goodies – read the reviews on Trip Advisor) to rest up for my onward journey.