VS UC trip to MCO at Easter
May 5, 2003, 1:48 pm
#1
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Falkirk, Scotland,VS Red, BA Gold, HH Diamond,UK Amex Plat
Programs: Master of the Privy Purse des Muccis
Posts: 17,916
VS UC trip to MCO at Easter
Hi,
VS 27 LGW-MCO
18th April
Sch Dep 1115 Sch Arr 1525
Act Dep 1117 Act Arr 1505
Seat 8A ( Upper Class)
Check in
After arriving at Zone A at LGW South Terminal from the LGW Hilton around 8:15am for my VS15 @1230, the economy line was long , being a bank holiday and PE had a few people but only a couple in the UC queue.
At the document check prior to the check in desk, I was approached by a Virgin agent who asked me If I would mind taking the earlier flight ( VS27 @ 1115). I agreed and was escorted over to the ticket desk to get my new eticket receipt. After that it was back to the document check and I was asked by the security agent to follow him after check in for a random bag search. At check in I asked if Row 6 was available ( forward row in UC) but it was not but I got 8A(window). The bag was tagged, by boarding pass got the fastrack sticker and then I followed the security agent to a secured corner near the AA check in area where a random bag search was done. I opened up my case and they had a look through before closing it and taking it to the belt. It only took a few minutes.
Queues at security were longish but using fastrack was only 5-10minutes before I was through.
The lounge
As I had booked an appointment for a haircut using my later flight (haircut booked at 11am) I headed straight to the lounge. As I checked in with the front desk the agent reminded me to go to the vtouch salon which I thought was a nice touch. The vtouch salon was great and I was able to get a new appointment at 930am.
I had a light snack of cereal juice and coffee as I knew it would be non stop eating on board the flight!!
The lounge was busy with the MIA flights, two Caribbean and one MCO flight leaving at 1115 and the later MCO flight at 1230.
I was able to log on to one of the three pc’s to alert my transportation company at MCO to pick me up at the new time.
After the haircut ( great as usual) I had a shower-during the shower I realized that I had a pre order booked for my original flight. I went to the front desk and they were able to change the order to my return flight which was good of them.
The shoe shine is also back ( Wednesday to Sunday) and I had my shoes polished.
I went to the general departure lounge to do a little bit of shopping and it was busy as everyone was jetting off for easter.
The flight
( The LGW aircraft have the Recaro seats which are not the J2000 seats on the LHR aircraft, do not recline as far and do not have the inflight therapist area)
Around 1045am we were called for boarding so we took the lift to the tram to the satellite and headed to gate 34. I used the Upper class boarding line, got stopped for a random bag search then headed down the jetway and turned left and headed to Zone A in the nose of the aircraft.
The UC section is four rows of 2-2 in the nose section ahead of door 1( rows 6-7-8-9). There are two rows of 2-2-2 UC seats in Zone B behind door 1 but this was going to be the PE zone today. There were also around 3rows of economy seats ahead of the boarding door 2.
Shortly after seating I was served with a choice of champagne, orange juice or water, I chose champagne and very nice it was too. Our headsets were handed out and we also got our amenity kits and a bottle of water for the flight. All 16 UC seats were filled for this flight ( no children or babies in the UC cabin)
The new quarterly UC magazine Carlos was handed out and I read it during the flight ( I will post a review in my return flight segment) and it was quite good with the majority of articles and shorter pieces of interest.
We pushed back roughly on time and had a longish taxi to the easterly runway. As we rolled I could see the two Caribbean bound VS aircraft taxing out after us. It was a beautiful spring day, with sunshine and warm outside.
We took off towards the east before doing a 180 turning to the left to get us heading in the right direction and I could see LGW in the distance as we climbed.
We headed due westward so we had a good view of Southampton and the Isle of Wright before cruising over the Irish Sea and the mountains of west Ireland (they looked magnificent breaking out of the low clouds)
During the climb our cabin crew came round and took our drink orders. I chose a diet cola and crisps ( you could have had nuts also).
As we had our drinks, our lunch orders were taken.
I chose the;
Soup ( Salad was also an option)
Chicken Korma
Desert
Linen table cloths and napkins were handed out and the meals were on the usual china ( normal black plastic cutlery).
There was a choice of three red and three white wines. I chose the Red Chilean Pinot Noire which was excellent. Frequent refills were offered but I only had two glasses
The soup came with a choice of breads and I chose the garlic bread which was very good.
After the meal I chose a coffee with a small Bailey’s and Ice. As it was Good Friday , small chocolate easter eggs were given with the coffee rather than the normal chocolates. The Baileys came in a small glass (rather than the normal large glass tumbler ) and was excellent.
The Kid’s Flight
While cruising we heard on the PA that there was 106 kids on board so they would do a separate child meal service. There was also going to be two competitions on board. One for the tidiest tray handed in at the end of the meal ( in the Economy /PE Cabin) and a drawing competition with an easter theme.
There was a young girl who was dressed up in a FA uniform who was brought up to the UC cabin by the Purser and came round to our seats with the bowl of chocolates.
The cruise
After lunch we settled down and fully reclined our seats, extended the leg rests and watched the movies and listened to the music channels. I generally listed to Think Pink with Jackie Clune whose commentary was funny at times ( “We are going to have to make an unscheduled stop as I’m dying for a cigar with the Gibson brothers”-The song was Cuba!!, Here is another band with a song named after a tropical fruit drink –Rio by Duran Duran”, “Put down those maracas in row J!! There is no camp percussion allowed in Economy!! Although it would prevent Deep ( and extremely Vain) Thombosis)
There was a regular drinks service and the central bar area in the middle of the cabin at row 9 had fruit and nibbles together with harder liqueur.
We cruised over the coast of Labrador with still frozen land and sea with snow in many places and it was wonderful to see. We continued our cruise down the eastern seaboard ( generally over the sea and as it was cloudy we did not see too much of the land apart from Cape Cod.
About 90mins prior to landing the trolley came round with a bevy of calorie laden beauties ( the cakes!!- what did you think I meant?)
The Descent ( and a commentary from Sir Sean Connery) and Landing
With about 45mins to run our descent started, and then, suddenly over the PA came the voice of Sir Sean Connery with the safety information ( ie fasten seat belts open blinds etc). While it was impersonated by a male Cabin crew member it was very well done.
We crossed the Florida coast over Daytona Beach and out of my window I had a magnificent view of Daytona Speedway and Daytona airport. We approached MCO from the north east and landed in a southerly direction about 3pm. After a 5 minute taxi we were at our gate 83. On the taxi we saw a BA 777 ( with the Scottish tartan tail).
Soon we were disembarking and were at Immigration with no one in front of us so we were quickly processed. There were two baggage carrousels for our flight ( one for Upper Class). My bag was the second one off then headed to customs. I was asked by the customs inspector to follow him to the table and to open the bag. He was very friendly throughout and only had a brief look through the suitcase before thanking me and taking my customs form.
Then after putting the case on the belt for the main terminal, it was up the escalator.
One of my minor complaints about MCO ( but understandable given the layout) is that we have to clear security again to get to the main terminal as you are now airside. Fortunately there was no one in front of us and we were recommended in a friendly way by the TSA to remove our shoes.
Then it was a walk to catch the tram to the main terminal and down to bag reclaim 12 B where my FL tour driver was waiting for me . The bags came off a few minutes later and soon I was on my way to the Embassy Suites Jamaican Court for 1 night before WDW. Overall it was around 20 mins from leaving the aircraft to collecting the bags at the main terminal –very impressive.
Thanks for bearing with me so far.
The return flight will be posted later.
Regards
TBS
VS 27 LGW-MCO
18th April
Sch Dep 1115 Sch Arr 1525
Act Dep 1117 Act Arr 1505
Seat 8A ( Upper Class)
Check in
After arriving at Zone A at LGW South Terminal from the LGW Hilton around 8:15am for my VS15 @1230, the economy line was long , being a bank holiday and PE had a few people but only a couple in the UC queue.
At the document check prior to the check in desk, I was approached by a Virgin agent who asked me If I would mind taking the earlier flight ( VS27 @ 1115). I agreed and was escorted over to the ticket desk to get my new eticket receipt. After that it was back to the document check and I was asked by the security agent to follow him after check in for a random bag search. At check in I asked if Row 6 was available ( forward row in UC) but it was not but I got 8A(window). The bag was tagged, by boarding pass got the fastrack sticker and then I followed the security agent to a secured corner near the AA check in area where a random bag search was done. I opened up my case and they had a look through before closing it and taking it to the belt. It only took a few minutes.
Queues at security were longish but using fastrack was only 5-10minutes before I was through.
The lounge
As I had booked an appointment for a haircut using my later flight (haircut booked at 11am) I headed straight to the lounge. As I checked in with the front desk the agent reminded me to go to the vtouch salon which I thought was a nice touch. The vtouch salon was great and I was able to get a new appointment at 930am.
I had a light snack of cereal juice and coffee as I knew it would be non stop eating on board the flight!!
The lounge was busy with the MIA flights, two Caribbean and one MCO flight leaving at 1115 and the later MCO flight at 1230.
I was able to log on to one of the three pc’s to alert my transportation company at MCO to pick me up at the new time.
After the haircut ( great as usual) I had a shower-during the shower I realized that I had a pre order booked for my original flight. I went to the front desk and they were able to change the order to my return flight which was good of them.
The shoe shine is also back ( Wednesday to Sunday) and I had my shoes polished.
I went to the general departure lounge to do a little bit of shopping and it was busy as everyone was jetting off for easter.
The flight
( The LGW aircraft have the Recaro seats which are not the J2000 seats on the LHR aircraft, do not recline as far and do not have the inflight therapist area)
Around 1045am we were called for boarding so we took the lift to the tram to the satellite and headed to gate 34. I used the Upper class boarding line, got stopped for a random bag search then headed down the jetway and turned left and headed to Zone A in the nose of the aircraft.
The UC section is four rows of 2-2 in the nose section ahead of door 1( rows 6-7-8-9). There are two rows of 2-2-2 UC seats in Zone B behind door 1 but this was going to be the PE zone today. There were also around 3rows of economy seats ahead of the boarding door 2.
Shortly after seating I was served with a choice of champagne, orange juice or water, I chose champagne and very nice it was too. Our headsets were handed out and we also got our amenity kits and a bottle of water for the flight. All 16 UC seats were filled for this flight ( no children or babies in the UC cabin)
The new quarterly UC magazine Carlos was handed out and I read it during the flight ( I will post a review in my return flight segment) and it was quite good with the majority of articles and shorter pieces of interest.
We pushed back roughly on time and had a longish taxi to the easterly runway. As we rolled I could see the two Caribbean bound VS aircraft taxing out after us. It was a beautiful spring day, with sunshine and warm outside.
We took off towards the east before doing a 180 turning to the left to get us heading in the right direction and I could see LGW in the distance as we climbed.
We headed due westward so we had a good view of Southampton and the Isle of Wright before cruising over the Irish Sea and the mountains of west Ireland (they looked magnificent breaking out of the low clouds)
During the climb our cabin crew came round and took our drink orders. I chose a diet cola and crisps ( you could have had nuts also).
As we had our drinks, our lunch orders were taken.
I chose the;
Soup ( Salad was also an option)
Chicken Korma
Desert
Linen table cloths and napkins were handed out and the meals were on the usual china ( normal black plastic cutlery).
There was a choice of three red and three white wines. I chose the Red Chilean Pinot Noire which was excellent. Frequent refills were offered but I only had two glasses
The soup came with a choice of breads and I chose the garlic bread which was very good.
After the meal I chose a coffee with a small Bailey’s and Ice. As it was Good Friday , small chocolate easter eggs were given with the coffee rather than the normal chocolates. The Baileys came in a small glass (rather than the normal large glass tumbler ) and was excellent.
The Kid’s Flight
While cruising we heard on the PA that there was 106 kids on board so they would do a separate child meal service. There was also going to be two competitions on board. One for the tidiest tray handed in at the end of the meal ( in the Economy /PE Cabin) and a drawing competition with an easter theme.
There was a young girl who was dressed up in a FA uniform who was brought up to the UC cabin by the Purser and came round to our seats with the bowl of chocolates.
The cruise
After lunch we settled down and fully reclined our seats, extended the leg rests and watched the movies and listened to the music channels. I generally listed to Think Pink with Jackie Clune whose commentary was funny at times ( “We are going to have to make an unscheduled stop as I’m dying for a cigar with the Gibson brothers”-The song was Cuba!!, Here is another band with a song named after a tropical fruit drink –Rio by Duran Duran”, “Put down those maracas in row J!! There is no camp percussion allowed in Economy!! Although it would prevent Deep ( and extremely Vain) Thombosis)
There was a regular drinks service and the central bar area in the middle of the cabin at row 9 had fruit and nibbles together with harder liqueur.
We cruised over the coast of Labrador with still frozen land and sea with snow in many places and it was wonderful to see. We continued our cruise down the eastern seaboard ( generally over the sea and as it was cloudy we did not see too much of the land apart from Cape Cod.
About 90mins prior to landing the trolley came round with a bevy of calorie laden beauties ( the cakes!!- what did you think I meant?)
The Descent ( and a commentary from Sir Sean Connery) and Landing
With about 45mins to run our descent started, and then, suddenly over the PA came the voice of Sir Sean Connery with the safety information ( ie fasten seat belts open blinds etc). While it was impersonated by a male Cabin crew member it was very well done.
We crossed the Florida coast over Daytona Beach and out of my window I had a magnificent view of Daytona Speedway and Daytona airport. We approached MCO from the north east and landed in a southerly direction about 3pm. After a 5 minute taxi we were at our gate 83. On the taxi we saw a BA 777 ( with the Scottish tartan tail).
Soon we were disembarking and were at Immigration with no one in front of us so we were quickly processed. There were two baggage carrousels for our flight ( one for Upper Class). My bag was the second one off then headed to customs. I was asked by the customs inspector to follow him to the table and to open the bag. He was very friendly throughout and only had a brief look through the suitcase before thanking me and taking my customs form.
Then after putting the case on the belt for the main terminal, it was up the escalator.
One of my minor complaints about MCO ( but understandable given the layout) is that we have to clear security again to get to the main terminal as you are now airside. Fortunately there was no one in front of us and we were recommended in a friendly way by the TSA to remove our shoes.
Then it was a walk to catch the tram to the main terminal and down to bag reclaim 12 B where my FL tour driver was waiting for me . The bags came off a few minutes later and soon I was on my way to the Embassy Suites Jamaican Court for 1 night before WDW. Overall it was around 20 mins from leaving the aircraft to collecting the bags at the main terminal –very impressive.
Thanks for bearing with me so far.
The return flight will be posted later.
Regards
TBS
May 11, 2003, 2:05 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Falkirk, Scotland,VS Red, BA Gold, HH Diamond,UK Amex Plat
Programs: Master of the Privy Purse des Muccis
Posts: 17,916
Hi,
As promised my return flight from MCO to LGW on Virgin Atlantic Upper Class.
VS 28 MCO-LGW
22nd April
Sch Dep 1735 Arr 0640
Act Dep 1731 Arr 0615
Seat 6A Upper Class
Aircraft Name Jersey Girl.
After being picked up from the WDW Hilton by my FL tours driver just after 1pm ( any later check out and I would have to pay a late check out fee of $30 to the hotel) , and a hassle free drive we arrived at Terminal B shortly after 1330 .
There was a small queue of maybe 10-15 people in the Economy check in but no one in UC.
I was addressed by name at UC check in and I asked politely if Row 6 was available ( I was booked in row 7K). The check in agent phoned up someone ( airport reservations ) and mentioned my gold card and seat 6A was released ( I was told 6K was a baby with her parent in 6 H).By this time 140 people had checked in and they were expecting the rush of passengers at 1500. I got the UC invitation to the Delta crown room.
I walked about landside for a little while ,looking at the bookshop and the theme park shops ( I had an early lunch at the Hilton before leaving) then headed to security. After a short wait then remove the shoes and belt ( the female TSA agent was polite and mentioned that you could keep your belt/shoes on if you wanted secondary screening as the detector was beeping all morning, so I took no risks. After clearing the detector I was thanked for my corporation.
I did my exercise routine after getting to the gate 60-99 complex by tram by walking up and down all three piers. I saw a Delta B777 pushing Back form ATL ( it is a big aircraft from close up ).
After buying a few thinks from the candy/newspaper shop I headed to the Delta Crown room just beside the tram arrival point, headed up stairs and handed the invitation to the front desk and headed in.
The Delta Lounge
The lounge itself is nice , spacious, well lit and generally quiet. There are two internet pc’s plus more spaces to plug in your own pc’s. The bar is served with free drinks and some snacks ( the waffle biscuits were nice) with friendly staff. It is a great place to relax compared to the general area but it does not compare with the facilities at the VS clubhouses
Around 1645 the preboard call for VS 28 came. I gathered my stuff and headed to gate 85 where there was a lot of people sitting around.
The flight
A couple of minutes later, the boarding call for UC pax was made and we headed down the jetway ,boarded the aircraft and turned left. Seat 6A is right at the front of the nose section with only the closet infront of you in the middle of the aisle. There did seem to be slightly more room than in the other UC seats in the section. My seating companion arrived ( he was continuing on to Dubai on Emirates from LGW). Our cabin crew came and I chose champagne. The amenity kits were handed out and shortly afterwards the sleep suit ( I chose the medium) was handed out- surprisingly not every UC passenger requested one.
The magazines were placed in the containers attached to the side wall and these also had a bottle of water and our earphones.
Again the UC section was full but this time with several children on board.( Oh great I thought, but to be fare after take off all of them fell asleep quickly and it was a quiet cabin.)
Out of our right hand side windows I saw the BA 777 ( Tartan tail) taxi out and take off around 1715.
The Captain came on the PA and gave us his spiel with a scheduled flying time of 8hours. A few minutes ahead of schedule the doors were closed and we were pushed back.
After the Safety video the cabin crew took our duvets ( which we had placed at our feet) and put them in the overheads as we needed to keep the space in front of us clear for take off and landing. We taxied southwards to the start of rway 35 and held before joining the rway as a Delta MD11 landed. Soon we turned onto 35 and started rolling.
During the take off roll we occasionally heard the thump-thump-thump of the nose wheel rolling over the centre line lights.
As we climbed , it was a little too hazy to make out WDW but I could just make out the Downtown Orlando.
It was very quiet in the nose section compared to other parts of the 747-400 even on take off.
Our routing took us on a similar routing to our outbound flight. The eastern seaboard had a lot of cloud cover but this offered a fantastic sun set as the sun turned red as it went through a thin layer of cloud above the horizon before setting completely
The bar area at the rear of the UC cabin had all the drinks and nibbles layed out for our delectation during the flight.
Zone B of UC ( rows 11-12) was full of PE passengers with PE service and blankets.
Our drink orders were taken shortly afterwards, I chose a diet coke and vegetable chips ( nuts were also available). After the drinks were served, our dinner orders were taken. I handed my Duty free pre order forms and we were asked if we wanted to be woken up 90 minutes prior to landing for breakfast.( which I did)
For dinner I chose the;
Sweet Potato Soup,
Fillet of Beet with potatoes,
Cranberry and apple pie.
The soup came with several helpings of bread and butter, a good selection of wine ( I chose the Chilean Pinot Noir again with sparkling water all served on china dishes and linen table cloths and napkins.
After dinner I had a decaffeinated coffee and a Drambuie with ice which was very nice. I chatted briefly to the crew in the galley area who mentioned that a new UC seat was coming soon. I then changed into my sleep suit ( in the toilet) and fully reclined my seat and extended the leg rest while listening to the music channels and occasionally watching Solaris with George Clooney ( I had seen it on my earlier MCO-LGW flight) .The flight was very smooth with no noticeable bumps whatsoever and it was a perfectly clear night outside as we cruised in mid Atlantic.
Movies ( on the outbound flight to MCO)
25th Hour; Brown Sugar; Catch me if you can; Punch-drunk love; 8 mile; Blue crush; Lilo & Stich and the v tv channel ( two hour cycles) plus the sky map and the audio channels
Inbound to LGW
Narc; Two Weeks notice; Live Forever; Solaris; Igby goes down; Analyze that; The Country Bears and the v tv channel ( two hour cycles) plus the sky map and the audio channels
I did like the vtravel documentary on the Residensea apartment ship ( if only I had that sort of money
).
My duty free was delivered to my seat and I put in in the overhead locker. The fuji camera which I had ordered on the original outbound flight had not been loaded but I got the camera from the general duty free stock with apologies.
Around 90 minutes prior to landing Zoe came round and too our orders for breakfast.
I chose the;
Fruit Plate
Cereal ( Special K)
All night breakfast ( hot)
Coffee
Orange Juice
The orange juice was excellent with just a bit of pulp.
My neighbour in 6C had the breakfast pastries ( I think three different ones were served) with butter and jam that looked very good.
Shortly after everyone had finished breakfast , the lights came on and I headed into the toilet to freshen up, change out of the sleep suit and slap on some moisturizer from the bottle provided in the toilet.
We cruised just to the south of the Irish coast and over south western England before commencing our descent. The IFE was switched off and our headsets and menus collected. We had no major holds and soon we were on final approach to the Easterly LGW runway.
Being in the nose there is some noise when the nose wheel is lowered and a couple of minutes after that we were on the ground around 25mins ahead of schedule. As we left the runway I spotted a Tartan tailed BA 777 ( likely to be the same one that left MCO around 20mins ahead of us so we caught up some time.
Soon we were being guided into our stand with the marshall on the ground being at the side of the aircraft with the bats rather than at the front as would be more usual.( I bet the captain would be stretching his neck form the flight deck rather than staring forward)
We collected our belongings and we left the aircraft having thanked the crew and deposited the charity envelope in the bag provided at the exit door.
There was only one tram to take us from the satellite building ( Gates 31-38) to the main building but being one of the first ones off the plane it not hold us up too much.
Gatwick was empty at 630am on this Wednesday morning ( we were the first VS aircraft at the gate) and soon we were in baggage reclaim with the UC bags amongst the first ones off. As there was only one other flight at baggage reclaim it was announced to speed up baggage reclaim the two adjacent reclaim belts would be used.
I used my BAA Worldcard for a free upgrade to First class on the Gatwick Express checked in at Paddington for my Bmi flight to EDI then again a first class upgrade on the Heathrow Express to LHR where I headed to the revivals lounge. The newer trains on the Gatwick express are very nice and better value than the Heathrow Express and it is good of the BAA worldcard to offer the free upgrade facility ( 30mim journey)
There I had a refreshing shower, had my trousers pressed and had a late brunch together with a sensational shave which was fantastic although I did have to wait a while as the therapist was on a break and several people were also looking for the therapist but I was seen first as I was first in. I signed the Comments book noticing Richard Mannion’s complimentary comments on the previous page. I also caught up with the papers and used the computers briefly before heading back to T1 at noon where I cleared security and used my UK Amex Plat card for the bmi lounge.
Thanks for reading.
Next trip : 7th June 2003 LHR-SFO ( for Vegas baby!!) in VS PE ( or will it be UC?)
Regards
TBS
As promised my return flight from MCO to LGW on Virgin Atlantic Upper Class.
VS 28 MCO-LGW
22nd April
Sch Dep 1735 Arr 0640
Act Dep 1731 Arr 0615
Seat 6A Upper Class
Aircraft Name Jersey Girl.
After being picked up from the WDW Hilton by my FL tours driver just after 1pm ( any later check out and I would have to pay a late check out fee of $30 to the hotel) , and a hassle free drive we arrived at Terminal B shortly after 1330 .
There was a small queue of maybe 10-15 people in the Economy check in but no one in UC.
I was addressed by name at UC check in and I asked politely if Row 6 was available ( I was booked in row 7K). The check in agent phoned up someone ( airport reservations ) and mentioned my gold card and seat 6A was released ( I was told 6K was a baby with her parent in 6 H).By this time 140 people had checked in and they were expecting the rush of passengers at 1500. I got the UC invitation to the Delta crown room.
I walked about landside for a little while ,looking at the bookshop and the theme park shops ( I had an early lunch at the Hilton before leaving) then headed to security. After a short wait then remove the shoes and belt ( the female TSA agent was polite and mentioned that you could keep your belt/shoes on if you wanted secondary screening as the detector was beeping all morning, so I took no risks. After clearing the detector I was thanked for my corporation.
I did my exercise routine after getting to the gate 60-99 complex by tram by walking up and down all three piers. I saw a Delta B777 pushing Back form ATL ( it is a big aircraft from close up ).
After buying a few thinks from the candy/newspaper shop I headed to the Delta Crown room just beside the tram arrival point, headed up stairs and handed the invitation to the front desk and headed in.
The Delta Lounge
The lounge itself is nice , spacious, well lit and generally quiet. There are two internet pc’s plus more spaces to plug in your own pc’s. The bar is served with free drinks and some snacks ( the waffle biscuits were nice) with friendly staff. It is a great place to relax compared to the general area but it does not compare with the facilities at the VS clubhouses
Around 1645 the preboard call for VS 28 came. I gathered my stuff and headed to gate 85 where there was a lot of people sitting around.
The flight
A couple of minutes later, the boarding call for UC pax was made and we headed down the jetway ,boarded the aircraft and turned left. Seat 6A is right at the front of the nose section with only the closet infront of you in the middle of the aisle. There did seem to be slightly more room than in the other UC seats in the section. My seating companion arrived ( he was continuing on to Dubai on Emirates from LGW). Our cabin crew came and I chose champagne. The amenity kits were handed out and shortly afterwards the sleep suit ( I chose the medium) was handed out- surprisingly not every UC passenger requested one.
The magazines were placed in the containers attached to the side wall and these also had a bottle of water and our earphones.
Again the UC section was full but this time with several children on board.( Oh great I thought, but to be fare after take off all of them fell asleep quickly and it was a quiet cabin.)
Out of our right hand side windows I saw the BA 777 ( Tartan tail) taxi out and take off around 1715.
The Captain came on the PA and gave us his spiel with a scheduled flying time of 8hours. A few minutes ahead of schedule the doors were closed and we were pushed back.
After the Safety video the cabin crew took our duvets ( which we had placed at our feet) and put them in the overheads as we needed to keep the space in front of us clear for take off and landing. We taxied southwards to the start of rway 35 and held before joining the rway as a Delta MD11 landed. Soon we turned onto 35 and started rolling.
During the take off roll we occasionally heard the thump-thump-thump of the nose wheel rolling over the centre line lights.
As we climbed , it was a little too hazy to make out WDW but I could just make out the Downtown Orlando.
It was very quiet in the nose section compared to other parts of the 747-400 even on take off.
Our routing took us on a similar routing to our outbound flight. The eastern seaboard had a lot of cloud cover but this offered a fantastic sun set as the sun turned red as it went through a thin layer of cloud above the horizon before setting completely
The bar area at the rear of the UC cabin had all the drinks and nibbles layed out for our delectation during the flight.
Zone B of UC ( rows 11-12) was full of PE passengers with PE service and blankets.
Our drink orders were taken shortly afterwards, I chose a diet coke and vegetable chips ( nuts were also available). After the drinks were served, our dinner orders were taken. I handed my Duty free pre order forms and we were asked if we wanted to be woken up 90 minutes prior to landing for breakfast.( which I did)
For dinner I chose the;
Sweet Potato Soup,
Fillet of Beet with potatoes,
Cranberry and apple pie.
The soup came with several helpings of bread and butter, a good selection of wine ( I chose the Chilean Pinot Noir again with sparkling water all served on china dishes and linen table cloths and napkins.
After dinner I had a decaffeinated coffee and a Drambuie with ice which was very nice. I chatted briefly to the crew in the galley area who mentioned that a new UC seat was coming soon. I then changed into my sleep suit ( in the toilet) and fully reclined my seat and extended the leg rest while listening to the music channels and occasionally watching Solaris with George Clooney ( I had seen it on my earlier MCO-LGW flight) .The flight was very smooth with no noticeable bumps whatsoever and it was a perfectly clear night outside as we cruised in mid Atlantic.
Movies ( on the outbound flight to MCO)
25th Hour; Brown Sugar; Catch me if you can; Punch-drunk love; 8 mile; Blue crush; Lilo & Stich and the v tv channel ( two hour cycles) plus the sky map and the audio channels
Inbound to LGW
Narc; Two Weeks notice; Live Forever; Solaris; Igby goes down; Analyze that; The Country Bears and the v tv channel ( two hour cycles) plus the sky map and the audio channels
I did like the vtravel documentary on the Residensea apartment ship ( if only I had that sort of money
). My duty free was delivered to my seat and I put in in the overhead locker. The fuji camera which I had ordered on the original outbound flight had not been loaded but I got the camera from the general duty free stock with apologies.
Around 90 minutes prior to landing Zoe came round and too our orders for breakfast.
I chose the;
Fruit Plate
Cereal ( Special K)
All night breakfast ( hot)
Coffee
Orange Juice
The orange juice was excellent with just a bit of pulp.
My neighbour in 6C had the breakfast pastries ( I think three different ones were served) with butter and jam that looked very good.
Shortly after everyone had finished breakfast , the lights came on and I headed into the toilet to freshen up, change out of the sleep suit and slap on some moisturizer from the bottle provided in the toilet.
We cruised just to the south of the Irish coast and over south western England before commencing our descent. The IFE was switched off and our headsets and menus collected. We had no major holds and soon we were on final approach to the Easterly LGW runway.
Being in the nose there is some noise when the nose wheel is lowered and a couple of minutes after that we were on the ground around 25mins ahead of schedule. As we left the runway I spotted a Tartan tailed BA 777 ( likely to be the same one that left MCO around 20mins ahead of us so we caught up some time.
Soon we were being guided into our stand with the marshall on the ground being at the side of the aircraft with the bats rather than at the front as would be more usual.( I bet the captain would be stretching his neck form the flight deck rather than staring forward)
We collected our belongings and we left the aircraft having thanked the crew and deposited the charity envelope in the bag provided at the exit door.
There was only one tram to take us from the satellite building ( Gates 31-38) to the main building but being one of the first ones off the plane it not hold us up too much.
Gatwick was empty at 630am on this Wednesday morning ( we were the first VS aircraft at the gate) and soon we were in baggage reclaim with the UC bags amongst the first ones off. As there was only one other flight at baggage reclaim it was announced to speed up baggage reclaim the two adjacent reclaim belts would be used.
I used my BAA Worldcard for a free upgrade to First class on the Gatwick Express checked in at Paddington for my Bmi flight to EDI then again a first class upgrade on the Heathrow Express to LHR where I headed to the revivals lounge. The newer trains on the Gatwick express are very nice and better value than the Heathrow Express and it is good of the BAA worldcard to offer the free upgrade facility ( 30mim journey)
There I had a refreshing shower, had my trousers pressed and had a late brunch together with a sensational shave which was fantastic although I did have to wait a while as the therapist was on a break and several people were also looking for the therapist but I was seen first as I was first in. I signed the Comments book noticing Richard Mannion’s complimentary comments on the previous page. I also caught up with the papers and used the computers briefly before heading back to T1 at noon where I cleared security and used my UK Amex Plat card for the bmi lounge.
Thanks for reading.
Next trip : 7th June 2003 LHR-SFO ( for Vegas baby!!
) in VS PE ( or will it be UC?)Regards
TBS
May 11, 2003, 6:41 pm
#3
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Seattle
Programs: Alaska Airlines
Posts: 1,570
Completely outstanding is my opinion...
I love Sunday's where I can sit in a comfy chair and read reports like these...
I am so happy...lol
------------------
Patrick A. Inouye, LMT
volunteer trip reports moderator
I love Sunday's where I can sit in a comfy chair and read reports like these...
I am so happy...lol
------------------
Patrick A. Inouye, LMT
volunteer trip reports moderator
May 12, 2003, 4:59 am
#5
Join Date: Jun 2001
Posts: 3,140
JHIN
If you go to the bottom of my (lengthy and rambling) report on my BA CW trip LHR-SYD-LHR ( http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/003301.html ), you will see a quick comparison of VS UC and BA NCW.
Boo
If you go to the bottom of my (lengthy and rambling) report on my BA CW trip LHR-SYD-LHR ( http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/003301.html ), you will see a quick comparison of VS UC and BA NCW.
Boo
May 18, 2003, 10:57 pm
#9
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: USA
Programs: Alaska MVP, Marriott Lifetime Titanium (United Silver), Hilton Gold
Posts: 779
Great report. Vigin UC sounds like the best business/first class product out there, even with the "limited" services provided out of Gatwick. I'm curious to know though what are the advantages of first class on the Gatwick and Heathrow Express trains?
May 19, 2003, 1:22 pm
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Falkirk, Scotland,VS Red, BA Gold, HH Diamond,UK Amex Plat
Programs: Master of the Privy Purse des Muccis
Posts: 17,916
Hi gba,
The first class on Gatwick and Heathrow expresses have;
Heathrow Express: 3 seats in 2-1 formation ( 2-2) in standard class.
A free FT newpaper and CNN travleet magazine,
quieter environment
If you choose the forward coach you will be at the front when arriving at Paddington ( easier if you are heading to get to the taxi or tube station)
Gatwick Express:
Less distance to walk at Victoria ( rear coach if you head to LGW, front coach heading back to Victoria),
2-1 seating again (2-2) in standard class
Free FT newpaper
The trolley service starts from this end so you will get served first ( useful if you need a coffee/OJ after an overnight flight- the drinks are not free)
Quieter( esp if you avoid rush hour)
Overall I would probably not fork out my own money for 15 mins on the HEX or 35min on the GEX but with the free upgrade, it helps.
Regards
TBS
The first class on Gatwick and Heathrow expresses have;
Heathrow Express: 3 seats in 2-1 formation ( 2-2) in standard class.
A free FT newpaper and CNN travleet magazine,
quieter environment
If you choose the forward coach you will be at the front when arriving at Paddington ( easier if you are heading to get to the taxi or tube station)
Gatwick Express:
Less distance to walk at Victoria ( rear coach if you head to LGW, front coach heading back to Victoria),
2-1 seating again (2-2) in standard class
Free FT newpaper
The trolley service starts from this end so you will get served first ( useful if you need a coffee/OJ after an overnight flight- the drinks are not free)
Quieter( esp if you avoid rush hour)
Overall I would probably not fork out my own money for 15 mins on the HEX or 35min on the GEX but with the free upgrade, it helps.
Regards
TBS