tom139

We decided to change the time of our limo pickup from 0630 to 0600 as my wife wanted to do some extra shopping! Driver called us about 0550 and told us that he was lost - not a problem as our house is very hard to find and he wasn't far away. We were on our way by about 0610. Loads of traffic going to the airport on the M25 but arrived at Drive Thru about 0800 - what an excellent service! Was very efficient and we were given the seats that we had requested

Driver then drove us to Gatwick South - haven't been to this terminal for ages and was not impressed - seems to need a lot of work doing to it. Used to travelling BA so North Terminal! Fast Track security was a disaster and seemed to be moving slower than the regular lines! Arrived at the Clubhouse and we all ordered a breakfast which was lovely - far superior to BA terraces. Flight was called at 0930 for Upper and we were told how Priority Boarding was located to the left of the gate. Went there and wasnt't clearly signposted so I asked and was told I was in the right place - no one in queue!

Boarded Pretty Woman and were shown to our seats 6A,6K,7A & 7K. First impressions of the suite were very impressive indeed although it looked like a child had drawn over the divider with biro! Suite so comfortable although seemed a little firm in bed mode. An FA came over and asked us if we wanted a drink and if we wanted crisps or twiglets. She also asked us if we had travelled the suite before and told us how it worked and asked for feedback at the end of how it compared to BA CW - VS definately has the edge!

Took off about 40mins late and arrived 40mins late. Not too bad. Had post takeoff drinks and were asked what we would like for lunch and if we wanted any Duty Free. We got the impression that we should eat when we were asked so we did. Had the new Best of British menu:

Lunch

Starters
Leek and potato soup with Welsh rarebit croutons served with a choice of warmed breads
Spring herb salad with Scottish Loch Fyne salmon

Main Course
Award winning "Porky White" sausages served with champ and Newcastle Brown ale gravy
Chicken tikka massala served with basmati rice, mini naan and mango chutney
Potato thatched vegetable Cottage pie served with spring greens

Cheese
Shropshire Blue
Mull of Kintyre Cheddar
Manor Farm Somerset Goat's Cheese

Dessert
Warm rhubabrd crumble with Beechdean Farmhouse Dairy vanilla ice cream
Elderflower jelly with spring fruits served with cream

I had the soup - ok - not great. Then the curry - delicious. And the rhubard crumble to finish which was fantastic! Had afternoon tea prior to landing where we were offered as much food as we wanted but they did run out of sandwiches.

Afternoon Tea

Selection of finger cut sandwiches - roast chicken, sage&onion stuffing with apple and cider chutney, Wiltshire gammon and English mustard and mature Cheddar with Branston pickle
Warm fruit scone served with Tiptree strawberry jam and Roddas Cornish clotted cream
Eccles cakes, millionaires shortbread and butterfly cakes

Talked to the crew for a while and they were saying how they love just having the 14 suites. Slightly negative comment about the food - there wasn't anything that you could have just anytime during the flight - like a snack crisps etc. BA have the Raid The Larder service which is always nice.

The captain pointed out all of the famous hotels on our approach. Priority getting off much to the dislike of other pax!! The airport is still being done up and immigration was very slow. There always used to be a fast track for FIRST and club but now that seems to have gone! Baggage was waiting on the belt - they had all been Upper Class tagged and seemed to be "prioritised."

Overall an excellent flight with VS. Seat was better than BA Club and everything went perfectly. Priority boarding etc. Will no doubt be using VS again - if only they did short haul!!!

Vaclav

Thanks for the report, there are not too many covering flights to/from BGI.
I am glad that you enjoyed the flight.

Bretteee

I remember visiting Gatwick Airport as a kid around 1965. In those days it was a pretty quiet airport. I still remember seeing a Heron leaving for Jersey.
I am amazed everytime I go there nowadays.

sftrvlr

Thanks for sharing. The suites certainly look fantastic! Is the service different on a BGI flight than say a JFK flight since it's a leisure destination mostly?

tom139

It's meant to be very different as it is only 14 suites and therefore the service is a lot more attentive! It was certainly excellent!

Fraser

That's funny because I know someone who owns a Heron that is kept at Jersey Airport...