Trip Report to London
Well here’s the first part of my trip to London for training for my new job. Unfortunately I don’t have my digital camera so this trip report won’t be including pictures, but I’ll try my best to allow you to visualize what I’m seeing . This is my first time flying on VS

Day 1: September 6th 2008. Flight VS020 SFO-LHR 1630 Y cabin
I was on my way to the airport after leaving my CPA class this afternoon when I realized I forgot to pack a tie for the one night we had to dress business formal, so after a quick pit stop at a local Macys to pick one up, I was on my merry way to SFO. Upon arrival, I parked in the long-term lot (outdoor space only today…). I arrived at the Virgin Upper Class counter at just about 1330 after the parking shuttle dropped me off at the international terminal. I should note at this point that I am unfortunately flying in economy for this trip. While our normal corporate policy dictates business class international travel, the training department decided to supercede that policy with their own temporary one saying that all the flights for attendants of this training have to be lowest priced, nonrefundable economy. This lands me at the bottom of the fare bucket with virtually no chance at upgrading, short of an op-up. At least I have VS Flying Club Gold status to tide me over on the group and to put first in line for the op-up…

All the upper class podiums were busy and I was 3rd in line, so the gracious VS lobby monitors held off the economy lines and redirected all the upper class passengers (and Flying Gold people entitled to use the upper class line) to available economy podiums. Checkin was a breeze as I was able to get most of the work done online last night (including getting me out of the dreaded middle seat I was assigned to earlier, detailed in this thread).


I’m writing this section from the SFO VS Clubhouse. At the desk, my name was apparently on the list of visitors to expect (presumably because my Gold number was in the reservation). This place is gorgeous. I’m sitting at the “window bar” with a great view of one of the runways. The bar is well-stocked, though not with the ultra-premium spirits I was expecting. Maybe they only save those for the flagship LHR clubhouse. I guess I’ll find out on my flight back. Right now I’m drinking a delicious Bombay Breeze: combination of cranberry juice, Bombay Sapphire gin, and a fresh slice of lime. There’s a two page printed menu at each seat for those who want to get a meal on the ground as well.

The front of the menu says to ask for a copy of the onboard menu so customers can figure out if they want to eat something different on the ground, but when I asked I was told that the clubhouse does not stock menus anymore…looks like somebody needs to update the paperwork here . In the clubhouse menu though, the selection is as follows

From the clubhouse menu, I tried the spinach salad, Flying Club sandwich, Bombay Breeze, and the Bacardi Punch. I described the Bombay Breeze a little earlier. The Bacardi Punch has a sweet taste reminiscent of cotton candy, but not quite as sickly sweet. The Flying Club sandwich came out very nicely presented on fine china and silverware (all logoed with “VA: The Clubhouse” no less). The filling was a little lacking; the cheese was only in the center of two very large pieces of bread. Tomatoes were fresh and I actually didn’t even take them out (if you know me, you know that I despise tomatoes in my food), so that’s actually saying a lot when I eat them without fuss. The sandwich came with a side of potato chips (tasted like Tim’s Cascade brand to me). I had actually ordered the citrus salad but spinach was what came out and I didn’t want to make a fuss. This salad was surprisingly good; it definitely did not sound very appetizing. The fried onions with the poppy seed vinaigrette turned out to be a very tasty combination.

Now moving onto somewhat more serious matters…At the clubhouse front desk, I tried in vain to get a better seat, but was told the best they could do was an emergency exit row for an additional $110 fee, even charged to a Club Gold member. The flight, as of now at least, is oversold in economy and premium economy. The receptionist could not comment on op-ups, so I guess I’ll get to the gate earlier and try my luck there. Maybe I will score the elusive double-cabin upgrade? I should probably stop drinking booze and start praying for the next couple hours as a last-ditch effort .
I know not to expect much from international carriers in the way of complimentary upgrades (unlike domestic carriers/flights where upgrades can be had for even the lowest level elites), but to be honest I am pretty disappointed that VS won’t even move a top-level elite to an exit row without a substantial charge.

Anyways, that’s all for now…I’ll write some more in-flight and update when I get to my hotel tomorrow.