This is my first post, but I've enjoyed reading many trip reports and found various helpful threads on this website so I thought I would take some time to contribute...
Flight: US Airways 734, Philadelphia - Manchester, A330-300

Background: I had a family event to attend in the UK and found a mileage saver award with US Airways. While I prefer to cross the pond on BA, I couldn't say no to a roundtrip business class ticket for 80,000 miles with dates that worked perfectly for me. Additionally, Manchester was closer than London to my final destination in the UK so it was a win-win.

Check-In: I checked in at US Airway's Envoy Class counter at 7:15pm for their 8:40pm departure to Manchester. There was no one in front of me and I checked two bags and proceeded to up the escalator to the security check point.

There is no priority security lane in Philadelphia's terminal A West. The line was short tonight but as luck would have it I got stuck waiting behind a family with a baby and a lady that needed four, yes four, plastic bins for all her carry-on items. It took her a good five minutes to remove her knee-high boots and then unload all of her items in to the multiple bins. Still, I was through security and in the Envoy lounge in about 10 minutes.

The Lounge: US Airways' Envoy lounge is my favorite lounge/club in their system. It’s relatively new, kept clean and offers a variety of drinks, snacks and appetizers. To enter this lounge in the afternoon/evening you must be flying with US transatlantic and be flying in Envoy or have *gold status. The lounge was slightly crowded near the bar, but the opposite side of the facility was quiet and pretty empty. The lounge is large with a variety of spaces set up to work, watch TV, or groupings of chairs conducive to those travelling with others to sit and chat. After less than 30 minutes in the lounge my flight was called and I made the walk down to A25. To my surprise I was one of the last passengers to board the flight... 35 minutes before the scheduled departure.

Seating: The A330-300, until fitted with the recently announced Envoy Suite, features 1 row of lie-flat seats and 4 rows of old-school recliner seats. All are configured in a 2-2-2 layout. I find the recliner seats very comfortable, just avoid row 2 as that is the bulkhead for that section and leg room is limited compared to the other seats. On this trip I was in seat 1A. Row 1 is nice for the east-bound night flights to Europe as the seats recline to a fully-flat bed (not angled, well, unless the footrest is broken which I have had happen on a number of trips). There is also a wall behind this row that gives the cabin a more intimate and private feeling. These seats also allow room to access the aisle from the window seat, even when the aisle seat is fully reclined there is enough space to squeeze through without stepping over someone's legs. The first row of overhead bins are missing, giving you a more spacious feeling but leaving you with no air vents. This is the only downside, in my opinion, to sitting in this row as it can get a little too warm. US Airways is supposed to charge $300 each way to reserve a seat in this row. However, asking the right rep at check-in sometimes works. I do not think it is worth the extra $.

The Flight: I boarded the flight turned left and headed to my seat. Envoy was full with just the pilot rest seat open (5C). I was offered a glass, well plastic actually, of champagne shortly after sitting down and was then presented with a menu, amenity kit and choice of newspapers and/or magazines. I did have to ask twice to have my jacket hung but it was eventually taken and we pushed back at 8:25. A short taxi and we were airborne by our scheduled departure time of 8:40. People give US a lot of grief, but as a ff with them, on-time departures have been getting better over the past several months.

Twenty minutes or so after take-off hot towels were distributed and drinks were served with an assortment of nuts (it would be nice if they heated the nuts... a lot of other carriers do). The main meal service followed shortly after. There was a plated appetizer and then the salad cart. I remember the salad carts from years ago and having not crossed the Atlantic with US in over a year, I was glad to see its return. It does slow the service down a little but I think it is a nice touch to be able to customize your salad. The entree selection included roasted beef medallions, grilled filet of salmon, herbed chicken & scampi or an express option of chicken tikka kabobs. I selected the beef and it was a disappointment. It was tough, flavorless and completely lacking any of the red wine sauce that was supposed to be on it. My neighbor had the chicken & shrimp dish and it looked very good. Dessert was a choice of cheesecake, chocolate cake or cheese and crackers. I had the cheese along with my third or fourth glass of tempranillo and it was then time to turn the seat in to a flat bed and get some sleep. A blanket and pillow are provided, they are nothing special but they do the job.

Lights were turned on 90 minutes prior to landing and a light breakfast was offered. Most people, including me, declined the breakfast in preference to a little more sleep. As the dinner service had only wrapped up about 3 hours earlier and so few people actually had breakfast, I think they could get away with turning on the cabin lights and disturbing everyone perhaps 60 minutes prior to landing instead of 90.

We touched down in Manchester 30 minutes early and after about 10 minutes of taxiing were at the gate. Envoy class passengers were allowed to disembark first - kudos to US doing this, I think it is a nice touch to allow premium passengers off the plane first. Even being one of the last Envoy passengers to disembark there were only two people in front of me for passport control. I cleared immigration in a matter of minutes and shortly after that my bags were coming off the belt. Priority tagged luggage came off first and I was landside in less than 20 minutes from walking off the aircraft.

Overall Impressions: The flight was on time, early actually, I got a little over 3 hours of sleep and my bags arrived. On board service and food were average, AVOD was good and the seat was comfortable. Right or wrong, I do not expect the same level of service flying Envoy as I do flying BA's Club World product or Lufthansa's Business class. I have travelled with US enough to know that they often times do not deliver a premium experience, however, US is improving and I think this flight was a good example of that.