December 28, VS2 (CO4402), EWR-LHR
747-200 (G-VZZZ, Morning Glory, delivered to VS in 1999)

Check in:
After dropping the car off at Avistar on McClellan, the shuttle dropped us off at Terminal B. We arrived at the Virgin check-in counters at 5:30p for the 9:25p departure only to learn that the scheduled equipment had a mechanical problem at Heathrow and was swapped with a new departure time of 11:00p. After a quick check-in, our bags were tagged with Upper Class bag tags and we were offered an invitation to The Clubhouse.

The Clubhouse:
The lounge is located on the landside of the terminal and also extends privileges to Continental Presidents Club members traveling to London, and has reciprocal agreements with airlines that include (but are not limited to) Alitalia, CSA, and Ethiopian. The lounge itself is spacious with ample seating, three televisions, a Sony Music Room, bar area, and Diner; which provides a buffet meal with a plethora of different full meal selections ranging from appetizers to desserts.
The décor of this particular Clubhouse reminded me of a “W” lobby, but with much better lighting. My sole complaint with respect to the lounge was that it did not have any windows. After a while, I went out for a walk to stretch my legs and get some exercise knowing that I would be sitting for the next several hours.
When I returned, I inquired as to the aircraft replacement and was told that it was G-VZZZ, which is one of their older (age) aircraft that is primarily used on the Caribbean routes and one that is not configured with the new J2000 Sleeper Seats.

Security:
I have only taken a dozen flights since September 11, and the only sense of insecurity I have ever felt about air travel since is when I go through security at Newark. I arrived at the checkpoint and offered my laptop, camera, and whatever else I had that was an electronic device hoping that they would take them and inspect them. One of the agents took my computer and lightly dropped it on the metal table and simply asked me where the battery was. After I told her to turn over the computer, she moved me along. I offered virtually everything else in my bag hoping that they would be thorough enough to search them, but was casually waved through, all the while feeling as though I was making an imposition on their time.

I don’t like the fact that they have people who I am supposed to trust with my life that are more concerned about when their next coffee break is going to be rather than the safety of the people moving through. It’s an ornamental façade, and frankly I am embarrassed by it when I think of what my fellow foreign travelers must go through at their home airports. I feel no better about security today then I did on September 10th.

Flight:
A few minutes after we arrived at the gate, the boarding process began. First they called passengers that were traveling with children or that required special assistance. After what seemed like most of the 350 or so passengers boarded, we made our way on to the desk. To call the boarding process unorganized would be a gross understatement. After a while, we finally went through our final passport check and headed down the jetway and were directed to our seats 11 A,C in the bulkhead of the second area of the Upper Class cabin. These were not the seats that Continental had assigned when we ticketed, but they were terrific nonetheless. This area of the cabin was situated with the bar and it contained four rows of seats. Pre-departure drinks with a choice of water, orange juice or champagne were offered along with Sleeper Suits to change into. The suits appeared to only come in one size, which was generously large. I will either grow into them or hope that hot water will shrink them over time. The doors were closed promptly at 11:00 and we pushed back five minutes later. Looking out at the tarmac in the quiet evening at Terminal B, I only noticed an Eva Airways (747-400) flight bound to Taipei with a stop in Seattle. After a quick taxi to the active runway, and a long take-off roll, we took off to the south and turned west, then northeast up the northeast corridor out to the north Atlantic.

Attractive taupe and black amenity kits were handed out and meal orders were taken. The Freedom menu was:

lighter bites

Virgin house salad
torn romaine lettuce with croutons. Parmesan cheese and a creamy cilantro
dressing
Sweetcorn and pimento chowder
warm and comforting
Bacon Butty
soft white bap filled with grilled bacon and your choice of tomato ketchup or
brown sauce
Breakfast cereals
cornflakes, Weetabix, sultana bran and Special K
Fresh ‘n’ Fruity
pink grapefruit and orange segments with vanilla yoghurt

bigger bites

Grilled Alaskan Halibut
scallion mashed potatoes with a pimento and fennel veloute
Roast Portobello mushroom
mixed lentil bean ragout and quinoa pilaf
Virgin’s all day breakfast
poached egg with bacon on a toasted English muffin, hollandaise sauce, breakfast potatoes and slow roasted plum tomato

to complement

From the bakery
garlic ciabatta, Parker house rolls and pain rustic
From the breakfast basket
butter croissants, sourdough toast and blueberry muffins
Pick your own
a selection of seasonal fruits

say cheese offered with fruit cake, Jacobs cream crackers and Bath Olivers

Maytag blue
this vegetarian, blue cheese has a crumbly texture that reveals a deep and spicy flavour
Saint Andre
this soft, triple cream cheese is made from unpasteurised cow’s milk and has a thin edible white rind
Oka
this semi-soft pasteurized cow’s milk cheese from Canada has full flavour and a creamy texture

naughty but nice

Orange pecan nut pudding
with toffee sauce and cream

hot ‘n’ herbal all served by the cup or in a mug, it’s your choice!!
Fresh brew, decaffeinated, espresso* and cappuccino* coffees
Hot chocolate
English breakfast and Earl Grey teas
Twinings fruit and herbal teas

*we are delighted to offer these on all but a few of our aircraft


(I can furnish the wine list upon request)

After we reached a comfortable altitude, we were offered chips, nuts, and olives with a choice of beverage. I settled on the Virgin house salad, which was nice if not a bit too creamy for my taste. I followed with the Grilled Alaskan halibut, which was excellent and only overshadowed by the very tasty scallion mashed potatoes.

After my meal, I got acquainted with the seat and the Odyssey IFE, which seemed to be on par with Continental’s BusinessFirst in-seat video system. It had a selection of about six or eight movies that complimented other sitcom, audio and game channels. All in all, there were maybe 40 different choices to choose from, though, they were played in cycles, not on-demand. The seat itself was no more or less comfortable that Continental’s BF seat, and the pop-up screen is similar to those on the first generation BusinessFirst configured aircraft. This aircraft did not have in-seat laptop power. My pop-up screen was a little flimsy, and did not hold form without it being manipulated by the tray table. I was not too concerned because I planned on getting some sleep for the duration of the flight.

After unsuccessfully trying to turn off my overhead light, I called for a flight attendant who was no more successful. After the flight attendant summoned the flight engineer, he too, was unsuccessful at disabling the light. Fortunately their was another pair of seats together in the forward section of the UC cabin (8 H,K) and we picked up and moved there. These seats were located next to the inflight therapy station, and so there was a little bit of foot traffic throughout the remainder of the flight. At this seat, both the overhead light and in-seat video monitor functioned properly.

After dozing on and off for the better part of two hours, I was awakened by the Inflight Beauty Therapist who came by to wake me for the complimentary massage. The therapist offers five services inflight, and the passenger may select one and it lasts anywhere from ten to 15 minutes. The services are:

· Stress Busting Face & Scalp Massage
· Full Backup Massage
· Helping Hands Zone Therapy
· Handsome Hands Manicure
· Armed Force – shoulder & arm massage

I chose the Full Backup Massage and it is described as pure relaxation, pressure point massage eases tension, relieves aches, pains and boosts the circulation. It seemed that the 15 minutes ended just as soon as it began, but it helped ease me back to sleep for about an hour or so when I was wakened for breakfast.

I had Virgin’s all day breakfast which was just enough to satisfy. After breakfast, we started our initial descent into Heathrow. Hot towels were offered, and coats and jackets were returned. We were instructed to raise the cabin window shades and it was a grey, misty morning over the English countryside, but visibility from up above was breathtaking. After filling out some forms, we were on final descent and landed soon after at 10:45a local time. We docked at gate 23 (I believe) at Terminal 3, and quickly made our way through Fast Track.

We made our way down to the baggage reclaim area just as the first bags were coming off, but unfortunately ours was not among them. There was a mix of tags labeled Upper Class, Premium Economy, and Economy and no rhyme or reason for which bags came out when. After about 20 minutes, we retrieved our bag and made our way to the Air Canada Arrivals Lounge just outside the Arrivals Hall.

Air Canada Arrivals Lounge
The Continental Concierge from The Clubhouse called ahead to let the people at Air Canada know that we would be coming. Continental passengers are not permitted access to the Virgin Revivals Lounge traveling on a Continental ticket, but are extended access with Air Canada.

When we arrived, three extremely pleasant women greeted us, and asked us if we would like to shower, or if they could press our clothing or shine our shoes. Since we did not have a real change of clothes, we just decided to freshen up and shower at the hotel when we got there. There were no fewer than six well-appointed showers with toiletries. I had given my shoes to be shined, and when I surfaced from the room ten minutes later, they were shined and wrapped up in cray paper with an Air Canada sticker; a very nice touch. The lounge is set up into two different areas. There is a quieter area with chairs and telephones to relax, and then there is another area on the other side of the main desk that has a television with a generous assortment of breakfast foods, hot and cold, tea, coffee, an espresso machine, and a self-serve fridge with a wide assortment of juices and drinks, both soft and hard.

The lounge was terrific and the three women there made it a more than pleasant experience going out of there way to see what they could do for us. After departing the lounge, we made our way down to the Underground with a quick stop at the London Transport and Information Center to validate our three-day unlimited tube passes good for travel in all six zones. The pass was purchased through Rail Europe for $29, and I think that we certainly made money on that. After that, we made our way to the Piccadilly Line for our 45 minute journey to the Le Meridien for our quick New Year’s weekend in central London.

From start to finish, it was a seamless trip, and the people from Air Canada to Continental to Virgin could not have been nicer or more accommodating.

Next: VS1 (CO4001) LHR-EWR with the new J2000 Sleeper Seats.



[This message has been edited by dsimon (edited 01-04-2002).]