January 1, 2002, VS1 (CO4401), LHR-EWR
747-200 (G-VPUF, High as a Kite, delivered to VS in 2000)

Check-in:
We had heard of reduced Underground service on the Piccadilly Line for the New Year’s Day for the parade, so we (read: I) decided to head to Heathrow a ridiculous, um, six hours before departure. My wife thinks that it is quite unnecessary to spend more time than we need to at an airport, but I managed to coerce her nonetheless. We took the Underground and arrived at Heathrow at 10:45a, for our 4:00p departure. After the short walk from the station up to the Virgin check-in counters conveniently located in Zone A, we made our way to the UC check-in counter. Check-in was quick, and again we were assigned different seats than the ones that Continental had assigned. We were told that we could switch them if we went over to the Continental desk just adjacent to the VS ticketing area. I was not quite certain why we were sent over there since it was a VS flight, but who am I to argue? When we got over there, the very nice agent asked us why we were sent over, when VS had control of the seats. I told him that I did not know. We had been assigned seats 12 A,C, but the Continental Concierge got us seats in 8 A,C in the forward section of UC. He offered to make my wife and I BusinessFirst business card luggage tags and told us not to wait for them and that he would deliver them to The Clubhouse. We tried to tell him we would wait because we were so early, but he insisted that we head to the lounge and enjoy our time there.

The Clubhouse:
The Clubhouse is located on the airside of Terminal 3, and is located near gate 12. After checking in at the lounge, we perused the morning menu for an early lunch, but we did not fancy anything so we wandered around. My wife settled up in the conservatory on the second level where things were nice and quiet. It was a clear day in London so there was a terrific view of the happenings out on the ramp. I decided to walk around and get acquainted with the lounge, and finally joined her upstairs to rest and take some pictures of various aircraft around the terminal. After about an hour, the afternoon menu was presented, and it presented some more attractive offerings. My wife decided to have sushi and I had the smoked salmon sandwich on rye bread with mustard and dill. Both were excellent, as were the staff that was serving.

I had pre-booked some services for my wife and I at the Virgin Touch Salon for before the flight. I had a haircut and I arranged for my wife to have a relaxing 30-minute facial. While I was sitting for my haircut I perused the catalog of services that they provide, which was quite extensive. After my haircut, I washed out the cut hair follicles in one of the two showers at the salon. The showers provide just very basic amenities of shampoo, soap, and hand cream. My suggestion for those that plan on using The Clubhouse to shower is to bring a small kit of your own toiletries. After that, I had my shoes shined and spent a few minutes on one of their two computers with cable internet access. By now, there was still some time before the flight so I decided to take a walk around the concourse. It was a pretty quiet time in the afternoon, but I was able to see many Virgin and British Airways aircraft, an Air India 744, three American 777 and an A300 (EWR-bound), two United 777, four Air Canada (two A330, one A340, and one 767), a Malaysia 744, an Iran Air 742, two Singapore 744, an Emirates 777, Saudi 777, JAL 744 and many others too numerous to mention.

After walking off lunch I returned to The Clubhouse for some more food and return to my wife who was suddenly glad that we arrived at the airport five hours before our flight. After sitting around for a little while longer until 3:30, they finally announced boarding for flight at Gate 8. We said our thank you(s) to the ladies at the lounge and made the trek to the gate where we found a considerable line for boarding. After about ten or so minutes, we made it to the jetway and I was pulled aside for a (random) search. I felt somewhat better about it here than I did at EWR, and felt as though they took it much more serious. I was given the full wand treatment, and was also asked to take off my shoes, which I have been asked to do at every check since September 11. We were equally satisfied that I posed no security risk, and we were sent off to the doorway where the Continental Concierge was waiting with our business card luggage tags. It was a different agent but she was equally nice, and thanked us for our business and wished us a nice journey.

Flight:
This aircraft was configured with the new J2000 Sleeper Seats and it was a nice change from the outbound with the older (while still comfortable) seats. Aside from the seat itself, this setup has a better IFE system, as well as in-seat laptop power. The seat has many different positions from fully upright with extended leg rest to virtually flat with 6’8” of room. The flat position takes a little time to get used to, and I think is best when lying in a cradle position, as opposed to lying flat on one’s back. I really like the fact that the seat is fixed so there is no one reclining their seat back toward you.

Again, pre-departure drinks were given with a choice of water, orange juice or champagne. Jackets were taken and menus were distributed during a brief ground delay that resulted in us not pushing off of the gate until 4:15. After push back, it was a slow procession to the active runway before we actually became airborne. After take off, amenity kits were distributed and meal orders were taken. The Freedom menu which gives you the choice of eating what you want, when you want was as follows:

lighter bites

Virgin’s house salad
mixed leaf salad with poached pears, walnuts and creamy Roquefort dressing
Cauliflower soup
with chive cream
Terrine of ham, parsley and gherkin
crispy crostini and fig chutney
Mile high club sandwich
roast chicken breast, bacon, egg, mayonnaise and lettuce

bigger bites

Lightly spiced curry crusted cod
cous cous with spinach, roasted red pepper coulis and herb oil
A blast from the past, “Virgin’s steak Diane”
rib eye steak with woodland mushrooms in a mustard and brandy cream sauce, fondant potato, savoy cabbage and carrots
Pasta triangles filled with artichoke
sun blushed tomato sauce, Parmesan shavings and rocket leaves

to complement

From the bakery
garlic baguette, rustic wholemeal bread and rosemary focaccia
Pick your own
a selection of seasonal fruits

say cheese offered with sun-dried tomato bread, wheat wafers and Italian crackers

Dunsyre Blue
a semi soft blue veined cheese made from pasteurized cow’s milk
Mull of Kintyre
a black waxed mature cheddar, made in Ayshire with pasteurized cow’s milk
Capricorn
made with pasteurized goat’s milk, a Camembert style goat’s cheese with a mild but distinctly goaty, fresh creamy character

naughty but nice

Warm chocolate brownie
with chocolate sauce
Ice-cream sundae
blueberry ripple ice-cream, blueberry compote and meringue pieces
Afternoon tea sweet treats
cashew and almond squares, mince pies and croquant crème bon bon

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

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

(I will furnish the wine list upon request)

After reaching a safe cruising altitude, drink orders were taken and we were offered a choice of chips or pistachio nuts. I settled on the Virgin house salad, which was excellent, and the steak Diane which was good, but perhaps cooked a little too long. My wife had the Pasta triangles and told me that it as fantastic, which I can only confirm by the scent. I usually steer away from pasta on flights because I am not very confident of how the texture will turn out, but she was quite pleased. After a small respite, I had the cheese course which was very good, and very filling and consequently I passed on dessert, though my wife managed to find room for the warm chocolate brownie. Later on I had cappuccino that was excellent compared to instances that I have had it aboard CO 777s.

After the meal, I continued to try to find an optimum position for the seat, and while all were very comfortable, I never actually found one that I stuck with for any great duration of time.

After watching the same cycle of football highlights, I was summoned for my inflight treatment, and this time chose the Armed Force – Shoulder & Arm Massage, which is described as a soothing treatment designed to help those suffering from heavy aching arms after carrying their suitcases and laptops. All the major muscle groups in the arm and shoulder are manipulated and pressure points used will help to fight insomnia. Again, it was a superb 15 minutes of treatment that I almost felt embarrassed to receive at 35,000 feet. For the duration of the flight, I watched a movie on my laptop, followed the SkyMap and tried to fall asleep, which I did so unsuccessfully.

We started our initial descent at about 5:45p local time to a crystal clear New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. Jackets were returned, and we approached from the south landing at 6:25p, some 20 minutes ahead of schedule after leaving the gate 15 minutes late. We held at the end of the runway for a few minutes waiting for some other traffic to clear before we continued to a quiet Terminal B where an El Al 777 was sitting idle at the central satellite of Terminal B. After waiting about five minutes for the jetway operator to meet with the aircraft, we were quickly out the door and made our way to a completely empty customs and immigration hall with several agents waiting to assist. I knew I was back in New Jersey when I was greeted with a scowl from the surly customs agent after wishing him a happy new year. All security and customs staff at EWR could learn a lesson from the people of the BAA and personnel at Heathrow that actually acknowledge your presence and look you in the eye when they speak to you.

This time our bags were among the first out even though they had not been tagged with the Upper Class bag tags, and we promptly made our way upstairs to meet the punctual Avistar shuttle to go retrieve our car. All in all, it was a memorable New Year’s in London, and the people of Virgin and Continental made this the most pleasant travel experience in recent memory.

Some editorial thoughts
· Continental and Virgin’s code-share alliance appears to be a healthy one but there is great disparity between the relationship that they share between their respective ground staff and phone staff. The ground staff work seamlessly together and always seem to have the right answers to questions. The phone staff(s), however, seem like the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing at any time. Flight information is unreliable and Continental’s computer system is obviously not up-to-date with respect to Virgin’s information. Continental never knew the exact aircraft type, and assigned seats that they did not have. We did not know our exact seat assignments until Continental sent the tape over to Virgin 48 hours before the flight(s) and only then were we able to switch seats. Both airlines say that the partner airline will not receive record of the itinerary until 24 hours of the flight, but in fact, Virgin knew 48 hours out. I don’t understand why the two systems have to wait until essentially the day of to share that type of information. I have flown on other code-share flights where the partner airline knew of the itinerary as soon as the ticket was ticketed. Other than those very minor issues, it was an easy process. This relationship is not one of those instances where you can call back and get another agent with the hopes of getting the desired response. They simply do not have accurate information.
· If you plan to use the Virgin Touch Salon at Heathrow, be certain to make an appointment well ahead of time. I noticed many people walking in the day of their flight trying to get various services only to find out that the salon was completely booked. Virgin Touch treatments can be booked by calling LHR Departures – 020 8897 5055 or by email: [email protected]

If anyone has any comments or questions with respect to this report, I would be more than happy to answer them. Thanks for taking the time to read.



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