This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
On one hand under 100 people on a Boeing 747 400 is probably not a maximisation of revenue for any airline, but for the consumer its great having 4 seats to turn into a bed instead of paying thousands for Upper Class.
You could also argue that with 7 flights to Europe including Amsterdam, Dublin, Frankfurt, London (3), Paris, and Zurich, all within 2 hours, filling seats could be a tall order.
And it wasnt just the Virgin flight with a light load, the flight from The Dark Side was equally slim.
Id enjoyed 3 fantastic days in Boston in sub zero temperatures including the Star Wars Exhibition at The Museum of Science, a trip up the Prudential Tower, then there was Legal Seafoods & The Cheers Bar, but alias work beckoned ! Thanks must go to Nottingham Nick for some useful advice on Boston.
Id completed OLCI from the Hotel on Tuesday evening, which give me a clue to the emptiness of the flight, at which time Id moved my seat, this was to give me problems later !
Left the Royal Sonesta Hotel around 3PM for the short walk to Lechmere on the T Network, and after changing at Government Centre, and arriving at the Airport Stop, plus a short bus ride later, I arrived at Terminal E.
The Fast Bag Drop area was no where to be seen, so having negotiated preliminary security, I was at the Check In Desk, where a baffled Clerk couldnt understand why I had 2 seat reservations on the flight, and asked if I had the right flight. 10 minutes later they discovered the initial seat reservation plus the amended where both in the system !
The T.S.A. Area wasnt busy and took about 5 minutes, but involved Shoe removal otherwise youll be sent for secondary screening; said the nice man ! Funny how theyve stopped this at Orlando.
After a quick tour of the shops, and a stop at McDonalds for food, I spent the time relaxing in the rocking chairs that overlook the Apron.
Flight was called for boarding at 6.30PM, and by 7.10PM push back had occurred 15 minutes ahead of time, unfortunately this was lost in a 20 minute wait for the runway.
At Logan International Airport the Landing & Departing Runways bisect each other at around of the length of each which makes for interesting viewing, and definitely not for the faint hearted.
Once airborne we were told we could we could use spare seats, so once Id eaten, (Beef), I grabbed the back row of 4 seats along with pillows, and blankets, and promptly made a bed for the night ! The crew were excellent, in fact it felt like being back in UC with almost a one to one service !
It was also my first experience of V Port, a very nice system indeed !
This was a quick crossing, and just under five hours later descent had started over Manchester, however any time made up was to be short lived as A.T.C. guided us into the hold pattern to the east of London.
Some 20 minutes later, the approach started giving everyone a magnificent view of The Thames, and Central London on the way to a Westerly arrival into Heathrow 20 minutes early.
Unfortunately, this meant a Remote Stand near the new Terminal 5, followed by a Bus to Terminal Three followed by a five minute wait at Immigration, then a 25 minute wait for Baggage Reclaim before exiting, and grabbing a cab to the NCP Car Park. All in all nearly 90 minutes after disembarking !
As I said in my outward TR, my faith in Virgin Atlantic has been restored after a couple of dour experiences, but unfortunately the stuff that needs looking at including long T.S.A. lines at Orlando, and the Remote Parking at Heathrow, and Baggage Reclaim,(Won't start that debate again), are sadly probably even out of SRBs control.
Time to start saving for the next one !
