Not really a trip report - more observations regarding my Club world experience in comparison to VS
Didn't intend to book with BA but I got a "BA Travel Shop closing down fare" which meant the fare was only £1200 or so...that was half of Virgins UC fare so it had to be done.
I'm sure most of you know that BA have a premium checkin area at Heathrow - Zone R. It has its own security - this proved invaluable as by 9am in the morning (it being the Friday before the Bank Holiday) passengers were being prevented entering Terminal 1 till 3 hours before their flight. By using Zone R however we were able to check in with no queue, no wait at security and a good 5 hours before the flight. Round One to BA
Terraces Lounge at LHR - poor in comparison to VS, Terraces lounge at SFO even worse. Food at LHR lounge - sandwiches, croissants blah blah blah - self service bar etc etc. SFO a few packs of crackers, prepacked cheese, crisps etc. Virgin win on lounge hands down. I liked the Molton Brown Spa at LHR though and the great shower block -so BA get a little tick...
Priority Boarding at LHR - piece of cake, easier than VS..at SFO..security checked at Lounge itself and boarded directly onto the plane from ramp connected to the lounge..which I thought was pretty cool
Entertainment system - well I'd heard that BA's ws archaic...however it had games..it had a touch screen so you didn't need to use the controller..it had 16 or so channels..so though it wasn't AVOD..it was miles better than Odyssey or Nova...and now i come to think of it I don't remember Vport being touch screen
Cabin - VS wins on ambience as you'd expect..the Club World cabin is a bit old in design - I think I heard its being revamped this year
Club World seat..I could sit alongside the person I was travelling with..I could recline to my hearts content...its not as modern as UCS, nor as big apparently...but I've got to say I hd the longest sleep (5 hours) I've ever managed on a plane. And I loved being able to chat to my companion and look out of the window.. I have to say I didnt miss the UCS.
Service..BA cabin crew were older..they weren't as whacky, funky, etc etc...but they were on the whole a lot more professional, attentive...friendly but polite...jeez maybe I'm getting old...I think BA overall win this round because they made youfeel like a premium customer...I don't always get that with VS
Food...the BA food wipes the floor with Virgin..the BA wines were much better too..no contest
Amenity Kit...well I haven't seen the snooze pack but the molton brown kit..had little bottles of moisturiser, mouthwash, liquid soap etc along with the usual socks, eye shades, ear plugs, tootbrush
& toothpaste..really useful, liked it much more than the Boateng Kit..in fact I liked it as much as the old VS Space NK Kit..so no shock here..BA wins on amenity kits
Where BA missed a bit with service it seemed obvious that it was more to do with distinguishing Club world from their FIRST..eg blankets not duvet, tomato ketchup sachets rather than in a bowl
Oh my gosh...I thought I was one of the most loyal Virgin fans out there...have flown 20 or so times with VS, half of them in Upper..I thought I wouldn't want to fly with anyone else...but you know what...BA crew, seat, Zone R, amenity kit & great food outweighed my recent VS experiences.
maybe I can live without an inflight bar, the UCS and the fabulous lounges after all..
I find myself strangely looking forward to my next Club World flight...or maybe its just the jet lag kicking in..I might be a BA convert..yikes..time will tell.
Didn't intend to book with BA but I got a "BA Travel Shop closing down fare" which meant the fare was only £1200 or so...that was half of Virgins UC fare so it had to be done.
I'm sure most of you know that BA have a premium checkin area at Heathrow - Zone R. It has its own security - this proved invaluable as by 9am in the morning (it being the Friday before the Bank Holiday) passengers were being prevented entering Terminal 1 till 3 hours before their flight. By using Zone R however we were able to check in with no queue, no wait at security and a good 5 hours before the flight. Round One to BA
Terraces Lounge at LHR - poor in comparison to VS, Terraces lounge at SFO even worse. Food at LHR lounge - sandwiches, croissants blah blah blah - self service bar etc etc. SFO a few packs of crackers, prepacked cheese, crisps etc. Virgin win on lounge hands down. I liked the Molton Brown Spa at LHR though and the great shower block -so BA get a little tick...
Priority Boarding at LHR - piece of cake, easier than VS..at SFO..security checked at Lounge itself and boarded directly onto the plane from ramp connected to the lounge..which I thought was pretty cool
Entertainment system - well I'd heard that BA's ws archaic...however it had games..it had a touch screen so you didn't need to use the controller..it had 16 or so channels..so though it wasn't AVOD..it was miles better than Odyssey or Nova...and now i come to think of it I don't remember Vport being touch screen
Cabin - VS wins on ambience as you'd expect..the Club World cabin is a bit old in design - I think I heard its being revamped this year
Club World seat..I could sit alongside the person I was travelling with..I could recline to my hearts content...its not as modern as UCS, nor as big apparently...but I've got to say I hd the longest sleep (5 hours) I've ever managed on a plane. And I loved being able to chat to my companion and look out of the window.. I have to say I didnt miss the UCS.
Service..BA cabin crew were older..they weren't as whacky, funky, etc etc...but they were on the whole a lot more professional, attentive...friendly but polite...jeez maybe I'm getting old...I think BA overall win this round because they made youfeel like a premium customer...I don't always get that with VS
Food...the BA food wipes the floor with Virgin..the BA wines were much better too..no contest
Amenity Kit...well I haven't seen the snooze pack but the molton brown kit..had little bottles of moisturiser, mouthwash, liquid soap etc along with the usual socks, eye shades, ear plugs, tootbrush
& toothpaste..really useful, liked it much more than the Boateng Kit..in fact I liked it as much as the old VS Space NK Kit..so no shock here..BA wins on amenity kits
Where BA missed a bit with service it seemed obvious that it was more to do with distinguishing Club world from their FIRST..eg blankets not duvet, tomato ketchup sachets rather than in a bowl
Oh my gosh...I thought I was one of the most loyal Virgin fans out there...have flown 20 or so times with VS, half of them in Upper..I thought I wouldn't want to fly with anyone else...but you know what...BA crew, seat, Zone R, amenity kit & great food outweighed my recent VS experiences.
maybe I can live without an inflight bar, the UCS and the fabulous lounges after all..
I find myself strangely looking forward to my next Club World flight...or maybe its just the jet lag kicking in..I might be a BA convert..yikes..time will tell.