VS045 LHR-JFK 17 JAN 13 (Premium Economy)

This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin

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Hi all
After going to NY with the wife in nov I had a burning desire to go back ASAP so managed to persuade the wife that it would be a good experience for blacky junior to visit such a great place.
Booked late with virgin hols about a week before ( a competitive price) staying at the westin times sq for 3 nights flying out on the 45 and back on the 4.
As some of you may recall I tried to book the CH separately but wasn't allowed so booked the no 1 lounge instead .
Not wanting to sit on the m25 on the morning of the flight I decided to go down the night before staying at the crowne plaza and paid the extra for the parking whilst away so as soon as junior got home from school we were on our way down to the hotel arriving about 5 ish .
Checked in and was given an upgrade on the room so had a lovely big double each and was a mere 45 steps from room to the pub style bar (yes we paced it out !)
A few drinks and a bit of dinner and time to go to bed .
In the morn we had breakfast about 7 and caught the previously booked hopper at about 8.10 arriving at t3 not long after and into a very quiet check in ,just a quick point about going on the 45 here ,I said in nov I wouldn't take this flight again but i find it the best timed flight in terms of the overall experience of going away ,it gives you the opportunity to enjoy a nice morning with a few drinks and doesn't get in to JFK too late so I decided to give it another try .
Anyway as I say arrived at a very quiet check in and seen to straight away at the PE desk but Eco and Upper were free aswell ,In case your wondering why we were so early I had booked an extra hour in the no1 lounge wanting to make the most of the morning so bags dropped and in a few mins found ourselves airside and en route to the no 1 lounge.
Whilst en route I thought it would be nice to show junior where the CH was so made a detour and after explaining to the lovely lady on the desk that we were unable to buy access much to my amazement she said would we like to pay to come in now.well it was a no brainer in my book and all thoughts of the no 1 lounge went quickly out of my head so after paying over the phone in we went at about 8.50 am meaning about 40 mins from hotel to CH !
Dropped bags off and took junior on a tour deciding to settle in the cinema area ,as we had had breakfast I thought we would wait until the CH burger was on offer so chilled out drunk champers played the odd game of pool ,visited the roof terrace etc .i also booked a shave for 10.00 and left junior watching the tv and playing on the iPad ,I absolutely love the CH and am disappointed when we have to leave but our flight was delayed again (delayed in nov) so we had an extra hour or so in there leaving some time after 13.00 to go down to the gate,
I was a bit disappointed that there didn't seem to be any priority boarding in place so joined the single line queue and boarded tubular belle ,it wasn't full in PE and 29 h&k in front were free so when the doors were shut I quickly nabbed them but then decided I actually preferred where we were in 30 h&k as there seems to be more legroom by going under the seats in front so sat back in our original seats .
After seat belt signs went off a chap came and sat in front of us and seemed to get a bit of attention from one male crew member who got him wine from UC ,sat down to chat to him etc ,not sure who he was or where he had come from.maybe a gold card holder perhaps .
Anyway had the usual PE offerings of the sparkley stuff ,salmon lasagne choc cake and settled in to watch the IFE ,there is a lot of stuff on there but struggled to find anything I wanted to watch so messed around on the iPad ,decided against the afternoon tea as I wasn't that hungry and nor was junior who was happy enough playing on his iPad ,
All in all a bit of an unremarkable flight ,it got us there in a comfy seat with not bad food and a good CC looked after us although I'm still feeling that there is something lacking about PE ,can't put my finger on it but this is my fourth Time in PE in a few months and although its obviously a lot better than Economy I still feel there is room for improvement .
Must just add that immigration was a lot better this time through in about 40 mins so I guess we were just unlucky last time .
Blacky

Great report.

How did you get from JFK to Manhattan?

Also, when you were showing Jr where CH was why did you have to pay over the phone? Seems like a strange hoop they made you jump through!

Hi sealink ,got one of the yellow cabs outside and shared it with a chap called James who was on my flight ,we got chatting in the immigration queue so,he was alone on business so made good sense money wise as we split the cost.
Not sure why we had to pay over the phone,if I recall correctly the VS lady phoned someone up to see if there was availability to allow us in ,she then passed me the phone and I paid on my card,do you normally pay cash at the desk then?
Blacky

Thanks for the TR.

I feel the same about PE, it's probably for me down to the fact that you pay so much more for just a few things extra. I find myself questioning whether it is worth it.

Sounds like a pretty decent flight! We've stayed at the westin the last 2 times in New York its a nice place, my hotel of choice for the time being! Actually just looking at your travel dates we would have been in the hotel at the same time!! We stayed 9-13th and 17&18th of Jan!

Thanks for an good TR. it's nice to read a report of a different flight to New York as I flew on the VS001 to Newark in March 2009 with my school. I flew in Economy and Immigration was awful, but the flight was good, the food was good, considering I had the diabetic friendly meal thanks to my School.

Thank you for the TR.

Thanks for the TR.

Fully with you on avoiding the M25 on the day of travel if at all possible. If I have use it on the day of travel I'll always set off an hour earlier than absolutely necessary. I once saw a family denied boarding because of arriving 15 mins after check in closed for their flight because of a jam on the M25.

Never having had the luxury of anything other than a completely full cabin when flying Economy, PE for me was always about more space when flying to the US and getting the bubble (old style) when flying to the Caribbean.

Blacky, thanks for sharing. A good read and what a result with the CH. I do enjoy PE but I agree it could do with a bit of a revamp, maybe the food and drink offer which falls short with the second service for me......though IMO it is far better than BA's WTP. Now Air New Zealand's PE offering sounds like one to try, though I have not yet been that lucky yet!

Jon

Thanks for replies everyone ,
Jon ,I think you are right about the second service ,to be honest I'm a bit of a greedy so and so and if there was something more appetising than what is on offer I would have had it,the PE menu definitely is in need of a total revamp IMO .
Pjh
Of my 4 PE flights I would say the one I enjoyed the most was the only non refurb lgw flight to st lucia in aug last year ,we were in the bubble and I absolutely loved it even though it was old seats and IFE etc.
Trev
Shame we didn't know beforehand otherwise we could have met up,loved the hotel ,good location and the shulas steakhouse was superb if a tad expensive ,

Forgot to add although not really relevant is that my friend and I are travelling to Boston on the 23 rd of march in UC , I have posted in itinerarys the offer of 2 lounge invites but thought I may aswell do it here aswell so if any one fancies the CH on the 23rd of march please let me know
Blacky

Hi sealink ,got one of the yellow cabs outside and shared it with a chap called James who was on my flight ,we got chatting in the immigration queue so,he was alone on business so made good sense money wise as we split the cost.
Not sure why we had to pay over the phone,if I recall correctly the VS lady phoned someone up to see if there was availability to allow us in ,she then passed me the phone and I paid on my card,do you normally pay cash at the desk then?
Blacky

I've never had the chance... I just thought it was strange that when you are there in person they would make you do a telepone payment. Seemed to all work out though!

I guess they aren't allowed to take cash and they don't have a card machine at the desk at the entrance of the CH,only an educated guess and I may be wrong
Blacky

Thanks for this Blacky, a good VS experience, glad to hear Customs wasn't too bad either

As for the payment being taken over the phone, perhaps their card machines were down as this is usually done at the concierge desk, although not sure why they didn't use the registers in the spa if there were tech problems

Cheers for posting

Hi joey ,it would appear that this was not normal procedure then,maybe they just didn't trust me to pay inside lol.
It wasn't a hassle anyway and I can't wait to go back on the 23 march with my mate Gavin.
I've bigged the place up so much I just hope he likes it as much as I do.
Blacky

Hi joey ,it would appear that this was not normal procedure then,maybe they just didn't trust me to pay inside lol.
It wasn't a hassle anyway and I can't wait to go back on the 23 march with my mate Gavin.
I've bigged the place up so much I just hope he likes it as much as I do.
Blacky

The couple of times i've paid for an extra guest I've had to pay over the phone too! Even though you're only speaking to someone on the concierge desk which of course is right next to the door, never really understood that one have to say!

It didn't occur to me I might be speaking to the concierge desk to be honest ,I assumed I was talking to someone in an office miles away ! Now that's got me thinking.
Blacky