Please use this forum is for Virgin Atlantic trip reports. There is a subforum for other airline reports.
#941339 by Snora
31 Jan 2018, 11:18
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
We flew in from MAN arriving 1.35pm into T5 and for the first time in our experience our bags arrived quickly, within 10 minutes. Straightforward swap over to T3.

Our HKG fight was not due to depart until 9pm we were greeted at UC Check In desk with a smile and - "you’re early!" A justified comment I felt but as I had booked our trip 11 months ago it could have been snowbound or fog bound at MAN, flights could have been delayed etc etc and how bad can 6 hours in the Clubhouse get?!

As I mentioned in an earlier post I started with the mug of tomato soup and toasted cheese sandwich followed by a glass of champagne. The soup was a great idea as it was dreary outside and I needed to warm up. OH had the potato and truffle soup with a brie, mushroom and truffle toastie. He is a bit ‘posher’ than me – guess my Anfield upbringing is still alive and well. Then we carried on with fish and chips tapas, and chicken gyoza followed about an hour later by a selection of smoked salmon and breads, then ice creams. Throw in 3 more champagnes each and we were done.

At the insistence of other Vflyers I did succumb to leaving the CH early by 15 mins and returning to Duty Free to purchase the £50 for 2 x bottles of Laurent Perrier. (No regrets, they are now in our room fridge and one may be meeting the Hong Kong air this evening. )

The walk to Gate 22 is a fair way as many of you will know. I think we walked a similar distance either for our CPT flight or MIA flight once. It certainly looked familiar. VS206 flight was due to leave on time and in the event left at 21:08 .

Only 167 pax on board but a full UC section. I seem to recall seeing somewhere that the Dreamliner can accommodate 264 and I was told that all the spare seats were in Economy. So I guess those guys may have enjoyed a ‘lie flat’ experience of a different kind by taking advantage of the spare seats.

The plane was looking in good shape – still shiny. But when we had issues with my tray table not popping up the crew member was surprised saying “ and this is a new plane!” So maybe they had only just taken the cling film off it and it was still being broken in. Everything else seemed to work fine.

I like the Dreamliner. I like the snazzy lighting and the larger bathroom. I guess my only quibble is with the lack of storage around the seat – which I recall others mentioning often. The fact the storage under the IFE screen is deep is not an advantage in my opinion as stuff could go down there and never be seen again. Glasses, pens, phone……

With such a late flight and a great CH experience I was hardly hungry so opted for the caramelised pear and walnut salad and the seafood linguini – both excellent. No bread, no dessert or digestivo just a glass of Paso Robles Red Zinfandel which went down rather well. Having visited Paso Robles some years ago it was a nice reminder of that trip, although it was my first taste of a RED Zinfandel I have to say.

Sleep came easily and I slept 4.5 hrs in one stretch. The cabin was really quiet the whole flight and so other moments spent dozing meant I didn’t use the IFE at all to pass the time.

The crew were charming and friendly as always. My OH was going to have a Cognac (surprising as he is a single malt man at home usually) when Scott (truly nice guy) suggested he try a SINGLE MALT !! How could he know. Do single malt drinkers have a secret code or something? Turns out Scott is a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to single malts and spends hundreds of £££ s on them even having a temperature controlled room at home. It was useful that he actually had a job to do on board or I know where that conversation was going and for how long….. sleep would have been out of the question.

A great flight and not too much turbulence. After a light breakfast and quick change into fresh clothes, seatbelt light was on and we were landed getting in 19 mins early.

First visit to HKG and super impressed with Airport Express train and today, as it has been rain and mist for some time also impressed with the 800metre long covered escalators to climb the heights of Hong Kong Island on. Four days to explore and then join our ship for Vietnam and Singapore.

Bye Bye -再见
#941340 by hiljil
31 Jan 2018, 11:53
Thank you for a thoroughly enjoyable TR. Good to read of a positive flight .

Hope you have a super time exploring HK without anymore rain ! And have a fantastic cruise. It sounds wonderful :-D
#941341 by SlimpyJones
31 Jan 2018, 12:04
Sounds decent! Thanks for the TR :-)

In regards to the new plane... VS206 on Jan 29th was operated by G-VNEW, the oldest dreamliner (if such a term may be applied), which is a touch over 3 years old. However the previous day's VS206 was operated by G-VWOO which is the newest dreamliner only delivered a week or so back.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 21 guests

Itinerary Calendar