People At The Bar

This is one mainly for ther frequant fliers, or the cabin crew.
Just wondered, as ive never flown UC before on a 346, how many people to you get sitrting at the bar duing a normal say average 8-9 hour sector ? - Do a few people tend to sit around and have natter whilst having a drink and putting the worlds to rights ? - I know the bar isnt exaclty like your local and is quite limited in space, but just wondered how often, if at all, its used to chill at ?

Or do some fliers simply grab a book or a mag, whilst sippng at a cocktail ?

Not sure what to expect really, esp as im flying on the VS200 to SYD.

Cheers.

[preiffer]

Crikey - that must be one of the most variable numbers imaginable.

It'll depend on the route, number of passengers, time of day, TYPE of passengers, day of week. Many things.

Typically, there are around 3-4 at the bar at any one time on a daytime flight I'd say (but that's only from what I've seen on my flights - others may have had wildly different experiences). Remember that the number is limited by the amount of oxygen mask positions there are above the bar. ISTR that on a 744 it was 7, but Mike can help me out there... [:w]

[buns]

Hi Supernovo

You may care to look at this Trip Report for how a bar on a 346 might be used.

although this might not be the norm:D:D

[Scrooge]

I've found that like your local it can go both ways,there have been flight's where I spent a good deal of my time sitting there reading abook seeing people come and go,there's been flight's where the crew have had to ask people to return to their seats due to the high number of pax wanting to use the bar and flight's where it was just me.

LHR-SYD is a different beast for sure,I don't know how much usage the bar would get HKG-SYD?

[fozzyo]

We've sat at the bar for midnight snacks, post meal Port, mid flight chat with the crew, had breakfast sitting at the bar on our return flight from HKG.

Mat xxx

[honey lamb]

I've been on flights to and from LGW where no-one has used the bar - myself including

On most flights I'll use the bar for a bit, even if there is nobody there. Its a change of scenery if nothing else and I like to get my money's worth [:p]

Dean

Originally posted by buns4vs
Hi Supernovo

You may care to look at this Trip Report for how a bar on a 346 might be used.

although this might not be the norm:D:D

HaHa - great trip report and pictures, really puts me in the mood for the LHR - SYD at Christmas ! - Im sure VS will make it even more special given the time of year ! [y]

[RichardMannion]

Buns - surely you meant this report

As Paul said, there are far too many variables to give an estimation. Basically pick a number between 0 and 6.

I always try and spend some time at the bar - often I will actually have my food served at the bar and chat to the crew, depends if I am travelling on my own or not. Every passenger is different, some sit and use IFE, some do work, some sleep, some are talking with their partners etc.

Thanks,
Richard

[ChuckC]

On my last flight to London there was no one at the bar until about an hour before landing when it seemed the entire UC cabin was there for coffee and OJ. Coming West to Los Angeles there were between 2 and 5 people there throughout the flight; it's an awfully nice gathering place, IMHO one of the very great features of VS' Upper Class program.

I would second Buns4vs and his suggestion of reviewing some TRs: there's always a mention or two of what was happening at the bar. And we have more than a handful of pictures to peruse in the Gallery.

Chuck-

Like Richard I too often have my food at the bar, especially on a night flight where I find it nice to eat at the bar in sleep suit then go to bed with no fuss and a little drinky!

It is still one of the best things about flying UC, the change of scenary and ability to stretch legs is fantastic, and to do so when meeting often interesting people is great. Some routes though seem to be more amenable to this, SFO notably.

[HighFlyer]

Ahem ...

Considering both fantastic TR's were penned by yours truly, that must lead to the conclusion that i spend most of my time at the bar on a flight [:I]

Supernovo, from my experiences, you will get a lot of people who will come to the bar just to see what its all about, grab a drink and go back to their suite. Then you will get a few hardcore boozers like myself who prefer to sit at the bar for lengthy periods, have my dinner there and chat to fellow passengers and crew. If you are on a night flight you will likely see a handful of people who just want to sit at the bar for a quick nightcap before going to bed. If you are on a day flight its the best place to be IMHO, as you can see from my DXB trip report, we had the practical ethic of a 'local' at 39k feet going on as the guys i was at the bar with were on my outbound so it was great to catch up with them all.

As said previously, the bar's capacity is limited by the number of oxygen masks; 7 on a 744, less on the Airbus fleet. If too many people are at the bar, the crew will ask a few pax to come back later.

By all means, as this will be your first Upper trip, go and check out the bar. There are a plethora of snacks there to help yourself from (and yummy Bendicks chocolates, which are my absolute fave!) and its a great way of turning a potentially dull journey into a fun one as you do get to meet a great diversity of people, and the crew are always willing to chat.

Just be prepared to get your running shoes on if its a busy flight

Thanks,
Sarah

Originally posted by HighFlyer
Ahem ...

Considering both fantastic TR's were penned by yours truly, that must lead to the conclusion that i spend most of my time at the bar on a flight [:I]

Well at least you are not denying it[^]

[buns]

Originally posted by RichardMannion
Buns - surely you meant this report

As Paul said, there are far too many variables to give an estimation. Basically pick a number between 0 and 6.

I always try and spend some time at the bar - often I will actually have my food served at the bar and chat to the crew, depends if I am travelling on my own or not. Every passenger is different, some sit and use IFE, some do work, some sleep, some are talking with their partners etc.

Thanks,
Richard

Richard

You are quite right to refer to the infamous flight back from SFO as another extensive use of the facility. IIRC the bar filled so quickly at times, some of us had to make do with sipping our drinks at our suite[:I][:I]

buns

I was going to say that the number of people at the bar depends on whether it is a v-flyer social event or not....but that has already been covered above

The maximum number of people (passengers and crew) allowed around the bar =

6 on LGW/MAN B744
12 on LHR 744
8 on A343 & A346

[Bazz]

Thanks for clarifying the numbers Marc [y]

As Buns said on the V-Flyer Party Bus it was diffucult to get to the bar, infact each time the seat belt sign went off there was a mad stampede for the (few) seats at the bar a bit of a free for all you might say. I think some of my fellow V-Flyers had quick release seatbelts

Originally posted by Bazz
Thanks for clarifying the numbers Marc [y]

As Buns said on the V-Flyer Party Bus it was diffucult to get to the bar, infact each time the seat belt sign went off there was a mad stampede for the (few) seats at the bar a bit of a free for all you might say. I think some of my fellow V-Flyers had quick release seatbelts

I wonder if anyone remembers the sofa in the old UC of 10 years ago? That had seatbelts so if it got tough you could adjourn to the sofa instead of going back to your seat.

Cheers, Howard

On a recent flight on VS27 to MCO 80% of of UC were French and no way could I get any where near the bar! They completly over took the area from the moment the seat belt sign went off and how did the the crew deal with the situation - in the typical english way of just talk very loud to them! So you never know what the flight mix will be.

Met my last girlfriend at the bar [:I] and enjoyed the flight more than normal as a result - got me thinking that we should introduce speed dating on board (crew welcome [8D]) - would ensure the bar was more lively - good looking girls from the rest of the aircraft could be invited as well....

Theres not really enough space for that!

Well as im flying out of LHR on the VS200 on boxing night, i wonder if they'll be a bit of a special xmas kinda atmosphere in the CH before hand and of course onboard around the bar with a few festivities to boot ?

Oh and of course if messers Dani Minogue might be on board in UC popping home for a late xmas with family, i wouldnt mind sharing a glass of the bubblies at the bar with you my dear ! [:I]

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by Supernovo
Well as im flying out of LHR on the VS200 on boxing night, i wonder if they'll be a bit of a special xmas kinda atmosphere in the CH before hand and of course onboard around the bar with a few festivities to boot ?

Oh and of course if messers Dani Minogue might be on board in UC popping home for a late xmas with family, i wouldnt mind sharing a glass of the bubblies at the bar with you my dear ! [:I]

I flew to CPT on Xmas Eve a couple of years ago and that was great, lots of people round the bar - the staff had made an effort, and had holly and tinsle etc. One of my favourite flights with VS.

Thanks,
Richard

Originally posted by RichardMannion
I flew to CPT on Xmas Eve a couple of years ago and that was great, lots of people round the bar - the staff had made an effort, and had holly and tinsle etc. One of my favourite flights with VS.

I'd also like to think it was my company on that flight, but something tells me different

Cheers, Howard

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by Howard Long

Originally posted by RichardMannion
I flew to CPT on Xmas Eve a couple of years ago and that was great, lots of people round the bar - the staff had made an effort, and had holly and tinsle etc. One of my favourite flights with VS.

I'd also like to think it was my company on that flight, but something tells me different

Cheers, Howard

Ahem!

And of course meeting Mr Long and his partner on the flight was an unexpected surprise.

As I said, great flight and spent most of Christmas day in bed due to a lack of sleep on the night flight.

Thanks,
Richard