This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
I was sad to learn that the VS46 will not be flying today due to cutbacks on the days it ran.... Who knew
so booked onto the VS10 at the offset which means a long wait on departure day, but hell this is New York!!!!! I'm not complaining. After a rather boozy Saturday, thanks to my enforcing of the six nations onto my American counterparts, taking Sunday would be a day of rest would be assumed. Wrong 
. Woke up late and thanks to the time difference missed the all important Irish game 
this is where American TV and the plethora of Irish pubs across manhattan comes in handy, needless to say highlights and a compromise of Sam Adams as opposed to Guinness I would say at this point that I am rather tired of the constant comparatives to American football.... Which came first US peeps? Thanks to the numerous rule changes and culture adaptions over the years, whilst they may have stemmed from the same sport, they are very different these days, fan base profiles are similar though.. 
After lunch and drink numbers 1-4 I said my goodbyes and head over to my usual stomping ground to kill a few hours. Old castle pub on W54th is ideal for this and I highly recommend it.. It may not seem like much but the food is good, service excellent and beer flows freely.. Hic.. As a side note I was very sad to see that in my absence a couple of my fav eateries have closed their doors.. The stage deli over on 7th especially, you will be sadly missed at breakfast and cheesecake time
With 3pm looming I thought about the VS4.... It gets in at a better time than the VS10 and I really fancied getting back to those green and pleasant lands, so took the risk and hopped a cab to the airport. Well, aside from the cabby driving like a psychopath with a wish to take me with him to the afterlife it was a nice drive over the queensboro bridge, although an odd and rather circular route around the meadows and down the parkway into JFK ... I think he was muttering traffic in Russian (mine is a little rusty), whatever this word was, he said it repeatedly
Arrived at the terminal, straight through the doors and was immediately greeted by a member of staff at a podium armed with a tablet. Wow this is impressive!! Asking about how I was, good trip over from the city and which flight I was on that day. I explained the situation, received a grin and was directed to the ticketing desk, there was apparent availability and it deserved a pop. Was welcomed back by an agent I have seen before and yep I was in luck there were a couple of seats available in UC
So, $82 and a few thousand miles lighter I made my way through the check in area and into the terminal. As I posted in my greeting from the lounge there are still a couple of areas that are boarded up but the terminal shops and most of the public seating areas are all fully open now. On my way down the stairs to security I looked over at the space formerly occupied by the old CH and it has now been mostly turned into public seating and the clear area has expanded slightly. I have seen this filled with temporary bedding before so I guess this will continue to be one of their rest areas if and when needed. I couldn’t resist checking out the competition either so had a gander at the oasis lounge.. I’m not sure if I am remembering incorrectly or not but I swear the area it occupies has grown.. perhaps with the VS CH relocating airside they are able to move things along to make more space... who knows.
Security was running as efficiently as ever, with only a slight hangup with a gent in a wheelchair that was having a few problems. In no time at all I was ascending the staircase opposite gate A5 to see the warm and definitely welcome sight of the Clubhouse.
Boarding will be through gate A7 and I will get a good bit of time in the lounge so, bags stored I wandered in and over to my favorite spot overlooking the AirTrain monorail. A couple of the staff wandered over to say a welcome back, so had a grand old chat and then let them get back to service, some of the other occupants of the lounge may have looked a bit peeved that I was monopolising their time
A couple of glasses of red wine, followed by a quick browse of v-flyer and yes a hello from the Clubhouse post, sorry couldn’t resist. Moved onto the restaurant and enjoyed a Clubhouse burger followed by an amazing baked apple dessert. Food in the lounge is great and, as always, just what is needed before the flight ahead. Another glass of red with dinner and then a Jack on the rocks that was very generously poured **hic** Back to my seat overlooking the AirTrain and a quick browse of the BBC whilst waiting for boarding to be called. In the competition of JFK vs EWR (see my waving from the CH post) my vote goes to JFK, the flights are more convenient and I would miss the staff here too much if I was to shift over to EWR flights
Boarding called from the lounge and with goodbyes said, I made my way to a waiting A333 and the DreamSuite.... Ahhhh!!!
Well a vs4 run that is on an A333.... Seems fitting for my 1000th post. Appears the man upstairs does have a sense of humour.
All was great, welcomed at the doors then coat taken and received the name check and a welcome back. It does make the flight more personable and damned the cynics out there, makes an airline (a service provider) more appealing to the frequent flyer - make the experience more memorable. Feel free to call me egomaniacal and demanding in my expectations but to be fair to all the airlines out there, it is the aim of the airline but the delivery of the crew that makes people return to them. This VS crew have it sussed
Anyways, I was seated fine although I had great fun watching a game of musical chairs between folk that either wanted to sit together, then 'didn't care' then they did!! ahh bless. All involved one of those picky pax too that had to sit in their assigned seat and no where else, despite the assigned seat bringing no particular benefit to any of the others, mid row at the back
I kept quiet Boarding completed and with 281 souls on board we were off, into another take off queue mind but off all the same... Ahhh and there is a kid in 6D who cries at everything except for the FSM... This flight service manager is better than super nanny. The kid’s mother and grandmother were no better than useless in dealing with the little'un, thinking leaning over the seat divide going "shhhh" constituted parenting. Needless to say I felt like stuffing them in a sack like a pair of harp seals, and so enter the saviour of the cabin.. the FSM. God knows how, i'll ask in case I am ever asked to babysit the cousins again..
A slight queue from the JFK ATC but I have come to expect nothing less, a short while later we were in the air and swinging up the east coast. Amazingly the second the seatbelt signs came off there was a rush to the lavatories... Evidently some people had more fun than I in the lounge... Time to catch up
The cabin crew member covering my row was amazing, he was personable, engaging and loved swapping stories of travel over the years. We also had a brief chat on the varying mentalities of the crews. I never really understood before how hard this can be on the them, with short turn arounds, customers constant demands and also having a corporation setting the standard from thousands of miles away, it is definitely trying. Coupling all that with the difficulty in maintaining friendships long distance with the only support structure being the crew you serve with so sporadically I finally understand and actually can relate.
Well everyone settled and cabin service starting, I decided to take a pop at Vera touch... I love it. If only all the aircraft flying could be outfitted this way... The FSM came over to introduce herself and it did feel like I was the only AU in UC (in actuality 6 in UC, 4 in PE and 2 in Economy.. So much for data protection) !!
As a point of fun and games, one of the AU pax in economy apparently tried to upgrade to UC at check-in, looks like I got their first
There were some AGs that also warranted an approach. Top marks VS, keep the FF on board. It is an amazing touch to put name to face of the person in charge in case any probs crop up and def the thing that some FF expect. Personally I would settle for first pick of menu items, JD in bulk and green tea to finish the meal
I thanked her for the approach and will definitely be featured in one of my (shockingly infrequent) messages to corporate Well JD and coke ordered and gotta say enjoyed, evidently there wasn't a joeyc or buns aboard the inbound flight
so still a couple of bottles left to enjoy. Got stuck into Vera and let the journey soldier on. I tend to only post when something of note (or amusing) happens as to avoid the air of “oh him again”. As I am moving onto a new job and with my time in the sky being cut back I shall post a TR whenever I get time and will be making special effort to do so when I get an amazing service. That may mean you guys seeing the occasional TR from BA, at least until BAFlyer is up and running (yes I fly with the dark side too... They have taught me how to summon force lightning though - anyone who didn't get that reference watch Star Wars [not Phantom Menace] with some urgency ) The VS4 provided good food on the whole. I opted for the salmon rillette, followed by the beef and then gorged myself on cheesecake then cheese and biscuits. Yeh was hungry
food service went swimmingly with the FSM hovering to make sure all went well. Gotta say hats off to this one, hope I get her again 
The food itself was very good and with a plentiful wine collection I was kept amused with interjections from the crew and other pax on occasion .
Not essential info but I changed into my own PJs and camped at the bar. I did have a chat with the FSM and garnered a bit more perspective, more often than not they are treated like a part of the plane by FFs and UC pax, most are good folk, treat them well
Righty ho then, gripes against the A333... Lavatories.. Upper class means upper class people, if you come from PE or ECO, stay on your side of the curtain. Front lav was ‘out of order’ during the meal service as to increase efficiency.. tricky one to redesign though so no complaints with the crew’s decision on that one.
A cramped cabin and the bar lights shinning into the rear 3 rows on the A and K wings need to be seriously looked at especially during night flights.. all been said before and the crew informed me that VS are having a serious think about ways to improve the new suites... interesting that they are not looking to put them on the Dreamliners then isn’t it
.. The ‘opaque’ side windows will also be ‘improved’ with filled in dividers whilst retaining the glass feel of the side, have VS been listening? Now to improve the quality of materials used in construction, turn the A333s into a 1-1-1 config and put them on the Dreamliners as a 1-2-1 and all should be dandy. Otherwise excellent time chatting at the bar with CC and fellow pax that don't feel like sleep, I may have also raided the cupboards locating the last of the Jack Daniels.. the crew didn’t seem to mind, indeed a couple of them found it amusing how I knew my way around the cabin....
I clearly do this too often. Random conversations went down a variety of avenues, everything from corporate tactics from a variety of markets to crew gossip.. they did love some of my recollections from other flights and it is fascinating how some crew members treat any stories of poor service offered from their colleagues as a heresy and with extreme dislike. I may have borrowed a few analogies from medieval history with how to treat employees that didn’t deliver. Alcohol supply safe and green tea requested.. had two mugs in fact (one for at240 as requested
) With that and a game of guess the FSM the bar was a place of much merriment and in no time we were on the approach and breakfast service begun. Bacon roll, coffee and orange juice went down a treat and the FSM reappeared to finish off some paperwork... I suggested that they write up about the extreme lack of JD on board
not sure if it qualifies but I think it was put in somewhere.... ha ha. Changed back into my regular clothes and asked one of the CC if I could appropriate one of the VS mugs.. they are pretty cool. Well I may have made off with more than one in the end, as they are a special collection with 4 different designs - didn't get all 4 but maybe next time On noticing and suggesting a better use for the unused alcohol that was being flushed down the toilet I was asked if I wanted to take it with me....
Of course I wanted to say yes, but queue the dagger look from the FSM to her crew!! I noticed, they didn’t at first, so gave them an out by declining, suggesting it would cause probs for me at customs. Look of gratitude on the FSMs face and yep she confirmed that VS would get into a hell of a lot of trouble if they allowed people to wander through passport control and customs with open bottles of wine.... sounds like fun to me It was at this point I also took the opportunity to have a chat to them about the recent report of alcohol ‘tipping’ on a VS flight. Well here it is V-Flyer.. VS apparently do not carry bottles of Eristoff vodka for service on their flights
Choices are Grey Goose in UC (thanks to a special deal between Grey Goose and VS - Grey Goose Loft in LHR for example) and Smirnoff for the rest of the plane.... the language used was nearly identical to when I asked the outbound crew too .... now I am no sap but I genuinely believed them, that was until I checked out the contents of their bar advertised and there it was.. Eristoff vodka!!!! Now either it has been withdrawn following recent (possibly true?!?) events and crew have been advised to not speak of it or they were simply mistaken... either way that does raise a few more questions does it not??? I debated whether or not to post this info, but decided not to censor myself and let you gentle readers draw whatever conclusions you will.. tin foil hats on people Landed into LHR on time and the approach over London town is just excellent in the early morning sun, I love coming home again. I really wish the seats faced the windows to allow people to look out onto whatever vista they are arriving into without requiring a chiropractic readjustment.. perhaps another improvement to put on the planning board.
Doors open, goodbyes and thanks said and we were off. It was a mini race as there were a couple of other flights on the orbital and I wasn’t feeling up to a long queue at the border. Dashing around the corridors of LHR like a pro, I did garner a few looks and tuts from elderly couples for some reason... not sure why, it isn’t like i pushed anyone over (too hard) Well I won the race and was through the border in a matter of minutes with only a couple of remarks about my passport photo
and an elderly Chinese gentleman confused about the fact he did not have an EU passport and kept giving said passport to the line sorter.... well unlike the US the UK ones are inefficient, unable to communicate very well and clearly this could have gone on all day.. I prodded him with my passport into the health check queue where he was seen and sent over to the other side of the hall.. ha ha. Although it did amuse the border officer that then called me forward. As a side note, there was a much larger queue at the IRIS and Biometric scanners than the usual EU queue... hmm not such a shortcut after all. Bag was second off and customs hadn’t started yet so there were no delays there, mental note if I ever turn smuggler.. land pre 0630.
Onto revivals and I have to say this visit was not the best
Not only did the new Tristar rep act like a moody teenager that really did not grasp how to do her job, the reception staff were different too and seemed to have to double check/think everything!! Ugh no time for these people, showered and then grabbed a seat for breakfast. The new layout is definitely an improvement and my guess would be to handle the increase in the number of pax that now know about and use the revivals lounge... hmm how to make it a secret again Now something truly bizarre... one of the lovely ladies on reception wandered over and informed me that my car was booked for 1030 .. bearing in mind it is now 0720!! .. Well I cannot wait around here for three hours, could I please have one sooner (as initially asked for and was approved).. answer from this person: No?!? and off she wandered. Huh... not a happy bunny right now, coffee ordered and then took the trouble to pop over to the moody teenager for a chat, introduced myself and I have to say the look up from the computer was hilarious, eyes bobbing up and over her glasses and it definitely felt like my library book was overdue.. ha ha ha
Anyways, eye brow raise from me and she finally looked at me square on as opposed to a lizard look with one eye on the computer and the other on me. I explained the situation and asked to have my car in about 20mins to give me chance to have breakfast, this is when I was informed that my driver was on the way up now!!! Well yes dear reader I was told first I wasn’t allowed a car before 1030 then my driver was on his way to the lounge... **sigh** turned the reception desk to see the receptionist that said 1030 duck behind the partition and play with the shower keys.. I was tired and not feeling overly vindictive today so popped back to finish my coffee, grab a couple of pastries and say adios to the server staff that think I am weird every time I ask for mustard with my sausages. Anyone else?? No, just me clearly. 
Luggage retrieved and a wink at the reception staff (couldn’t help it) on finally twigging that I am not a new animal at the zoo, I received the cordial and somewhat contrite “Goodbye Mr C, hope to see you soon.” Ha ha .. not what I was asking for but ok, see them next time when hopefully they will have it all figured out, clearly new people on the job today. Back to London I go..... ah bugger, traffic!!
Well dear readers thank you for reading my somewhat lengthy 1000th post. I hope it entertained and gave some new insight of, not only how my brain works but also, the VS service offering. Check in staff at JFK were as happy and jovial as ever, lounge staff fantastic, flight and cabin crew the best I have had so far (from me that is saying something) and, as rarely a flight for me gets a perfect score, the revivals reception staff did let the side down
Putting it down to inexperience and a bit of miscommunication, easy fixes that will hopefully be put right by the next time I go through. Well done VS, on balance, an awesome flight and airport experience.
They impart new meaning to the term "stream of consciousness". 
