NRT-LHR Return on VS - Sept 2008
Sep 25, 2008, 9:46 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: AA PLT, KF Silver, BA Blue
Posts: 65
NRT-LHR Return on VS - Sept 2008
VS901 - NRT to LHR
5th September 2008
Scheduled Departure - 11:00
Actual Departure - 12:53
Scheduled Arrival – 15:30
Actual Arrival – 16:45
This was a rather impromptu trip, since a member of my family’s heath was in a serious condition. I booked the ticket with my travel agent in Tokyo 4days before departure, luckily there was plenty of availability for both legs in Economy class.
I left my home at about 0620 to catch the 06:57 Narita Express from Shibuya Stn, which was scheduled to arrive at Narita Airport T1 at 08:10 and as usual the train was bang on time.
Check-In for VS900 was not due to begin until 08:30 for the 11:00 flight and already a long queue had formed for Economy and fast bag drop counters (for Internet check in passengers). I inquired with one of the agents, if I could queue at the Upper Class counter, since I was in possession of a SQ KrisFlyer Elite Gold card, but she was convinced that SQ had no benefits with VS.. And directed me to the end of the Economy queue. I ignored this and queued with the Premium Economy passengers as I also have a VS Silver card.
Check-in started at exactly 08:30 and I was seen to 5 mins later. On this particular day, a notice was displayed at check-in to highlight that upgrades from Economy to Premium Economy were available for 185GBP/37,900JPY, this sounded good value so I took the offer. I was offered seat 18C which was a bulkhead seat at the front of the PE cabin. The agent noticed my SQ FFP number in the booking and tagged my bag with Upper class tags and handed me an invitation to the VS Clubhouse.
I was then escorted to the ticket desk where my 37,900JPY was taken and boarding pass handed over.
Immigration and security was surprisingly smooth and quick, unlike some of my previous trips. I proceeded directly to the clubhouse which was situated very close to the departure gate.
My boarding pass was taken and my SQ KF number was noted and in I went.
The VS Clubhouse was small, but adequate and with table service.
I took a seat by the window and immediately a waitress came over to ask what I would like to eat/drink. The lounge has free WiFi and international adapters are available. I relaxed in the lounge until the boarding announcement was made. When I arrived at the gate, boarding had already begun and a long queue had formed for Economy. A couple of gate agents were walking around to ask if there were passengers for Upper class / PE for priority boarding. I joined this queue which there was only 2 passengers in front of me.
The aircraft was fitted with the new PE /Economy seats (A340-600 G-VBUG) I stored my handbaggage in the overhead locker, where there was plenty of space.
A Glass of champagne or orange juice was offered to PE passengers and PE menus were already in the seat pocket.
Boarding was completed before the 11am departure time, but at 11am the Captain made an announcement that there was a tech problem with Engine No.4, and mentioned this was due to a leaky hydraulic pump and that this needed to be replaced and since it was located in the customs bond area it will take some time to get the part then about an hour to fit/test it. All passengers remained on board and we were given some refreshments while we waited and Engine No.4 was tested after about 2 hours and we departed from the gate.
Take-off was smooth and before long, the crew were handing out headsets and hot towels. The first drinks run began and the excellent V-Port entertainment system started.
Lunch was then served in proper crockery/steel cutlery; I chose the vegetable pasta, which was quite good.
The lights were turned out even though this is a day flight and FA’s went round to insist that all window blinds be shut, not my preference, but I guess we should do as we are told!
I watched a few films and got a couple hours sleep. FA’s went round a few times with OJ and water and also an ice cream run was done.
Soon enough it was time to prepare for lading at LHR. I was surprised to hear from the flight deck that we did not have to hold and came straight in to land, but it took 20 mins to actually reach the gate once we landed. Immigration was also pretty smooth for LHR and I was again surprised that the priority luggage came out first and I was out of LHR within 35mins, which was a first for me.
Overall a nice flight, especially since I upgraded to PE. Great friendly service and we were kept updated throughout the short delay from NRT.
5th September 2008
Scheduled Departure - 11:00
Actual Departure - 12:53
Scheduled Arrival – 15:30
Actual Arrival – 16:45
This was a rather impromptu trip, since a member of my family’s heath was in a serious condition. I booked the ticket with my travel agent in Tokyo 4days before departure, luckily there was plenty of availability for both legs in Economy class.
I left my home at about 0620 to catch the 06:57 Narita Express from Shibuya Stn, which was scheduled to arrive at Narita Airport T1 at 08:10 and as usual the train was bang on time.
Check-In for VS900 was not due to begin until 08:30 for the 11:00 flight and already a long queue had formed for Economy and fast bag drop counters (for Internet check in passengers). I inquired with one of the agents, if I could queue at the Upper Class counter, since I was in possession of a SQ KrisFlyer Elite Gold card, but she was convinced that SQ had no benefits with VS.. And directed me to the end of the Economy queue. I ignored this and queued with the Premium Economy passengers as I also have a VS Silver card.
Check-in started at exactly 08:30 and I was seen to 5 mins later. On this particular day, a notice was displayed at check-in to highlight that upgrades from Economy to Premium Economy were available for 185GBP/37,900JPY, this sounded good value so I took the offer. I was offered seat 18C which was a bulkhead seat at the front of the PE cabin. The agent noticed my SQ FFP number in the booking and tagged my bag with Upper class tags and handed me an invitation to the VS Clubhouse.
I was then escorted to the ticket desk where my 37,900JPY was taken and boarding pass handed over.
Immigration and security was surprisingly smooth and quick, unlike some of my previous trips. I proceeded directly to the clubhouse which was situated very close to the departure gate.
My boarding pass was taken and my SQ KF number was noted and in I went.
The VS Clubhouse was small, but adequate and with table service.
I took a seat by the window and immediately a waitress came over to ask what I would like to eat/drink. The lounge has free WiFi and international adapters are available. I relaxed in the lounge until the boarding announcement was made. When I arrived at the gate, boarding had already begun and a long queue had formed for Economy. A couple of gate agents were walking around to ask if there were passengers for Upper class / PE for priority boarding. I joined this queue which there was only 2 passengers in front of me.
The aircraft was fitted with the new PE /Economy seats (A340-600 G-VBUG) I stored my handbaggage in the overhead locker, where there was plenty of space.
A Glass of champagne or orange juice was offered to PE passengers and PE menus were already in the seat pocket.
Boarding was completed before the 11am departure time, but at 11am the Captain made an announcement that there was a tech problem with Engine No.4, and mentioned this was due to a leaky hydraulic pump and that this needed to be replaced and since it was located in the customs bond area it will take some time to get the part then about an hour to fit/test it. All passengers remained on board and we were given some refreshments while we waited and Engine No.4 was tested after about 2 hours and we departed from the gate.
Take-off was smooth and before long, the crew were handing out headsets and hot towels. The first drinks run began and the excellent V-Port entertainment system started.
Lunch was then served in proper crockery/steel cutlery; I chose the vegetable pasta, which was quite good.
The lights were turned out even though this is a day flight and FA’s went round to insist that all window blinds be shut, not my preference, but I guess we should do as we are told!
I watched a few films and got a couple hours sleep. FA’s went round a few times with OJ and water and also an ice cream run was done.
Soon enough it was time to prepare for lading at LHR. I was surprised to hear from the flight deck that we did not have to hold and came straight in to land, but it took 20 mins to actually reach the gate once we landed. Immigration was also pretty smooth for LHR and I was again surprised that the priority luggage came out first and I was out of LHR within 35mins, which was a first for me.
Overall a nice flight, especially since I upgraded to PE. Great friendly service and we were kept updated throughout the short delay from NRT.
Sep 25, 2008, 9:55 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: AA PLT, KF Silver, BA Blue
Posts: 65
Lhr - nrt vs900
VS900 – LHR to NRT
21st September 2008
Scheduled Departure: 13:00
Actual Departure: 13:03
Scheduled Arrival: 09:00
Actual Arrival: 08:41
As I mentioned earlier this trip was necessary due to the health of a family member. I was due to depart on 14th September, but on the morning of the flight the family member passed away and I therefore needed to re-schedule the return trip. I spoke to VS customer services who were very professional about this matter and off loaded me from the flight and made a temporary reservation for the 21st September, which would be confirmed when I faxed them the necessary documentation.
On the day of the flight I made my way to LHR from East London at 0915 and was at T3 within 1 hour. I made my way to the upper class check in area and inquired about cash upgrade to PE or Upper Class. They quoted 451GPB and 1650GBP respectively. Emergency exit seats were available for 75GBP, which I accepted and my boarding pass with seat 31C was issued after handing over the cash to the ticket agent. The agent also mentioned I could use the VS fast track channel, which was great and I found no-one in front of me at security and was in the duty free area within 15 mins of check in (would have been quicker if I didn’t need to visit the ticket desk) I did some Duty free shopping and proceeded to the flagship VS Clubhouse.
What a huge space this is, and so much to do. Again this is waiter service and my drinks/food order was taken. I caught up on some work with the free Wi-Fi access and before long the flight was called. The gate (Gate 42) was quite far away and it took about 15 mins to walk there. When I arrived, boarding had commenced and I was straight onto the plane and into my seat.
Just before 1pm Captain announced that 2 passengers had not arrived and their bags would be off loaded. We departed the gate 5 mins later. As usual the queue for take-off at LHR was long and we took off at about 13:30.
Headsets were handed out and V-Port started, followed by the drinks round. Hot Towels are not offered in Economy. Following the drinks round, lunch was served with the option of Teriyaki chicken with Rice / Spicy pasta or Japanese bento. I chose the Chicken, again it was ok, but the rice was rather hard and seemed a bit stale. Since I had eaten in the lounge it didn’t bother me. I watched a movie over lunch and put my head down for some sleep.
The FA’s came round with OJ and Water throughout the flight.
Approximately 2.5hours before landing breakfast was served and consisted of Scrambled Eggs with Cheese or Ham/Cheese Omelet.
Landing was smooth and we arrived at Gate 27, 20 mins early.
There was no queue for immigration, however priority luggage was not working since the Upper class bags were coming out in and amongst the rest of the baggage. I had to wait 15 mins for mine to turn up.
Again a great flight and looking forward to my next trip on VS.
21st September 2008
Scheduled Departure: 13:00
Actual Departure: 13:03
Scheduled Arrival: 09:00
Actual Arrival: 08:41
As I mentioned earlier this trip was necessary due to the health of a family member. I was due to depart on 14th September, but on the morning of the flight the family member passed away and I therefore needed to re-schedule the return trip. I spoke to VS customer services who were very professional about this matter and off loaded me from the flight and made a temporary reservation for the 21st September, which would be confirmed when I faxed them the necessary documentation.
On the day of the flight I made my way to LHR from East London at 0915 and was at T3 within 1 hour. I made my way to the upper class check in area and inquired about cash upgrade to PE or Upper Class. They quoted 451GPB and 1650GBP respectively. Emergency exit seats were available for 75GBP, which I accepted and my boarding pass with seat 31C was issued after handing over the cash to the ticket agent. The agent also mentioned I could use the VS fast track channel, which was great and I found no-one in front of me at security and was in the duty free area within 15 mins of check in (would have been quicker if I didn’t need to visit the ticket desk) I did some Duty free shopping and proceeded to the flagship VS Clubhouse.
What a huge space this is, and so much to do. Again this is waiter service and my drinks/food order was taken. I caught up on some work with the free Wi-Fi access and before long the flight was called. The gate (Gate 42) was quite far away and it took about 15 mins to walk there. When I arrived, boarding had commenced and I was straight onto the plane and into my seat.
Just before 1pm Captain announced that 2 passengers had not arrived and their bags would be off loaded. We departed the gate 5 mins later. As usual the queue for take-off at LHR was long and we took off at about 13:30.
Headsets were handed out and V-Port started, followed by the drinks round. Hot Towels are not offered in Economy. Following the drinks round, lunch was served with the option of Teriyaki chicken with Rice / Spicy pasta or Japanese bento. I chose the Chicken, again it was ok, but the rice was rather hard and seemed a bit stale. Since I had eaten in the lounge it didn’t bother me. I watched a movie over lunch and put my head down for some sleep.
The FA’s came round with OJ and Water throughout the flight.
Approximately 2.5hours before landing breakfast was served and consisted of Scrambled Eggs with Cheese or Ham/Cheese Omelet.
Landing was smooth and we arrived at Gate 27, 20 mins early.
There was no queue for immigration, however priority luggage was not working since the Upper class bags were coming out in and amongst the rest of the baggage. I had to wait 15 mins for mine to turn up.
Again a great flight and looking forward to my next trip on VS.
Sep 26, 2008, 2:50 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: London
Posts: 18,475
I'm both sorry for the sad reason for your trip and glad that you were able to get here (London) in time, I'm also happy that you were satisfied with how VS handled your rescheduling requirement.
Beautiful lounge photos! I've been particularly curious about the VS lounge at NRT. Thanks for a lovely report!
Beautiful lounge photos! I've been particularly curious about the VS lounge at NRT. Thanks for a lovely report!
