London to Hong Kong — Virgin Atlantic

Well, I love to write a detailed report after every flight I make, but I got a little carried away with this one. After a fantastic set of flights with Virgin Atlantic, I had so much to say. Having written more than 2,500 words on this one report alone, part 2 is on hold and will be uploaded tomorrow… 😮

Hope you enjoy reading it and apologies in advance for any spelling or grammar errors or missing words!

Virgin Atlantic VS200
London Heathrow to Hong Kong

I was booked to fly with Virgin Atlantic Airways from London Heathrow to Hong Kong on Tuesday 20 September. The flight was number VS200 and would depart at 10.30pm (one of the last few flights of the day) bound for Sydney, Australia. I knew when booking that this flight was to be flown using the Airbus A340-600.

Anyway, having selected my seats on the Virgin Atlantic website already for both this flight and the return already, there was really no rush to get to the airport, so we set off in good time in order to tackle the rush hour traffic down the M4. Total distance was no more than 25 miles and on a good day, Heathrow could easily be reached in about 20 minutes.

Tonight’s flight would, like all other Virgin Atlantic flights, depart from Terminal 3 and at the same time as our flight were lots of other large aircraft departing for Asia including two 747-400s to Bangkok; EVA Air’s BR68 (then on to Taipei) and Thai Airway’s TG917. I have been lucky enough to fly on Thai’s flight 917 to Bangkok twice now. The airline is one I have always rated very highly for their outstanding service. Virgin Atlantic had some stiff competition.

Pulling into the Terminal 3 departures area was a nightmare – as you might expect from Heathrow – with lots of traffic which didn’t seem to move for some time. So after 10 minutes in a jam, we decided to unload our cases and to head into the terminal, weaving our way in and out of the other cars affected by the jam. As we walked towards the terminal, the bright red walls and unmistakable Virgin Atlantic logo could be seen through the window at check-in zone A.

We entered the rather stuffy terminal and proceeded to check-in. I have to admit, there were so many desks available, obviously with dedicated desks for Premium Economy and Upper Class passengers. Towards the end of the check-in counters were some desks for the Virgin Nigeria flight departing shortly before ours, bound for Lagos. We joined a long queue, thinking we were in the right place when a lady approached us, confirmed our destination and suddenly moved us to an empty lane. It seemed too good to be true… and it was.

A lady asked if she could check my bag and since I couldn’t really refuse, I said yes. It was packed to the brim and had taken quite some time to zip up earlier on, so opening it and then re-packing it was going to be a nightmare. Anyway, she had a rummage, commented on how neat and tidy it was and then helped me to close it again. I did notice that in the 5 minutes we had spent with her, a queue had suddenly formed and whereas we were at the front of a queue, we now had about 20 people ahead of us. She apologised for the inconvenience that her random security check had caused and scribbled on her sheet our names and flight number – VS300 to Delhi. Hmmm. Someone hadn’t read our e-ticket properly.

She guided us right to the front of the queue and then to one of the check-in desks and wished us a safe trip. So despite being annoyed by the delay, I was actually very pleased with the level of service already and it just got better. We were greeted by two members of very bubbly check-in staff working on one counter. They took our e-tickets and passports, confirmed our seat numbers that had been reserved on the Internet – 61A and 61C (Virgin don’t have B-seats on the A340) – weighed our baggage and issued us with our boarding cards. Unlike any other airline I’ve ever come across, the also weighed our very underweight hand baggage and attached a label to it. At the counter next door, one passenger was kicking up a fuss after being told that her hand baggage was overweight and posed a risk to both her and fellow passengers. With Virgin’s very generous baggage allowance, I didn’t understand why she couldn’t just transfer some bits from her carry-on bag to her suitcase.

Heathrow is one big joke and it takes ages to get from A to B within the terminal. We went upstairs and had to barge through crowds of people to get to the Travelex counter to pick up my Hong Kong Dollars and then again to get to security. After joining a very long queue to have our passports checked, we were forced to join another in order to have our bags x-rayed and ourselves metal detected.

We passed through within about fifteen minutes and with our tummies screaming out for food, we entered the departure lounge looking for somewhere to sit down and have a bite to eat. Sicne we are very familiar with Terminal 3 and its eateries, we really didn’t hold up much hope. Everything is overpriced and in the lounge, McDonalds, KFC and Burger King don’t exist. I was charged £7 for a baguette, bottle of Coke and a croissant at a French bakery. That’s Heathrow value for you!

To my surprise, time really seemed to fly and before we knew it, it was time to go to the gate, where we waited and waited for quite some time before anything happened. The flight was at 10.30pm and by 9.30pm, the lounge was filled to capacity. Whilst waiting, a lady approached me and gave me some questionnaires to complete; one about Heathrow Airport (that’ll be a laugh) and the other about the flight I am about to take. Needless to say, for “Restaurants” on the questionnaire, I checked the box marked “Poor”.

By about 9.45pm, boarding commenced and in an orderly manner, too. Our aircraft was an Airbus A340-642 registered G-VGOA. My row was 61 and located just five or six rows from the back of the aircraft, so I would be one of the first to climb aboard. I handed back my questionnaire and walked down the jetty to the aircraft. As we got closer to the door, you could hear the friendly crew welcoming people on board the flight and directing them to their seats. Unlike previous flights, we weren’t held in a queue at the door, we got straight on and were directed to our seats by a very friendly stewardess. She pointed us down the first aisle, right to the back of the aircraft.

We walked through the small Premium Economy cabin, but for all the extra cash, I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. Seats obviously had a little more legroom than we did and were slightly wider, but they still had a 9” TV screen and the same choice of entertainment.

Upon arriving at my seat, I scooped up my headphones, pillow, blanket and washbag (containing ear-plugs, eye mask, toothbrush/toothpaste, pen, paper and a charity envelope), chucked my holdall under the seat and slumped back into the very comfy seat. Legroom was about 31 inches, which was adequate, though I was one of the unlucky passengers affected by the small black box under the seat, which took up about a third of my legroom. This is required for Virgin’s superb entertainment system to work.

Time passed by quickly and the aircraft filled up just as fast. By 10.10pm, we had been welcomed on board many times by the crew, who made every announcement in English and Cantonese. It was great to see that the airline has such a wide selection of staff. I was expecting them to rely on recordings in order to communicate with their non-English speaking customers. But I was wrong.

The Captain welcomed us on board the aircraft and explained that we would be departing on time and told us that there were four members of staff on the flight deck, him and three First Officers. He gave us detailed information about the route we would take, the cruise altitude (39,000ft) and the approximate flying time (11 hours and 45 minutes).

At 10.30pm, bang on time, the doors were closed, the jetty pulled away from the aircraft and we pushed back from our gate at terminal 3. As we backed out to the right, I caught a glimpse of an Air Canada 767 just taxiing ahead of us. As we completed the turn, the engines could be heard starting and he television screens switched on. We were shown Virgin’s very funny safety video, featuring a selection of cartoon characters who talked about the A340-600 and the equipment on board. The crew did make en effort to point out the emergency exits but since the seats in Economy are so high, I couldn’t see over them, but I had a fair idea as to the whereabouts of my nearest escape route.

We made a very slow taxi to runway 27R for departure and as we done so, the cabin lights went off completely. The no-smoking and seatbelt signs lit the cabin nicely. A Cathay Pacific A340-300 had stopped on the taxiway and aircraft seemed to pass it. Even by the time we reached the runway, it was still parked there.

The A340 turned onto the runway and the landing lights popped on. We waited for a minute… then another minute… and then, the aircraft suddenly powered up and started its roll down the runway. We took time to pick up speed and this seemed to be the longest takeoff roll I had ever experienced. The aircraft seemed to be about 70% full at most and it seemed strange that it was taking quite so long to get airborne. Eventually, the nose slowly lifted into the air and we steadily climbed towards the west, executing a 18-degree turn to the right shortly after takeoff.

Not long after takeoff, the crew started their trolley service, offering a selection of drinks to the passengers, along with a bag of pretzels to keep them happy for the next half an hour or so whilst the evening meal was being prepared in the rear galley. There was a wide selection of drinks available and as you might expect, when you ask for a ‘Coke’, you get a piddly sized can of ‘Virgin Cola’. It doesn’t taste quite the same as real Coke.

As we all watched a Sky News bulletin on the televisions in front of us, the crew wheeled their trollies into the cabin and started to serve the evening meal. Three choices were offered; one vegetarian, one meaty dish (can’t remember what) and then the chicken with herbs in gravy with vegetables. That was very tasty and there a sufficient amount there to sort me out. Along with a chocolate profiterole for dessert and a salad as a starter, it was really quite nice and very filling. Each tray also had a small bottle of Buxton’s water, too.

Hot drinks and further drinks were offered as we scoffed our meals, so I didn’t refuse. But it did take the crew at least 45 minutes to clear away the empty trays after I had finished my meal which I felt was maybe too long. People couldn’t get out of their seats because they had tables resting on their bellies.

The trays were eventually collected and the duty free trolley service began sharpish.

Passengers were asked to close their window blinds. This was going to be a very quick night, so no passenger would want to be disturbed by sunlight beaming through the window within just a few hours.

Virgin’s entertainment system really is like no other. An airline might offer you a PTV on a flight, but I’m sure no other offers a similar system to Virgin’s V-Port. You don’t have to watch what the airline wants you to watch and have the option to flick through a few boring channels, you can instead choose to watch any film from a long list or television programme, whether it be American or British. The airline claims to have 300 hours of video to choose from and with series 1 of Alan Patridge, series 1 of Nighty Night and 12 episodes of the Simpsons loaded in the system amongst all the other latest films, I certainly believed it. With music, you can listen to inflight radio or to any one of many popular CDs already loaded into the system, catering for a wide range of music tastes.

My head flopped forward after a second episode of the very funny Nighty Night and then shot up again in what seemed like an instant. But about 8 hours had passed and the lights were on and breakfast was being served. Again, there were three choices of meal to choose from, catering for British people (used to their greasy fry-up) or to residents of Hong Kong (who might prefer Dim Sum). An excellent breakfast was washed down with bucket loads of fruit juices and hot drinks, too. And not just tea and coffee… but Chinese tea, too!

After our meal trays were cleared away, the Captain spoke to us and told us that we would be landing in 35 in Hong Kong, telling us to expect great views out of the windows. Visibilty was said to be perfect and the temperature was a modest 32C, which was just nice for 5.00pm.

Twenty minutes before we were due to land, the seatbelt sign lit up and the entertainment systems were switched off. I spent a few minutes filling out my landing card and then peered out of the window. The flaps were being retracted but I couldn’t really see much. It all looked so hazy.

Eventually, Hong Kong appeared over to the left and the water beneath us also came into view. The landing gear dropped into place and we flew towards Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong’s International Airport. As we got closer to the water, land suddenly appeared beneath us and we smoothly landed on the runway, slowly down at a comfortable pace and making a quick exit onto the taxiway.

We were welcomed to Hong Kong and passengers travelling onwards to Sydney were given instructions as to what they should do once we had parked up. Again, all announcements were repeated by the Cantonese members of staff on board the flight.

As we pulled onto our gate, three British Airways 747s could be seen. One parked at the terminal and two others were at remote stands. It took a little while to get the doors opened and to get us all off of the aircraft, but after a little while, we left and made our way through the amazing terminal, hopping onto the train to get us to our bags.

It is little wonder why Hong Kong International has been voted the world’s best airport for so many years in a row. It was so clean, nice and cool, full of light and airport staff were available to help for every step of the journey through the airport.

The flight with Virgin was absolutely great and the airport was just as good, certainly putting London’s Heathrow Airport to shame.

Part 2 to come…