@ Rog747 ... thanks for the dissertation on VS. Informative and useful. Our last VS trip was about 4/5 year ago [in PE] and was OK - apart from the fact that, when we checked in, my wife [who had paid for the tickets] wasn't on the manifest! Quickly resolved, though. Even then we had noted a bit of decline in the on-boad service ["financial imperatives", I guess] compared with previous trips. We're still keeping an open mind for September - a lot hinges on what BA delivers for us in April.
@ Gannet Fan ... from intensive reading on the CC Forum, it appears that standards of service can vary according to the popularity of the route with the CC, especially on long-haul. Denver [or at least the crew's hotel] may be better than the option given them on the Washington run [where I would guess they're lodged in Herndon, miles from anywhere of merit].