Blackbeard 1 Quote:/<<<Do tell us what you think of UC after your flight, normally I fly DL65/64 BE out of MAN and was impressed with Virgin's UC product. So much so that I am using it again to MCO overnighting in MCO before driving down to near RSW for about a months stay there rather than taking DL to RSW, OK I got a very good deal on the flight from AmEx Plat travel.>>>
Been meaning to get back to you on this. Flight a couple of weeks back. Orlando - Manchester. I wanted the non-stop Atlanta-Manchester but it wasn't available for whatever reason so they flew me over the short distance to Orlando for the Virgin flight.
I was on a Delta ticket so felt a bit of an oddity.
Boarding was a screw up because I had a Delta boarding pass and they couldn't get their act together. I had to stand like a naughty child just to the side of the main queue for far too long. Sky Priority went out of the window since half the plane had boarded before they could sort my boarding pass out.
So in fairness, I boarded in a grumpy mood.
Onto the plane. UC had a load factor of 100% so I guess the bean counters would be happy.
The welcoming drink had to be placed onto a silly and badly thought out pop out mini table which is awkwardly placed over your shoulder and is compromised by the reading lamp which gets in the way.
The food and service was impeccable. No complaints whatsoever.
My only gripe was that I really didn't like the layout and orientation of the UC cabin. The seats are pointed at too great an angle into the centre and this destroys the concept of personal privacy, which I value greatly in a B Class cabin.
Looking out of your window is more or less impossible and looking across to the windows on the far side as you inevitably do, invites the people over there to wonder why you are staring at them.
Worse than that is that the foot rest doubles up as a seat so that couples can dine together. Trouble is it means that the person is actually closer to you than the person they are dining with. Again - totally undermines any sense of personal privacy.
The seat converts to a lay-flat bed which is good - I had a very decent sleep - however you actually have to get out of the seat whilst the CC actually convert it; which frankly is a pain. It's even more of a pain in the morning when the reverse has to happen.
Overall, I still prefer the Delta experience over the ocean, but the 747 is such a beautiful animal, so quiet and refined. I would probably do the same again one day just to fly her.