My day started at the Hilton Garden Inn Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3.
A runway view room for the night cost £176.
The hotel linked to Terminal 2 via the short stay car park.
A labyrinth of underground walkways then linked via the Underground and Heathrow Express stations
to Terminal 3.
The walk was around ten minutes.
I was due to fly Virgin Atlantic Premium from Heathrow to Orlando on an Airbus A350-1000
aircraft.
Virgin Atlantic used check-in zone A, alongside partner Delta.
There were dedicated check-in desks for Premium, although there were long queues everywhere.
After check-in, an escalator took you up to security.
After security there’s lots of duty free to navigate before you arrive in the departure
lounge.
There is lots of seating in the middle of the lounge, with shops including WH Smith
and Boots, and restaurants around the edge.
At 7.30 am there were long queues for all of the food outlets.
As I have gold status with Virgin’s Flying Club I was able to access their Clubhouse
before the flight.
This was a real oasis in an otherwise very busy terminal.
I had breakfast and some drinks whilst waiting for the flight to board.
It was at this point that something very nice happened.
I got an ‘op up’, with my seat moved from Premium to Upper Class.
The gate was on the remote pier about a ten minute walk from the Clubhouse and departure
lounge.
The flight was on an Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, registration G-VJAM called ‘Queen of Hearts’.
It come into service in July 2019.
There was a priority boarding lane for Upper, Premium and Economy Delight passengers.
Onboard the aircraft I turned left to my new seat.
There were 44 suites in the Upper Class cabin, in a 1-2-1 configuration.
I was in seat 3k.
Pre-takeoff champagne, juice and water were offered.
A basic amenities kit was also provided.
We pushed back a few minutes behind schedule to taxi to runway 2 7 R.
The flight time to Orlando was estimated at just over nine hours, about an hour faster
than scheduled.
Shortly after takeoff drinks were offered.
Then orders were taken for the meal service.
For the meal, I started with Pear Waldorf Salad.
This was served with a warm bread roll.
For main course, I chose the spiced cauliflower, spinach and lentil pastry pie, served with
yet more vegetables.
It was a really tasty option.
Alongside the meal, I chose a glass (or two) of Malbec from the wine list.
The meal finished with a dark chocolate mousse.
Beside the seat a screen pulled forward to provide more privacy.
WiFi was available throughout the flight.
At £21 for the whole flight, this was pretty pricey.
Noise cancelling headphones were provided for the entertainment system.
This included a range of movies and TV boxsets.
There were three bathrooms for Upper Class passengers.
Two at the front, and one at the rear, of the cabin.
At the
rear of the cabin was the social space ‘The Loft’.
This wasn’t really used during my flight and wasn’t as good as the old Upper Class
bar.
About two hours prior to landing, a second meal was served.
I opted for the crab cakes which came with a ginger cake as dessert.
As the plane started its descent, landing sweets were offered.
We came into land on runway 1 7 R with a short taxi to the terminal.