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VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS (London Heathrow Airport to Shanghai Pudong Airport), AIRBUS A340-642, PREMIUM ECONOMY CLASS

5/25/2014

 
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Virgin Atlantic Airways Premium Economy blanket and noise cancellation headphones: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
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Virgin Atlantic Airways Premium Economy Amenity Kit bag
Route: London Heathrow Airport to Shanghai Pudong Airport

Departure date and time of flight:

May, 2014 at 3pm

Flight Number: VS250 (Callsign: Virgin 250 heavy)

Flight duration: 12 Hours 10 minutes

Aircraft Registration: G-VEIL

Aircraft Name: Queen of the Skies

First flight: 18/02/2004

Delivery flight: 08/04/2004

Aircraft Serial Number: 575

Engines: 4 x Rolls Royce Trent 556-61

Class: Economy Premium Class

Configuration:

First Class: 45

Economy Premium Class: 38

Economy Class: 233


Aircraft type: Airbus A340-642

There are four variants of the Airbus A340 aircraft; the A340-200 and A340-300 were launched in 1987 with introduction into service in March 1993, while the longer versions A340-500 and A340-642 were launched in 1997 with introduction into service in 2002. The Airbus A340-642 is the longest aircraft in the Airbus family, and is powered by 4 engines.

Punctuality of the flight:

The flight pushed back from the terminal on time at a cloudy Heathrow and landed on time in a very cloudy and humid Shanghai.

Comments on the check-in and baggage issues:

No check-in issues. Virgin Atlantic Airways international flights operate from Heathrow’s Terminal 3, where the airline has a separate building for check-in. Premium Economy class passengers have dedicated check-in counters.  

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Premium Economy passengers are offered hot hand towels and sparkling champagne prior to take-off.

After take-off, Premium passengers are served with pre-meal snacks of sour cream & cheese ‘Pen State Pretzels’ served with a choice of drinks (standard- tea, coffee, orange juice, apple juice, lemonade). There was a choice of red or white wine.

Comments regarding the first meal:

Since this was a late afternoon flight, the crew did not delay in distributing the lunch meal- and so the service commences only around 45 minutes into the flight.

Starter:

Mixed leaf and cherry tomato salad

With herb dressing. Simple but appetising and healthy.

Choices for the main courses consisted of:

Cottage Pie
Minced beef with crusted mashed potato and chive top.

Sweet Chilli Chicken
In a sweet, spicy, sticky sauce with egg noodles, red pepper, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and chopped spring onion.

Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni
Pasta tubes filled with creamy ricotta and spinach. A delight for vegetarians.

I went for the spinach.

The dessert consisted of a delicious chocolate profiterole cake and olive oil and salt crackers with cream cheese.

Comments regarding the drinks service:

A second round of drinks were offered after the meal (and again consisting of “Virgin Cola!”)

Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any):

The in-flight galley was open throughout the flight. Passengers could help themselves to a selection of “Mcvities flapjacks”, “Walkers Scottish Shortbread”, and “Nestle muffins”, as well as a selection of complimentary hot and cold drinks (including tea and coffee). Hot pot noodles were also on offer. 

Comments regarding the second meal (if any):

Around an hour and half prior to landing at Shanghai Pudong, we were treated to breakfast. There were two choices: An English breakfast, or a Chinese breakfast (congee).

I opted for the English breakfast, which consisted of a scrambled egg, pork sausage, back bacon, baked beans, sliced potatoes and button mushrooms.

The sausages tasted as if they were cooked minutes ago, and the baked beans were just too good. The scrambled eggs and the bacon was just perfectly cooked too. Accompanying the main dish was a bottle of Tropicana orange juice, pain aux raisin and fruit yoghurt. 

Comments on the in-flight system (if any):

The in-flight system was working without any problems. All the channels were showing the same as it was listed in the in-flight magazine.

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): 

The Airbus A340-642 has a standard 2-4-2 layout in Economy class and a 2-3-2 in Premium Economy class.

With a seat pitch of 38 inches, and a seat width of 21 inches, the Economy Premium seats on Virgin Atlantic Airways are very comfortable, and some of the most spacious in the industry. Especially for a daytime flight, it was very comfortable. Empower ports are available at all Upper Class and Premium Economy seats. You will need an adaptor to use these ports. There is no power units available in Economy. Audio Visual on Demand is available with a variety of movie and television programmes; children's channels and video games. The system aboard this aircraft is Virgin's V:Port system, which provides 14 channels and 45 CDs of Audio on Demand.

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best):10

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    Navjot Singh inside an Airbus A320 cockpit of British Airways at Heathrow Airport

    About Airline PR

    This is a special section on Airline Branding, and Airline Public Relations written by me on all the flights I have been fortunate enough to have been on. These are not records taken from somewhere else, but are actual flights I have been on. Most of the flight trips are officially sponsored by the airline companies in order to promote their certain routes, and aircraft. Airline promotion and PR related work in the aviation industry is one of my expertise. 

    This section of the website will grow in time, and will include detailed reviews of the in-flight meals, the airline seats, the comfort of the overall trip, the customer service both at the check-in-desk as well as by the Cabin Crew; and how good the assistance has been by the airline staff. All the reviews are honest, fair, firm, and non-biased.

    I am proud to have worked with some of the largest PR agencies, and some of the most powerful airline brands in the world, including but not limited to: Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Lufthansa German Airlines, Air China, Turkish Airlines, British Airways, TAP Air Portugal, Air Malta, Air France, KLM, CityJet, and many others. 

    All the flights I have taken in my life are documented on this weblog except for any flights that were taken before 2003. These included Syrian Airlines (747SP in 1985), British Airways (2003 to Dubai), Aeroflot (IL-62, and IL-86 in 1989) and a few others. I regret not documenting them because I never thought of doing that back in those days.  

    I am hoping to bring to life the joy of reviewing airlines. 

    Note Regarding Photos

    For all media reviews, special permission has been granted from the airline authorities, and even from airport authorities for the photos/videos taken on-board the aircraft and on the ramp because it is strictly forbidden to take photos and videos on and around the aircraft without permission. 

    The purpose of this blog is to provoke thought, inform, intrigue and amaze you.

    You read it first here!

    Click on the particular airline below and see my flight review. When you click on an airline, it should list all of the flights taken with that airline.

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    Navjot Singh at a Chinese Military Airfield
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    Watch exclusive videos below taken in the cockpit of a Boeing 777-300ER in-flight over Chinese Airspace. 

    Special thanks goes to 
    Turkish Airlines 

    B777-300ER Cockpit Video 1

    B777-300ER Cockpit Video 2

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