On the 20th July 2018, Iberia brought their brand new Airbus A350XWB in to service on the Madrid to London Heathrow route. This is replacing the Airbus A340-600 on the daily IB3166/IB3167 rotation for crew training for the next few weeks. I was fortunate enough to be able to be on board the first commercial service for this aircraft. Iberia did not hold a special event for the entry in to service, however the crew were hand picked and were a brilliant crew! After boarding, I was upgraded to the Premium Economy section of the aircraft which is not actually sold for this service. I was seated in 12A which has an absolutely fantastic view of the TrentXWB and the magnificent wing! Throughout the whole flight, the crew made sure that all of the passengers had everything that they wanted, and were comfortable, and made sure that all of us on board who were there for this inaugural flight had the opportunity to get all the photos we wanted to. A huge thank you to Gemma, Pilar, Eduardo and the rest of the crew! The In Flight Entertainment worked for a short part of the flight, however this then turned to an Iberia logo screen saver for the rest of the flight. Whilst using the IFE, it was very responsive and had a lot of content loaded! Overall, an absolutely fantastic experience with Iberia, and yet another brilliant flight on the Airbus A350! I'll definitely try my best be on board again! Information Seat 12A (Premium Economy) Iberia Airbus A350-900 EC-MXV Flight IB3166 Madrid to London Heathrow
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I was very privileged to be able to fly back from my trip to Ethiopia on a 6 day old Airbus A350XWB - ET-ATR. The aircraft was delivered from Toulouse on the 16th August and I was a passenger on the 22nd.
The Airbus A350 itself is an amazing aircraft. There was plenty of legroom, and the 3-3-3 layout was comfortable as well. There was a very low level of noise from the engines which made it a great atmosphere to rest and sleep in. I will definitely fly on the A350 again. The Ethiopian crew however were slightly disappointing. It took them two hours after takeoff to provide drinks, and with you not allowed to take any water through the security at the gate, it was not the best really. They were also very slow to respond to service calls, in fact, they walked past and ignored the service lights most of the time, having to go to the galley to get a drink or to ask your question. There were also plugs between the seats to charge devices, as well as the USB port in the IFE screen. Wi-Fi was installed on the aircraft, but was not turned on. Overall, it was a good flight, but would have been brilliant if the crew had been alert and used the aircraft's capabilities and features to the full.
Climb was very smooth making a series of sharp turns out of LCY before setting on course to Edinburgh. Cabin Crew Christopher and Kayleigh commenced the on board service shortly after departure. On offer today was the usual short flight complimentary drinks and snacks although the absence of Hot Chocolate was a disappointment but I guess those business travellers are more likely coffee drinkers!
The Embraer 170 aircraft was configured in a 19 row (2-2) layout with a 30” seat pitch, allowing for 76 seats in total. It was ample leg room for the short hop to Edinburgh and the leather seats were comfortable allowing you to sit back and relax. The only small downside to the aircraft for the would be the alignment of the windows to the seats, forcing you to have to move forward to be able to see out. After a bumpy descent through the clouds, a rainy Edinburgh appeared beneath us and a brief 36 seconds later, we landed fairly solidly on Scottish soil with a short taxi to parking on stand and a short wait before the stairs arrived. As usual on flights today, the aisle was full of passengers standing ready to disembark. The flight crew were very happy for me to visit the flight deck which was a small area for seating two pilots surrounded by the usual dials, screens and yokes. The flight was a fantastic experience and has set my views of British Airways CityFlyer very high. Polite and friendly crew (both Cabin and Flight Deck), snacks were of a high standard and it was stressed to us that more drinks were available on request. Everything that could have been asked for from this flight was there! 10/10!
When we did finally get to drop our bags, we were advised that the flight would be delayed due to a technical issue with the aircraft before leaving Heathrow, although this would only be 45 minutes maximum, likely to be less.
The terminal does provide fairly nice views of the runway enabling a variety of different traffic compared to Heathrow to be spotted before G-VZIG touched down and parked right in front of my view! Boarding commenced at the time of scheduled departure showing there was a slight delay. It was not the most organised of boarding processes I have ever seen with the announcements not being that clear, and it had also been brought to the attention that the flight would be full. I would not be able to spread out like on my outbound flight. Upon Boarding, I was amazed by the Dreamliner and the various features that it had to offer already. The mood lighting and much larger windows being two of those features that really stood out. Seat 55K is a decent seat to have on the Virgin Atlantic Dreamliner, as when you recline, you end up with two windows, pretty good going! 266 Passengers on board for the flight, 264 seats.... (These extra two passengers were infants that sat on parents laps) I was surprised at the amount of recline that the seats in economy had to offer, The slimline design certainly allows for more recline than the older design of seats. The layout of 3-3-3 in Economy was no issue, just a little tighter, but not massively different. Pushback commenced exactly half an hour late at 23:00, and a non-stop taxi lasted about 10 minutes. As the aircraft was full, the takeoff roll lasted much longer than it did on the B747 from Heathrow. Inflight service started with a drink and a snack a very quick 20 minutes into the flight to tide us over until the meal was served about an hour later. This was the same as the outbound flight. Time to turn to the Inflight Entertainment (IFE). As this aircraft had the new system installed, I was able to see how the two systems varied. This system includes a touch screen monitor with a large variety of films, music, games and a very decent Flight Information page - with a 3D map, flight stats and more. Disappointingly, the in-flight wifi connection would cost £15 for the flight. I was not prepared to pay such a large amount for a shorter flight, and that most of it I would be asleep for. It just seems a waste of money. A snack was served fairly soon after takeoff, followed swiftly by the main meal service. This included a very nice pasta and sauce, with a salad, bun and crackers. A very substantial meal, which set me up nicely for a nap before breakfast. The flight was full, not an empty seat in sight, and it was slightly uncomfortable to be perfectly honest. I think this was down to the fact that the flight out to New York was so empty, we could have a whole row to ourselves. It was fairly difficult to get to sleep, even with the cabin lights dimmed, blankets and a fairly silent cabin. As the Atlantic crossing was coming to an end, and when the Irish coast came into sight - Breakfast was served. Now if you were allergic to Blueberries, you would have been in a little bit of a mess. Blueberry muffin, blueberry yoghurt were in the box. Not a fan of blueberries myself, it was slightly disappointing that there was not another option available. Approaching London was a little bumpy, however, provided great views over London. Picking out the landmarks is great on the approach to 27L or 27R at Heathrow, a nice welcome to the UK view I'd say! Arriving with a very smooth touchdown on 27R, and half an hour early! The crew did a great job with an exceptionally busy flight and were efficient. At times, service could have been quicker, but it was nothing major. Yet another great job from Virgin! Can't wait to Paint the Skies red again!
There wasn't long before our gate would be announced, so not much time to waste before heading off to our B747. It didn't take much to figure out our aircraft for the day would be the 20-year-old Tubular Belle G-VHOT (c/n 26326), as the other four Heathrow-based B747s were already making their way to the other side of the Pond. Gate 13 would be where we departed from. The walk was 10 minutes, at a brisk pace, to the waiting area after boarding passes had been scanned. Boarding commenced half an hour before the scheduled time of departure, starting with Upper Class and the five-and-a-half rows of upper deck economy. Having managed to reserve seat 77K, I was one of the first onboard. The VS9’s crew for the day was extremely welcoming, helping us settle into our seats for the next seven hours. They were more than happy to answer any queries we had and made us feel valued while, at the same time, letting us get on with our own business. Views from the upper deck are not limited, and there is an excellent view of the wing. The aircraft was not full for the flight, with only 174 out of 367 seats occupied, plus 16 crew. While Upper Class was full on both the upper and lower decks, only 22 of the Premium Economy seats were taken; Economy had 108 passengers for the flight. With only 11 economy passengers on the upper deck, everyone had a row to themselves, which was great for later on in the flight when you could lie down on the way to the Big Apple. The upper deck was configured with a five-row 1-1 Premium section layout, and a 3-3 layout in Economy for a further five-and-a-half rows. The lower deck had a further 1-1, and 1-2-1, Upper Class seating lay-out. Premium Economy was configured 2-4-2, and Economy’s seating was 3-4-3. With the aircraft due to be taken out of service within the next year, the cabin had not been updated. It was still the old seating, however, despite looking aged and tired, the small cabin was surprisingly comfortable. Pushback commenced exactly on time at 16:05, and taxi lasted about 15 minutes, with the flight departing Heathrow at 16:30. As the aircraft was only half-full takeoff was rapid and in the air around 30 seconds after the throttle was opened. By the end of the runway we were at 1,000 feet. Just 36,000 to go until initial cruising altitude. Inflight service started with a drink and a snack a very quick 20 minutes into the flight to tide us over until the meal was served about an hour later. I was more than happy with the choice of sour cream and chive pretzels and the large selection of drinks they had on offer. Time to turn to the Inflight Entertainment (IFE). Due to the aircraft’s age, as mentioned earlier, the IFE screen was not touchscreen and was controlled by a pad stowed in the armrest. As it was quite old, some of the controls did not work. The control pad for my original seat had a button missing. With the flight being so empty, this was not a major issue because I was able to move to the seat next to me. However, if it was a full flight not being able to quit a game because a button is missing, having to constantly ask the cabin crew to reset your IFE so you can load something else or, even worse, not being able to use it at all would be a right pain. Apart from that, the IFE was pretty good. There was a large selection of games such as Battleships, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Bowling, Phinx, Tetris, Solitaire, Texas Hold ‘em and many more. Some of these games could also be played with other passengers on board which made them more entertaining. Playing against other passengers enhanced the gaming experience and added a little more excitement to the flight across the Atlantic. The films on offer were from a wide range of genres and meant passengers could find the film that was right for them. To some passengers’ delight, there was a range of TV programs available to watch too, including programs such as Downton Abbey. Sky News live updates were also featured in this section, so you could keep up to date at all times with what was happening 36,000 feet below you. Now to take advantage of the fact our aircraft was so empty for the flight. A blanket and pillow were waiting on the seats as we boarded - a small gesture enabling the passengers to relax more quickly. One thing I noticed about the blanket was the fact that it was v-shaped at the top end, allowing the blanket to be wrapped around your shoulders as well. This little extra provided a whole new level of comfort, meaning that you were able to keep your whole body warm. As the Atlantic crossing was coming to an end, and when the Newfoundland coast should have come into sight - if it hadn’t been obstructed by clouds - the Movie Snack, Fab Ice lollies, was served. At this point, our cruising altitude had increased to 40,000 feet. However, for the majority of the crossing we had been cruising at 37,000 feet. With about an hour-and-a-half left of the flight, afternoon tea was served, consisting of a wrap, a bag of Plane Crisps, a yum yum and a peppermint which passengers could use to freshen up before arriving at their destination. The approach and landing at New York JFK was very smooth; one of the smoothest landings I have experienced over the past few years. Taxi after landing was surprisingly short; I was expecting it to be much longer after hearing reports of long taxi delays at the airport, although I could see the queue for takeoff was something else! We pulled up to the gate on time and the crew gave us a good send-off as we made our way from the aircraft. The crew on the flight was exceptional. The service they provided was outstanding and could not be faulted. Almost instantly after switching your service light on, the crew were either asking how they could help you, or acknowledged you and said they would be with you soon. Even then the wait was not long. They really did Virgin Atlantic proud! A Full flight video from the flight can be found below; |
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