Velkommin – Góðan dag! Did you know that the Icelandic language is the closest of the Northern Germanic languages to Old Norse, and it is possible for Icelandic speakers to read the Old Norse sagas in the original without too much difficulty. So in other words – the language of the Vikings. Cool, right?
With a new adventure on the horizon were we excited?! Yes!!
With a new adventure on the horizon, we were excited to get to traveling! Our starting destination was London, England so of course, we had to get across the pond first. While en route to the airport via Eastside Towncar service for our 2:30pm flight, we got an email about a flight delay so extra time at the airport was in the cards for the afternoon ~ having access to the Delta Sky Club Lounge definitely helped ease any slight irritation we might have had. With a comfortable place to sit, a glass of champagne and some decent grub (Ivor’s Clam Chowder! Yum!), we settled in for the now 6:10pm take off. Skal!
First step in our adventure was trying out “Upper Class” on Virgin Air which I booked specifically for lie flat seats hoping to negate some of the time zone jet lag. While the flight wasn’t crazy long, just over 8 hours, indulging in a flight with lay flat seats for red-eye flight is worth the price.
When I booked it, I was unaware of the vast difference between the plane layouts with upper class seating. Guess I should have done a bit more research before booking. The 787-9 Virgin plane we had booked had an odd seat layout in upper class – it was a 1-1-1 with the center seats facing one direction and thus sharing the aisle with one row and the third row had its own aisle. The “window” seats all actually faced away from the window which was the first odd item and the seats themselves, once I settled into them, felt oddly narrow. Even so, the seats were comfortable enough, the pull-out screen was adequate and on an adjustable arm, and the table was sufficient. Virgin’s “goodie” bag was made of black recyclable kraft paper and was filed with “sustainable treats”. #LiveFromVirgin The sustainable treats included the basics in an amenity bag – a bamboo handled toothbrush, earplugs, Virgin Atlantic wood pen, a mini toothpaste, mini Ren hand lotion and lip balm, black socks and an eye mask. There were a pair of over the ear headphones in the side pocket of the seat – the good ones Bose-esque. As we settled in, the attendants came around offering “pajamas” as well – gray long sleeve tees and purple cotton bottoms. Oddly enough, I really like these and still use them to lounge around at home.
Drinks were plentiful, the food was good and the service from the flight attendants was wonderful. The salt and pepper shakers were little gold airplanes (so cute! and available to keep if you chose to do so). AND we got a Cano water – ever had a Cano water? This was a first for me too. 🙂
There was an odd lack of storage in the seats – behind the seat itself is where the bedding was stored, there was a small side pouch for a tablet or magazine and very small rectangular area big enough for a bottle of water but was very awkward to reach as it was essentially behind the seat. While I don’t have a massive amount of experience with first/business class as yet, the one I had been on prior was much more traveler friendly.
Time to sleep! I had to watch other people on how to get the seat to lie flat – it was obvious some of them had done it before – and it was definitely a learning curve. These seats did not have the standard push button to allow for recline and lay flat. These seats were either upright or you were required to put away the table and video screen, stand up completely, then pull the back of the seat over the seat to make it flat. Not the quickest or easiest way to get into that position and I wasn’t a huge fan but the bed was comfortable enough and I managed to get a bit of sleep at least. With the time zone changes, our arrival in London would be like 3:30am but 11:30am London time so sleep would be needed if we were going to have any energy for sightseeing before bedtime!
The flight attendant had already conferred as to whether I wanted to be woken for breakfast or just let to sleep (for food? yes please wake me!) – and I settled in as best I could for at least a little sleep before breakfast and arriving in London.
Rise and Shine and hello London!