“appalling service and zero value money”
Chris Booth (United Kingdom)
✅ Trip Verified | Flew Virgin Atlantic premium economy from LHR to Male, Maldives. It was an overnight flight out and honestly for the cost it was far from worth it. Cabin crew all vanished as soon as for the first excuse of a meal was served. Most people around us left most of the food which shows how bad it was. Went to try the 'snack bar' and this was just as awful as the food, all highly processed 'health bars' that tasted like cardboard. But it did show where all the cabin crew had vanished to as the bar in business was packed with them. Tried to get their attention for several hours using the call button and not once did anyone turn up. Just a waste of space. On the way back it was actually worse. They 'ran out' of food for the premium economy people and tried to serve the left over economy food, so ended up going without. Asked about what business had left and was told they can't offer that (guess the cabin crew had their eyes on that). Overall appalling service and zero value money. FYI - I left and complaint with the airline and several months have passed and zero contact, goes to show how little they think of their customers.
Aircraft | Boeing 787 |
Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
Seat Type | Premium Economy |
Route | London to Male |
Date Flown | February 2024 |
Seat Comfort | 12345 |
Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
Food & Beverages | 12345 |
Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
Ground Service | 12345 |
Wifi & Connectivity | 12345 |
Value For Money | 12345 |
Recommended | no |
“the worst airline transatlantic”
D Cooper (United States)
✅ Trip Verified | Having flown transatlantic for over 40 years on various European and US airlines, I decided to try Virgin Atlantic for a change. By far this is the worst airline transatlantic I have ever flown. The seats are tiny and there is no room between them. Thankfully I was sitting beside my partner, if it were a stranger I would have hated life until we arrived in Heathrow. The food is completely inedible, I actually asked twice what is was supposed to be. I got two glasses of wine for the flight and that was it. Later I asked for a 3rd I was told I had enough to drink - EXCUSE ME? The young flight attendants did their job but showed absolutely no interest in the passengers, I didn't see any of them engage in conversation, they almost acted like robots. The cabin manager was Scottish and had such a thick accent I actually couldn't understand a word of what he said. The plane was old with ragged seating and lots of dirt on the floor beside the window. Their "entertainment system" is an absolute joke. There wasn't anything worth watching. Many people around me were also complaining. Finally on a 9.30 hour flight we were offered one tiny glass of water. I had to repeatedly go back to where the "crew" were laughing and giggling behind a curtain to ask for water. To cap this disasterous journey off I arrived in Heathrow to find that my $400 luggage had been badly damaged. I'm still waiting to hear back from their customer service department to get compensated. Please take my advice - give Virgin Atlantic a wide bearth. Travel with decent airlines like BA, Delta or United. They offer good cabin room, food is excellent with a choice of up to date movies and shows. You might pay a little more for their experience but it will be well worth it.
Aircraft | A300-300 |
Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
Seat Type | Economy Class |
Route | Tampa to London Heathrow |
Date Flown | March 2024 |
Seat Comfort | 12345 |
Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
Food & Beverages | 12345 |
Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
Ground Service | 12345 |
Wifi & Connectivity | 12345 |
Value For Money | 12345 |
Recommended | no |
"the seat was dreadful"
Simon Fowler (United Kingdom)
✅ Trip Verified | Friendly and helpful staff and the breakfast bacon roll was excellent. But the seat was dreadful. It was very narrow (and I'm no giant) and having chosen a window seat I expected to be able to look out particularly during the approach to LHR. I suppose it was just a bed - comfortable enough, but nothing more. It is badly designed and clearly hated by the FAs who have to show passengers what to do and the workarounds.
Aircraft | Boeing 787 |
Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
Seat Type | Business Class |
Route | Washington Dulles to London Heathrow |
Date Flown | April 2024 |
Seat Comfort | 12345 |
Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
Food & Beverages | 12345 |
Ground Service | 12345 |
Value For Money | 12345 |
Recommended | yes |
"Would never again do long haul"
Jack Manter (United States)
Not Verified | Economy seats are well below typical discount airline economy class from standpoint of comfort. Seat cushions, tables, windows are all below minimum standards. Would never again do long haul with Virgin Atlantic.
Type Of Traveller | Family Leisure |
Seat Type | Economy Class |
Route | Los Angeles to London |
Date Flown | March 2024 |
Seat Comfort | 12345 |
Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
Food & Beverages | 12345 |
Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
Ground Service | 12345 |
Value For Money | 12345 |
Recommended | no |
"Staff was friendly and helpful"
S Fowler (United Kingdom)
Not Verified | Upper Class reception at LHR was amazing as was the clubhouse. Staff was friendly and helpful throughout. Seat on aircraft was a little cramped compared with Singapore and even British Airways, but it was easy to sleep on. The food was disappointing, particularly the main course. The IFE was OK, but certainly there are better out there. Actually, the best thing was the imaginative pre-flight safety video!
Aircraft | A350 |
Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
Seat Type | Business Class |
Route | London to New York |
Date Flown | March 2024 |
Seat Comfort | 12345 |
Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
Food & Beverages | 12345 |
Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
Ground Service | 12345 |
Value For Money | 12345 |
Recommended | yes |
"all in all a good flight"
Glenn Taylor-Biffen (United Kingdom)
✅ Trip Verified | The 'Economy Delight' product was worth it if you're tall, but not necessarily comfortable if your on the rugby build, broadish side. The aircraft on the return flight wasn't in the best condition- parts of one toilet area was held together with tape. Rather surprising for what I deemed as a new generation aircraft. I appreciate that on a route such as this, culinary choices must cater for all tastes that suit the passengers; however, particularly on the return flight to London, we were rather expecting, even in economy, a variation of choice. Even our flight attendant was happy just to offer the tray without the hot meal, adding that we could pick from the snacks in the galley later, if we wished. I must commend the punctuality of both flights, and the professionalism of the captain and co-pilots for ensuring a safe landing in Delhi in a thick fog. Some cabin crew were friendly, some offish, but all in all a good flight.
Aircraft | A350-1000 |
Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
Seat Type | Economy Class |
Route | London Heathrow to Delhi return |
Date Flown | February 2024 |
Seat Comfort | 12345 |
Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
Food & Beverages | 12345 |
Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
Ground Service | 12345 |
Value For Money | 12345 |
Recommended | yes |
“cannot recommend enough”
Amy Hawthorne (United Kingdom)
Not Verified | I cannot recommend Virgin Atlantic enough. As a nervous passenger I was treated so well, the cabin crew were amazing with me explaining noises, what was happening and checking in with me all flight. The seats in premium economy are really spacious, the food is good, obviously it’s not amazing but there was plenty of choice and lots of drinks if you wanted them. The aircraft is spacious, modern, very clean. Plenty to watch, listen to etc. All in all a very comfortable flight with fantastic staff.
Aircraft | A330 |
Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
Seat Type | Premium Economy |
Route | New York JFK to Manchester |
Date Flown | February 2024 |
Seat Comfort | 12345 |
Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
Food & Beverages | 12345 |
Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
Ground Service | 12345 |
Value For Money | 12345 |
Recommended | yes |
"the policy is the policy"
N Worton (United Kingdom)
✅ Trip Verified | Virgin Atlantic cancelled the return leg of my flight with no notice and left me stranded in the US. I had to purchase a separate single fare ticket at over $1000 (original return flight booking had cost £580). Virgin refused to help, said they were just following their policy and even hung up on me once I had finally got through to a customer service team. (which takes ages and cost me £42 in phone calls.) The full story is that 9 months after buying a return ticket with for myself and family, I realised I needed to fly out the US for business and would not be on the outward flight, I planned to meet my family in Florida and so I would still need the return flight. We let Virgin know via email (sent to their [email protected] address) and stressed that I would still need the return leg. My wife mentioned the situation at the Heathrow check-in for the outward leg, where the Virgin representative said "OK". Virgin has a policy that if you don't take the outward leg, they will cancel the return leg, but they will not tell you about it this policy. I only found out about this when I tried to check in for the return flight. I was really shocked, and explained that I had informed Virgin of my plans, so why was this happening? Their response was that I had contacted the wrong customer service team. Instead of informing the customer care team, I should have informed the customer centre. (I had no idea there where two different teams, let alone that they would not be able to communicate between themselves). They also said though that this would have made no difference as it was their policy to cancel the booking! So it would have happened anyway, no matter who I informed. When I asked why they didn't at least let me know they had cancelled my booking (they clearly had all of my contact info!) , they said there policy was their policy and it was up to me to know about it. I have since checked... there is no reference to this policy on the ticket or with the booking information. The policy is noted in the legal details on their website, you have to click through a lot of links to find it. Once back in the UK just under £900 poorer, and having had a pretty stressful time, I contacted them for a refund on the extra ticket. They said they are unable to do this, as the policy is the policy. On the flight I did take, the audio-jack was broken (so no entertainment), the seats were cramped and the food was disgusting.
Type Of Traveller | Family Leisure |
Seat Type | Economy Class |
Route | Orlando to Heathrow |
Date Flown | December 2023 |
Seat Comfort | 12345 |
Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
Food & Beverages | 12345 |
Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
Ground Service | 12345 |
Wifi & Connectivity | 12345 |
Value For Money | 12345 |
Recommended | no |
"Probably worst flight ever"
J Calvert (United Kingdom)
Not Verified | I first flew Virgin in 1986. Last flight a huge disappointment. My wife and I flew Upper Class return. On the flight out both our seats were broken and had to be wound with a handle. We could sit bolt upright or lie flat. On way back one glass of wine served before staff disappeared. I went to serve myself at the bar and was told this wasn’t allowed. Steward pours me one glass of wine and said passangers couldnt serve themselves. Only place for snacks was to go to premium economy. No choice for breakfast. Probably worst flight ever. Called customer service and was given 30,000 miles. I wouldn’t bother with “upper” class
Aircraft | Boeing 787 |
Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
Seat Type | Business Class |
Route | Heathrow to Johannesburg |
Date Flown | February 2023 |
Seat Comfort | 12345 |
Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
Food & Beverages | 12345 |
Inflight Entertainment | 12345 |
Ground Service | 12345 |
Value For Money | 12345 |
Recommended | no |
“Inexcusably bad customer service”
Max Vlasto (United States)
Not Verified | Inexcusably bad customer service; 1. The website is misleading, tries to route you to self-help services and FAQs, anything to keep you from actually talking to a customer service representative 2. The chat function (also misleading btw, it's a lazily programmed chatbot) informed me that for my issue I had to call the number, directed me to it 3. When trying to find the number, was just redirected to the chat function 4. Eventually found the number on a 3rd party website of companies' customer service lines 5. They said they were busy at this time, will have to wait 30 minutes (standard) 6. After holding for 48 minutes with the most insufferable godawful hold music, they hung up on me out of the blue, with no callback. 7. I now can't verify my review because they never picked up; catch 22 TLDR: don't expect any customer support services, useless and angering.
Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
Seat Type | Economy Class |
Route | Los Angeles to London |
Date Flown | December 2023 |
Seat Comfort | 12345 |
Cabin Staff Service | 12345 |
Ground Service | 12345 |
Value For Money | 12345 |
Recommended | no |