VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 5 July 2008 : by Steve Dowie

Customer Rating : 2/5

LGW-MTB. Outbound flight to Montego Bay not too bad similar to other airlines. Return was really poor. 1 meal and 1 Muffin for an 8 hr flight is ridiculous, very few drinks offered yet the inflight advice is drink plenty. Lights switched off at about 8.00pm local time, appreciate its an overnight flight but who's body clock is on UK time when you are in the Caribbean. Seats had metal box underneath so had to have one foot in the aisle. Seats we reserved online were lost so reserved some more but were told in Jamaica on checking in we had to pay $25 each to get the ones we reserved? Entertainment was pretty good but would only travel again if went Premium.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 30 June 2008 : by A Turek

Customer Rating : 4/5

LHR-ORD Premium Economy. On the whole a good experience, seat more than adequate for the price, IFE kept my wife happy, and food hot and good. Return: check-in a bit disorganised but otherwise good. I agree with the contributor who says that they expect everyone to sleep on that flight - and they are right.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 28 June 2008 : by Sarah Wallis

Customer Rating : 4/5

LRH-ORD return. On the outward flight we paid at the airport to upgrade to premium economy and on arrival at the gate were upgraded to upper class. Food and drink options great and service incredible. The beds are very comfortable and my partner slept from as soon as he finished lunch until 3/4 hour before landing. Shame the entertainment system is the same even if the screens are larger. Economy on the way back and the service is extremely lacking with one drink run for the whole 8 hours and a tiny muffin for breakfast. On a flight of this length you would expect 2 meals at least so dinner in the evening after take off and a proper breakfast with coffee and oj before landing. The cabin crew are friendly -just seems that there is a lot of crew rests and everyone is expected to sleep.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 28 June 2008 : by Imran Yousaf

Customer Rating : 3/5

Upper class London Heathrow to Shanghai and Hong Kong back to Heathrow. Good home pick up service and excellent Heathrow lounge. Inflight service good on outbound trip, limited options but decent main meal - rubbish continental breakfast and no hot breakfast if you dont eat pork. On way back from HK to Heathrow, chauffeur pick up was efficient from hotel but Hong Kong Virgin lounge is very basic. Had to wait 30 minutes for shower room - having only 2 shower rooms in the lounge does not make sense. Food and service on way back very average, had to keep asking for items that were missing from food trays, so shoddy steward service and same rubbish breakfast as on the outbound. (Heathrow arrival lounge food was far better!). Overall Upper class beds provide good sleep and comfort for long haul flights, but not to sure if with the other inflight services combined they are worth the upper class cost - probably acceptable if offered at premium economy prices.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 28 June 2008 : by P McCarthy

Customer Rating : n/a

London Heathrow to San Franciscoin Economy. Courteous, attentive and polite cabin crew - lunch, icecream, a filled wrap and afternoon tea. The plane seemed to have been refurbished and entertainment system had a huge variety of offerings. Amenity kit, blankets and pillow were waiting on every seat. My partner's chicken pie option at lunch was laughably revolting. But the flight was about as comfortable as a long-haul Economy flight could be. I am taking a return night flight from Los Angeles in early August so we shall see if this trip was unusually good.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 24 June 2008 : by Jane Kelly

Customer Rating : 3/5

We flew Upper Class with from LHR to EWR. The HUB is fab but the Newark Club Room is a bit dismal. We hated the cabin seat layout, might be good if you were a busisness traveller alone but awful as a couple, unable to talk to each other due to the seat dividers, cannot see out of the windows unless you can rotate your neck. The bed is not comfortable although it is good to stretch out, problem is you can only have one or the other and it is a right performance to change them around -although the crews were happy to help. Food was awful - both ways - not heated well and a bacon sandwich and a stale bun were the breakfast offering, no top up of tea. The gimmick bar is just that - it is so crowded with crew in that area there was no room for customers. Inflight entertainment was frozen for a lot of the flight although the crew tried to get it running. The plane was tired and shabby the window catch fell off when a crew member opened the blind for landing. Virgin offered a special deal to us as we were due to fly with Silverjet and were extremely helpful in setting up our changed travel arrangements but on the we were disappointed with our Virgin experience and it would not have been value for money at the full price. This is not an upper class - it is a low level business class.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 24 June 2008 : by David Cliff

Customer Rating : 2/5

Orlando-Manchester. Very poor. The seats are cramped, dirty, and falling apart. The Cabin was grubby and the toilets were a disgrace. The service commenced about 20mins after take off and only half of the cabin were given Amenity Packs, the remaining ones were left in a box at the back of the plane. Half a glass of wine served by a very unfriendly female crew member, and dinner followed quickly afterwards. The meal with very small portions and had to ask for a drink with our meal, and they only did 1 tea/coffee round. What I found annoying was the Cabin Manager made 3 announcements for us to close our window blinds "to avoid the crew having to come round and do it" I choose a window seat for a reason, and strongly object to being ordered to do this. It was still daylight outside and only 8pm. They provide eye-masks for those wishing to sleep, but if they insist on the blinds being closed, please leave it until it is dark. There was 1 drinks round about 5hrs after dinner, but only water or Orange Squash, and breakfast served 1hr before landing which consisted of a hot, tasteless, egg & cheese Croissant. All in all, a very dssapointing experience. The crew are uninterested, service is poor, cabin is dated and dirty and meals are inadequate. On the plus side however, the flight was on time and the entertainment system worked well with some good films and shows, but they should be AVOD and not on a loop.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 20 June 2008 : by J Craig

Customer Rating : 1/5

Manchester to Orlando and back on the same plane (Ruby Tuesday). On both occasions we had problems with our TVs and on the return, 3 trays out of 4 were broken. The staff were unhelpful at best and downright rude to people at worst. A bag of pretzels and then lunch and nothing else till we landed does not seem to be the usual service. We could go up and get ourselves drinks but we were not told this by the staff. If you are a family planning to pay a little extra to fly with Virgin to Orlando do not waste your money - choose one of the cheaper airlines. Their staff cannot possibly be more demotivated.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 18 June 2008 : by M Daly

Customer Rating : 1/5

PVG to LHR in Premium Economy. Virgin have added a few touches to the cabin, champers before take off, nice amenity bag, hot towels etc - however, the indifferent cabin crew, tiny meal portions and "casualness" of the service were a real let down, again! At one point, when I entered the galley to ask for a juice (after no juice rounds for hours!) I was met by gossiping crew who made me feel like I was interrupting a good story and was being an inconvenience. The inflight entertainment was not working correctly and kept freezing on the way out, the crew didn't seem to bothered and turned off the lights to "encourage" everyone to sleep! I have flown a few times with VS before and they never seem to get it right, which is a shame.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 18 June 2008 : by C Stevenson

Customer Rating : 1/5

Is the post by I Gutierrez either based on someone who is 2 foot tall, or an employee of Virgin? The airline continues to fall apart, and I agree with all the negative comments posted here. Poor economy seating, not as advertised in flight services (food etc) and crew who have lack or experience.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 17June 2008 : by P Bradbury

Customer Rating : 2/5

Manchester to Orlando. We went for Virgin because we thought it would be the best all round experience - how wrong we were. Once on the flight within 40 mins we were offered a drink and within 2 hours a meal with a glass of wine. About 5 hours into the flight I asked for another drink and was told the stewardesses were on a break but could have a glass of water or juice if I fetched it!! During the remainder of the flight no more drinks were offered. On the return journey we were told at check in that our family could not sit together despite being nearly at the front checkin - this I found unacceptable due to the fact I have a young child. Despite trying to pay for a upgrade which was unavailable we all ended up sitting apart. I noticed on the flight spare seats with only 2 people sitting in a row or 3. Same issues with drinks on the return journey. To top it all 1 of our bags were lost which after many calls to a call center somewhere in the world managed to get the bag back 5 days later.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 17June 2008 : by Chris Gaunt

Customer Rating : 5/5

LHR-HKG. I was impressed with Premium Economy product on the A340-600. Seats more comfortable than I expected. HK-based FAs were very friendly, regular drink runs. VS's food isn't very good. The new private security channel for Upper class and gold card holders at Heathrow is fabulous - checked in, through security, and in the Lounge in about 4 minutes.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 17June 2008 : by I Gutierrez

Customer Rating : 5/5

LHR-LAX-LHR twice this year in economy class A340-600 . Their flight connections center at Heathrow is never busy, and ground staff help you around. Seat is good, 2-4-2 configuration is great if flying with a partner. IFE amazing. After take off a snack and a drink followed by lunch. During the rest of the flight, they offer you snacks more than four times and before arrival a sandwich. You can also visit the galley any time you want to get some drinks and a snack. Food is over Y standards, wine is pretty bad. Cabin crew is helpful.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 7 June 2008 : by A Phillips

Customer Rating : 2/5

Having read S Phillips review of 28 May I felt compelled to write as we have just had a 13 hour delay leaving Cuba on 1st June (or 2nd as it turned out). The plane was late due to 'technical problems' on the inbound flight. The result was that the plane had to return to Gatwick after 3 hours of the flight, have the problem fixed and then fly again to Havana. We flew Economy and whilst the staff were good, the plane interior was dated and the TV system v/poor. I have flown with Virgin a few times and have had a problem each time with the onboard systems either not working or headsets not fitting and commonly the TV don't sit in the housing very well. They do have a special system that includes games and a handset but clearly this is not fitted to many of their planes and they have not updated the existing ones as I understood they were planning to do. The food was OK although the morning meal was a flapjack or a Muffin which personally I feel on a 8-9hr flight is unacceptable even in economy! We were compensated 10,000 miles each adult and 6,000 for the children, having read the report previously where 25,000 miles were given I will challenge this amount. Overall my experience is seemingly old planes with untrustworthy cabin technology that goes against their marketing when talking about BA's fleet, lack of updated information on delays - and an overseas customer services that dont have a clue about what to say or what the Virgin protocols are (spoke to 4 people and got a different answer each time)

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 7 June 2008 : by D O'Meara

Customer Rating : 3/5

Virgin Atlantic economy to LAS. Significant delays on the outbound leg, inbound leg on time. Outbound crew were great - VS to LAS is like a Bar at 35000ft and not uncommon to be drunk dry. Average food, disappointing entertainment on the older IFE systems. Inbound crew were fine but food lacking. Virgin Atlantic seriously need to do something about their LGW and MAN fleet. These aircraft are extremely dated in the cabin and need a serious clean! I'm 6'5" and don't appreciate their seating plans which offer domestic flight seat pitch! Given this fleet support their Holiday business they need to sort this out if they wish to continue their "the holiday starts here" theme. I'd rather fly First Choice as there is a minimum of 33" seat pitch and a much cleaner aircraft. Come on Virgin Clean up your act!

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 4 June 2008 : by R James

Customer Rating : 3/5

HKG to LHR on 26th May in economy. Flight good with plenty of drink runs by crew - but without any doubt they served the worst English breakfast I have experienced in 30 years of flying. This was not a one off, as I fly this route on a regular basis. Please do something about it VS.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 4 June 2008 : by Shaun Loveland

Customer Rating : 5/5

Upper Class LHR-JFK return both flights 747-400. Ground experience (incl Clubhouse LHR/JFK) was smooth and effortless. The UC wing at T3 is amazing and through security in minutes. LHR lounge is great. Once onboard crew were friendly and helpful and fully explained 'Freedom menu' concept and choices. The food was edible and hot. I found the seat comfortable and long enough for me as a 6ft guy when sleeping. Initial amenity kit sparse, but then offered moisturiser, lip balm, shaving cream, polos etc seperately. IFE great and worked on both flights. Used the arrivals lounge at LHR for a shower and breakfast. Nice lounge, clean and friendly staff. Tasty breakfast. The onboard bar is a nice touch / gimmick.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 28 May 2008 : by S Phillips

Customer Rating : 2/5

LGW-Orlando. After a 27 hour delay and experiencing the so called professionalism, organisation and customer service of the Virgin Ground crew (for which I can assure you they will not win any awards), we were relieved when we actually got to board the flight even though it was from Gate 13! Apparently the plane we were supposed to be flying on had been stuck in Cuba since 6.00pm the previous evening with technical problems. We were offered 25,000 flying club points as compensation which according to Virgin staff 'was a very good deal and not something they just give out' - however no-one explained to us what this actually equated to, and a lot of people pointed out that it was fine if you wanted to travel with VA again which many didn't. FA's on our flight were pretty good although they were under staffed. The plane was very old, uncomfortable seats, headset connection had to be held in and moved round to get it to work, meals a bit slushy, entertainment magazine didn't match up to what they were showing and they ran out of certain duty free items. We have flown with Virgin Atlantic many times and in the past few years we have noticed the service and quality of planes have been on the decline. As many have said, they are relying on their previous reputation and need to re-focus on what their customers want instead of saving money.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 27 May 2008 : by G Nixon

Customer Rating : 1/5

LGW-MCO Orlando Premium Economy on a tired but fairly comfortable plane, service was ok but nowhere near as good as it used to be. Food fair. Return was unbelievably bad. Service very poor and the FA's would rather have been on the wings than in the cabin! The seats were most uncomfortable. The entertainment screen was badly scratched and controls worked only at their convenience. The seats were falling apart and the whole feel of the 747-400 was long past it's sell by date. We have flown Virgin Premium Economy regularly for about 15 years but no more. If you choose to fly with a 5th rate airline like Globespan you expect the worst, but when you spend a not inconsiderable sum of money, to be a bit more comfortable, with an airline like Virgin you have a right to be looked after well. The food on the return leg was desperate. Virgin Atlantic have lost their way and are going to lose a lot of the goodwill and support. It doesn't cost a fortune to re-upholster the seating and anyway we have paid for it. The staff at Gatwick even admitted that the Gatwick fleet was long overdue a refurbishment.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 27 May 2008 : by J Alsop

Customer Rating : 4/5

LHR-IAD upgraded from Economy to Upper Class on outbound leg as Premium was full. Not really worth the extra expense although the Clubhouse at LHR was very good. Staff at the boarding gate appalling - no Premium/Upper Class line so there was complete chaos. Food excellent on board and staff reasonably attentive. IAD-LHR upgraded from Economy to Premium Economy. Very impressed with the cabin layout - plenty of legroom and quiet. Cabin half empty so had two seats to myself. Food was reasonable although breakfast a let down - a muffin and piece of fruit doesn't really do the job and definitely isn't the way to start the day after an overnight flight. AVOD was fitted on both aircraft - very impressed with the system, its ease of use and selection of films, TV shows, music, etc. Overall it was a good experience although I wouldn't choose to upgrade to Upper again - Premium Economy offers far better value for money.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 27 May 2008 : by S Halford

Customer Rating : 4/5

Manchester to Orlando as a group of 8. Arrived at Manchester airport and as soon as we checked in advised of five hour delay due to weather and given £10 pp refreshment voucher. FA's polite and friendly. IFE going out was great with games consoles but this wasn't available on return flight. Used online check in for both flights but seating plan online showed almost no seats available yet lots of empty seats on flight. Disappointing as party were split up on flight home but didn't need to be. Seats comfortable and plane was clean. Would fly Virgin again.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 23 May 2008 : by Philippe Martineau

Customer Rating : 4/5

HKG-LHR return economy on an A346. High-quality service on both legs. Seat confortable, although slightly shorter than other airlines. FA's attentive with refreshments (juice or water) served periodically and ready to fix any issues - (my handset did not initially work and was replaced). Food compared with other airlines flying the same route, was OK. IFE was good, on par with NZ/QR. Amenity kit was given in the form of a nice Virgin bag (out of HKG, the bag becomes a small zipped self-seal envelope) but is missing a pair of earplugs. All in all a very enjoyable long-haul experience with an excellent price-quality ratio (below HKD 5460 all tax bought 3 months before departure).

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 22 May 2008 : by M Atkin

Customer Rating : 1/5

I'm afraid that this comment box is not going to be large enough for detailed comments so I'll keep it brief. Respectable party of 15 going to Vegas for a wedding. Booked together, checked in together at Gatwick. Sat all over the plane. They even managed to split up couples. No activity packs for kids, no legroom and service by staff who seemed to wish they were somewhere else. Entertainment worked sporadically, cabin was tired. Compared to the return flight the outbound was quite good. Suffice to say dismal check in, late departure, staff reached a new peak in level of disinterest, no kids packs, gave up on the Inflight entertainment, poor food, impossible to sleep. Arrived at Gatwick 2 hours late which translated into a nightmare as we now qualified to sit on the stationary M25 on a Friday afternoon, due to the still unexplained delay. I complained on return and received a £100 voucher to be used on Virgin. I'm just about to send it back. Yes it was that bad.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 22 May 2008 : by S Hill

Customer Rating : 2/5

Booked our family holiday with Virgin as we had heard they were the best. After a 27 hour delay, we boarded the plane. Just glad to get on it, travelling with our two children who were just keen to get there. The flight and service was good despite them running with a minimal crew. The flight back just an hour delay, seatback TV's not working correctly - they did correct this. Thank goodness! I was asked if I wanted duty free and both items I wanted were out of stock. Not impressed at all and certainly not the best airline that I have flown with.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 22 May 2008 : by M Hopkins

Customer Rating : 4/5

Gatwick-Orlando return in Premium economy. First time upgraded (after dismal experience in Economy LHR-San Francisco). Seated both ways in Upper Deck. Much appreciated the extra space and lockers by window. Very quiet upstairs, FAs attentive, food not bad - except for breakfast croissant. Fast Premium economy check in both airports (horrendous queue for Economy at Orlando) and luggage arrived quickly on dedicated carousel at Orlando. 2 hour delay outbound, no explanation given. Would not fly long-haul again in Economy with Virgin - the extra cost in Premium economy is worth it in my opinion.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 17 May 2008 : by Anthony Wu

Customer Rating : 2/5

SYD to HKG return economy. It's the worst experience I have had for long haul flight on my way to Hong Kong. Seat is exceptionally unconfortable. It is shorter than the usual economy seats on other airlines. Food below standard comparing with other airlines flying the same route. IFE is pretty good, on par with SQ/NZ. The return flight was much better. IFE good and food quality improved. Seat is more comfortable than the previous one, at least on par with other airlines' economy seats. (don't know why though, both legs using Air Bus 340-600).

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 16 May 2008 : by H Gelling

Customer Rating : 2/5

Flew with Virgin Atlantic after the collapse of Oasis; flight on way out was half empty so plenty of room to stretch out to try and sleep. Food was mediocre and as we were seated near the toilets sleep was impossible. Flight back full and the plane an older one and had seen better days. My friend’s entertainment monitor packed up one 1 hour in and she was given a (black and white) DVD player to use. Staff were OK but the food was inedible and I was given the wrong meal and could get no assistance to replace it – had to go to the kitchen myself. All in all very disappointed with Virgin as I thought they were a high class airline.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS review : 16 May 2008 : by C Maitland

Customer Rating : 1/5

LGW -MCO return Economy. A very disappointing experience for all of us that travelled. No childrens meals for my 3yr old. This was in both directions. Seats very cramped and when reclined they had very little legroom. It was too much trouble for the FA's to raise a smile, and too much trouble for them to help anyone out. My wife and I have notice a big decline in the service that VS now offer on their more holiday routes (MCO/LAS). They always sold themselves on the total holiday experience with it starting onboard. Not so now. Instead of improving the service over the years, they appear to have sat back and allowed charters to go one better. The service hasn't changed in 8 years, same planes, same entertainment, same seats, same staff. My next trip to Florida will be with another carrier. Not having enough Child meals on a flight to Disney Orlando is inexcusable.