Virgin Atlantic review by Carole Clements

14 June 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Orlando to Gatwick economy. From start to finish our ordeal with VA has been horrible. I tried to manage our fllights online, choosing seats, meals etc but their website is so bad it can't find your flights until you've tried about 20 times over the space of hour. Then when you get to choose your seats, there are only 4 or 5 scattered about the plane, to find a pair together, well nearly impossible. (I checked the plane when we flew and there were more empty seats than were showing on the website!) I tried a few times and eventually got 2 seats together,. Checking in at Orlando is an ordeal. We arrived 4 hours before our flight but boy we needed the time & more. It was total chaos at the VA desks. We'd walked past BA and a member of their staff asked if we needed any help. If only we'd booked with them as that was the only helpful person we spoke to. As we'd checked in online we looked for the 'fast bag drop' desk. We were directed to one queue by a VA member of staff only to be told we were in the wrong queue & directed to another . We joined this 'queue' if you can call it that. It was a shambles with people, bags and children all over the place. It hardly moved for over an hour, don't know why, maybe the girl on the desk felt like a go slow day. She certainly got fed up with her job because she left the desk & disappeared through a door never to be seen again, leaving our desk un- manned. After waiting patiently in line for at least 10 minutes I called to a passing VA staff member & told her that the desk was un-manned. She went off and managed to get another person on the desk & after another long wait we were checked in! Checking in online is absolutely useless, don't waste your time & effort, you still have to wait in line to show ID, Passports etc & for the bags to be tagged. After this long process we didn't have time for a cup of coffee or food, just more or less straight through to the Gate. I'd ordered a veggie meal online & what I was served was horrible, the worst meal ever on a plane. Noodles & 2 grey mange tout that tasted like it had been boiled in sweet vinegar, yuk. With this were a salad consisting of a lettuce leaf & 1 tiny tomato, plus a fruit salad consisting of 4 grapes & a few chunks of melon. The only tasty thing on the tray was the salad dressing. I asked if it would be possible to have the other vegetarian meal being served and was told that at the end of service if there was one left over I could have it. Well over an hour later with all food trays being cleared away, I was asked if I still wanted it, I declined. The member of staff was so obviously relieved, I guess he couldn't be bothered to put it in the oven for me. I asked for a coffee at one stage & never got it. Near the end of the flight , the attendant jokily asked me if I'd ever gotten my coffee, I said no, he thought this was quite funny, can't think why? He did mention that there were only 10 attendants to serve 300 customers, so I guess a meal or a cup of coffee were out of the question then? During the flight, water was not offered except with the meals. Fruit juice was offered once. Thankfully I'd bought 2 bottles of water onboard. I would rate VA as the worst experience of flying I have ever had, from their booking system online, their check in, their unhelpful staff (too busy) to their inflight experience, zero out of 10.

Virgin Atlantic review by P Ganguly

7 June 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Travelled Virgin Atlantic Upper Class 4 times in past 10 months and I have noticed quality of service deteriorate since my first upper class flight 10 months ago. No doubt you are made to feel extremely special when travelling upper class (the limo pick up, the in-car check in, the lounge, the treatements etc., but the quality of food onboard and the friendliness of crew has worsened. I agree with other comments about the crew being in a rush to serve food ASAP and then dissapear for the rest of the flight and crop up again 2 hours before landing to serve breakfast. On a recent flight to the US from LGW on a 747-400, I was pretty disappointed to find out that the plane did not have the V-Port IFE system installed (I usually fly to the far east on the A340's) and the general poor state of the upper class cabin (plus the LGW Virgin lounge is nothing special compared to the Virgin Clubhouse at LHR) And trying to book a reward flight with the virgin frequent flyer miles? Don't bother, as the flight you want is never available!

Virgin Atlantic review by Jon Earnshaw

5 June 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

MAN-BGI-MAN Premium Economy. Checked in without any problems. Once on oard via priority boarding, seated in the upper deck. Greeted and provided a glass of champagne, orange juice or bucks fizz before take-off - blanket, menu card, bottle of water and pillow on seat. Seat old-stlye though comfortable, but the aircraft looked tired and in need of refreshing. Hot towels served after take-off, followed by drinks in plastic glasses with a small bag of pretzels. Lunch was consisted of Pasta Salad, Chicken, Beef or Vegetable Lasagne - dessert, cheese and crackers- wine/water regularly topped up and tea/coffee also provided - baileys of brandy offered after the meal - tasty and great service from attentive crew. Ice-cream provided half- way through the flight and about 1.5hrs before arrival a small sandwich and fruit - no immigration forms at Manchester meant we were provided with these on arrival which caused a long delay in leaving the airport. The return flight was very busy - checked in quickly and boarded in a made-scrum, no priority boarding. Once onboard, offered the welcome drink. Two rounds of drinks and towels after take-off and dinner - I was seated at the back of the cabin which meant I was served last and was provided with coffee whilst still eating my starter, it all seemed really rushed and the service was not as attentive as on the way out. Left alone without water/juice runs until about 1.5hrs from landing where a blueberry muffin and yoghurt was served. I like Virgin but they need to reinforce their service standards - everything is too inconsistent - one flight can be good and one not.

Virgin Atlantic review by Vaughan Kingston

5 June 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-Boston-LHR Premium Economy, flying with my wife and 4 month old baby boy. Generally very pleased with the airline and their product/ service. Check-in very smooth at LHR with very friendly agent. Got priority boarding and offered champagne straight away. Flight attendants friendly and helpful, they could not do enough for us and our baby. Got 2 rounds of drinks service before dinner and a nice meal, with coffee and brandy served afterwards. We had to keep going to the galley to heat up baby bottles and the crew were great, they took a real interest in our baby and were lovely. Flight back was great, had same seats (18 A&C). Cabin is old style and looking a bit tatty (as on way out) but service was again good. Bit disapointed that 'breakfast' was just a muffin and coffee, as it was branded as 'breakfast' on the menu so bit of false advertising from Virgin.

Virgin Atlantic review by N Francis

31 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LAX-LHR (Economy). Was bumped by BA who I'd flown out with onto the VS flight due to overbooking, but the wait wasn't considerable. Onboard I was shocked at the state of the Y-Class Cabin. While the IFE is excellent, the seats are cramped. I'm 6ft tall, but even shorter passengers around me where noticeably uncomfortable. The seats are also very narrow. Sleep was impossible. The cabin crew looked tired and hungover and grumpy, and chatted loudly to each other over the trolley as they pretty much threw meals at passengers. They were invisible for the remainder of the flight, and I heard those in the seats behind amazed at the frosty, grudging reception they'd received when they'd dared to head to the galley to ask for a drink. If Virgin are going to spend so much money on upgrading their fleet to the new A340's one might have thought that they'd want to enhance, rather than detract, from the levels of comfort (previous flights on 747's with them have been much better). Virgin used to be pretty hip, mocking BA for its serious and 'boring' approach to air travel. At least BA displays some level of professionalism. Cramped seating and dreadful meals aside, Virgin's crew are their biggest letdown, and it's high time that this shoddy excuse for an airline is taken down a peg to 3 stars, with the likes of Iberia. An extra £30 is a small price for shorter check-in lines, crews that enjoy their job at least as much as their layover and seats that don't try and reduce you to the size of a cucumber.

Virgin Atlantic review by Jim Jackson

31 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

First time travelling with Virgin Atlantic, Heathrow to San Francisco. Flew economy, good seats, food OK, staff supportive. My wife needed wheelchair assistance on boarding and disembarking. London help good, SF better. Due to problems with the baby, we asked to re-schedule our return flight. Told this could only be done if we upgraded to premium economy. We agreed to this (took 2.5 hrs on the phone to India to re- book (from 1am to 3.30am local time). Two days later, no confirmation received. Called again, told we had not been re-booked (another long call to India) Paid for the upgrade at the airport, but not given the upgraded seats on the plane. Queried this, told there were no seats available. Awful flight back. Luggage delayed so long, delivered next day. Wrote to Virgin on their form. Posted it on 17th May, no reply yet (29th May) not even an acknowledgement. Pretty disgusted about lack of consideration. I am 74 and my wife is 71. Never had this treatment from any other airline. Been flying for over 40 yrs.

Virgin Atlantic review by Kamel Jabre

31 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

London-Shanghai-London, Upper Class. Used to be a frequent Virgin flier (at least once a month) when I was living in the US, hadn't flown with them for a year and a half until this trip. The slide in standard and overall quality was shocking. Heavy cost-cutting is all too apparent, but interestingly these cost reductions don't seem to have been translated into lower fares for upper class passengers. Lines at Upper class check in were long. Staff seemed in a hurry to put food out as soon as the plane took off so they could then retreat to the galley to gossip for the rest of the flight. Food was really below average, nothing like what it used to be. The onboard bar used to be consistently stocked with food and drinks a while back, now they leave out 2 bowls of mingy crackers and a few bottles of juice and water (bear in mind that this is a 12 hour flight - food straight after take off and then nothing else until 2 hours before landing). They do have the freedom menu but it would be nice to be able to help ourselves to something without having a full-on meal, similar to BA's "raid the larder" service. Especially given that the staff were all too often conspicuous in their absence. While I have always liked the layout of upper class and enjoy the privacy, I personally find their seat uncomfortable to sit in - the back arches forward so you are consistently forced to slump and the space is a little narrow. Have never been able to sleep well on the bed side as I find it too hard a surface on which to get comfortable. Asked for an extra pillow, on both legs of the journey was told that there were none to spare since the flight was full and they only allocate one per seat. Inflight entertainment was great, though the passengers behind me and in front of me on the return flight had to make do with nothing since their TVs weren't working. While there was nothing really terrible in particular and I have had much worse experiences, have to say that overall the attention to detail is lacking and as another person described below, it really seems to be a slap-dash kind of service. All the elements needed to make it a great airline are there - but the pieces to hold it all together are either missing or deficient.

Virgin Atlantic review by Andrea Woolley

31 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

I travelled London Heathrow to Hong Kong in March, Premium economy, I was slightly disappointed by the fact we got the old style cabin, but soldiered on. I was disappointed that instead of the "priority boarding" everyone seemed to be rushed onboard in a free for all. Cabin crew were running round sorting our the Galley and we were "passed" a complimentary drink almost as an afterthought. The seats were comfy, through the headrest on mine would not stay in position. If the person in front of you reclines their seat, it is almost impossible to view the flat screen as, even if you recline your own, the screen gets a "glaze" over it. The main reason that I chose the premium economy seats was for the extra room, I am unfortunately a big girl and do need the extra room for the 13 hour flight, I was disappointed to find that the seat belt did not fit round and the dinner tray would not fold out across my lap (even the size 14 person I was travelling with had reached the end of the seat belt!!), this meant that dinner and breakfast were eaten on my knees, with no offer of help from any of the crew. For the most part we felt ignored by the crew, though there were a few passes through with drinks of water throughout the night. As per previous comments, crew could be seen chatting away in the galley. I must say that this has put me off of Virgin Atlantic, and it would have to be a good deal to get me back on one of their flights again.

Virgin Atlantic review by Shaun Loveland

31 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-DXB-LHR in Premium Economy. Both flights on A340-600 with new PE seats and service. Outbound flight only 1/2 full and return flight was full. The new PE seat and service is great, much better than other airlines offerings. IFE system worked on both flights and has a great choice of movies/music/TV etc. Cabin crew were friendly on both flights. Check-in was swift and easy, especially as I had used the online c/in option. The new food service in PE is excellent. Pre- takeoff Champagne, newspapers and a new PE amenity kit. Once airborne the bar service included full size bottles of wines/spirits into glass glasses and the choice of 3 entrees, warm bread.

Virgin Atlantic review by D Frazer

28 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

JFK-LHR Upper Class. Flew out BA in new club world, after recent flights on AA and CX in F. Maybe I'm being too tough (although BA on the way out were faultless), but each VS flight I now take, I wish I'd waited the extra hour for the BA alternative. VS check-in was overwhelmed and under manned (a consistent trait). Although the clubhouse staff are charming, the JFK clubhouse is poor compared to other lounges: Trying 'too hard' to be too 'rock & roll' and not enough attention to detail of the food offered, or the design quality. In-flight the menu choices were very poor (at least VS is consistent in this aspect), with minute food portions. The cabin crew (although friendly when they did appear) were invisible in most of the flight (but audible for large parts from the galley gossip). Unfortunately, the crew seem deaf and blind when it comes to answering call buttons. Overall, unimpressive - yet again. As usual, the VS upper class seat is great to sleep on, but poor to sit in (the new BA or AA J class seats are far better): The good points - AVOD, cleanish plane, friendly staff (when they did appear), on time arrival. The bad points: Check-in, food, lack of attention to detail and the generally slap-dash approach to premium service.

Virgin Atlantic review by Simon Wallace

28 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

London - Dubai return in economy. I was travelling with my wife and two young children (8 and 3) - arrived on to a quiet LHR and we were very quickly through check in and security. Plane on the way out was an older Airbus with IFE controls in the armrest which is a bit inconvenient and the seat pitch meant the plane seemed a bit cramped - IFE system worked fine for and a great choice of entertainment. The children’s meals where delivered promptly after take off allowing us to assist them before our meals arrived. Flight only about 50% full so room to stretch out and the crew were very helpful. Flight on the way back was a newer Airbus with IFE controls on the seatback of the seat in front - this plane felt slightly less cramped but again service was excellent, and the flight was only half full again. As a Virgin Flying Club member there was a good saving choosing a miles plus money flight.

Virgin Atlantic review by Jason Rowlands

20 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-CPT. Check in at London Heathrow is a joke. The queue forms in front of, and obstructs the Arrivals doorway for the whole terminal, and runs at such a slow pace that I arrived to check-in 2hrs and 15mins before my flight was due to leave - and I nearly missed the plane! The girl at check-in was miserable and unpleasant. The three of us - my wife, two yr old son and I had 20kgs over our baggage allowance and a car seat, which was also weighed. The amount they charged us for this, taking into consideration many on the same flight may have been under the allowance? 852 pounds!! That's over 100 pounds more than an adult return ticket, who would be allowed up to 25kgs each way!! We have e-mailed customer services twice regarding the matter, and have not even received a reply.

Virgin Atlantic review by L Bigwood

20 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LGW-LAS-LGW. My boyfriend and I flew economy with Virgin,. Outbound flight good, seat pitch could be better but not too bad. We were sat in row 58 and seats fine. The aircraft was old- IFE wasn't working properly so couldn't play games. The crew worked hard - as drinks are complimentary, lots of people took advantage by constantly going up for beers etc and then complained when the alcoholic bar closed due to nearly being out of stock! Food on both sectors was good, choice of 3 and plenty of it. Inbound on time, old aircraft again. Crew very good.

Virgin Atlantic review by John Hilton

17 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR to DXB, out in economy and return in PE. The plane was a newly fitted A340 -t the seats were so small and with the control in the armrest it was almost impossible to access the controller. The headphone jack was also located in the side of the armrest and duly broke twice as I exited my seat. Whilst not an overly large guy and without expecting VS to be any better than other airlines the "new" seating was small, restrictive and uncomfortable. PE on the return leg was better, and the food was excellent, much better than the outbound journey, but even with the distraction of the IFE it was just a cramped uncomfortable journey, no worse no better than anyone else these days. It's a shame VS has not improved leg room in its new fit outs - 31 inches really is very tight. The flights were on time and the crew friendly but appeared quite haphazard, especially on the return journey.

Virgin Atlantic review by Andy Shepherd

17 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-JFK-LHR Economy. Check-in quick, friendly and efficient, especially JFK. 747 going out and half-empty A340-600 coming back meant plenty of space. Friendly, chatty staff. Good entertainment choice - once you've worked out how to work it. My only complaint is that cutbacks in food/drink are becoming noticable. On a 7 hour flight I would expect two meals.

Virgin Atlantic review by Nadim Alam

13 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Upper Class JFK-LHR. Flew into Grenada PE so was looking forward to this. My expectations were disappointed. Ordered a Muslim Meal, which when delivered, had to be the worst meal I have tried to eat and asked for it to be taken away after 1 mouthful. The inflight entertainment very good, and got some sleep on the flat seat. Had a massage before touch down. Found the lounge in NYC very good and also the revivals lounge great before a flight to Manchester. Seat as requested at the front and service from crew was pleasant enough.

Virgin Atlantic review by P Lavery

13 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

MAN-MCO Return: Second time with Virgin Atlantic's Premium Service and compared to many other airlines the service has been exceptional. Priority check in: after booking in online we have yet to queue at Manchester or MCO using the dedicated desks. Be warned we did see lots of people who did queue for economy, especially at MCO. Priority Boarding: Useful in avoiding the joys of air travel, even better is the priority disembark, if the crew handle the process correctly (3 out of 4 have!). Baggage Priority: rapid baggage handling in the Uk and US, meaning you are away from the airport before many have left the plane. Premium cabin (upper deck): seats are comfortable and space is very good. The cabin is light, airy and quiet. Personally a relaxing way to travel and we are looking forward to the roll out of the full premium service to the fleet. Our flight had the new menus, china, amenity kits, blankets, just need the leather seats now! It's worth mentioning 2 toilets for 38 people. Entertainment: Manchester planes to date have not had the V-Port system, but the number of channels is equal to most other airlines. Cabin Crew: 2-3 staff to 38 people, staff were attentive and friendly. Drinks available and trays always available from above the stair well, along with fruit bowl. Food: The choice was fine, but it's aircraft food. Virgin does need to look at it's Customer Services, 35 days and no response to an email and after being told to phone them by the Flying Club. After 25 minutes holding on an 0870 number, customer services informed us that they don't talk to customers. However, we did then have a response in 24 hours. Shame to spoil it with something that's so easy to fix.

Virgin Atlantic review by Ann Boyes

9 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

We recently returned from Las Vegas. We travelled outbound premium economy, and back upper class. We were not too impressed with PE as we found the remote control on the seats very difficult to use. The seats could be improved by side head supports, the food was OK & the service fine. Our journey back Upper Class was fine. Pick-up at MGM Grand was on time. The driver was polite and helpful, helped us with the cases as we are elderly. At check-in a worker actually apologised to us for not being quick enough to help us with our cases. The lounge was nice and relaxing, flight everything we could ask for. We thought the beds were comfy, service excellent, food good and plenty of it. We will be using you for our next holiday and hopefully travel Upper Class.

Virgin Atlantic review by Gary Hall

5 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Just returned from Las Vegas. Reading through the above I note some similarities. Our outbound flight from Gatwick was pretty good, service up to usual standard. Our home flight was exactly the opposite, entertainment system failed to work, service hurried and not particularly welcoming, return flight had modern entertainment system, but this did not even work as well as the older system on the outbound flight. I guess Virgin is slipping.

Virgin Atlantic review by Paul Bursell

5 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LAS-LGW in economy. I would have combined this review with the last had I had a similar experience but I didn’t. At check-in I enquired about extra legroom & upgrades as the message on the plasma screen behind suggested but was told rather abruptly that nothing was available. Then he remembered he had some Upper Class seating available. When I asked how much this was he replied 1699. With us being in the US I was thinking dollars. I though, with the exchange rate that’s not bad. Then rather bluntly he said “pounds”. Why would you pay for something in America with pounds? I thought he was mistaken but I’d had enough of him talking down to me so I just said “no thanks” & let him get on with it. Things got worse. The plane was delayed 2 hours so we spent nearly 5 hours in Terminal 2 at McCarran airport. I don’t know what Terminal 1 is like but Terminal 2 is garbage. There’s nothing there! Nothing but slot machines anyway. The plane was also garbage! A 747 needing a massive refurbishment. This 747-400 has the Odyssey entertainment system that you can play games on as it has a removable control but trying to watch a film, that’s a different matter. I tried to watch Rocky Balboa but the picture was rolling all the time and the sound kept cutting out. Now I know it’s not Oscar material but it totally spoilt my enjoyment of the film. That said this wasn’t my main problem. That came in the form of a seat that sloped to the left & amazingly a tray table that did the same. (Very uncomfortable for someone with a bad back on a 10hr flight & not conducive for eating & drinking off). It might just have been my seat. 47H, avoid it like the plague.

Virgin Atlantic review by David Gartside

4 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

MAN-MCO and return, premium economy. B747-400. This was a business trip and the convenience of the direct routing pointed me towards VS. Online check in (both ways) very clunky and slow, but enabled a fair bit of (authorised) queue jumping outbound, but offered no advantage at all inbound. Lots of holiday travellers with huge amounts of luggage being processed at a painfully slow rate at both MAN & MCO. MAN boarding chaotic - not helped by MAN airport wish to fill all waiting space with yet more shops. Both flights to time, with reasonable food and drink and attentive staff. IFE a bit basic. Upper cabin space felt reasonably uncluttered with OK leg room, but when seats in front are fully reclined it feels cramped.

Virgin Atlantic review by G Scholes

3 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

London-Tokyo Upper Class return. Check-in, club, boarding, timekeeping and staff all up to standar. Seats 4A / 4B separates you from your travelling companion and there was quite a bit of swapping around as passengers settled in and sorted themselves out into better travelling arrangements. The seats were a bit of a disappointment. I am not sure that a really wide person could actually fit into the allocated space which is narrow and rigidly limited to that and no more. The seat controls are fitted in the side and you can't help butting up against these as you move, so sudden and unexpected ups and downs keep you alert. The reading light is not really adequate for comfortable reading - dim with a restricted beam. The entertainment screen is old technology now. Audio programmes far better than most I have used. The table is generous in size but stowing it is not easy and I needed an FA to help each time. Similarly, to make up or take down the bed you need assistance. The bed was also extraordinarily hard. Food and drink were adequate but not in the least bit remakable. I think I got what I paid for and my disappointment was the lie-flat bed. It was my first experience of one and not one I would look forward to again on a Virgin flight. I have heard subsequently that other airlines have different seats and may be better.

Virgin Atlantic review by Jim Keane

3 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

EWR- LHR on 744 Premium Economy Upper Deck. Older seats being phased out, FAs helpful & attentive. Upper Deck quiet even with a number of children in Upper Class and Premium. Food was ok and nightcaps helped us sleep. IFE system inop but vouchers were provided for discount or extra miles. LHR-EWR on 346 Premium Economy. New seats. IFE system functioned as designed with a multitude of choices. All around pleasant trip both directions and arrived rested on both sides.

Virgin Atlantic review by Tim Short

2 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-BOM in Upper Class mid June. Check in OK, though it did seem to take them about 15 minutes to notice that there was no queue at Prem-Econ and 10 people waiting for Upper desks. Clubhouse lovely as usual, busy, but better than most other airlines. Onboard, pleasant, not overly friendly service with comfortable seats, but no AVOD on A340-300 which was disappointing. The food is Virgin's biggest issue - almost everything was inedible. Other than that, the crew were fine, got a good night's sleep and no hassle. I am looking forward to better IFE and newer interior of the A340-600 from DEL-LHR later this month.

Virgin Atlantic review by K Mistry

1 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

EWR-LHR-BOM. EWR-LHR on a A340-600. Equipment clean, cheery and bright and nice large screens complemented the amazing AVOD. Service was prompt and food extremely edible. LHR-BOM on older A340-300 with a drab interior. Tiny screens and IFE not AVOD. The food (Indian selection) was disgusting. The service on this sector seemed haphazard and somewhat chaotic. There was a lot of stomping up and down the aisles by FA's while people were trying to sleep. One side of the Economy cabin was done with their meals before the other side had even been served. I noticed the FA's preparing for a mid-flight water/juice service, but never saw them offering beverages in my cabin. Perhaps the fluids had evaporated by the time they reached the rear of the aircraft! For whatever reason, the cabin crew seemed harried and grumpy; albeit, no one was outwardly rude or curt. Both flights left and arrived on time.

Virgin Atlantic review by Graham Stevens

1 May 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-JNB return in economy. Crew great and new aircraft. Seats are a little cramped and this was a common complaint as I could hear many passengers commenting on the lack of space. Food good on LHR-JNB leg but coming back was awful. Also no salad dressing provided on any flights I have done with Virgi,n and if you want a hot drink during the flight they only have very small plastic cups. If Virgin could sort out these small problems they would be my perfect airline.

Virgin Atlantic review by Mark Freyton

27 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Heathrow-Newark Upper Class. Arrived at T3 after a nightmare train journey to find another nightmare in T3. The lines for all queues were terrible, eventually got to the front and after a 5 minute chat break with the person on the next desk I was checked in by a friendly (but slow) agent. Got a seat in the middle of the Upper Class Cabin. Off to the much hailed lounge. The Clubhouse is fun, bit chaotic with lots of children running around. Snacks and full meals available but the restaurant was packed so just had a drink at the bar. Noticed a delay, but had not been told at check in. Eventually boarded an hour late. Sat down, was greeted eventually by an extremely amusing young man who offered me a drink. Very warm Champagne was the special of the day! Pleasant enough flight thanks to the Video system. Food was awful though - more Joe's Cafe than classy. In fact everything I ordered was inedible. The crew were invisible except when I rang the call bell. Then it did seem like I was an inconvenience to them. Made up a bit of time and arrived almost on schedule. Virgin seats are okay, although I hate having my back to the window. All in all the experience lacked attention to detail, and the crew need to be made aware how much we are actually paying for these seats. Virgin are not what they used to be!

Virgin Atlantic review by Diana Pierson

25 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

I was due to take a flight with Liat Airways from Grenada to Barbados 13/4/07 to connect with Virgin to London Gatwick. Unfortunately the Liat flight was delayed for several hours (no explanation) and it was apparant I would miss my connection via Virgin home. Waiting for that flight at Grenada were the Virgin crew for the flight to London the following day. On arrival at Barbados where we were told (about 9 of us at this point) that we would have to overnight there, with no apology from Liat, the Virgin crew were sympathetic to our plight. One particular flight attendant did her best to reassure us that we would be top priority for standby and indeed, although it was the end of the Easter holidays, we boarded the flight the following day at the very last minute. She was the first face I saw on the flight, bright, smiling and welcoming and she did a lot to help me and my fellow "strandees" to get through a stressful situation. The crew were helpful and approachable, the food excellent and nothing too much trouble .Thanks to Virgin for a comfortable flight (loved the choc ices) and easing the pain of bungled connections!! No thanks to Liat and indeed in the two weeks I was out there visiting my husband with the television company for World Cup Cricket, we took two Liat flights - both were late with no reasonable explanation!

Virgin Atlantic review by Tim Bridgman

24 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Gatwick to Orlando. Having paid the premium to fly Virgin over a charter flight, I was expecting the sort of service I used to get flying Virgin to San Francisco. 3hrs late outbound, 5 hrs late returning, couldn't seat a family of 4 together despite checking in 4 hours early, couldn't care attitude. Tried old planes, half the technology didn't work, poor service, awful meal. Will, never fly with them again. Return flight had been running late for 4 days but they couldn't be bothered to text passengers - spent 9 hrs in the Airport - offered $10 meal voucher (nothing on the 3 hr delay on the way out).

Virgin Atlantic review by Nadim Alam

24 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LGW - Grenada. Premium Economy flight to Grenada. The 747-400 didn't have the new version of Premium as stated, but it was a pleasant enough journey. Service more than acceptable - only downside is the near 90 minute stop at Trinidad for refuelling. Ordered Muslim Meal, and it was available as expected. Meal was OK.

Virgin Atlantic review by A Evans

20 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Have just returned from a trip to Las Vegas, and as a Virgin Silver flying club member have decided never again will I use Virgin. Simply awful. Planes old and tatty, unlike new ones used on routes such as New York and Dubai. On way out was offered one drink in 10 hours. When I went to get myself a drink from the galley, received a dirty look for interrupting the crew members conversation and had a bag of pretzels thrown at me! Return leg even worse - after 4.5 hour delay, received no apology from the captain or explanation for this. Food just about edible and again, hardly any drinks offered. Virgin advertise their V-Port entertainment system on their website, but have not fitted this on any of their older planes it seems. Picture flickers on some films all the way through and cannot access the control with getting out of the seat. It seems Virgin have got a bit above themselves and have let standards slip severely in the last few years.

Virgin Atlantic review by C James

20 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

SYD-HKG. Upper Class. What a disappointment. The cabin is so tight there is literally no room to move. Seats not all they are cracked up to be - too uncomfortable for anyone too tall and not an easy space to get in and out of. I cant believe they rolled out these seats to all aircraft. It makes the BA cabin look spacious and a superior product. The service was very tardy, young crew primarily standing around the bar chatting all flight. Food appalling - there was hardly any of it being the main problem. Never again.

Virgin Atlantic review by D Frazer

15 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-HKG VS200 Upper class. Flight on time, with-it cabin crew. However, clear signs (increasing on every sector in upper class, recently) that Virgin has lost the plot. Check in (Upper class) is slow and chaotic (only the insane take a car to Heathrow on a Friday pm). Process is further slowed down by Virgin's decision not to wave change in APD, so whole process is slowed down by people in front paying the extra APD. This is a very quick way to see your frequent flyers move to more 'enlightened' airlines. Clubhouse looks good but service is random, slow, and in some cases through gritted teeth (Some staff are super, others really should be told to depart their role asap). Boarding chaotic. IFE failed in a numbe of seats. Finally, the upper class 'worst of British' menu is awful. 13 hours sector food choice was: sausage and mash, chicken Tikka, Veg pot noodle, or a pork pie or cheese sandwich. Breakfast was toast of a black pudding based cooked breakfast. Awful - not a fresh item on the menu.

Virgin Atlantic review by Peter Keys

15 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

We have just returned Las Vegas - Gatwick on Virgin in Premium Economy on the upper deck. Never again, this is the worst airline we have ever used. Flight delayed for 2 hours. The seats were hard and uncomfortable, IFE was inadequate, film choice lousy and with no control over starting of programmes, no interactive games and control panel was located in the side of the seats, not hand held making it almost impossible to use without turning your body out of the seat to see it. Food was terrible, chicken with sweet potato mash and a heated rubbery egg roll for breakfast. Drinks trolley came around only once on the whole flight. Was told that this flight only uses the oldest planes. I was looking forward to our flights with Virgin but have been very disappointed all round. We also took a Virgin flight to South Africa in January in Premium Economy and this was slightly better although the food was still bad, IFE was of a better standard. Has we not have been on a prebooked round the world flight I would have certainly cancelled my tickets with Virgin. Never again

Virgin Atlantic review by Gary Johnson

15 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-EWR. Having made a 200 mile trip to Heathrow without any hitches and having checked in with Virgin the night before online, we arrived in good time for our afternoon flight to New York. Usual procedures at the airport and then a wait for boarding. However, 1 hour before our intended flight time of 1600, the departure board displayed a delay until 1900. Enquiries at the virgin desk revealed a technical problem with a defective engine which was being replaced and £5 refreshment vouchers were given out. One hour before the'new' departure time a further delay to 2045 was shown and we were again told that the engine defect was being sorted out. By chance a conversation with an american woman who was a frequent flyer revealed that she had experienced this before on a flight to Newark and she doubted very much that it was an engine problem, more likely a staffing problem on the bank holiday and she also said that she doubted if the flight would actually take off before 10pm. In the event we started to board at 9.15pm (over 5 hours late) and finally took off at 10.30pm. I have no comments to make regarding the seats, staff or food as basically I do not expect much from any of them and I am therefore rarely disappointed. The fact that it would appear that this is not a one-off experience is more concerning. The flight home was on time (from JFK) and nothing to either praise or complain about, although as a passenger with Virgin to the states from as far back as 1990, I do detect that standards are slipping and the staff are not as accommodating.

Virgin Atlantic review by Jon James Little

4 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-LAX-LHR. In terms of fares, schedules, planes, in-flight catering and entertainment, Virgin is broadly at least equal to, and in some respects better than the competition. But what seems to let the side down is the personnel. Slow and laborious check in that's made worse by officious staff, long queues at the so-called Fast Bag Drop (a non existent service at LAX anyway) and charmless and inept flight attendants - one of whom even had the cheek to lecture me about the effects of alcohol while he was serving me my one glass of wine (and yes, you only get one) - make the entire process a lot more arduous than it needs be. A series of long, rambling, self-congratulatory and mostly pointless cabin announcements, and an overwhelming attitude from staff that provision of service is beneath them, rounds off the experience. I've been flying with Virgin on and off for 23 years.

Virgin Atlantic review by S Butler

4 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

London-Tokyo-London. We arrived 24 hours later than expected in Japan as VS were looking for voluntary offloads due to overbooking. We accepted the offer of hotels, meals, taxis etc, but were impressed by the free return ticket to anywhere in the VS network within 18 months. Once on our way the flights were good (Tokyo seems to be one of the better ones) with friendly and helpful Japanese and London crews. We choose VS to Japan mainly because of the excellent AVOD system. The A340-600 on each sector were newly refurbished with the new style Premium and regular economy seats. The only minus was the quality and quantity of food offered for the 3 meal services. The food from London tasted like plastic and the breakfast like rubber.

Virgin Atlantic review by F Rees

4 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-LAX Economy. Both ways it was packed. There were delays on each journey. Seats awful on way home. We were on a three seat row. No room whatsoever. When the seat in front went back it was impossible to watch the screen. Eating a meal was an ordeal as no arm room. The plane seemed due for retirement. The staff were stressed and unfriendly.

Virgin Atlantic review by J Panzer

4 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

IAD-LHR-IAD Economy. Both flights were good. Attentive staff at check- in - accomodated my seat requests (traveling with children). Service onboard quick and efficient. Cabin crew were nice and friendly.

Virgin Atlantic review by Jon Earnshaw

4 April 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

MAN-MCO-MAN - Premium Economy/Economy. Arrived at MAN to a very busy Terminal 2 - it took me over 10mins to get myself to the Premium Economy line and once there was checked in and through to security within minutes. Once on board, upstairs on the 744 I was not welcomed and found my seat myself, a tray then appeared with a selection of pre-departure drinks, I helped myself as the Cabin Crew member simply stared at me. The PE cabin is due for an upgrade but I was flying in the old seats, the cabin looked shabby and dated and the seats though offered 38inches of legroom were not that comfortable. Drinks after departure were served in plastic cups and a tiny bag of pretzels were provided - no hot towels at all onboard. Lunch arrived which consisted of pasta salad, chicken, beef or pasta for the main course, a tiny raspberry and chocolate mousse, cheese/crackers and coffee/tea. One glass of wine was provided with the meal - I did ask for another but was told no. The cabin crew disappeared until about 3hrs from arrival when they offered more drinks and then about an hour before landing, a bag of fruit pieces and a small sandwich were offered. On leaving the aircraft I noticed an overflowing basket of fresh fruit and a tray of drinks, which had been there all flight long I found out for everyone to help themselves - perhaps if someone had told me I would have done. I left the aircraft thinking what was Premium about that then. I returned in Economy - luckily the flight back to MAN was half empty so had a row of 3 seats to myself which was great. The crew were again unfriendly and seemed uninterested. Drinks served after take-off were the same as in PE and dinner arrived which consisted of a ranch dressing salad, beef, chicken or pasta, key lime cheesecake, cheese/crackers and tea/coffee - again one glass of wine was provided with the meal - the meal in terms of quantity was bigger than in PE which was rather odd. They rarely smiled and could not even say please or thank you. Breakfast an hour before touchdown was a very cold small blueberry muffin, some fresh fruit pieces and tea/coffee - which was very disappointing. I was not really impressed with my flight with Virgin - they seem to struggle with the basics and though I already have a flight booked with them for May, I am not really looking forward to it - hopefully a wind of change will have happened before then!!

Virgin Atlantic review by John Wood

4 April 2007   Customer Trip Rating : n/a

Virgin Atlantic to Cuba in Premium Economy outward and Upper Class back. Premium economy on upper deck quite good but no better than BA. In flight entertainment not great, food fair. Upper class very comfortable slept well in the flat bed. Food not as advertised, main course chosen not available and had to take what was left, breakfast was awful with stale roll and burnt bacon. Havana business lounge is a joke, soft seats, ham and cheese with crackers only food available. Drinks OK if you can find someone to serve you.