Virgin Atlantic Airways Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports

My husband and I took our 2 teenage grandchildren to Las Vegas, and we all had a fantastic time whilst we were there. Unfortunately, we felt let down by our Virgin flights. Food was poor, drinks ran out very quickly and no one seemed to care. On the way back we were limited to lukewarm water (no ice) only, for the last 4 hours. In flight entertainment was hit and miss. I was expecting more, but were disappointed.

LHR-SFO VS19, return on VS 20. One of the new cabins out of Heathrow. Very comfortable in PE, outward flight superb, return flight entertainment system had to be reset and did not work for one hour. Also it was announced that the crew was down by two so service may be effected. On both flights crew very good, food quality superb but portion size very small. Drinks only one service but crew were happy to get more upon request. Customs at SFO took over an hour to clear, huge queues, no issues on return to Heathrow. Will fly Virgin PE again but having experienced the old PE cabin the new is far superior.

Virgin have let standards slip, and fallen behind the competition. I flew Upper Class LHR-BOS-LHR. Seats are definitely smaller than Air Canada's version of Executive Class. Seats are not as wide, and I found typing an issue. The bed is not 6 ft long, I am only 5'10" and when I laid out flat, my feet dangled off the edge. Interior looked scruffy, the inflight TV was the old style system, and not on demand. Unacceptable at Upper Class level. Main gripe was the inflight crew. Poor service, and on the overnight return, they were rude and served dinner too quickly. When I woke up, I was bombarded with breakfast, even though I did not want it yet, and when I said that, the stewardess stormed off in a huff, and then when I later requested corn flakes, it was served without a smile or verbal recognition. Food in general was very poor quality. Unless I am bought a ticket through work, I will unlikely fly Virgin again, the last 2 trip using them (Upper and Premium) have been disappointing and unmemorable.

Los Angeles to London, economy, packed flight. The in flight entertainment screen did not work throughout the flight. This was not fixed by crew despite many requests. We have decided to no longer fly Virgin at all (Flying Club Red Card Holders) after conversation with their executive office proved they were not into customer satisfaction. It is a very frustrating to try and get action when something goes wrong on Virgin Atlantic and it took six months to actually talk to someone. The planes are tired, the staff tired, the customer service staff when something goes wrong have to stick to their 'guidelines' which rules out providing customer satisfaction.

Los Angeles to London, economy, packed flight. The in flight entertainment screen did not work throughout the flight. This was not fixed by crew despite many requests. It is a very frustrating to try and get action when something goes wrong on Virgin Atlantic and it took six months to actually talk to someone. Staff were powerless to help and admitted this. This was a simple complaint, easily resolved, if the company was interested. Virgin clearly are not in our opinion. The planes are tired, the staff are tired, customer service staff when something goes wrong have to stick to their 'guidelines' which rules out providing customer satisfaction.

Manchester to Las Vegas, July 29th on 747-400. Similar to my review from two weeks ago regarding the inbound to Manchester, a great flight marred by a terrible inflight entertainment system. This aircraft has the Odyssey IFE system - essentially worthless with a terrible picture and half the channels inoperative. Save yourself the trouble and take your own entertainment. On the plus side, the plane left on time, the inflight service was very good - drinks, lunch, ice-cream snack, hot snack mid flight and then the afternoon tea prior to an on time arrival into Las Vegas. Crew worked hard and seemed friendly and accommodating. Arrivals into the new terminal 3 at LAS a bit of a disaster for visitors with huge lines in the immigration arrivals hall and an hours wait for the bags.

PE from LHR to JFK. Decided to upgrade to PE 3 days before the flight so seating was limited and we could only book in central block of seats. Got to check in early and was allocated a window seat (pair of seats) at bulkhead. Having flown PE transatlantic with BA last month, Virgin was a better experience in every way. Padded foot rests provided, wine supplied at the same time as my veggie meal, amenity kit was basic and staff were cheerful. IFE worked well and an adequate selection of films etc provided. Landed 25 mins early, customs and immigration cleared quickly and baggage waiting for us, all within 25 mins of landing so all in all I was impressed with Virgin and with JFK clearance system.

Took note of comments re older planes and prepared for the worst. Both ways cabin spotlessly clean, spacious and quiet. Let off aircraft before PE downstairs at St Lucia so fifth in queue at immigration which was a huge bonus. Service both ways was good, food OK. The plane returning must have seen better days 30 years ago, broken seats, audio system not working etc. Coped as it was a night flight, but with three offspring ranging from 14-21 would have had a mutiny on my hands if daytime. Virgin however, do need to put warnings on their fancy promotions online until all craft updated.

Just travelled Gatwick to Havana on Barbarella which has been refurbished. A great experience as entertainment system is excellent! Our return journey on Ladybird was just as pleasant. The cabin staff were pleasant and attentive and got me a vegetarian meal although I had forgotten to pre book one. Flight wasn't full so we were able to spread out and sleep. Will definitely fly again!

We flew from San Francisco to Heathrow and back. While service on board was fine and the food was good, the arrangements they have for young kids are atrocious. Our son is 1 year old and we bought him a seat. They don't let you take your own car seat on the plane. Instead, you have to use one of the provided infant care chairs. We knew this beforehand and were prepared for it. Unfortunately the staff at the check-in desks in both San Francisco and Heathrow didn't seem to know anything about it. While we did end up getting the seat, if the airline is going to make us go through the extra hassle of requesting a seat, they should at least train their employees on how to request them. Furthermore, the seats are terrible. First, they don't recline, forcing the baby to try to sleep sitting extremely upright. Our son is small and he kept sliding down toward the buckle. He did fall asleep for a little while here and there, but he seemed extremely uncomfortable. All in all, we won't fly Virgin Atlantic again until they either change their car seat policy or our son is big enough not to require a car seat.

Flights changed at 18 hours notice, no information on why or impact on onward transfers, poor service throughout the flights, entertainment system screens almost unwatchable and re-booted twice with a half hour delay each time. Uncomfortable old seats with no side head restraints.

I flew Tokyo to London return in economy class and I was very disappointed. The seats were very uncomfortable. They seemed to lack proper cushioning and my wife and I had back ache by the end of the journey both ways. A 31-inch seat pitch is quite tight for anyone over about 175 cms. The food was poor, far worse than BA, ANA or JAL, all of whom operate the same journey. These flights are around 12 hours or more and for the last 10 hours of both flights there was no beer available for anyone in any class. Virgin say that food and drink is "complimentary" on their flights and is "not included in the price of tickets". At the prices charged (around 1200 pounds per flight), to not even be able to have a can of beer on two flights in a row seems ridiculous. This has never happened to me on any other airline. The in-flight entertainment systems are very dated too. The picture quality was awful and one of the systems broke down on the outward flight. I won't be booking Virgin again anytime soon.

I have flown Upper Class 8 times now and every experience has been great. Our latest flight, LHR to MIA return was faultless. Seats good (A340 out and 747 return). Entertainment good. Food was excellent, especially the new cheese trolley. Cabin crew could not have been more attentive. All in all a very enjoyable experience. I would not hesitate to recommend.

If you experience any problems submitting comments on the above link, please use our general   Feedback Page