Virgin Atlantic

LHR-Miami-LHR in Premium Economy. The check-in at LHR Terminal 3 was a breeze - did not have to wait and was immediately checked in queue for Economy was considerable. Checked in the day before and chose my seat online. You cannot check in earlier than 24 hours prior to departure but when I still had not received an email from Virgin 20 hours prior decided to go online myself and check in. To my big surprise there was only a handful of seats available so if you wait until you get the check-in email you literally have no choice left. Bagged myself an aisle seat in 33G which was fine. Boarding you beat the massive queue and are able to board with Upper Class. Settled into wide leather seat and offered a glass of Prosecco. Very friendly and attentive cabin crew. The food was definitely a notch up from Economy and loved the personalized service: warm bread rolls stainless cutlery salt & pepper shaker. I went for the chicken accompanied by the Sauvignon Blanc. The only downside of my outbound flight was that the person in 32G decided to fully (!) recline 10 minutes after take-off which was a complete invasion of my privacy and took away 50% of my leg room. At 6'2" I am by no means a giant but had to wrap my legs around the seat in front of me to be somewhat comfortable. The real downside is that when the person in front of you reclines it becomes really difficult to see the TV screen properly. I had to pretty much slouch in my seat to get a decent view and the screen does not tilt as far as you'd like it to. Ice-cream during the movie was a nice treat afternoon tea was ok but nothing spectacular. Service during the flight is attentive relaxed and non-pushy. Had to call flight attendant twice to order a drink but served with a smile. MIA-LHR evening flight Premium Economy was full. This time bagged myself an aisle seat 30K. Bit worried that its proximity to the galley would be bothersome but was ok. Boarding in Miami a bit more chaotic than in Heathrow. Dinner ok but less impressive than the inbound flight. Was really impressed with my arrival at Heathrow. Premium Economy means you get to disembark the plane as one of the first after 15 minutes I had passed immigration and Premium Economy luggage has a special tag meaning it's one of the first ones to arrive on the belt. Found myself in a cab in record speed only 30 minutes after landing. Virgin PE - is it worth it? I'd say yes - don't expect a full Upper Class experience but seats in Economy looked tatty and a bit worn and are definitely less comfortable than PE. Not only do you get the wider seat that reclines (which can be a blessing or a curse depending on who's in front of you) but the extra attentive service and the little perks (fast check-in better food etc) makes it an overall enjoyable experience.

Overnight from JFK to London Heathrow was one of the worst transatlantic flights I have taken. In economy there is so little leg room that all passengers are woken up for every drink and meal service and required to put their seats up right regardless if they wanted refreshments or not. On a 7 hour flight with 2 or 3 services this left only 3 hours to sleep uninterrupted. Not impressed Virgin Atlantic. Old fleet very uncomfortable seats and glare on the in flight entertainment screens was less than ideal.

LGW-Las Vegas-LGW. First leg - not one announcement from the Pilot)which I thought was unusual. Cabin crew professional and there from start to finish. Customer Service Managers could be more professional in announcements. Return leg crew much more in your face to help you. As night flight glad to see coming up and down during the night to make sure all ok. Entertainment system - never be on a par to SQ/EK but still more than satisfactory. I hope they will fly more routes from LGW sooner.

Returned recently from Miami on Boeing 747. Service was exemplary boarding was prompt and seats very comfortable and quite spacious; films up to date varied and good screen quality. The much aligned airline food was perfectly acceptable and quite good. But the best thing about Virgin is the quality of cabin service excellent throughout the flight. The only negative is simply Miami International Airport which is unbelievable but even Virgin cannot resolve their immigration and custom delays and associated chaos.

Flew from Manchester to Orlando in Premium return business. Enjoyed every aspect of the journeys and found the staff to be just wonderful. This was our first trip using Virgin Atlantic and I feel that some of the negative comments are unjustified although all flights are different. We often fly with Aer Lingus and do customs in Dublin so when we had the enormous queue at customs on arrival it was a bit of a shock. There are too many big planes arriving at the same time.

I travelled premium economy to Las Vegas from Manchester. I had read the reviews and to be honest I was thinking I had made the wrong decision to fly Virgin Atlantic. Did I need to be worried? No. The flight was fantastic. The courteous staff could not have done more for us. The plane was spotless the seat comfortable the entertainment brilliant and the food by airline standards was up to par. The flight was one of the highlights of the trip.

I have travelled from Edinburgh to London Heathrow and found the flight comfortable and the crew. Very professional. Am travelling to Hong Kong soon so hope the same positive review will apply.

Just arrived back from Antigua to Gatwick flight SV34. A special mention to the wonderful crew 3 young stewards and a lovely stewardess could not have made our flight any better. They were happy and cheerful and nothing was too much trouble. Food was excellent and the pilot made good time. We have travelled with many airlines but never had such a genuine crew.

Decided to pay more for an economy return flight to Jamaica as I wanted to fly with Virgin (£200 more than their competitive airline). The last and only time I flew with them was about 10 years ago return flight to New York. Back then the return economy flight cost me £250 the flight had better entertainment and proper games with consoles was offered newspapers and the food and drink served was offered practically non-stop in fact I was given 2 main meals! Also very lucky on the return flight as it was practically empty we were given a glass of champagne! This time got 1 small main meal (and didn't eat the salad as it consisted of one small leaf and lots of dressing that tasted of dish water) afternoon tea consisted of 1 biscuit and tea or coffee steward gave me a look when I asked for 2 drinks and only good thing about the entertainment was the selection of films. I don't know why the stewards seemed stressed when the plane was half full! Also on return flight back staff at the airport had an attitude and didn't even welcome or say hello to me! They insisted I put items from my hand luggage into my suitcase as it was 1 kilo over! All this wonderful service cost me just under £800 for a return ticket! My friend flew with American airlines (via Miami) and basically got the same service and quality food and drinks I had from my original Virgin flight 10 years ago. So in conclusion I will never fly with Virgin again.

Travelled from Shanghai to Heathrow following an excellent first leg also in Premium Economy from Auckland on Air New Zealand. The Virgin experience was very disappointing by comparison. The plane was old and shabby (I saw one passenger trying to mend the tray compartment cover on his seat it having fallen off) and the toilet in Premium Economy was out of order. The seat was cramped especially when the seat in front was reclined making it no easier to get out of the seat than if it were in Economy class even though I am a small person. The flight attendants especially one were flustered unfriendly surly and unhelpful - when I pointed out that my headphones were not working I was made to feel as if I were being a nuisance by requesting a working set and there was certainly no apology. In over 40 years of flying this was my first time with Virgin and I shall not be repeating the experience. I especially resent the extra paid for Premium Economy on this journey.