Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Little Red. Very fresh and new looking seats of purple leather. Ample room in both width and leg room for a short internal flight. Seat is more comfortable than a lot of long haul airlines. Slight recline pitch but for an internal flight it is more than enough.

Premium Economy to and from Cuba Seat 18C on flights VS63 and VS64. Cabin service on the outward leg was good and attentive (we were told there was a supervisor on board) but I was surprised that the space around the seats was extremely confined and that the in-flight “entertainment” did not work. The distorted sound from the headset made watching any film impossible and the touch-screen system did not allow one to follow even the flight map. Food was just about edible (in spite of what the menu cards promised). It was served in cardboard containers but bedecked with linen tray cloths and a set of cumbersome metal cutlery. The return was another story. On boarding we were warned that alcohol service would be restricted as the outbound flight had virtually drunk the plane dry. Personally I did not find this a problem on a night flight. However cabin service this time was sparse to say the least. With the dinner bread rolls were not offered beyond the first two rows and there was no chance of refilling the miniscule “china” coffee cup. The much-vaunted liqueur service turned out to be a glass of brandy - no choice. Sleep was impossible. The seats had obviously been designed for a greater pitch than had been afforded. If the person in front employed the –limited- possibilities for reclining their seat the surrounding design ensured that you were trapped in yours. If you used the footrest your knees almost hit your chin. Breakfast was similarly awful. I am relieved to say that being at the front of the queue for boarding and disembarkation did have its advantages but I feel obliged to report to others that I regard the Premium Economy service that we received a vast waste of money. One would do far better to purchase extra leg-room seats in Economy Class and investigate taking some of the excellent locally-available snacks to sustain one on the journey. To say this service is over-hyped is an enormous understatement. We are contemplating another visit to Cuba but are giving serious consideration to extending our journey time and using Dutch or German carriers.

My Wife and I are villa owners in Florida and travel back and forth on Virgin Atlantic two & three times per year. In the past five years my wife and I have seen a major decline in the poor quality of service and the introduction of the new cramped seat in Premium seats. We have just returned from Orlando to Gatwick on 25th April 15. What we experienced was cramped seats touching my knees when the passenger in front reclines tired rude staff my audio jack in my seat was broken so I could not watch a film. Overheated dried out food. We were seated upstairs towards the front on P Economy with 40+ economy seats behind full of loud unruly children and parents. The crew were also handing out free champagne to the upstairs economy even though they had not paid for this service. I feel that Thomson Airways new B787 Premium Economy is leaps ahead in quality/cost and comfort compared to Virgin Atlantic and I have already booked my return flights with Thomson in August 2015 to return to the US.

I just arrived in London on Virgin Atlantic Airways from Johannesburg. These are the worst economy long haul seats one could ever have the misfortune to encounter. The pitch is supposedly 31" but I bet it's less. When someone reclines their seat the video screen is literally in your face. The top back of the seat curves inwards putting your upper back and neck in a very uncomfortable position. The minute I sat down in this seat I felt uncomfortable. This is an 11 hour flight and these seats are not even suitable for a few minutes. My back is sore now. I am an average height male 1.8m and weigh 80kg. Yes I am not a small child but I have flown most other long haul carriers in economy and none were ever this cramped and uncomfortable. It is really a shame because cabin staff were good and the food acceptable for economy. But the thought of spending another second in those torture devices fills me with dread. I will avoid Virgin Atlantic Airways economy long haul at all costs. I am so sorry I didn't book with another airline.

I'm 5.10 and I had no leg room on an 11 hour flight - extremely uncomfortable. The staff were fine the in flight entertainment was fine the food was ok for economy but the seat itself was horrible and I won't fly Virgin economy again. My connecting Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to London had more room than my 11 hour Virgin flight from London to Shanghai!

After Premium Economy from LGW to Barbados (BGI) and back again felt that the extra money was worth it. Glass of bubbly before takeoff with significantly better seats than Economy in terms of width and space in front. Even when the seat in front had fully reclined it did not bang into my knees and I could adjust the PTV angle to continue viewing. Aperitif meal with drink and a digestif made for a better service. Service was excellent with the benefit of having fewer passengers to serve. On the night flight returning we were on the last row before the partition and could fully recline for sleep. I am not tall (5'9") but fairly bulky but felt absolutely comfortable in the seat. Will definitely book this class again based on my experience.

I'm 6'3" and 16 stone and found the seat very comfortable. Having flown economy on the way to New York I found the upgrade on the way back to be well worth the money. Staff on the plane were very friendly and very professional. Have used Virgin before and will most use in the future.

After having flown Air NZ premium economy from Auckland to San Francisco we were incredibly disappointed in Virgins premium offering by comparison. We flew from Vegas to Gatwick and chose to pay for the upgrade as we wanted more space more service and to feel rested on arrival. There is no lounge access the seats are cramped the service was pretty ordinary - and we felt very disappointed. If this is premium I shudder to think how small the economy seats are. I am not a big person and whilst I could stretch my legs out - the reclined seat in front of me made it almost impossible for me to get in and out. You definitely want an aisle seat - I was in a middle seat. The head rests move when you try to put your head weight against them. I think you would be much better off paying for more legroom and extra luggage in economy if available - it would be cheaper and much the same result. The seats are definitely wider than standard - which was the only really positive thing I can say about it. They even charge you if you want more sparkling wine in the flight - hardly a premium service. Got virtually no sleep.

I am really shocked with Virgin Atlantic's standard to say they have slipped is putting it mildly. I think I would go far as to say they are one of the worst transatlantic air lies I have even flown and I fly a lot! The seats were terrible so uncomfortable and you were shoe horned into a tiny space for 11 hours. The food was awful borderline inedible and the staff were ok. Just ok not fantastic service but not awful. TV offerings were not great pretty disappointing especially their offerings for children. The children's food was again inedible meaning my 7 and 4 year old had nothing to eat the entire journey as they didn't even have child snacks for kids like crisps or popcorn. With all the schedule changes (our flight was changed by 3 hours) they did nothing to accommodate us when we complained. In fact their customer service agents at their call centre were down right rude and had no clue. I have to say they are turning into the new Ryanair - nothing to be proud of Virgin Atlantic!

We flew from Hong Kong to London Heathrow on 19/02/15. This was a 13 hour flight. We were shocked when we boarded the plane and discovered how small and restricted the seats were and how they was virtually no leg room. I'm only a 5'4" tall female and I had a panic attack when i sat down in my seat next to where the window should be- there was no window I could look out of just the fuselage. I can't describe just how restricted the seat was- it was the sort of seat you would expect to sit in on a budget airline short haul flight not a supposedly reputable airline's long haul flight. The chairs in front were practically on top of us and our chairs hardly reclined so needless to say we didn't get any sleep. We had no idea how small these seats would be. Passengers then tried to go and sit in the empty extra legroom seats as the plane was taxiing towards the runway and some minor disputes occurred. The cabin crew did not have a handle on the situation and to our surprise concentrated on taking extra payment from these customers so they could sit in these seats with apparently extra legroom instead of directing them to return to their seats whilst the plane was moving! Overall this was the worst flight we have ever flown on and we are sorely disappointed that Virgin's standards have plummeted. They are clearly only interested in money making and have no regard for their passenger's comfort or for attracting repeat business.