Virgin Atlantic

Not Verified | Normally I would connect in Amsterdam but got a good deal on Virgin business class via Heathrow. No Clubhouse but I knew that, didn't expect to have to wait in a line for the Sky Club though. Plane was an A350-1000 so only 4 rows of business class. I was in 4K which did not operate correctly (on an 8 hour plus night flight!) - another seat was also giving trouble - all on a 3 week old plane. Only saving grace were the crew who were exceptional. Boarding and deplaning are via the second doors so business class have to wait until premium economy disembark - no more first to Immigration! Arrivals lounge would sort me - yeah right! Burst water main no reciprocal agreement "but I can walks downstairs with you and get you a coffee". I just decide to never make the mistake of using Virgin again but they send me a "survey" - I tell them and they are "very sorry and hope I'll use them again".

✅ Trip Verified | Where do I start. this was simply the best flight I’ve ever had ! I was on the 08:20 AM from LHR to JFK. Boarded on time pushed backed and took off on time. The premium seat on Virgins A330-900 NEO was more than enough! Met with amazing crew with brilliant hospitality. The food was business class standard on this special flight. The return flight the food was still good not as good as they outbound flight though. Entertainment is one of the best there is and unlimited alcohol and snacks at all times. Overall this is the best and only airline you should cross the pond in! Very pleased 10/10

Not Verified | We booked business class for our flight to and from New York. We fly business class a lot with other airlines but this is our first experience with Virgin Atlantic. While the service by crew was on par, the layout and space was awful. First, there is less storage room overhead than any international flight I have been on, let alone in business class. There is no room for any personal item such as laptop bag storage - even in coach there is underwear storage space. The lay flat beds fold over which feels like a waste of space and requires passengers to get up and adjust. All the seats face each other across the aisle, which is weird for privacy. In short, stop trying to cram so many seats into business class. Charge more if you need to but make it decent. Not flying Virgin business class again and will actively tell others not to unless things have changed.

✅ Trip Verified | There were many problems with our round trip flight from Los Angeles to London, but let me start by saying that the flight attendants are outstanding, so this review is not a reflection on them. Both planes in the round trip were old planes with old fashion business class seats, Virgin calls them Upper Class seats, and they were small and cramped. And the food on both flight was awful. We were very disappointed with what they served and how it tasted after paying so much for Upper Class. On the return flight to Los Angeles we were supposed to have a newer plane with much nicer lay flat seats but Virgin changed the plane to one of the old planes, and worse yet, 7 of the seats in Upper Class had major issues; we had one of those seats. When we checked in they warned us that our seat would not lay flat by pushing a button, but that the flight attendants would be able to do it manually. They asked if that was ok, and we said as long as we can lay flight then yes. When we got on the plane, the flight attendants said no, we can't manually lay the seats flat. So the check-n staff lied to us, and every person that had bad seats were told the same thing, "it'll be fixed before the plane takes off," or "they'll be able to lay the seat flat manually." Those lies made things frustrating for the flight attendants because they had to deal with the fallout when passengers were told otherwise. Most of the 7 seats didn't lay flat and were stuck in the upright position, and some didn't have the entertainment system working and so those people couldn't watch movies or anything on this 11 hour flight because the entire electrical system was out in those seats. Why are they using a continuing to use a plane that has so many seat issues?! And we don't know how many seats in the rest of the plane had problems. Upper Class was very expensive and we paid it for many reasons but mainly for the lay down seats, and yet Virgin thinks it's ok to use this plane over and over again with so many seats not working?! And even worse, the plane was going to continue being used and so more unsuspecting passengers that paid a lot of money are going to have the same issue. I don't know how Virgin is getting away with this and treating their paying customers so poorly. It's unacceptable, and we'll never fly with them again.

✅ Trip Verified | Check in was fast and efficient. Boarding was set out in groups, the gate was small but boarding was very speedy. Our seats were in economy, but the IFE screen was larger than most economy cabins I’ve been in. Seats were comfortable and legroom was okay. The cabin crew were so friendly and attentive. We were offered drinks and snacks to begin with, followed by a sandwich then a hot meal before landing, with a few more drink and snack services in between. I’ve flown with Virgin to JFK a few times, and wouldn’t hesitate to fly with them again. Never have any issues, and staff are always on hand to help.

✅ Trip Verified | I've been using Virgin Atlantic for goodness knows how many years. First flight VS07 from Heathrow cancelled and was rebooked on a later flight that would have arrived some 9 hours later. Okay, these things happen so rebooked for the following day. At the hotel received an email to state that VS07 had been cancelled again and allocated a flight some four hours later which yes you've guessed it, that was delayed by a couple of hours. Any apology - no. Flew back from Denver via JFK using Delta for the short hop - DEN to JFK. The JFK flight was delayed so arrived at LHR some 2 hours late. Now to cap it all off, I was not permitted to use any Virgin Points towards the cost as there was a Delta flight booked via Virgin. Last time I looked Delta owned 49% of Virgin Atlantic but computer said no. The meal I had ordered on my originsal flight VS07 was not available as there was a change to a later flight. Now let's cut to the chase. I fully appreciate that Virgin Atlantic needs to be profitable and cannot afford to fly where they do not have the required load capacity. But guys your service has gone downhill rapidly. Your website constantly crashes, you are just another penny pinching airline that is no longer customer focussed. Upper class used to be exactly that. Not anymore.

Not Verified | Flew with my daughter. Our seats were 4A & 6A. We were blown away by the comfort of this aircraft! Very comfortable. Our Steward David was so Friendly and more than accommodating providing us with cups of tea as we are teetotal. The food was tasty our first course was Parma ham, mozzarella balls spiced peaches. Warm bread rolls and butter. Main course chicken wrapped in bacon, spring onion cream sauce served with broccoli and gratin of potato. Dessert I chose cherry upside down sponge, served with cream. I drank Pepsi zero. My daughter and I converted our chairs to beds and slept for at least 4.5 hours. Breakfast was plentiful but in my opinion served a little too late 30 minutes before landing. I would definitely fly again especially on the a330-900neo. Hopefully upper class again.

✅ Trip Verified | Flew Virgin Atlantic premium economy from LHR to Male, Maldives. It was an overnight flight out and honestly for the cost it was far from worth it. Cabin crew all vanished as soon as for the first excuse of a meal was served. Most people around us left most of the food which shows how bad it was. Went to try the 'snack bar' and this was just as awful as the food, all highly processed 'health bars' that tasted like cardboard. But it did show where all the cabin crew had vanished to as the bar in business was packed with them. Tried to get their attention for several hours using the call button and not once did anyone turn up. Just a waste of space. On the way back it was actually worse. They 'ran out' of food for the premium economy people and tried to serve the left over economy food, so ended up going without. Asked about what business had left and was told they can't offer that (guess the cabin crew had their eyes on that). Overall appalling service and zero value money. FYI - I left and complaint with the airline and several months have passed and zero contact, goes to show how little they think of their customers.

✅ Trip Verified | Having flown transatlantic for over 40 years on various European and US airlines, I decided to try Virgin Atlantic for a change. By far this is the worst airline transatlantic I have ever flown. The seats are tiny and there is no room between them. Thankfully I was sitting beside my partner, if it were a stranger I would have hated life until we arrived in Heathrow. The food is completely inedible, I actually asked twice what is was supposed to be. I got two glasses of wine for the flight and that was it. Later I asked for a 3rd I was told I had enough to drink - EXCUSE ME? The young flight attendants did their job but showed absolutely no interest in the passengers, I didn't see any of them engage in conversation, they almost acted like robots. The cabin manager was Scottish and had such a thick accent I actually couldn't understand a word of what he said. The plane was old with ragged seating and lots of dirt on the floor beside the window. Their "entertainment system" is an absolute joke. There wasn't anything worth watching. Many people around me were also complaining. Finally on a 9.30 hour flight we were offered one tiny glass of water. I had to repeatedly go back to where the "crew" were laughing and giggling behind a curtain to ask for water. To cap this disasterous journey off I arrived in Heathrow to find that my $400 luggage had been badly damaged. I'm still waiting to hear back from their customer service department to get compensated. Please take my advice - give Virgin Atlantic a wide bearth. Travel with decent airlines like BA, Delta or United. They offer good cabin room, food is excellent with a choice of up to date movies and shows. You might pay a little more for their experience but it will be well worth it.

✅ Trip Verified |   Friendly and helpful staff and the breakfast bacon roll was excellent. But the seat was dreadful. It was very narrow (and I'm no giant) and having chosen a window seat I expected to be able to look out particularly during the approach to LHR. I suppose it was just a bed - comfortable enough, but nothing more. It is badly designed and clearly hated by the FAs who have to show passengers what to do and the workarounds.