Virgin Atlantic

✅ Trip Verified | Manchester to Orlando. 24 hours before I attempted to check in online and found I could not as I had been randomly selected for a security check at the airport so had to check in there. I had planned to upgrade at check-in and this upset me as I would be put to the back of the queue if I was to wait to upgrade. So I called Virgin reservations and explained the situation Virgin of course not wanting to loose out on money got me though to someone who upgraded us from Economy Classic to Economy Delight for 49 pounds per person. I had already paid 70 to select seats on the upper deck so they agreed to refund the 70 since I was upgrading. All good so far. We got extra legroom seats and were able to use the Premium check in desks and board before everyone else. This was invaluable due to the extra security SSSS checks that were coming my way. Got to the airport check-in was easy and we had purchased fast track security due to hearing about security chaos at Manchester airport. Got to the gate and boarding commenced. My wife took my backpack from me as she was not selected for extra screening. I was pulled aside and she walked straight on. The guy just patted my up and down saying what no bags. Lucky for me since I used to work for an airline we knew that if I didn't have a bag there wasn't much they could do. At the door I was greeted by a flight attendant and directed to my seat. Settled in and take off was on-time. As soon as we were in the air the cabin crew started the drink service and handed out pretzels. A meal menu was handed out the choices were Malvani chicken curry or sausages with tomatoes or a pasta bake. I chose the curry which was pretty terrible. The rest of the flight was uneventful a cheese sandwich was handed out prior to landing as well which was again bad. I have no idea how airlines manage to make the simplest things horrible. The big points on this flight were the cabin crew who were really good to us but seemed to insist everyone sit in their assigned seats even if the one next to someone was free for takeoff. Lucky for us we had the whole row to ourselves. Immigration in Orlando was simple since I am a US and Irish Citizen. Bags came out pretty easy too. All in all a decent flight pity about the food. One thing I will note is the entertainment system is not very responsive which needs to be addressed.

✅ Trip Verified | Johannesburg to London return. From booking my flight, the team in Johannesburg were completely professional and efficient. My requests were treated promptly and with very kind personnel. It had been awhile I flew with virgin Atlantic simply because I rather take direct flights traveling elsewhere but after my last trip I am encouraged to go through London to experience the type of service I had. On board, the air hostesses were extremely helpful. I felt right at home on Virgin.

Not Verified | London to Washington. Service has gone downhill. I have flown Virgin America numerous times in the past but it had been a few years since I had flown Virgin Atlantic. It used to be on par with Virgin America as far as service, cleanliness and flight steward service - a lot has changed in those years! My poor experience began with being told that 'codeshares' no longer were allowed in the lounge area. I am a Delta Premium member and have always had the best service on Delta-which owns 49% of VA at that. Onboard, the in-flight service seemed harried, the food was horrible, there was only wine or orange juice offered. When I asked for a diet coke, it never arrived. Only poor apologies. This was a daytime flight mind you, yet the experience was a major turnoff. I will never fly this horrid carrier again. I often pay good money for business class service and though this was premium economy it was nothing like the ads and was quite awful.

✅ Trip Verified | London to New York JFK. I've travelled this route VS UC many times over the years - and enjoyed it every time - but this was a truly memorable experience. Having the bar onboard takes the cabin atmosphere to a different level, and many potentially-long hours simply drifted away while we had such an enjoyable and engaging chat with the crew, who also maintained impeccable service throughout. The LHR Clubhouse was as fab as ever, and arrival at JFK swift and painless. In fact, the whole thing inspired me to write my first review! A personal and slightly unusual flight experience perhaps, but one which I can't imagine outside of VS UC.

✅ Trip Verified | Shanghai to London. Whilst the onboard team are incredible, the business class offer on the Boeing 787-9 is frugal, uninspiring and downright average. Meals served which is my primary issue - lacked any inspiration - looked and tasted like an economy class meal on porcelain. Everything about the premium offer was underwhelming and frugal. Compared to the Clubhouse experience - huge let down onboard.

✅ Trip Verified | London to Newark. From check-in to boarding to the preflight cocktail, china and glass, and light tea service, everything was wonderful. The staff was engaging and efficient. One recommendation is that the gate 13 out of Heathrow felt like a small regional airport.

✅ Trip Verified | London to New York JFK. Good and not so great. We were originally booked on a Boeing 787-9 in a center and aisle seat in the Premium 2x3x2 configuration. When we checked in we noticed that we had been given seats 18A/C (window and aisle) and it wasn't until we boarded that I noticed there had been a change in aircraft. We were now in a rather old and tired A340-600: no leg rest (although individual foot rests were provided after take off that were very comfortable), clunky video monitor which took some finessing to get to stay up, no USB ports to charge devices and the remote holder was falling out of the side of the seat. Oh well. We were scheduled to leave at 3:45. Upon boarding I laughed as I saw a guy sit down at the Upper Class bar and didn't think anything of it. The plane pushed back on time. Stopped. Then the gate was brought back to the plane in order to eject said person who, in the opinion of the crew, was intoxicated and a danger to the rest of the passengers and crew. The service was excellent: we were offered prosecco or o.j. prior to takeoff which was nice and rarely offered on a US airline. Shortly before takeoff we were given menus showing a dinner service and a pre-landing afternoon "smart" tea. Both were really delicious. Cocktails before dinner and wine (individual bottles) with dinner were great too. The IFE system worked well with a great selection of movies. WiFi was pay per use. The "smart tea" was a nice light snack prior to landing. We had to wait on the tarmac as the airport was re-opened due to thunderstorms that had passed through just before we arrived. We pulled in to the gate 1 hour late, due in no part to Virgin Atlantic. We are definitely planning on flying with Virgin again and highly recommend their Premium Economy product; definitely worth the additional money.

Not Verified | New York JFK to Heathrow. I flew from JFK to Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic on 6/25. Our flight left JFK 2.5 hours late, I think to do with weather conditions in NYC. I missed my connecting flight to Milan. Upon arrival at Heathrow, there was a long line at the Virgin Atlantic ticketing booth. There were several large planes that had left late from JFK, but Virgin only had 2 people working at the ticketing booth. I waited in line for about 45 minutes just to get re-ticketed. When I finally got to the front of the line, the person there was not very helpful or accommodating. I ended up needing to talk with British Airways to figure out the right connecting flight to take, and then I had to get back in line again and talk to someone else at Virgin. I ended up at Heathrow for about 10 hours, and I'm fairly certain that I missed earlier connecting flights because ticketing at Virgin was such a mess. Staff on the plane were great, but ticketing was very understaffed and not very helpful.

❌ Not Verified | Atlanta to London. Check in staff at Atlanta need retraining in the art of customer service, they should be aware that without the customer there will be no job. When checking in I raised a query about the seat allocation and was told in no uncertain terms that I should sort out the problem with the other passengers on the aircraft when I got on board. So helpful and very nearly rude. There was no indication that the check in clerk was going to do anything to help as it all seemed to be too much trouble. As for the food on the flight, this left a lot to be desired. Virgin Atlantic need to sort this out as they will lose customers.

❌ Not Verified | Manchester to Orlando. The pre boarding experience and check in were fine. We were seated at the rear of the aircraft in the centre aisle. On boarding the stewardess sent us down the wrong side of the aisle which was ok but the other passenger who sat in our row of four (there were three of us) commented straight away "your in the wrong seat" as we were just checking it didn't really matter at that stage because we hadn't even sat down but she was very rude. Great start. We have flown to Orlando eight times, seven of which have been with Virgin and this was probably the second worst flight we have been on. Nothing wrong with the aircraft or crew but I object to sitting in the dark for almost five hours, this was a daytime flight. I have never known the lights to be dimmed and all window blinds closed, I'm not sure if the blinds was a coincidence but dimming the lights on the plane certainly wasnt. it was impossible to read. If I had been sitting by a window the blind would have been left open. The food was fine, the entertainment was ok but I did have a problem with the touch screen not responding correctly. Landing at Orlando was a little bumpy and immigration was quick and easy. All in all not up to the standard we are used to with Virgin on the outward trip. We returned in Premium economy and that was excellent.