Virgin Atlantic

Not Verified | The staff both outward and inward were very good. My main gripes are the food and beverages for such a long flight. The children’s meals were inedible and of very poor quality. The wine in a can is abysmal. The inflight entertainment is adequate. When you have a flight in excess of 7/8 hours, good food, drink & entertainment are the things that help pass the time pleasurably, especially if you’ve paid to upgrade the flight. We flew back Upper Class but I can’t say it was much better. The flat bed seats are like ironing boards and so uncomfortable, the food & wine were marginally better than Premium but not outstanding. I regret to say I will go back to BA. Virgin, I gave you the opportunity but felt let down, especially for the price paid.

Not Verified | I flew with this airline for Christmas. Great airline, everything is up to standards. The food was great and it was very spacious. Especially my flight attendant who is lovely and attends to my every need, definitely outstanding service!

✅ Trip Verified | Used Virgin for the 2nd time in 10 days this time in Premium Economy, premium check in at Orlando took only seconds and security about 30 minutes. I used the Delta Club Lounge through my FF tier which was very busy not great but a bit better than the general busy departure area. Boarding was a bit slow but once on board everything pretty good, seat 20A was comfortable crew where great and surprisingly the food was pretty good too. Departed on time and arrived about 10 minutes late after 8 hours 20 minutes. I'm a big fan of premium economy and actually I felt the seat was more comfortable than my previous flight on the 787 Upper Class. Premium economy fares have increased lots recently but if you can get a decent fare I would use premium economy on Virgin Atlantic.

✅ Trip Verified | Used Virgin Atlantic for this trip, first time with VA for about 5 years. Check in at Heathrow T3 very quick priority security also very quick, on to the Virgin Clubhouse which is always good but perhaps VS need to look at the scan system for ordering food which I waited for for 30 minutes after ordering. Boarding was simple and well organised, seat 2A on the Boeing 789 was fine although I've never liked this seat, it was okay, flight departed on time and arrived just about on time after 9 hours. Crew were great, I didn't know what to expect food wise, but it was pretty nice and I enjoyed it anyway. I had changes made to this flight 3 or 4 times which meant having to contact the Virgin call centre which was a pain. That said I like Virgin, never used them lots because I dont visit the US that much, but I feel they are the best between UK & US.

✅ Trip Verified | I never came to Virgin expecting too premium of a service but I wasn’t expecting for them to have such a level of disrespect for their customers. The flight was actually ok, pleasant enough even. They have good shows I suppose. The problems was their baggage tracing and appeals platform. They had lost my bag. I had to buy new things, stay a week longer because they said my bag ‘might’ show up (on their website they said wait about two weeks, no one actually ever bothered to contact me, ever). Nevertheless I had to leave Los Angeles and couldn’t wait there anymore and had paid extra to wait and stay in my hotel. So I left without a word from them, my bag effectively in limbo and my financial claims unanswered. Never a word from them. For a month according to their own policy they had officially lost my bag. Finally, “your bags arrived" in Los Angeles. Now I had to get it cross the country which wasn’t cheap either. I decided to get a claim together and send it to the company, I had already sent the little expenses in for clothes but they didn’t pay. Well, the first claim was sent around July 14, they first got back to me about my claim this morning (October 24th). Their response: sorry, I guess. Such a long drawn out, stressful waste of time. I could have gotten a way better service: a nicer seat and better service and paid a fraction of how much they ended up costing. Nevertheless they didn’t care to respond for months and when they did only to say “computer says no”.

Not Verified | I have an allergy to sesame seeds. I was offered a chance to choose a "special meal" but no information on the sesame seed content. When I asked the members of staff they had no idea if the food contained sesame seeds and made no effort to find out. The food, with one exception, was labelled only in Hebrew. It was also quite horrible. Given that there has been a least one tragic death on a plane, it would surely be prudent for the staff to have a working knowledge of allergens.

✅ Trip Verified | The inflight entertainment system was not working could not see the safety instructions. When complained a very rude air staff made an excuse. Then two hours before landing the whole system was reset and it was working. The food was awful no taste. Seat very uncomfortable.

✅ Trip Verified | Flew Virgin to Islamabad, Ground Staff at Heathrow was at shortage therefore not-so smooth Check-in and boarding process. The flight pushed back 2hrs late which did get annoying. The seats were spacious, and legroom was excellent even in the far end of the Economy section. The IFE's were quite responsive and easy to use and had many choices available. The crew were also very attentive and helpful. The meals were delicious and fulfilling. Landing in Islamabad was considerably delayed, for those connecting to other destinations it may have been a hassle, however passengers like us whose journey terminates in Islamabad it wasn't that impactful. Overall, an average service, not comparable to the airlines in the Middle East, however in terms of the British/EU/American market they offer a great product and service.

✅ Trip Verified | I recently flew to Johannesburg with Virgin on their "new" A350, and it was mediocre at best. The cabin crew were fine, a bit absent during the flight, but no more so than other airlines. I flew economy delight and the seat was nice, especially the extra leg room. Unfortunately after take off there was an issue with the entertainment system which was reset, but a lot of the movies had no sound which was disappointing on a ten and half hour flight. The food portions were tiny, as were the drinks, but perhaps that is what it is like after COVID. It just seemed mean. On arrival at Johannesburg my suitcase was broken so the Virgin rep got me to fill in a form and told me they would get back to me within the week. This never happened. I have tried calling the number on several occasions and no one picks up. It is very poor customer service, actually there is no customer service! I don't expect a lot but I do expect to be treated with a bit of respect and this has not been my experience. I am not looking forward to the return flight, but it will at least be my last with this airline. Considering everything that is going on in the world, do yourself a favour Virgin and realise there are lots of companies out there that deliver a better service and value for money.

✅ Trip Verified | We planned a 40th birthday trip for myself, my wife and some friends to Las Vegas then heading to California then flying home from Las Vegas again. I am 6"7 so we opted for the upgrade to economy delight. We checked for the front row seats at the time of booking and during the build up to the trip but they were never available. The flight back there was next to no food/drinks on offer for the upgrade we booked. The lady in front reclined her seat when the flight took off, she pressed the seat against my knees. Fast forward a few hours where I had finally got to sleep on the over night flight. I was rudely awaken by the stewardess on the chair in front, knee up on the chair, left hand on the recline button and the right hand on the head rest as she repeatedly jumped to recline the chair. My wife saw exactly what happened as she woke from her sleep (light sleeper) and shouted that they stopped. The chair was slammed back in to my knees like 5 or 6 times before she stopped and exclaimed that everyone has the right to recline their seat. Her only response was "Oh!"... no apology, no offer to move the lady in front or myself to a more suitable seat. I filed a complaint with Virgin about the awful service but they don't care. They have offered me some points that will get me money off my next booking but nothing great. Awful experience, awful customer service and awful complaint handling. Won't be flying with them again.