Virgin Atlantic

We agree wholeheartedly with the last reviewer after an absolutely appalling flight from Hong Kong to London recently! We travel frequently and have come to expect economy seats that are cramped but this flight took it to a whole new level of discomfort with no legroom whatsoever and seats so close that it epitomised that saying "in cattle class". The service was non existent and not once in the 12 hour flight did the toilets get cleaned and with a plane full of people they became unhygienic and disgraceful very quickly and stayed that way. We actually booked from NZ to London with Air New Zealand but were code shared on VA from Hong Kong after a stopover there so were disappointed that our national carrier aligns itself with this airline. We would strongly advise you to heed the reviews here and on other sites and not fly with VA we certainly will be steering well clear of them in the future!

New York / London - Upper Class. Virgin seem to constantly cut back on food and comfort. The new beds/seats are narrower and shorter they taper in at the end making them uncomfortable. This has allowed them to add more seats overall in the cabin but this is greatly at the expense of customer comfort. Again they have cut back again on the food service. You are no longer able to order a meal when you want you have to eat within 90 minutes of take off. Another deterioration in the service. Overall if you get the new upper class cabin is not a great experience al things considered. The food is cheap small and basic.

Congratulations you are the Ryanair of Long Haul. Economy class is a cruel place to endure for hours on end with too many cramped and uncomfortable seats and not enough toilets. The staff were too busy to deal with us effectively. Flight VS7 on Nov 2nd 2013 had smells from the toilet drifting over us. When the person in front reclines the seat you cannot eat from the drop down ledge nor can you get out of the seat to relieve the cramps and discomfort. It was a grim experience that I will never repeat.

8/11/13 from Canberra to Sydney and VS201 Sydney to Hong Kong. Return flight on 17/11/13 VS 200 from Hong Kong to Sydney. This was a 10 hour flight and the worst flight ever for me on an airline. First of all they couldn't co-ordinate between Virgin companies secondly the seats were so hard and thirdly they forgot our meal and when we requested it were asked if we liked it and wanted seconds we had to inform them that we had not been fed yet there was no choice of food as they had run out! I had an accident in Hong Kong and broke my elbow and sprained my ankle on the return trip we asked if we could bid for an upgrade to make it more comfortable for me and there was no excuse just a straight out "No" and a filthy look we were prepared to pay for this upgrade. We will not be flying with them again and take an overseas trip on an annual basis. Not a huge variety of entertainment available compared to other airlines.

Having paid a lot extra for Premium Economy we waited two hours after take off to be served. They only have two stewards for 62 premium economy passengers on this flight from Heathrow to San Francisco. After two red wines we were told that they had run out as they needed the extra drinks for the return journey. On both the outward and return my wife's pre-ordered vegetarian meal had not been loaded onto the plane. The worst aspect of Virgin is that their Customer Service department is incredibly slow and unresponsive. We have cancelled a holiday to Barbados with Virgin flying Premium Economy as their service is so bad.

Flew from Barbados to Manchester on the 15th of November 2013. The virgin ticketing agent at Grantley Adams Airport was a disgrace. Sarcastic rude her attitude was a disgrace. She ruined my experience with Virgin.

LAX-LHR in upper class. There is no upper class lounge at LAX but check in was a breeze as was boarding. Service on board was excellent crew very attentive and professional. Managed a good 4hr sleep on the flat bed. The Virgin upper class on the A340 is looking a little tired but the seat is very comfortable and well laid out. Didn't visit the bar as it was a night flight. The amenity bag was pretty forgettable but the food was great as was the on board entertainment selection. Flight landed 45 mins early into LHR and my luggage was waiting for me when I got through passport control which only took ten minutes. All in all a fantastic flight very professional and efficient crew and I highly recommend this airline.

Check in at Heathrow was good. No waiting. The Upper Class lounge at Heathrow T3 is a great place to be and I was disappointed to leave for the flight! Flight out: Seat was good. Service was good. However the general impression on the way out was that those who were the most demanding got the most attentive service. I do not enjoy being demanding and constantly asking for this and that. When you pay £2000 for return flights you expect people to ask you if you would like something. Flight Back: The staff at the Upper Class lounge at JFK T4 were superb even at 5.45 am. There was one young guy on duty who was brilliant. Service on flight back was even better than flight out. My first trip on Virgin and I would use them again.

Couldn't check in online and was told to do it at the airport. When I got to the airport the lady had to release a seat for me which after my below experience makes me wonder if that seat was not reservable because it was known that the screen didn't work. The screen at my seat was broken and did not work. 1st DVD player I was provided with was broken and the volume didn't work. 2nd DVD player ran out of battery before I could even finish 1 movie. Asked twice for a new battery and waited 50 minutes for the battery (after 20 minutes I was told that they would come back after they had done duty free - so selling additional products to passengers obviously takes priority over the comfort of customers who are experiencing poor service). The selection of DVD's was no more than 10 movies which for a 9+ hour daytime flight is very limiting. After asking twice again for more DVD's and waiting 35 minutes I (again) had to walk to the back of the plane and ask for them. I am not sure if it is possible to turn off the assistance button as it worked at the start of the flight (the blue light came on) but didn't work again after the 2nd press.

I have travelled Virgin many times and am travelling in two weeks to Barbados with them again. They are fantastic. I go twice a year to the Caribbean and on one occasion flew BA who were very rude treated you like a number and seemed annoyed you were on board. Virgin are different. Your holiday really does start on the plane! The staff are superb and are very well trained they will do anything for you. I was once given extra food air miles and Apologies from three different staff after my TV did of work. They then moved me to an extra leg room seat so I could watch tv. The economy and premium service is very good for what you pay. Terrific entertainment nice cabin lighting and good seats. I agree the pillows are a bit of itchy but its not a hotel. The best thing is the staff. The night flights are boring and claustrophobic in economy which is the same as every airline I would recommend a refreshing snack half way through or a cold towel. In response to the kids meal review its not a restaurant it would be hard to provide pizza burgers nuggets etc for every kid with different taste.