Virgin Atlantic

VS085 on 15 Sep 2013 out of Manchester UK. Traveled with most airlines to USA but this first time with Virgin from Manchester to Las Vegas was by far the best experience yet. Flight attendants were pleasant and attentive The food was surprisingly good and plenty of it. Seating was typical of all economy cabins. Will definitely use again.

YVR-LHR Sept 11/13 VS95. I decided to fly Virgin to experience what they advertise. Was extremely disappointed with this flight. Right from check in where an elderly Customer Service persons who presented with poor attitude when I checked into Economy not once but twice. The flight right from take off on "Molly" which was obviously an old aircraft not kept up to the standard Virgin advertises. The crew had no time for the Economy cabin the evening meal was rushed through with no refreshment (drink) offered before dinner. Absolutely no snacks offered after dinner (for a good six hours) till they served breakfast which was awful a small dry bagel and cream cheese and orange juice. None of the flight crew came around to offer any water and juice (like they normally do) Over all this was a very bad flight and experience on Virgin which I doubt will use again. The return journey on Sept 28 LHR-YVR was much better with a very pleasant and hard working flight crew that treated all cabins with respect and good service. The comparison between the 2 flights was like day and night.

Flew LGW-MCO-LGW April 2013 and overall a very good experience. Booked seat online 90 days before however at twilight check-in at LGW told seats couldn't honoured (party of 10) but check-in staff did manage to get us all together (although it was the last row of aircraft). Twilight check in is a real bonus as the following morning meant we just had to clear passport control/security. The outbound flight was good and although at the back of the aircraft except for a bit of a whiff from the toilets there was more that enough room and were able to get up and chat to others in party without disturbing anyone. The upgraded 747's at LGW are superb and the seatback entertainment is amazing it kept 4 kids quiet the whole way there :) The meals aren't great but it breaks up the flight. On the return 4 of the party upgraded to Premium Economy which they were really impressed with some nice touches as well such as co italics and toiletry set. The other 6 were in economy upstairs which if you can get this cabin in great. Same seats as downstairs but a quieter cosy cabin. All in all couldn't fault Virgin from LGW especially with the upgraded aircraft.

I am a well-experienced traveler 100% of the time on Delta. I always fly Business Elite both domestic and international. The Virgin Upper Class experience was inferior to Delta in the following ways: the aircraft itself (A340-600) the seats the service the meals (both delivery and the meal itself) the entertainment and the overall product. The exception was the staff all of whom were exemplary. I would be happy to discuss this with anyone who would like more information. Delta's Business Elite is superior to Virgin's Upper Class on all counts.

My partner and I were due to get married in Vancouver in September 2013 and we thought we would go the extra mile and fly Virgin. A month later I get an email from Virgin saying the flights had been cancelled and they could now not fly us out until the 3rd September. I phoned their customer services department and was told there was nothing they could do. After 30 minutes they eventually agreed to upgrade us to premium economy for the flights on 3rd which I accepted. On 3rd Sep we arrived at the airport and on check-in I mentioned the upgrade. Told only one of us could have the upgrade. There was no way my partner and I wanted to be separated for a 10 hour flight. He said there was nothing he could do there was only room for 1 of us so we were stuck in economy. The flight crew supervisor came over and explained she knew what had happened and was very apologetic. She said there was not room for both of us in premium economy but that her and the cabin crew would give us the premium service where we were sat to try and make the flight better. I have to say the staff were brilliant. They could not do enough. They brought my partner and I champagne before we even took off. They then continued to top our glasses up with champagne for the entire flight. We were given our first choice of meals and our meals first and when we landed the flight crew have us another bottle of champagne to take with us. Fantastic service and flight from that crew. I then telephoned customer services to complain and I was told they will now give us the upgrade on the way home which when we got to the airport they again said there was no room for us in premium economy and we weren't upgraded as agreed. We will not be flying virgin again.

Manchester to Las Vegas Stag party nightmare 9 hours of hell. Party drunk when boarded given more alcohol by attendants allowed to drink their Duty Free Vodka and the they were sold 20 bottles of mini champagne. Swearing inappropriate language used the attendants made it a no go zone and other passengers in the this area were left to attend to themselves. Apparently this has been a regular occurrence on Las Vegas flights. Never again with Virgin.

August 15-22 2013 EWR-LHR-DXB and return. First time on Virgin and a disappointment except for the stylish attitude. Economy all the way but tried an upgrade to Premium Economy on one return leg which they offered at a low price. Very mediocre entertainment system with limited selections movies on loops instead of on demand and surprisingly not many music choices- all with lots of rebooting and starting over. Way below Emirates and even other carriers. Food was small portions and poor which supported my policy to eat as little on planes as possible. Breakfast was like US Air very minimal. Tight seating in general last leg was far in the rear of Airbus with seat so narrow I was in hip pain for a week after. Premium Economy was very good in terms of seats same and entertainment. Upper class just one row ahead did not look inviting I see the point of the many comments. Travel agent chose this carrier for best price but everyone else is better.

LGW-LAS return last week the quality of the staff and the food in the economy cabin left a lot to be desired the staff looked tired and on occasions seemed sullen the food was some of the worse I have had on an international flight I felt as if the staff gave the impression that the passengers were a bit of a bind only to be tolerated certainly not service with a smile. real or otherwise. I would suggest that the owner of this airline travels in economy to experience the conditions for himself.

LHR to LAX return: We flew economy and having flown with them to India earlier this year we decided not to expect much. The flight outwards (June) was a little delayed because the Captain was stuck on the M25 in a traffic jam but we arrived in LAX only a few minutes late. The flight back (September) left on time and arrived early. Both planes were reasonably new and the entertainment systems worked once they had been rebooted. Check-in staff were helpful and took our "just over the weight limit bags" without comment. Food on both legs was very poor and having suffered their dreadful versions of vegetarian food when we went to India I had taken the precaution of buying my own main course at M&S (LHR) or at a deli (LAX) - this proved to be a wise choice and I was the envy of my row. On the return flight pre-meal drinks arrived after we had eaten which seemed a bit strange. Breakfast offerings in economy were a complete joke and not worth accepting. The cabin crew worked reasonably hard but I did get a little tired of cabin announcements. They did give everyone the impression that the trip was a holiday for them and they were going to have a good time when they got to LAX (or LHR) and were very self congratulatory over the PA system on "how hard they had worked to please us". Maybe they think that if they say it often enough we will believe them. We had a choice of airlines when booking our flights and chose the cheapest but on reflection we will fly with BA next time because despite the complaints they get we think they are better than Virgin. Our first choice would be Air New Zealand but they are much more expensive.

VS20 flight from London Heathrow to San Francisco and back. We never got a chance to choose our seats (not during booking or before check in or at check in). Seats and leg room is tight. Found it even tighter (claustrophobic even upstairs). Food (especially breakfast) is a joke. Staff are not trying to help at all. Poor service. All the money must go into these fancy commercials. Worst part: Virgin lost one of our suitcases and it took them 9 days to send it. Worst customer service. Will not fly again.