Virgin Atlantic

LHR-MIA July 18 A330-300. Made seat selection for my wife and I when purchased the tickets in economy I go to on-line check-in the night before to find the seat selection changed and we are 20 rows apart. So telephone Virgin nothing can be done less that 24 hours as passenger lists are at the airport they suggest try changing when checking in. However then they suggest if I upgrade there is space in Premium Economy they connect me to a salesperson who explains that Premium Economy is like Business with other airlines. Virgin call it 'Business' then instead of this upgraded economy and save us all time. I am convinced Virgin changed my seats on purpose so as to push us to the upgrade. The upgrade was ridiculously expensive and not worth it. Food and beverage very mediocre entertainment hand-set didn't work (the passengers behind had to change seat as theirs didn't work at all). Sorry Virgin first time traveller and you've lost me.

LHR - Miami. On an older 747-400 aircraft the interior was a little shabby and dated but generally clean. IFE worked no problem but the entire row in front of me all had to be moved as their screens did not work. Plenty of meals and refreshments offered quality of the food was generally good but the options were limited. In general a fairly pleasant flight however the only down side was the surly attitude of the flight attendants.

Just back off Virgin Atlantic flight from Shanghai to London. Agree with the other reviewer - entertainment system was out of the dark ages games that look like they were from when I was young and movies on loops. Others do it so much better. The Air New Zealand flight was superior as is Emirates when I travel to Dubai.

LHR-BOS-LHR VS011/12 Premium Economy. Both flights on new A330-300s both clean and well-equipped. PE seats are good but I swear the pitch is shorter than PE on the VS 747s though the official stats suggest not. AVOD was good unusually they didn't switch off for landing which was a bonus. Staff were polite and friendly on both flights. On the return flight breakfast was served 1h40 mins before landing - outrageously and unnecessarily early for a relatively short night-time flight - in PE you would expect to be left to get more sleep! Otherwise high standard better than BA's World Traveller Plus even in the new cabins.

JFK-LHR Upper Class. Cannot complain about the trip. Spent time at the lounges beforehand including having the meal and showers. Crew polite and helpful especially for 5 yo kid. Meal portions in plane small but not an issue for me. AVOD okay. Being able to lie flat for the transatlantic flight even for 3-4 hours appreciated. Refreshers lounge in T3 on arrival is a good idea to wash up before hitting the city.

VS 096 YVR-LHR 28/9/2013 Seat 3G. Upper Class on board A330 - what's the point? Were their seat pods designed by a human being. There's just not enough room to move in any direction. You don't sit "in" these pods you sit "on" them. Even sitting typing my elbows are knocking on hard surfaces. The cabin crew have to walk with a pronounced wiggle sashaying and swaying to avoid hitting people. Plus apart from a pop down shelf there's nowhere to put anything and you're hemmed in by a glass screen to your right. The entertainment system wasn't working on this flight. The Steward didn't know how to operate it and suggested we "try to find" another set of headphones. We're approaching LHR at the moment and I'm still waiting. When my main course arrived it was cold. I mentioned these two issues to the CSD/Senior CC member who offered me some points by way of compensation. You're either a fan of the herringbone configuration or you're not but at least on the A340 it's 1-1-1 whereas on the A330 it's 1-2-1. Sleeping in these pods is so uncomfortable that I'd rather have had an old fashioned semi fold- back seat down the back than having endured one of these pods. If you do manage to nod off just wait because sooner or later you'll be knocked into nudged by someone trying the aisle-wiggle as they go by. The lounge at YVR is the anyone-can-pay generic North American lounge. No champagne hot food options are off a children's menu (baby pizza baby hot dogs mini meatballs) the seating is tiny and (again) squeezed in and the fake marble- topped coffee tables were falling to bits. The furnishings were tatty scuffed and bashed about. The seating areas outside the lounge was far superior. Overall: a terrible product badly maintained and cynically delivered.

Flew to Dubai from Heathrow not flown Virgin for over 3 years and was painfully reminded why I no longer fly Virgin. Old tatty plane poor food and an entertainment system from the dark ages that didn't work for many. The marketing is great for them but the delivery of the service is dreadful couldn't understand why the staff were just so rude and plain unhelpful sadly a week later returned and the same plane and same issues. Virgin used to be so good.

MCO-MAN. Virgin Atlantic is usually OK if I discount a terrible Manchester to Orlando last year. Flight back from Orlando this year was exceptional. Plane was clean. Entertainment was first rate and comprehensive. Staff were excellent particularly when dealing with a passenger who decided that he would sit in a row (extra leg room) which he had not paid for. I know the argument about paying extra but they are the rules corporate make and crew have to abide by them as well as passengers. Isn't it funny how indignant people get when being told - gently and respectfully in this case - they are in the wrong seat.

Travelled on the new 330/300 ORD-LHR with the new layout in Upper Class and found it one of the most uncomfortable Business class seats I have used in recent years. I travel over 500000 miles a year therefore feel well able to compare. Virgin have managed to squeeze an extra 7 seats into the first 7 rows. It is impossible to negotiate between the seats without knocking into other passengers feet. The suites are so small it is almost impossible to sleep comfortably. When other carriers are improving their business class product across the Atlantic. Virgin are going backwards. I have used Virgin Atlantic for many years but will have to seriously look at other options.

Upper Class Sydney-Hong Kong in August. The upper class service of this airline is equivalent to Premium economy service of many of the other airlines. The seats are tiny minimal storage low quality screens bad positioning of seats which means you have your back to the windows the whole time! Food is average for Business/First class service. Ground crew in Hong Kong were plain rude. Air crew were not rude but were very forgetful didn't really seem caring and seemed to be rushing all the time even though there were many of them around. Don't use this airline unless you have to or would like to save some cost while having a "better than economy" seat. They are cheaper than others for a reason.