Virgin Atlantic

LGW to LAS return ORD to LHR. Flight to Vegas good. In the bubble of a 747. Good on demand video aircraft newly refurbished. Flight back on an A340 with dreadful inflight entertainment from the stone age. The crew were good on both flights kept us supplied with water and orange juice. My only real complaint was the food! Not expecting gourmet in cattle truck class but the food really is dreadful. The food out was passable (just) but the return leg from Chicago was inedible. Bread rolls that resembled a pet rock a lump of gristle the menu said was beef and breakfast was some lump of coloured sugar called a breakfast bap another lump of sugar called oat bar and a frozen lump of sugar called orange juice. And to finish - a mini roll of love hearts sweets! Come in Virgin - we know you need to keep costs down but surely you could do better that that?

JFK-LHR (final destination HAM) on VS 046 (747-400) as a family of 5 including one infant. Check-in in JFK took 30 min. I asked for information on how to transfer from T3 to T5 at LHR but no info was available. At the gate in JFK we handed over our stroller to ground staff for delivery at a/c in LHR. In the a/c eventually we were then told that at LHR strollers are only delivered at the baggage belt and never at aircraft. Well our stroller is still missing. Shortly after take-off we asked for a baby bassinet. It was only then that cabin crew advised us that our daughter is 1kg over the 9kg bassinet-limit so we won't be able to use it. Meal quality is what it is for Economy Class - nothing wrong about that. Surprised to see that cabin crew would not go around to distribute water or sodas during the night. Astonished by the general behaviour of most of the cabin crew: mainly impudent sloppy and almost rude. To summarise it was a pretty lousy experience and a big disappointment for me as I always thought very highly of VS and their product strategies. Instead of service trained cabin crew we had the impression to be taken care of by a crew of teenage girls in uniforms. While the IFE is very comprehensive (but nothing extraordinary anymore compared to today's standard) the human contact still is the most important part of product quality in the airline business and this is were in my view VS failed completely.

We had booked an Air NZ flight but with Star Alliance ended up with a part journey Heathrow to San Francisco on Virgin Atlantic. I had the misfortune of getting sick during the flight. Once they realised I was sick and not in need of emergency medical help they ignored me and my flight was awful. Never made any effort to assist. They said they would get our carry on bags taken for us. As we had a family of five with small children we had a number of bags. As soon as I took a step off the flight they decided they could not. You can imagine my feelings towards them at that point. Should be avoided at all costs.

LGW-ANU and return. Excellent flight experience. Seats were comfortable and converted into lie-flat beds with proper sheets and pillows as well as a "sleep-suit" provided. Service was friendly and efficient. Food outstandingly good.

LAX-LHR-LAX on an airbus A340-600. Both flights were wonderful and comfortable. Check-in staff and inflight cabin crew were welcoming and helpful. The food drinks and snacks were great. Clean cabin. Inflight entertainment was excellent. Inflight amenity kit also given. Would definitely use for my next travel plans.

Very disappointed flight going out to Orlando from Gatwick ok. Flight coming back was a joke 747-400 very cramped unable to put tray down as not any room. Husband had to ask for a drink of water an hour into flight as nothing offered. Dinner served 1.5 hrs later if you can call it dinner. Breakfast was a flat muffin a thin biscuit and a mouthful of orange. Staff very rude. I will never use them again.

LHR-NYC-LHR on 747's. Planes were old and surprisingly dirty. Staff nice and chatty trying to make you feel welcome and providing a good service. Cabin and IFE old and worn out. I would recommend VS only if you get your ticket for a good price otherwise the other European carriers are a better alternative.

Little Red - LHR-MAN VS3041 - 22/07/13 - MAN-LHR VS3044 - 24/07/13. Check-in staff at LHR very friendly and engaged with customers Boarding and departure was on-time and landed early into Manchester. Same standard of product offered as BA onboard. Check-in staff at MAN where inattentive and didn't interact with customers. At the gate the same staff were boarding passengers onto the plane again no customer service at all and the staff just chatted to each other whilst scanning customer boarding cards. Flight left 15 mins ahead of schedule and landed 30 mins early into LHR. Both flights where quite empty the crew didn't have much to do so I wouldn't like to comment to much here and as time passes and the flights hopefully get busier then I hope the crew will be able to become more customer engaging. Overall the only thing that let my trip down was the Manchester check in staff. Came across to me as either bored or not interested in the customers.

Originally booked under the impression that this was a direct flight from Sydney to London. There was a stopover in Hong Kong where passengers were herded off the plane herded through a security check through passport control and onto the plane where we proceeded to sit on the runway for 3 hours. Plane was late into London and we missed our connection. Virgin issued us new tickets which we took to BA only to discover that we had been issued with tickets but the flight had not been booked and the best that they could offer was 3 separate seats. Arrived at our destination 5 hours late. On the return journey to Australia I was informed in London that my 5 year old granddaughter could not be booked on the flight from Sydney to Brisbane and was to ask at the desk in Hong Kong. In HK a surly staff member informed me he couldn't book her on either on returning to the security check I was informed that my tickets were on the wrong date. Back to the long queue. Armed with the right ticket we reached the plane and arrived in Sydney on time. Our flight to Brisbane had been cancelled - a 6 hour delay. I have been doing a lot of international travel over the last 40 years but I have never experience 2 such journeys. I will never again fly Virgin and I will not recommend them to anyone.

LHR-BOS on newly acquired A330-300 flight VS11 returning on the same aircraft flight VS12 some 2 weeks later. We booked Premium Economy both ways and were interested to see how the new aircraft compared to the A340-600 and the B747 we had used with VA over the past 20 years making the same trip. Our flight out was fine (day flight) with all of the staff very attentive and efficient. Refreshments were plentiful and the food ok. The new Premium Economy seats were just about acceptable given the quite short leg room. Boarding excellent. Return journey (night flight) was very disappointing with quite a late dinner leaving about 2+ hours for some sleep before time for their so called breakfast. This night flight seemed understaffed or were very inefficient but the most disappointing aspect was how uncomfortable the seating was when the person in front put their seats back into the fully reclining position. Being only just over 6 feet tall the seat pressed on my knees for most of the time making any sleep impossible. Also very difficult to get up to stretch or visit the washroom. The food was substandard and poorly presented. What a disappointment bring back Premium Economy in the bubble of the 747's or can I suggest that VA management take a trip and fly Premium Economy with Air New Zealand to see how it should be done!