Virgin Atlantic

Not Verified | We booked business class for our flight to and from New York. We fly business class a lot with other airlines but this is our first experience with Virgin Atlantic. While the service by crew was on par, the layout and space was awful. First, there is less storage room overhead than any international flight I have been on, let alone in business class. There is no room for any personal item such as laptop bag storage - even in coach there is underwear storage space. The lay flat beds fold over which feels like a waste of space and requires passengers to get up and adjust. All the seats face each other across the aisle, which is weird for privacy. In short, stop trying to cram so many seats into business class. Charge more if you need to but make it decent. Not flying Virgin business class again and will actively tell others not to unless things have changed.

✅ Trip Verified | Awful service. No food choices, no welcome drinks, no menus and poor quality overall. Can't believe how bad the service has slipped and COVID can't be blamed for this issue. This is budget cutting at its worse, while still charging premium prices to passengers. We paid £600 to upgrade to premium from economy and it was the worst decision ever. Upper class were given everything from champagne to snacks to meal choices and the rest of the flight had to mop up the scraps. Not the fault of the crew as half the stock wasn't loaded by ground staff, and they were in the line of fire from several passengers. Felt bad for them but they said that this was a regular occurrence that they don't have the stock or items to give a top service. Come on virgin, get your act together and up your game - there are several other airlines to choose from and customers will go elsewhere for better service.

✅ Trip Verified | The seat width is acceptable but has limited storage space. It turns into a flat bed but it won’t recline the way airline seats do. Virgin supplies a mattress and a blankets, as well as a pillow for each seat. Operating the seat is reasonably user friendly and has ample privacy but this is not an enclosed suite. USB and electric outlets are provided. The screen size was large but you can’t watch it if stowed. They wanted you to stow the screen during take-off and landing but you can’t watch those safety videos from that angle. I am surprised how this design was approved. The entertainment videos are plenty to keep you busy in the sky and you can have WiFi as well although you have to pay extra. Overall experience was good.

✅ Trip Verified | Virgin Atlantic service was exceptional but the seats layout was awkward. There was simply no privacy but I would admit the seat was very comfortable. This particular B787 seats are complicated to operate and simply not practical. USB power was not working. Food service was good although with a limited menu. Flight attendants were always there with professional service. The H lounge at LHR is also one of the best.

✅ Trip Verified | During this pandemic - I actually travelled Virgin Atlantic on the first trip after lockdown here in the UK that they had with passengers. Hiccups on the way were expected. The seat was wonderful, the leather is really soft and the crew are just brilliant. I had a bulkhead seat on 21A and there was plenty of legroom. Cabin Crew bring through these items that you can put your foot on, like a leg rest but it is moveable due to the bulkhead. My only downside would be that the screen is on the side of you and can get stuck when you try to stow it back to its original position.

Not Verified | Dreadful, nasty old 747. Cramped, old fashioned, outdated IFE, very narrow seat pitch, dreadful livery. Truly an awful experience, never again. In fact, the whole aircraft was crammed to the rafters. Felt like cattle by the end of the Manchester to Orlando flight. The word ‘Premium’ should be removed under the Trade Descriptions Act.

Not Verified | I just boarded my long flight (in Atlanta) for London and am unhappy already! We paid for more legroom (I believe it’s called comfort/premium) and can’t believe that the seats are so small and tight. We flew from Florida to Atlanta in Delta comfort, and the seats and they were very nice. This was a waste of money!

✅ Trip Verified | The movable head rests are awful, they are intended for comfort but I just found myself sitting with my back to the chair and my head uncomfortably forward, this leaves no room for me to use my neck pillow and get a decent night sleep. The recline on the seat isn't great either.I am of average height 5'10 I can only imagine how uncomfortable these seats are for the taller person.

Not Verified | Staff excellent. Meals much improved. Overall very pleased, but the reclining seat in front nearly broke my kneecaps! I’m just over six feet tall, which is not exceptional, and travelling Premium Economy in hope of extra room. More space please, it spoilt an otherwise enjoyable flight - not looking forward to flight home now.

✅ Trip Verified | Extra legroom seat which is a plus however the Boeing 747-400 seat itself is very narrow. Virgin Atlantic have shrunk the size of the economy seats to 17.3 inches which is the narrowest seat of any full service British carrier out there. Was too narrow for my taste.