Virgin Atlantic Airways

Flying Heathrow to LAX on the 15:45 flight. My flight over was fantastic! Premium Economy is just like Business Class! Check In was extremely helpful and fast. Looking forward to a great flight today as well!

The lounge was okay. I asked for a Bloody Mary about 40 minutes before landing and was told the bar was closed. This would never happened on AirFrance! They would open the damn bar! Also, for these prices? The bar is closed that bullshit!
You call this UpperClass?

i absolutely WOULD NOT recommend flying with them. They cancelled returning flight for my mother and when I was trying to figure out why that happened they said I am a third party therefore they would not talk to me. MY MOTHER DOES NOT SPEAK ENGLISH! I asked if they have anyone who speaks Russian, they replied NO and hung up on me. I hope they fix their customer service ASAP or just go out of business

Worst airline experience in my life, terrible customer service (they even hung up on me while I was talking to them).
If you have connected flights, or you are constraint by time and need to leave around the time you are booking the flight, skip. If you want to be treated like a person and not like a bag of trash, skip as well.
Booked a round trip flight from SFO to LHR. The return flight was supposed to leave from LHR at 3:20 pm. I get an email from Virgin saying that they are moving my flight 3 hours, to 12:20 pm instead. It is impossible for me to be at the airport at that time, so I call them to cancel the flight since they changed the time so much.
They tell me that they don’t need to take any responsibility if they change flights for less than 5 hours. Their options are to cancel the flight but I get no refund (apart from some taxes) and that they move my flight to the next time but I need to cover the fare difference (which is $ 300).

I booked with Virgin my return trip to NY. I decided to book premium Economy for a little bit extra money. And it’s definitely worth it.
Super fast check in, no queue to enter the plane, super friendly stuff, extra leg room, glass of prosecco to start the journey with, delicious food and snacks, unlimited alcohol and a vast selection of films and tv show on demand. To be honest I was quite disappointed that the flight was over so quickly… if you can consider 7h a short journey.
Ohhh…and what’s most important, camels fly for free :)

We flew from Atlanta to London on Virgin Atlantic in early August.
Pros:
1) We chose exit row seating (paid extra) and had massive amounts of legroom at the front of one of the economy sections. We did have to pay extra for this privilege.
2) The flight attendant (unfortunately did not catch her name) was very friendly and chatty.
3) The on-​demand entertainment system was decent.
Cons:
1) The food was awful. I don’t have gourmet expectations on flights, but this was truly horrible. At dinner, they somehow managed to make rice inedible. Breakfast was even worse, with dry and crumbly yogurt! Yech.
2) The seat was uncomfortable. Again, I don’t expect to feel like I’m sitting on a cloud in economy class, but I think Virgin skimped on padding the seats. This made the last few hours of the flight a rather uncomfortable experience.
Overall, I think Virgin is overhyped. Yes, they have cool ambient lighting on their planes, but the only thing that saved this flight from being a poor experience was the good service from the flight attendants.

Unlike several other reviewers, I have nothing but good things to say about my Virgin Atlantic experience.
I booked a round-​trip from JFK to LHR in Premium Economy. I received nothing but excellent service from all VA personnel whom I dealt with, from gate agents, to flight attendants.
The Premium Economy experience itself was superior to the First Class experiences I’ve had with US domestic carriers — the only difference was slightly less seat pitch, however the in-​flight meals and entertainment more than made up for this in my opinion.

I appreciate the convenient direct routes between LA and LHR. Very courteous staff clean comfortable cabins. However I’ve never been able to gel with the cabin design where I am always facing away from the windows. On time performance has been spotty lately, this has caused me a fair amount of inconvenience on several occasions. Before the introduction of the new 787 on my route late last year, the age on the aircraft was apparent with creaky tray tables, patchy entertainment system and a seats which wouldn’t go all the way flat on some occasions. Anyway, the convenience of this route and niceness of the staff partially makes up for this.

I am writing about Virgin Atlantic flight # VS 301 on April 29, 2015 Delhi to London.
I love Virgin Atlantic and its services and have flown it numerous times round trip NY to Delhi round trip as an Upper Class passenger. But after the despicable treatment I and several other passengers received from your ground crew in Delhi it makes me think I should not fly with you again.
These personnel not only did NOT help me as a Upper Class and DISABLED passenger, but were extremely rude. What happened is shocking given your reputation and also was so unnecessary.
I work for a humanitarian organization in Nepal and I travel annually roudntrip from NYC on Virgin to Delhi. I travel Jet Air Katmandu/​Delhi on arrival and never before had any problem.
Because of the devastation caused by the Nepal earthquake, the Jet Air flight on April 29 from Katmandu to Delhi was understandably delayed. Virgin was informed of this in advance. Eight passengers were traveling the same route.
We arrived at Delhi and rushed to the Virgin gate at 1PM. The London flight was delayed by technical problems and BOARDING HAD NOT BEGUN.
The Virgin ground crew, under the cruel and illogical control of Ms. Manju the manager, would not allow us to check in or even enter the gate area!!! My wheelchair by that time had disappeared and I was left standing outside the gate with no food, water, place to sit, with no money, no phone or wifi, and I was not allowed to join those already checked in. Is this the way Virgin treats first class passengers, especially those needing assistance?
Ms. Manju even refused to let me go to the lounge to rest. At 3 PM was flight was officially canceled and all the people at the gate were given hotels. But not us. It was an extraordinary circumstance. We had all have gone through a major earthquake.
What was Ms. Manju’s logic? Even when the flight was cancelled she continued to refuse to honor our boarding passes and check us in so that we would at least have an ongoing flight.
WHY? Could it be that Virgin did not want to pay the hotel bill?
Finally we found some help and understanding at the Airport Information Desk where that representative (not part of Virgin) tried to sort it out with the only remaining ground crew member, Mr. Rahoul, who tried his best. At 7PM (6 hours after we arrived) he was finally able to arrange new boarding cards for us for the next day and a hotel.
But the difficulties did not stop there because then security would not let us pass because Virgin refused to issue each of us a letter of permission. We got stuck again with Indian police. Thus Virgin failed again in their duty to their passengers, resulting in another round of delays.
When we finally made it to the airport hotel, there was no record of a reservation for us! Once again, we had to wait until someone was found from Virgin so that we could enter the hotel. Confusion reigned again the next day as no clear directive was given on how we would identify our bags.
The management of Virgin at the Delhi Airport is inefficient and not passenger-​friendly, in total contradiction to Virgin’s customer service agreement and advertisements. No apologies or even a sense of understanding from Virgin personnel, only confusion at each step and complete disrespect.
Is this the way Virgin treats its clients, especially long time Upper Class frequent fliers? Is it worth it to fly with you? As a first class passenger with a disability, I was given no help or assistance and treated not only rudely, but in a manner dangerous to my health.
Because of this traumatic experience I am requesting at least full compensation for this trip for the stress and difficulties I encountered through this episode that also affected my health. It is the least Virgin can do to maintain its reputation and status as a world-​class airline.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter and I look forward to your speedy response.
Very truly yours,
V

Love every experience of Virgin Atlantic, maybe I am bias as I fly regularly on Upper Class for work. Every experience start with their limo pick-​up that wisp you to their private Upper Class check-​in area. This comes with VIP security that takes seconds… Once tired of shopping the lounge awaits. The lounge is amazing with showers, steam room, pool, spa area, cocktail bar, etc…
Then it is on to the plane… Your suite await… Stunning service and amazing entertainment…

Always a nice surprise when i get booked on virgin. Friendly service, sense of style, small snacks, often have plenty of room. Somehow feel a lot happier versus flying on legacy airlines

Craig Kreeger should be ashamed of himself for running such an awful airline. I took the flight from Heathrow to San Francisco. It was horrific. Old plane, non-​functioning screen, dirty seats, dirty seat pockets from prior passengers, awful food, terrible incompetent service, Under staffed cabin. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER again will I go anywhere near this awful airline. His interview in view of his airline performance is laughable!
This is not an edgy cool airline as it is claimed by its advertising. It is more like a bus in third world country. It was a horrific experience end-​to-​end. Never again!

I flew LAX — Heathrow, round trip, in mid-​November 2014 on Virgin Atlantic. This was my first experience with VA and, after flying with United for years, I was hoping for a pleasant change.
The outbound flight was sorely disappointing. The first sign of things to come was that VA unceremoniously reassigned my seat without notification. I had chosen seat 32C months ahead, only to find out at online check-​in that my seat had been changed to 32D. On the plane, I saw that another person had both seats 32C (isle seat) and 32B (a window seat).
VA flights take off from terminal 2 in LAX. Forgive me for saying so, but that terminal is ghetto — it is crowded & dingy, and NOT connected to the swanky Tom Bradley Terminal (TBT) at all. There are no restaurants in that terminal and there are only limited restroom facilities. (To get to TBT for some decent eateries, you will either walk a long way or take a shuttle; and you have to go through security check.)
I am short and so as I approached my seat I said to a flight attendant, who was standing nearby, that I will need help to hoist my carry-​on bag overhead. To my astonishment, she icily said «Then you should not have brought it.»
Then, for some reason, the plane was not air-​conditioned until takeoff — it was steamy hot in the cabin for almost 30 minutes and frankly I was surprised that no one fainted from the heat.
In the lowly coach class, the bathrooms were untidy and the food was no better if not worse than that served on United. The entertainment center is outdated and the program selection severely limited.
The return flight, including sanitation condition, was better. But be aware that there is NO bathroom at the departing gate in Heathrow Terminal 3 once you go past a certain point on your long walk to the departing gate — there is a sign that says «no toilets beyond this point»; take heed of that!
And if you want to avoid screaming babies, stay far away from row 31 — that’s where baby bassinets are mounted inflight.
It is impossible to contact VA’s customer assistance stateside; the phone connection is poor and tough to get through. And now I see that VA has just started to charge extra if you want to choose your own seat. Aarrgh!
All in all, I can’t say that I was impressed with VA

Ive done Virgin America a ton of times and they have a very specific hip ethos they try for. Now Atlantic does something similar but in a much more British way. I sat in the back of the top cabin of a. 747 and had a pretty solid trip as the top has few people and was good for sleeping. In the way back i was at the back of the bottom and had my own row with a cute Scottish attendant from Glasgow. Bonus! I had both good flights where sleep was achieved and was plenty rested when i hit the ground.

I am a bit sad to write this review since I had such high expectations for Virgin Atlantic but I must give 2 stars (well maybe 2.5 but I have to round down for reasons stated below). I flew «upper class»…so listen up before you spend the big bucks on this product.
The good:
Virgin’s Heathrow club house is very good. The meat and cheese stand was excellent, where a delicious tray is prepared right before your very eyes. The drink selection is great, my favorite cocktail is their signature Virgin Redhead. The free 10 minute scalp message was divine (ask for Holly). I had a wonderful time playing a few games of pool. Yes, the club house was crowded but the space is huge and there’s something for everyone here. I will also say that the flight attendants were very good and attentive so no complaints there!
The VERY disappointing :(
Upper class accommodations. It was inferior to any other business class that I have flown. I did not like the seats on the 747. I was travelling with a companion and it is impossible on the Virgin 747 to face one another. The seat was inadequate. No massage function (does Richard Branson know about this because I may need to let him know)! It folds down and the pillow-​covers are shoved behind the seat back while it is in an upright position. Inconvenient to say the least. The food was mediocre. Portions were small. My beef was very overcooked. I tried all the white wines and only one was good (for example, the Pinot Gris so was disgustingly buttery that I arose out of my inadequate seat to dump it in the restroom sink). Now the other wines were drinkable but really nothing to write home about. Do I need to tell you to have a wine sommelier review your wine list and to get feedback so you you can keep your really wealthy upper class patrons content? Why would you pollute my really refined palate with this very poorly flavored and slightly above room temp bath water? Our flight was delayed one and a half hours and the flight crew gave minimal explanation. Finally, the amenity kit was very very sad, in a cheap canvas bag with eyeshades, ear plugs, a few tissues, and an inexpensive pen (no high end products like Molton Brown and no cologne/​perfume). Are you even aware of what other airlines have in their amenity kits (you would be jealous and want to fly their airline)!!!
I give it to Virgin, they have a great marketing team to fill all their seats with such an inferior product. In fact, please feel free to respond to this review as I am a Unilocal elite and fly business class or higher constantly so I know you airliners may want my business so just come correct and let’s open a dialogue! Do I have to call your customer service line or will you acknowledge your shortcomings? The product in no way measures up to the hype. I would never, never pay for a ticket in Upper Class. It is not worth the money. Delta’s Business Elite service with flat bed is superior as is Emirates or Qatar or Lufthansa. Shall I go on… or will I get someone from Virgin to reply? Stay tuned…

Virgin always takes off on time/​lands on time and never loses my luggage.
For this I am always grateful.
Shrinking seats and full planes are a sign of the times.

Oh the horror stories. I must say with Emily Y that the 2^nd time was not the charm for me either.
My first trip here to London on Virgin Atlantic was already full of fail in so many ways. and my trip back honestly was no different. I flew Virgin and insisted on Virgin since Virgin America is so awesome in the U.S. I guess it is different over the Atlantic ocean …
My flight was delayed at first for 20 minutes, then 30 … then an hour and another hour after that. We were locked up in a hot, 80+ degree cabin (according to the thermometers around the plane) and basically given very little water and no food at all. We were not told what was going on, except that certain engineers were coming on board or on stand by or something.
Then we were told that we might not fly out at all because there was a certain «flying window» that we get, and if we are outside of that window we don’t get to do anything!
This is very upsetting since when you fly these great distances, you have specific reasons for wanting to come back or go somewhere on a specific date. You have reservations and rides and hotels and all kinds of things booked. This was so unacceptable.
After almost 5 hours and within 20 minutes of our flying window, we were finally off. What fail.

Definitely the best flight experience I’ve ever had, but if you’re flying business class, I’d expect nothing less. The whole thing is surreal. They send a white gloved driver to pick you up, you speed through special security lines, in Heathrow a woman opens the limo door when you arrive at the terminal and hands you your tickets… I kid you not.
The meals were great, the lounges/​clubhouses were great (they had the best food I ate on my whole London trip). It’s definitely a good way to fly. Maybe one day I’ll be able to afford this off my own accord.

2^nd time’s not the charm for me.
I’ve taken Virgin Atlantic twice and I’m pretty sure I’m done with the airline. I wasn’t too impressed on my initial experience and after our most recent LAX-​LHR flight, I definitely have sworn off this airline.
First off, their rules for carry on baggage change on a daily basis, so it seems. I’m not sure what their deal is, but they are very, very picky as to how much you can bring on board with you (not every airline is this way, sad to say, although a lot of them are cracking down). Secondly, I didn’t find their customer service at the counter or inflight to be anything special. Third, their food? Wow. Can you even call that a MEAL? I’ve never seen such small portions on a flight before. EVER. Wow. I was STARVING by the time we landed both coming and going, something that’s NEVER happened to me before.
Not a fan.

Virign is my preferred transatlantic airline though my relationship with them has gone up and down over the years.
It’s strange that the transatlantic market is fiercely competitive but the choice of airlines isn’t the greatest unlike, for example, flights to the Far East. I think the North American airlines try to compete on price but their planes are old with poor entertainment systems. BA live up to their title of Bloody Awful with ideas of warm customer service dating back to the Ice Age. There are some small unusual airlines with better service like Air New Zealand but they don’t have much choice of flight times.
So, I’ve grown to appreciate Virgin. They have a decent fleet with entertainment systems that deliver 50+ on demand movies (including latest movies still in the cinema), TV shows, games etc. The service is warm and helpful. It’s slightful more expensive but they have a very good loyalty points system
As the journeys are all long haul, you accumulate points quickly and you can also collect points via partner car hire companies and hotels. These can then be exchanged for free flights (well, you pay the taxes, which actually comes to almost half the full price of the ticket), free upgrades or to get some money off. You can start getting money off with only 2000 miles on your card. However, one problem is that the number of free seats or free upgrades are limited per flight, so you do have to get in quick if you want to use your points in this way.
I’ve also got their credit card which allows me to accumulate loyalty miles more quickly. You can also use the miles for other partner airlines and companies
The downs have been a deterioration of the quality of food. The main meal is still OK but the pre-​landing snack is now an inedible heated up roll. I’ve also noticed some of the staff being occasionally snappy with passengers especially with the draconian pre-​flight takeoff procedures.
However, Richard Branson, I salute your vision in creating this airline and in keeping it going in the teeth of fierce competition, not all of it legal.