Our trip to Hong Kong from London Heathrow was amazing from start to finish. We managed to get an air miles upgrade from premium to upper class at check-in and where directed to the clubhouse. The table service and food where great. We boarded the plane last and had plenty of overhead room. Food and service in upper where amazing and the views for take off again awesome. After food I utalized the lay flat bed for 8 hours of my 12 hour flight. Baggage was returned first and then we got through customs and immigration rapidly. Amazing flight and cannot wait to go upper class again!!

In June my husband and I went to London for the first time and we booked a direct flight from Miami, FL to Heathrow with Virgin Atlantic.

We booked the Premium seats for the extra leg room and because it was a long flight.

We arrived at Miami International 2 hours early and were please when we saw Virgin Atlantic has a specific line for the Premium passengers so check in was quick and easy.

We found our gate and then proceeded to wait until boarding time. Flying Premium allowed us priority boarding which gave us time to settle in, it also allowed for 2 checked bags per person and a carry on per person.

We got on the plane and quickly found our seats and much to our surprise we had headphones, a pillow, and blanket waiting for us on our seats. Once we were seated the flight attendant arrived with a choose of drinks, sparkling wine, water, and another drink that I can not remember. By the way the seats I would compare to business class seats on an US flight. Very roomy and comfortable.

My flight was leaving at 5 pm Miami time and arriving at 8:30 am London time.

Once in the air drinks were served and then dinner was served on china. We had a choice of 3 meals. At various times during the flight snacks were served along with drinks including wine, beer, and other alcoholic beverages.

At some point the lights were dimmed so people could sleep. About 2 hours before arrival we were woken up and served a light breakfast which was more than filling.

The flight was enjoyable the flight attendants did their job with a smile on their face.

Our flight back was just as nice. I would highly recommend Virgin Atlantic.

OK so I've flown premium economy with three other airlines, they were all very good, but this was the best. Check in staff with a sense of humour! Fast track security and priority boarding went like clockwork, stress free and hassle free. Complimentary bubbly on boarding and seconds if requested. The service from the flight attendants was exemplary - and they were so friendly. Nothing was too much trouble. Excellent bar service, a limited menu, good food served on real china and stainless steel cutlery, no cheap plastic. I've had some awful cardboard breakfasts on long haul flights, but no complaints on this one. The almond croissants were delicious, so fresh - excellent! The choice of in flight films and music wasn't great, but I found one movie which I enjoyed, listened to a little music and did some reading. I wasn't tired on the flight, so I didn't sleep, but eventually, quite a while after the lights went down, I reclined my seat - very comfortable - wrapped my blanket around me, relaxed and closed my eyes for 45 minutes or so. Before I knew it the lights started coming back on ready for breakfast and we were starting our approach to Heathrow. All in all a very pleasant, comfortable and relaxing flight. Thank you Virgin Atlantic!

We were excited to be on Virgin Atlantic. We'd been on Virgin America and Virgin Australia and we're looking forward to it.

The private 'Upper Class' entrance and driveway didn't disappoint. There was a small counter there and multiple agents checking us in at the same time. They were very professional and efficient. Next, we were merged with airport security. a crack team of agents that missed nothing.

Once we finished there, we headed to the Virgin lounge. This was the greatest lounge I'd ever seen. They have a shoe polish area as you entered where you could drop your shoes and get spa-type slippers. The varieties of hot and cold freshly prepared foods and other hot plates were very enjoyable and hard to contain yourself. Full English breakfast was prepared by the chefs in the back room and delivered hot and fresh to your table. A full bar and a myriad of different rooms and seating areas on multiple levels including the Garden loft where you can sit outside on grass overlooking the airport.

With all that building up for us, we were disappointed with the cabin on the plane. The cabin configuration was not as plush as Virgin Australia. I'm guessing we previously flew First Class and this was Business Class and that's why it wasn't as wow.

The 'pods' were at a 45-degree angle from the front of the plane and you really couldn't talk to your travel partner. Although they were Lay-Flat seats you were restricted from stretching out as your feet were in the narrow aisle-way and obstructed the cabin stewards. This is a problem for tall people. Also with this pod configuration, you could only lay on your right side because if you lay on your left side your knees were smashed into the partition wall. Good thing this wasn't an overnight flight.

The cabin stewards did everything possible to make the flight comfortable. There were snacks and meals and the meal tray appeared and disappeared into the side partition and was very adjustable. The best one I've seen yet. There was also a bar with stools in the Business class area that gave us some variety.

They also distributed amenities bags. There were many movies and other distractions to pass the time. I was able to use my personal noise-canceling headphones on this flight. The headphones they supplied didn't seem high quality. There were appropriate power plugs at the seat to keep my devices charged. Our KLM flight out was more enjoyable overall, but stll ...

RECOMENDED

This was a great opportunity to compare Virgin and Delta on their transatlantic premium “sleeper” service. Virgin had the outbound leg for us, connecting from Atlanta direct to Heathrow on an overnight getting us in 9AM local GMT.
Boarding was on time and featured the usual preflight cocktail, always nice to have. I missed the hot towel in the lavatory, but it was left for me somewhat lukewarm(?) on my pod space. I could have asked for a reheat but didn’t bother.
I noticed early on the Virgin seats are not the same as Delta’s; they pivot more sideways than forward, such that you’re kind of focused on the people across the aisle facing you. And more importantly, they don’t have a semi-recline that goes past about halfway. Your feet don’t ever come up to “ottoman level” and that’s a bummer.
To sleep, the attendants want to do it for you but I gave it a shot and it’s not that hard. You pull out the bedding—-a pad, a comforter and big fluffy pillow—from behind the headrest and then the headrest actually flips ass over elbow towards the feet end. Once you’re there it’s pretty comfortable but I had an issue with my left arm hitting up against some plastic molding about neck level. And as noted there’s no “living room nap” setting, just sitting or sleeping.
The dinner on the other hand was perfect. I don’t much like pesto, but the swirl of it in the soup—I can’t remember the main flavor of—made it delicious. The Asian pork with yakisoba was a bit dry as all meats seem to be on planes, but the bok Choi was incredible and the sauce just right. Lime-raspberry cheesecake for dessert and then a cheese and fruit plate! All excellent, worthy of restaurant food for the first time I can think of on a plane.
The power connections are awkwardly placed, underneath and so dark you have to flash some kind of light to plug in. This is now a key piece of hardware for a seat, why manufacturers can’t figure it out yet is confusing.
Midway through the night I was trying to adjust my seat and dropped my glasses in the gap behind the headrest, ack! The attendant looked for about 15 minutes and said I’d have to wait until landing for an engineer to look. Fair enough; it was nowhere to be seen.
But on landing, our very sweet main attendant said “I’m super at finding things in seats!” And sure enough, 10 seconds later she had them. Happy.
The morning oatmeal and fruit was as good as I could expect since I’m not a huge oatmeal fan but love fruit. Nothing super special; the airline that figures out how to cook eggs at 30,000 feet will win the market.
Overall, service was top notch and every bit premium class. The food, drinks and entertainment are great. The seat itself is the main downgrade; if you could put Delta’s seats with Virgin service you’d have an all time winner. (And I hear VA is indeed updating their first class).