I selected the braised pork cheek with cauliflower puree, kale and fondant potato as my main course. Most of the time, the aircraft type will be written in the flight details while booking. Prices vary based on the route, and there is often an offer for a limited time period and one for access for the entire flight. Maps generated by theGreat Circle Mapper copyright Karl L. Swartz. Toiletries were by Ren, a brand previously used in the suites and club rooms at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo. Not just 30 upper class seats but 44 packed in like sardines. Even An old Air France Business Flight I Took From Paris to Punta Cana, was miles better than this. Bog standard business class. The crew were really great in trying to help but ultimately they were just as stumped as I was. Virgin Atlantic have a bottom of the barrel seat on the majority of their aircraft. Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9 'Upper Class' business class: the basics. Thanks Seat Selection. The wifi starts at 2.99, but youll have to pay considerably more if you want to do any work. Despite the aggressively beige appearance, the food was delicious. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Virgin Airlines offers the only Upper Class service, which includes both Business and First Class. Since passenger flying restarted in July 2020 the airline simplified its onboard service to minimise interaction between customers and crew. Which flipped down completely revealing a special sleeping surface under the seat (much like the old Singapore A380 seats). Gourmet fish goujons hot sandwich with tartare sauce, Chicken Caesar club sandwich served with salted crisps, Chickpea fritter and vegetable samosa served with sweet chili pickle and carrot, cucumber and onion seed salad. Im Amanda, an Australian who has called London home for over 15 years. It was a flight on Virgin Upper Class on the A340. For example, seats 3A, 5A, 3K and 5K are called Solo Corner Suites, owing to the added feeling of privacy being farther away from the aisle. Cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. In Upper Class we focus on offering you high quality, innovative food with attention to detail. Enjoy with a selection of carefully curated wines in partnership with London-based fine wine merchant Jeroboams. I covered all of the costs of my return Upper Class flights with Virgin Atlantic. Youre right, this certainly isnt something Id given any consideration to. It really is such bad business practice to pretend like all their business class seats are equally appealing. The crew were just as friendly and welcoming as their counterparts in the Clubhouse and the small onboard bar made a great first impression as we turned left into the Upper Class cabin. Check in at Heathrow T3 very quick priority security also very quick, on to the Virgin Clubhouse which is always good but perhaps VS need to look at the scan system for ordering food which I waited . Much of my work trip this time was in Kansas - I used domestic airlines Jet Blue and Southwest to travel within the US. I figured that this would make for a much more spacious and sociable meal setting than sitting in my little coffin, watching a monitor the size of a gameboy. On this leg dinner (which was served around 11 am local time) was as follows: Tandoori Chicken bites with a cucumber, baby tomato and pepper salad, Barley salad with feta cheese, spring onions, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, olives, pomegranate seeds, and a lemon mint dressing. This card is also incredibly rewarding for travel purchases, helping you rack up a ton of Membership Rewards points for your next award trip. The best seats on Virgin Atlantic's A350 economy are rows 45, 52, 53, and 54. I was on a day flight, so I didnt sleep but the linen was nothing special, nor were the headphones. I am a big Virgin Atlantic fan but the downside of them having such an excellent premium economy is that the step up to Upper Class doesnt feel like a big deal, particularly when you consider it is normally at least twice the price of Premium. Just returned from LHR on this plane. The inflight entertainment is good, with decent variation in the offers (300+ hours), but other airlines are offering a more extensive range. The crew were very happy to set up a meal for us here and commented that it was a great idea! Breeze through security with CLEAR lanes available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues and get up to $189 back per calendar year on your membership when you use your Card. Enrollment required. The main reason being that each seat faces the back of the seat the row G in the middle, giving the illusion of slightly more privacy. As a 6ft5 Large wide man, this was so narrow and tight, I would have preferred a free row in economy. The overall maintenance and cleanliness left a lot to be desired. Im Amanda, an Australian who has been living in London for over 16 years. - it is worth upgrading to Upper Class if you can afford the upgraded fare. As of May 2022 this is still not something that British Airways is able to offer. (Very unlike British Airways who has an average premium economy offer and a great business class offer). It isn't, however, completely flawless and the narrow footwells and the lack of storage space around the seat are going to irritate quite a few . My return flight from Delhi to London was also a day flight. Judging by my seat, there are still a few teething problems (the IFE not working properly and the seat frequently jammed, and I know another seat in Upper Class stopped working altogether) but in time I suppose the engineers will sort that out. Bookings made by credit card or debit card no longer incur a fee. I was very impressed. Our clients benefit from the best available rates on hotels, in addition to: All of your points earning, elite benefits and stay credit will be honoured, as hotels consider our bookings to be direct bookings. That's exactly the case with the Amex Platinum card. Virgin Atlantic by Natalie Clarkson 20 October 2021 If you're planning to jet off with Virgin Atlantic soon, take a peek at its brand new onboard menu. Virgin Atlantics base is at Heathrow Terminal Three. We took off at 0850 using a dual runway with BA 001 flight. Best card for premium perks while traveling, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, The Business Platinum Card from American Express, Traveling for spring break? Our opinions are our own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by our advertising partners. Very unfortunate and had I known I would have flown direct on a different airline. Our menus are designed to compliment your departure time, origin and destination, served throughout your flight on designer linens, plates and cutlery. It offers a host of additional benefits which add the most luxurious touches to your flight experience. Jenny Southan reports As we predicted in our 2022 Travel Trend Forecast , Long-Haul Revival has become a major travel trend, with many people around the world finally able to book long-distance flights with . Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: 47,500. Deltas new suite product (this one without doors) are a huge improvement over their old biz class product, and given the choice between Delta and Virgin codeshare flights, its Delta that wins out in every possible way. And lastly, it does make it awkward if you wake in the night and want to get up, since it is quite difficult to get up with the door shut, and opening it again while lying down isnt completely intuitive, or physically easy, though with practice it would become easier. So worry to hear about your experience, Ive never flown Delta but hear great things. Though these two aircraft are very different in many ways, the layout of their Upper Class cabins is pretty much the exact same. Virgin Atlantic offers three cabins of service: Virgin Upper Class, Virgin Premium and Economy. Once at check-in my documents were quickly checked and there was no queue at the dedicated fast track security. The credit card offers that appear on the website are from credit card companies from which ThePointsGuy.com receives compensation. My expectations were high, but they were quite honestly exceeded in almost every way onboard. In terms of entertainment, theres a choice of over 100 movies, 300 hours of TV shows, over 350 albums and podcasts and over 45 hours of kids content. To be fair, much of what youve said applies to BA too, if youre unlucky enough to end up in the old Club World seats. Once you know what your options are, you'll be able to make a more informed decision about the seat you'd like to sit in -- happy flying! With this in mind, I wondered if the overall experience could still shine despite the old coffin seats. The inflight entertainment system, the Zodiac Rave System from Zodiac Inflight Innovations (Zii), is very innovative, not least because there is no remote control for the system, so you either have to use the 18.5 inch touchscreen, or pair the system to your device. The amenity kit contained actual socks that youd want to keep (as opposed to the usual tubes with no ankle, given away by most airlines). You also get 10kg hand luggage and 2 x 23kg checked bags and you are welcomed on board with a glass of bubbly. A great selection of premium wine, beer, spirits and soft drinks can be served at your seat, at the bar, or in The Loft. After eating and working I tried to sleep for an hour or so but it was too noisy, which is fair enough since this was the first flight to New York on November 8, 2021. Having said that, if the crew dont demonstrate this feature, in my experience, no one uses it, and certainly on our flights both to and from New York, one of which was a day flight and one of which was a night flight, I didnt see anyone use the door. The bag itself is plain purple and can be recycled eg it isnt something you can keep and reuse, which is unusual for business class. Please view our advertising policy page for more information. Virgin Atlantic 23 London (LHR) - Los Angeles (LAX) Tuesday, May 25 Depart: 2:30 PM Arrive: 5:45 PM Duration: 11hr, 15min Aircraft: Airbus A350-1000 Seat: 10K (Upper Class) I was first onboard and walked through the onboard lounge and turned left to find my seat on the starboard side of the plane. This is definitely not a door, you can exit the seat and get into the aisle with it shut, but it does provide extra privacy to the seat. Still feeling peckish? My shoulders felt quite squeezed in and the right hand armrest was the width of a candy bar. Main Meal Starter Mozzarella and tomato salad with micro basil and cress (v) Ciabatta roll with butter Main Roasted Salmon I have read that Virgin Atlantic has changed this on their latest aircraft, and the seats are now all facing forward. Having said that, most people dont notice it and so ask a neighbour to help them if they arent tall enough. As with Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, plenty of food is available at all times. I chose cheese rather than dessert. The Amex Platinum comes with access to a premium concierge service that can help you with everything from booking hard-to-get reservations to finding destination guides to help you plan out your next getaway. To see a video of that previous trip for the inaugural of this new Upper Class Seat, see the below video. American Express has expanded The Centurion Network to include 40+ Centurion Lounge and Studio locations worldwide. Boarding took place at 0745 from gate 5, and there were TV crews filming both for news and documentaries, along with lots of American flag waving. Since we have written about the celebrations elsewhere: British Airways and Virgin Atlantic perform dual take-off from Heathrow to New York.