What are you thoughts on Virgin Atlantic?

I haven't flown transatlantic on Virgin for some years, but premium economy was quite comfortable and Upper Class was fantastic.

We are primarily Delta fliers and recently flew VA on the JFK=>LHR portion of our trip. I thought it was meh and wouldn't go out of my way to select it over Delta. Friends had done a similar trip last year and raved about VA service and food, but they were in one of the premium cabins; we were in coach for our flights. I did not think anything was better or worse than Delta with respect to the actual flight experience.

I will say that Delta customer service tops VA (and any other airline we've flown) and it is why we continue to choose Delta when we can. We travel with a disabled family member, and Delta is phenomenal about helping with accommodations, the biggest of which is to have seating as close to the front of the plane as possible to avoid the long walk down the cramped aisle. We are in the economy cabin as per our purchased tickets, but Delta will place us in the first or second row, which normally have an extra seat charge, for no additional cost. VA made us pay, which was several hundred dollars extra for the three of us.

So, for us, for future flights, we'll opt for Delta over VA.

Deb, would you elaborate a bit on why you weren’t thrilled with Virgin. We fly main economy. I’ve never been dissatisfied with a Delta flight. I think the service, food and comfort are all just fine on Delta.

Hi, we flew Delta but our flight from SeaTac to London in 2023 was run by Virgin. We noticed much less jet lag, and some people mentioned it was due to the specific plane they were using on that route. We both thought it was an excellent experience, and we were seated in the Comfort Economy equivalent. I always fly Delta or their partners.

I have flown Virgin Atlantic from Dulles to Heathrow three times and have my fourth and fifth trips booked. My first trip to the UK was British Airway economy. I wasn't impressed. After reading about Virgin from several posters, I decided to book a premium seat. It was so much more comfortable. This past summer I upgraded to upperclass on the leg to Heathrow. It was my first time flying upperclass on an international flight. I loved the flight experience and especially the Virgin Clubhouse at Dulles. I'm heading back to London for Christmas and splurged on upperclass for both legs of the flight. I'm excited to check out the Virgin Clubhouse at Heathrow. It's always so hectic, it'll be nice to relax in the lounge.
I have not had a lot of experience with many airlines, but I have no complaints with Virgin. I hope this helps.
Happy Travels!

I'm an Atlantan, so loyal to Delta because that's where all my perks are, in addition to all the flights. I've flown Virgin only once internationally from HRW to ATL and thought it was comparable. What I remember most is walking through a completely filled business cabin to our almost empty coach cabin. We three had the entire row to ourselves - meaning from window to window.

Hi, Lulu. I wouldn't say that we weren't thrilled, with a negative connotation; it's that we didn't find the flight experience any better than Delta's (which we find perfectly acceptable). We had higher expectations for VA given what our friends had described, but I think those better experiences (food, service, space, etc.) might apply only to the premium seating cabins.

For us, in economy, it was just OK and not better than Delta; perhaps a touch worse, but nothing bad. The food was about the same quality (edible, not great), the seats were the usual uncomfortable but bearable, the flight attendants were wrangling some tough family/poorly behaved children dynamics (the man seated next to me eventually requested to be reseated because of the behavior of the 5-year-old behind him. The flight attendant agreed but never came back and the man remained in his seat, being kicked HARD the whole way to London. I don't blame VA for the kid, but I do blame the flight attendant for never coming back.). So I would say it was an OK couple of flights, but nothing that would make me choose VA over Delta.

It is the customer service aspect that will have me avoiding VA in the future, not the flight itself.

Thank you, Deb, for the clarification. Hopefully it was just the flight attendant and not the typical demeanor of all. I agree from what I’ve read here just now, and other places, the experience is better with higher priced seating. We just aren’t willing to do.

Ruth, how odd? I wonder why no one flying economy.

Lulu, I will give a shout-out to the patience of the FA on my flight. Even though her workload was light, the passenger in front of me was a handful. He complained multiple times to her that the person in front of him was reclining his seat. She was politer than I probably would have been explaining that that was the other passenger's right, as was his to recline his seat. He was seated by his equally elderly wife, and by mid-flight he was trying to buy the FA as his second wife. That didn't go well with any of us!

I've only flown Upperclass on Virgin so I can only comment on that aspect. The beds are not comfortable for tall people. I'm 6'3" and the beds are tight and have a curve to them which means I am unable to lie straight. I recall one meal that was offered was their version of afternoon tea, basically a few sandwiches and cakes, not something I'm interested in nor what I would consider a proper meal. Dining used to be whenever you wanted to but now they've done away with that and meals are brought out at the same time for everyone.

I gave up flying any of the US airlines a long time ago primarily because of consistently bad service and surly staff so if I were to fly transatlantic now I would opt for British Airways and their new Club Suite makes Virgin's Upperclass product look very outdated.

For an economy experience I would imagine there's little to separate Virgin from Delta.

In the last month, I flew Virgin Atlantic to India - SFO-LHR, LHR-BOM - and back in main economy. The flight attendants were very friendly and patient, and it made a huge difference. The food was okay, some meals better than others. On the LHR-SFO leg, we were given afternoon tea, which consisted of a couple of sandwiches, a scone with Rhoda's clotted cream, Bonne Maman strawberry jam., served with a choice of tea (probably PG tips) or coffee. Not the best tea experience in the world, but not too shabby either, and a nice gesture. I definitely would like to fly VA again. My only complaint was that the seat was very thinly padded. I ended up using the seat cushion I carry along for extra cushioning on Indian roads.

Virgin Atlantic remains the standard against which I evaluate transatlantic flights from LAX. KLM to AMS came close last year [another SkyTeam partner], but VA superior to New Zealand Air [still very good - when they flew LAX => LHR] and ITA to Rome - although ITA premium economy FCO => Boston also came close.

On VA we had extra legroom seats, so still in economy. FAs were friendly and helpful. My theory on airline food is that it's largely a function of the catering kitchens involved - the snacks on shorthaul KLM intra-European flights last year were a cut above.

So to LHR VA would always be my first choice. It's a shame they don't offer more connections at LHR - researching a flight to Newcastle, I discovered that to use SkyTeam, I would have to connect via AMS or CDG.

I will say that Delta customer service tops VA (and any other airline we've flown)

My experience also, VA was pretty worthless for me, called 7 times but could not get another flight, only a refund.

Like yourself I booked with Delta but was put on Virgin. from Austin to London. non stop.

Was excited to fly Virgin as I had read so many good things about it. I think that I read how pretty the planes were and something about salt and pepper shakers..... And were the planes supposed to be pink inside????

Well the plane was old and ugly. It looked like it was ready to be permanently recycled. It was very drab inside.

My memory is that we had chicken curry for lunch or dinner but the curry had been forgotten and all that we had was dried chicken which even I could not eat. However there were other foods with the meal and I was able to eat the other foods so I did not go hungry.

Most importantly, it was a pleasant flight that went well. Better to have an ugly plane that flies smoothly than the other way around.

That was my one and only time flying Virgin. Soon after that, Virgin stopped flying from Austin or Delta stopped using Virgin. I can not remember the details.

Have flown VA LAX to LHR for decades. Premium Economy. Its an overnight flight.

Why do I like it? Good aisle seat. Price. I travel carry on. Like entertainment choices and the meals which are served. Also appreciate that after a lenghty west coast flight that the walk to the gate is lenghty. Gets the blood flowing and I will use the moving walkways if needed.
Like hearing the British accents.

Will always fly VA!

VA is our usual carrier when we go to London. I'm not aware of any reason to choose Delta over VA. I have not experienced their coach since we fly PE or Business. When you fly Business, you can take a shower in the Virgin Lounge when you arrive.

My husband and I and his guide dog for the blind flew from Seattle to London in premium economy. It was a great experience. The crew never flew with a guide dog before. They were very attentive. Even the pilot came back to say hello and meet the dog.

The crew came by numerous times offering beverages to make sure people stayed hydrated. The food was plentiful. My vegan offerings were very good. The seats had room for us and the dog.i would fly them again.

I’m starting to look at non stop flights out of Dulles to LHR next September. The only flight showing up on Fridays is a 10:25 pm departure. Does Virgin only offer that one NS option regularly from IAD? I see there are earlier options going out of DCA but it would require a connection at JFK, which I am not sure is worth the choice of going w them over BA. Also on the return trip- we would be coming back on a Sunday, I am only seeing a 5:35 pm departure arriving at 8:40 pm. Not a total deal breaker, but it is kind of late once going through customs. Has anyone used Virgin for these two flights and would care to share their thoughts?

In looking at prices, Virgin’s upgraded economy classic/ delight is not much more than BA economy if you add the extra $77-100 each way for seat selection. Just curious.

I fly nonstop from Dulles to LHR and those times sound about right. Occasionally, the flights will depart IAD a bit earlier. My flight on 12/21 leaves IAD at 10;20 pm. It departs LHR at 4:20 pm and I arrive at Dulles around 8:30 pm. I usually book a hotel near Dulles and use their shuttle to get to the hotel. I live another hour and 20 minutes from the airport and don't want to deal with having someone pick me up that late. I also have a roundtrip flight booked IAD to LHR in June with about the same times. I've never had any trouble getting through security at those times. In 2024, I arrived at IAD from LHR around 8:30. Twenty minutes later, I was on the shuttle heading to my hotel.

Hi Stacie, Thanks for sharing your experiences. I would do the same w booking a Dulles hotel on the return part for one of my kids and I. The other could take a taxi home from there. Have you ever had any of the Virgin flights changed significantly in terms of being cancelled or very delayed? I read a few posts on flyertalk about that happening. They seem to offer a nice flying experience.

We are booked to fly SFO to LHR in April on Virgin Atlantic. My thoughts so far: I am excited to fly VA because I have read a lot of great reviews. I have also found their "live human on the phone" customer services to be exceptional. On the other hand, their online presence seems very disorganized and it's very hard to find any answers on their websites. Also, I'm very disappointed because when we booked Economy Delight it was scheduled to be an airbus and Economy Delight had 2 seat rows on the outsides which we booked. It has since changed to a 787 with 3 seat rows on the outside. They did not notify us of the change and they changed our seats (obviously) to the back of the section. I was lucky to notice and change the seat back to something more preferable.

However, our one experience with Delta was very bad so we haven't tried them again.

Mustlovedogs- I usually book my tickets about 6 months out. My last three flights had an itinerary change for both legs of the trip. I received notices of the changes a couple months ahead of the trip, so it never caused any issues. It basically amounted to the departure times being a few hours later than originally scheduled.