Eight places abreast in each row meant the Premium seats were just 18.5 inches wide, only one inch wider than Virgin Atlantic's economy seats, and narrower than those on low-cost airline Norse Atlantic, which operates the same class of service on the same route. No judgement! Taking off at 7PM in New York, its already midnight UK time, so im desperate to conk out ASAP and did exactly that on this flight. Along with a choice of food from the menu. Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy customers enjoy a dedicated Premium check in lane and are able to check two bags. Not least among them is Virgin's premium economy cabin, simply called Premium, which is available on the carrier's A330-220 and A330-300 planes, its A350-1000s, and Boeing 797-9 Dreamliners. The Premium cabin on the Virgin A350 comprised a total of 56 seats across a single cabin. For the month between delivery and its first commercial operation, the aircraft operated several test flights within the UK, mostly from Glasgow (GLA) to Glasgow, according to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24. . Check here before booking an award fare. Virgin's A350s come equipped Inmarsat's GX Aviation Wi-Fi. I went for the chicken lasagna, which was well plated and came with a vacuum-sealed bread roll, chickpea salad, and dessert. Based in New Delhi, India. While it was small and thin, it was cleverly designed to rest with a rubber edge against the center drinks console, meaning it remained stable while being used. On the A350, The Loft occupies the area in front of the door, giving all passengers a view of the social space reserved for passengers at the front of the plane. Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. The best Virgin Atlantic economy seats on the A350 are without a doubt found in rows 45, 52, 53 and 54. And it does it well. Our points-obsessed staff uses a plethora of credit cards on a daily basis. The A330 and 787 both have 21 inch wide seats in premium, by far the best of any product out there. The dish was absolutely lovely and roaring with flavor. Are you able to eat or use laptop when this happens? In addition to the tailcam was a selection of 104 movies and about 140 TV shows, as well as games and videos that explored Virgin destinations. The food, however, was a comedy of errors, including the wrong items being loaded for the tiny first meal, the messy, upside-down tray for the second meal (with someone else's special order initially served), the hidden tortillas and the warm beer. The meal was small and disappointing. Virgin recently took delivery of two brand new Airbus A350 airplanes, which made for a perfect opportunity to revamp its onboard offering. Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy: What to Know - NerdWallet The Premium queue comes with a document check station right at the back, so you don't have to visit two different areas for vaccine and form clearance. Unfortunately, they were quite cramped and there were no special amenities compared with economy lavatories. BEN SMITHSON/THE POINTS GUY We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Standard seat. We flew out to Las Vegas In premium on the Dreamliner . Starlux Launches Its Los Angeles Airbus A350 Flights On Wednesday The sunrise provided a gorgeous backdrop to the sleek Airbus A350 aircraft with its signature curved wingtips, standing ready to take me home to London. In total, the carrier offers 235 seats here. Pitch remains the same, but the seat did lose some points due to the standard footrest in front, which doesn't offer the most room to stretch out when sleeping. The mozzarella salad was tasty and fresh, though the portion was a little small given how light the first meal was. SeatGuru Seat Map Virgin Atlantic Included in the IFE system was an AvGeek favorite, the tailcam. . The packages are as follows: Messaging - 2.99/$3.99 Chat and Surf - 12.99/$16.99 - 150MB W-Fi Max - 29.99/$39.99 - 500MB The tray passed to me didn't look appealing. The information for the Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. However, the decisive factor will always be . There was also an excellent interactive flight map available. As a regular premium economy traveler, I remarked to the crew that Champagne was not usually served in these cabins. The seat width, at an impressive 18.5 inches wide is as good as it gets as a global premium economy benchmark. the Luxury Travel Expert 1.1M subscribers Subscribe Share 760K views 2 years ago Join me on a. If you hate feeling groggy after a flight, youll absolutely love the Virgin Atlantic Airbus A350. The leather seats offer much more legroom and padding than economy a few rows behind, making for a comfortable flight. Virgin Atlantic premium economy seats recline between 7 and 8. Other than its tight width, the seat was comfortable. If you happen to find space in Upper Class and want to use Virgin Points, booking premium is a strategic way to upgrade to the top cabin. Though there are some flaws in the product, such as a narrower seat and poor headphones, I found the experience to be well worth the cost. As far as food, there was a decent selection, both hot and cold. Menus were handed out during the boarding process and I could see there was a choice between a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit or a Belgian waffle with syrup. Virgin Premium was the very first airline experience I reviewed for TPG roughly three-and-a-half years ago on a much older aircraft. Two lavatories dedicated to the Premium cabin were located at the front of the seating, just behind the Upper Class social space. Especially in a middle block of four seats, it can be hard to provide a lot of storage, but Virgin equipped these seats with about as much as I would think possible. The gnocchi were huge, and I soon realized that was because they were stuffed with the ricotta and asparagus. Pitch (legroom), amenity, tech, and other factors are bigger for me. There were three choices for an entree fajita chicken, red Thai curry, or vegetarian shepherd's pie. Each has the same configuration. However, the contents of the meal did not disappoint. You'll earn 15 elite night credits each calendar year, and receive automatic Gold elite status. In April, Simple Flying had the chance to fly Virgin Atlantic's flagship Airbus A350-1000 from London to New Delhi. However, if you have a choice, always pick the Boeing 787-9 in premium economy with Virgin Atlantic, which remains one of the best in the game. Virgin operates its A350-1000 in two configurations. Premium Economy is found mostly on international flights and, compared to standard Economy, offers about 5-7 inches of extra legroom as well as additional amenities, which can include: 1-2 extra inches of seat width . Each of the bulkhead seats had the advantage of both a leg- and a footrest. Virgin also refreshed premium economy for the A350. The other dimensions of the seat were more generous, with 38 inches of legroom and 7 inches of recline, both fairly standard for premium economy. Virgin Atlantic offers 56 seats in a 2-4-2 layout on the A350, spread over seven rows. Instead, other passengers and I were able to FaceTime with friends and family on the ground. To start, there was only one option: a Cajun pasta salad of fusilli, mixed leaves and mustard vinaigrette. Virgin Atlantic: Airbus A350-1000 (351) 38: 18.5: On-Demand TV: All Seats: AC Power: Yes: Recliner: Virgin Atlantic: Boeing . Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Im a Cantonese speaker (cant read Chinese), there was one film, the same film I saw flying to Antigua in April . first airline experience I reviewed for TPG, Watch TPG UK review all 3 cabins on Virgin Atlantic's brand-new Airbus A350, vocal supporter of jetlag-free daytime flights, Sorry, aisle-seat fans: The window seat is the best in the air, Choose this, not that: JFK Priority Pass lounge edition, Delta overhauls the onboard experience, goes all-in on sustainability, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Unfortunately, Virgin opted not to install leg rests on its A350 Premium seats, a surprising oversight and one that made this seat less ergonomic than those in other airlines' premium economy cabins. The PE offering was far better than BA and the crew were amazing. You can also transfer American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Capital One miles at a 1:1 ratio to Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club program. Both aircrews were fine, the outward bound flight seemed a happier bunch. The entre was the exact opposite, a dense, cheesy, sloppy dish overflowing with rice. Our newest Economy seats are designed with bespoke woven fabrics inspired by fashion houses. If I wanted people to take me seriously, I had to prove that every thing I was claiming could come true with points and travel savvy, could actually come true. [flight_stats ticket-class="econ" review-stat-section="Food and Beverage" tpg-rating="23" tpg-rating-max="25" live-tv="0" tailcam="0" headphones="0" comp-meal="2" comp-alcohol="Yes" extra-pillows="0" turndown-service="0" /]. Our Dreamliners take efficiency to new heights. [flight_stats ticket-class="econ" review-stat-section="Amenities and IFE" tpg-rating="12" tpg-rating-max="15" screen="13.3" movies="104" tv-shows="140" live-tv="No" tailcam="Yes" headphones="Yes" comp-alcohol="0" extra-pillows="0" turndown-service="0" /]. Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club program offers some tremendous value especially on Premium itineraries. There was also a bar with bartender service. Discover our brand new A350 aircraft, and see the passion we poured into creating it in this behind the scenes video. Fortunately, I realized this before opening or touching anything and I was able to give the meal back to a crew member so they could serve it to the passenger who actually ordered it. As someone who enjoys spending as little time in airports as possible, I was happy to whisk through, enjoy a quick dash through security and hop on board. Even though no one was seated next to me, if someone had been, it would've felt cramped on a long-haul flight especially the armrests, which were on the narrow side. "And again, we have that Bluetooth connectivity, so at every seat, you can connect your headsets there . On the 730. Though the seat was on the narrower side, because I didn't have anyone seated next to me, it felt rather spacious. Our points-obsessed staff uses a plethora of credit cards on a daily basis. A pet peeve of mine is when the crew describes prosecco or other sparkling wine as Champagne. I couldve just as easily used premium and finished in the same time. One of the many reasons I love daytime flights from New York to London is because the airport is usually quiet, with few international departures. The building on the left was reserved for Virgin Atlantic and its close friend Delta. Personally, I've long been a fan of Virgin Atlantic, with its cheeky, fresh and fun approach to flying. My flight was on the emptier side, so most passengers who were seated in the middle section of four seats had empty seats between them. Other than that there was no storage around the seat. Overall, the meal service was enjoyable and tasty. We'll run a soft credit check to find special offers, but it wont affect your credit score. This flight did not change my earlier thoughts that premium economy is currently overpriced across the industry. However, I did use my Priority Pass membership, which comes as a benefit of my Platinum Card from American Express (enrollment required). Soon after trays were collected, flight attendants came through once more to offer liqueurs: Amarula cream, which retails for around $20 per bottle, or Baron Otard Cognac, which retails for around $40 per bottle. All about the price. As for service the virgin team are miles ahead. There are four first-class suites, 26 seats in business, 36 in premium economy, and 240 in economy. Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) God Save the Points All Rights Reserved.Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this sites author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. My only minor gripe was the foreign language films. I found the salad to be absolutely delightful. That meant I had no issues when the passenger in front of me reclined their seat. Crew then distributed menus for the flight, which included drinks, main courses and the teatime selections. Everything from nose to tail feels fresh, contemporary and new. I arrived at London Heathrow's Terminal 3 about three hours prior to departure. However, one point to note is that dinner took a full two hours from takeoff to table. I believe in personal privacy, and on this night flight I was among the last to board, so I did not take cabin shots which included anyone. I loved the amazing, customized "I (Heart) A350" pillows, which were clearly made just for the introduction of the aircraft into service. Premium, upgraded: A review of Virgin Atlantic's new Premium product on the A350, This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. The only negative was the roll, which was plastic-wrapped and incredibly tough and dry. Well, not a joy for my hopes of a flat bed, but a joy to see the world traveling again. Additionally, because I was in the bulkhead row, my inflight-entertainment screen could be ejected from underneath the armrest. The dish covers were still on, and the cutlery was lodged inside two drinking glasses, which were laying down on their side.

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