My Virgin Atlantic A330-900neo flight from New York to London in economy class was not only a solid value, but a solid onboard experience as well. Fierce competition from Norse Atlantic and other carriers means you can score very cheap transatlantic flights on Virgin Atlantic, even on a one-way basis.
Virgin Atlantic A330-900neo Economy Class Review
About a month ago I embarked on a journey around the world to (successfully) complete a SAS EuroBonus Million Mile challenge. During that trip, I tried to “live blog” as much as possible and for several of the flights, I wrote short summaries instead of full reviews. This week, I’m returning to this trip and publishing full reviews for four flights I only provided highlights of, including this one.
This ticket was 242 USD, booked about a week in advance. Some flights were as cheap as 189 USD, but I booked this flight because I have never flown the A330-900neo on Virgin Atlantic (I have flown both the 787-9 and A350-1000 in economy class, both of which were solid experiences).
After arriving in JFK via JetBlue, we checked in for the flight. I entertained the idea of trying to get onto the daytime service to London (Virgin Atlantic has no formal standby policy), but that was operated by a 787-9 and was nearly full…I figured we would spend the day lounge-hopping instead.
Security lines were long–as always–in JFK T4.
We enjoyed a delicious breakfast and late lunch in the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse before finally boarding our flight to London at 5:45 pm.
Virgin Atlantic 004
New York (JFK) – London (LHR)
November 2024
Depart: 6:30 PM
Arrive: 6:25 AM+1
Duration: 06hr, 55min
Distance: 3,451 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A330-900neo
Seat: 60D (Economy Class)
Onboard, we found made our way to the rear cabin, where I hoped we’d have an entire row of seats…we got our wish, kind of.
Seats
The economy class cabin on the Virgin A330-900 has 184 Recaro CL3710 seats arranged eight abreast in a 2-4-2 configuration. Legroom in standard economy is 31 inches (the so-called “Economy Delight” seats have three inches of extra legroom), with seats that are 17.9 inches wide and recline five inches.
Universal power outlets are located between seats and USB-A plugs in the seatback monitors.
Personal air vents are available in the overhead passenger service units (lighting can be controlled by your screen, but the air vents must be manually twisted to operate)
I love the 2-4-2 seating and find it so much better than the 3-3-3 on the A350 or 787. While I would normally take a section of two by the window, for this overnight service I strategically reserved center section seats toward the back of the plane, hoping that the extra seats would stay open.
That gamble paid off… somewhat. I wanted to assign the two aisles the center section, but Virgin does not allow more than one seat to separate an adult from a minor. So I assigned an aisle seat and a middle seat, with the other middle seat open between us. That middle seat stayed open, but the other aisle seat was assigned.
However, the man sitting in the other aisle seat noticed there were other open rows further back and moved after takeoff.
We were able to stretch out quite nicely and we were both tired, which helped us to rest.
In fact, Augustine was watching IFE one moment and when I turned back he was out…I had to wake him up to take his shoes off.
I brought my own duvet along, but the Virgin red fleece blanket was not bad and the small pillow was better than nothing.
Food + Drink
Dinner served after takeoff, a choice between vegetarian pasta or “fajita chicken” (same chicken dish I had from LA to London when I flew to pay my respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II). Before that, a corn snack and beverage were offered.
I had the chicken while Augustine ordered the pasta. Both were served with a bread roll, Caesar salad, cheese + crackers, and pudding for dessert.
A light meal was served before landing (yogurt plus croissant), but we slept through it. If any beverage refills were offered during the night, we also slept through that.
Right before landing, candy was offered…I would have preferred a mint!
IFE + Wi-Fi
Virgin’s “Red” IFE system is one of the best in the industry. It included a large slection of movies, TV shows, games, and music, plus a moving flight map.
Free headphones were placed in every seatback pocket:
I watched (finished, actually, from another flight), Freud’s Last Session. I love Anthony Hopkins, I love C.S. Lewis, but I suspect his meeting in London never actually occurred…still an interesting movie.
Before landing I began watching a movie called “I Heard The Bells” (about the story surrounding Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Christmas hymn by the same name) but the movie was absolutely insufferable…the worst kind of kitschy Hallmark movie. I stopped after 15 minutes…
Interestingly, an announcement was made prior to takeoff that the wi-fi was down for the flight…good thing I got my work done beforehand!
Lavatory
The A330-900neo has four lavatories between the two economy class cabins (behind row 51) and none in the back. I used the port side lavatory, which is larger for handicapped passengers, and found it clean and spacious.
Service
My interactions with the crew were limited, but I appreciated the pleasant and expeditious service onboard, which allowed us to enjoy a solid nap enroute to London.
CONCLUSION
We landed to a cold and dreary morning in London and followed the purple flight connections sign to make our way to Terminal 2 for our next flight on SAS.
A great flight on Virgin Atlantic: with thanks to Norse Atlantic for forcing Virgin to offer cheap one-way fares and to Upper Class (business class) passengers for “subsidizing” my fare.
This sounds like a reasonable flight for economy class. In the UK, Virgin have their fingers and brand on quite a few things and they have a reputation for over promise and under delivery so many people avoid them like the plague. I’m one of them. I only fly in business class and I have no wish to be disappointed on a long haul trip so I’ll continue to avoid Virgin. After all, if I want disappointment, I can guarantee it on a US carrier.
It was very reasonable…a perfect descriptor.
To James,
As someone who resides in America, I can’t fathom “avoiding” what is one of the best brand in most travel industries. I mean, I never tried Virgin cola or Virgin mobile, but I have seen the Virgin Trains (which were definitely preferable to the competition) and the Virgin Voyages cruise ships are a breath of fresh air, compared to Royal Caribbean and all of those cliche main stream brands.
And that makes me wonder, does that means you fly BA instead ?? If so that’s even more baffling. Because a someone who actually LIVES in America, (I fly Delta) I find BA to be consistently inconsistent.
In fact, I would rank BA side by side with United. Both legacy airlines who flip flop between honestly being outstanding, and equally, potentially being a disaster. And that’s the problem; with BA (and United) I’ve literally seen both experiences on different legs of the same trip.
It’s like when everything is going well, BA (and United) have a whiff of “first class” in all they do. But the minute the weather changes; or if there’s a wrinkle in the plan, everything goes to hell in a handbasket, and consequently, the airline succeeds in making passengers feel rushed, stressed and exhausted.
Moreover, I’m always surprised/dismayed to occasionally be made to transfer from a brand new BA A321neo into a 1990s-era Ba A320 which “cheek-by-jowel” is somehow still in service; with the original beat up, threadbare 20 year old cabin and worn out chairs. Horrible inconsistencies abound in other areas of BA too.
Suffice to say, I have the chance, I’m absolutely flying Virgin Atlantic whenever possible, because my only “substandard” experiences with them (or even with Delta for that matter) were still totally fine. (if not innocuous) to the point that I don’t even remember what the problem was, only that the airline staff helped me get things sorted out, and get back on my way.