Dear Virgin Atlantic, You’ve really impressed me with your A350 in business class. Not only was the service lovely, but the new business class seat is a substantial improvement over the prior herringbone seat.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Business Class: A Huge Upgrade
I recently flew from London to Los Angeles on Virgin Atlantic aboard the A350-1000 in “Upper Class” (business class) specifically to check out the A350 business class seat.
My expectations were high, but they were quite honestly exceeded in almost every way onboard. The new business class seats feel much more spacious and comfortable than the coffin-like herringbone seat and it is lovely to be able to glance out the window without having to turn your head 180º.
Plush bedding and pillows helped me enjoy a decadent nap during the majority of the flight.
While pandemic-related precautions were in effect, both meals onboard were still delicious, including salmon with asparagus and couscous for lunch and afternoon tea service with hot scones and clotted cream prior to landing. The on-demand menu is gone and both the quantity of food has also been reduced, but I did not go hungry and self-serve snacks were available throughout the flight.
Service was simply phenomenal. The crew was charming and an absolute delight to interact with while being professional at the same time. I think this picture says it all:
I love when flight attendants are actually aware of the wine onboard and the flight attendant serving me lunch went into great detail about the two white wine selections available.
As for the new lounge, I think it is still probably wasted real estate, but more practical than the bar.
A PPE kit is presented to each passenger which includes wipes, gel, masks, and a bag to dispose them in.
Lastly, I want to give Virgin Atlantic a shoutout for a great in-flight-entertainment library. I really appreciated the deep selection of movie and watched both Mr. Jones and Escape From Pretoria during the flight, both movies I highly recommend.
CONCLUSION
With this flight, Virgin Atlantic has gone from being my least favorite option to cross the pond to possibly my favorite. The new seat is a tremendous improvement (but note – it is only available on the A350). Combine that with great service and tasty food and you have a near-perfect flight.
My full review will include additional info on the seat, amenities onboard, and more instances of great service. Stay tuned!
Have they adjusted the tray positioning? Initial reports suggested it was quite tight to the body and difficult to maneuver..
Needless cuts to the meal service – one tray affair for a transatlantic premium cabin flight is unacceptable – not just on VS
The skies of Lufthansa have avoided this nonsense
LH F yes but also J as well?
Still a choice of 3 appetizers, full sized main course, cheese, and dessert, albeit the ice cream option is packaged
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/33358874-post2257.html
Short haul J also ‘business as usual’ as they say
While an upgrade to the J cabin, a significant downgrade for PE. The 787 PE on VS was my favorite way to come home (LHR-LAX), but the PE seat is much more cramped on the A350.
Love the bar on the 787, although I do seem to be the minority on overnight US to London flights. I’ve meet some charters over the years.
“While pandemic-related precautions were in effect”
At this point, if it’s food related, nobody can really say in good conscience that it’s a precaution any more than bringing a raincoat to the Atacama is a precaution. I think your sentence should read “While pandemic-related theatre was in effect…”
Agreed.
@ Matthew — What was your final destination? I assume you were connecting.
This was LHR-LAX.
Personally I hate the A350 seat on Virgin. It’s too hard, too narrow, and it’s difficult to move whilst sleeping without whacking your legs on the overhanging bit of the seat in front. I sleep on my side which is virtually impossible in the A350 seat (unlike the 787).
Interesting experience. I am exclusively a side sleeper and found the A350 much better for sleeping.
What nonsense is this, Virgin Atlantic does not have business class! Has this person actually travelled on this flight, if he had he wouldn’t be able to miss the fact that he travelled in Upper class!!!!
Each seat has 2 windows. One is blocked by the side of the seat. The other appears to be far away. How easy was it to look out of the window?
A window seat that isn’t really a window seat is my thought.
Indeed, windows are not ideal.
Thanks for the great review. Can you tell us how many points you used to book it and what that process was like? How easy/hard to find availability, etc?
This looks great, thanks for the preview.
I will say that I flew Virgin Atlantic Upper Class from DC to Johannesburg via London two years ago roundtrip. Even though the seats on the A330 and 787 were the herringbone/ aisle facing seat, I still loved my experience – everything about it was great – the lounges at DC, Heathrow and JNB, the food on board, the great service, the fantastic entertainment selection. Even with crappy seats it was by far my favorite flights I’ve been on, and I’ve been on a lot.
Looking forward to the full report.
Flew this during the pandemic where that business class cabin had only 6 total passengers! Great crew, great seats and overall pleasant journey across the pond. That award was quite possibly my last good use of Delta SkyMiles I will ever have.
Good to see that both VS and British Airways now offer overall competitive products. Not on every plane, but still.
I actually prefer the old seats. True there is little privacy, but there is also unlimited leg room, which I did not find on the 350. I also found the service underwhelming. Lunch service took three hours and FA’s, while polite, were inefficient. For one example – several FA’s passed by a half full pre-departure glass of champagne on the arm rest of the passenger across from me before take off, but none noticed it. The passenger ultimately held onto it, otherwise it would have gone flying.
But the fuel surcharges….ouch! ‘
Best value for TATL travel continues to be ANA awards on UA Metal. Or Virgin awards on DL Metal. But as you not recently, good luck on finding the latter.
Flying this same flight very soon and curious on seat selection.. Is the substantial diff. in footwell size in Row 1 Vs. the possible noise from the lav & galley. Lav being more of an issue for me personally. Great review, cant wait to experience it soon.
Terrible seat for storage.