In September 2021, Virgin Atlantic revealed a unique new onboard lounge concept on a subfleet of Airbus A350s. The first plane with this feature is now flying, and we’ve also learned about some of the unique experiences that will be offered here, ranging from a wine tasting to card games.
Continue reading: “The Booth” Debuts On Virgin Atlantic’s Leisure A350s, With Wine Tastings & More!
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I am... indifferent? Maybe I need to see it in action but I don't fully see the appeal. The table looks too small to eat together but looks good enough to sit and chat. But if they can do candle light dinners....
@ben You said the leisure one will have 28 less business class seats while there’s only 16 total. I think you might have made a typo but great article!
@ John Ryan -- I could be missing something, but I believe 44-28=16. Or am I misunderstanding what you're saying?
@ Morgan -- That's a great question, and I haven't been able to figure that out yet. I'm not sure if it'll be in the very front of the plane where a lavatory might usually be, or if it will take up space behind Upper Class. If anyone knows, please report back!
@Ben Sorry! I didn't see you had the leisure configuration and I just got the numbers confused. Sorry for the confusion!
And I managed to get an answer from Virgin Atlantic -- The Booth will be located at the forward left door. Interesting.
Lol their knees in the last photo make the 6 seater on a LIRR train look downright spacious.
The concept is attractive since when I am traveling for business, I occasionally need to sort out some last minute things with my team before landing and visiting our clients. Such a space would allow two to three of us to have some meetings in the air.
However, the execution looks poor. The cramped space along with the amenities seem to be an oversight, at best.
Therefore, I don't see the appeal.
Hey Ben, I've taken a stab at where it is on my site. I believe it's at Door L1 right at the front.
@ Jonny -- You had a good guess, because Virgin Atlantic also confirmed that. 🙂
If I remember correctly, they had a similar booth setup in front of door L1 a while back where Upper Class passengers could receive in-flight massages (the only time I've flown them I got a hand massage). Perhaps this is a return of that space?
Like the bar at the rear on QR A-380 & the library/lounge at the front of QF A-380.
As long as access to this space would be managed by flight attendants on a time basis, that would be fine by me. Otherwise, I could see people treat this like resort pool chaise lounges--intimidating others from joining so as to effectively hog the space for hours on end.
There are no windows, little space and no other amenities. It looks like a table seat on a train, but without the windows. Seriously, even a virgin logo on the wall or table would have helped the space look a little interesting. I suppose being able to schedule a tea time with a travel companion or an hour meeting would be interesting, but they kind of need to program that into the flight booking.
Stupid. There’s only space for 2 people in this “social” space. And you just know Karen and Ken are gonna hog it for the entire flight and not let anyone else use it. And the table is tiny, how are you gonna have a “candlelight dinner” there?
Back in the early days of the 747, PanAm offered the upstairs as a dining room for first class passengers. It was very pleasant to go upstairs for dinner. With a drink or two, this ended up with most of the Heathrow to Kennedy flight being spent upstairs, while the allotted first class seat, downstairs, was unoccupied.
This could be very pleasant for first class passengers, but it did not seem to be a cost effective way of monetizing available passenger space.
I like that they are trying something different. Hopefully they will implement a reservation system so it's not a free-for-all after the seat belt light goes off.
A bigger booth that seats 4 would also have been preferred.
It will be where the toilet was before in the front. The idea is great but the implementation is terrible... Just check how big it is. You can't sit there comfortable face to face each other. If you have a belly you have to force in yourself and hopefully you will not stuck. You can't have a fake candle light dinner because only one tray would fit on the table. I would like to see real people testing it and not just the promotion videos with thin model size humans
I like the concept of having a lounge area, but modern aircraft don't have much room for them to be comfortable. As others have mentioned, The Booth looks cramped, so you better really like rubbing knees with your seating companion. Also, I'm not sure losing a lav is worth it for the lounge space given the usage of toilets on long-haul flights. It's nice, though, that Virgin is trying to offer something unique for its Upper Class passengers.
Agree that it looks cramped and I wonder if it is economic for the airline as they are selling less seats on that flight
Why do VS insist on using such a dreadful colour for their lighting? I'm almost expecting to see a scantily clad lady to be sitting in the booth, just like an Amsterdam shop window!
The booth looks so cramped and it will no doubt be a logistical nightmare to allocate its use.
I'll give it 6 months until it quietly gets removed.
Not a fan - two people at best crammed in - maybe dining is the best option but I think the “concept” will die a quick death
Nice concept but surely it's just going to end up with one group monopolising it unless they have some sort of booking system?
Nope. Two people sitting there for the entire flight, and no passenger attendant is going to try and evict them, or another loo. I'll take the convenience (pun intended) of another toilet.
If the FAs treat this anything like the bar on most of their fleet (A3X0s and 787s), it'll just become a staging area for small service items. I can count on one finger the number of times the bar has actually been available for legit bar service - out of about 9 flights in recent, pre-pandemic history. And really, that's okay by me. The Booth looks like it's ultimately uncomfortable for more than one person anyway and I've never felt the need to congregate with other pax, even ones I'm traveling with, that can't be done by just standing in the aisle to have a quick chat. Plus, I've never had an issue with service on any of my flights by simply remaining in my seat. I appreciate that they're trying to differentiate, but I really feel the lavatory is more of a necessity then this gimick.
There was a trade notice about the use of The Booth last year and Upper Passengers will be able to book a time slot with the crew during there pre departure meet and greet.
Seats 1A and 1D will be as close to hell as you can get in business class with a couple of drunken hooray henrys decrying the wine on offer loudly from the booth in front of you. Like being next to the bar on Emirates. Just awful. Thanks for the warning
The booth concept is not new. Back in the 60's, 707s had them up forward. I and a friend and two lovely lasses from Alabama, all eleven years old, set a speed and altitude record for Spin the Bottle somewhere over the North Atlantic.
It does feel very seedy, but I guess a smoking room vibe is what Virgin wants.
If an airline is going to do a lounge/bar/social area, then at least make a 100% effort like Emirates or Qatar. Anything less is just sad, like this example and on QANTAS too. Put in another WC, put another seat or two....basically anything would be better than these half-arsed affairs.
A “game time,” where guests can compete with their travel partners using exclusive Virgin Atlantic playing cards.
Wow! How innovative. A real selling point.