Boy was I excited to fly Virgin Atlantic’s A350-1000! Not only was it my first time flying Virgin Atlantic in several years (and I love Virgin Atlantic), but it was also my first time experiencing their new Upper Class. Lastly, the A350-1000 is one of my favorite planes in the sky. So when you combine the three, I knew I was in for a great flight.
Booking Virgin Atlantic Business Class
Obviously reviewing flights is a big motivator in taking these trips. I was happy we were able to try Turkish’s new 787-9 business class on the way out, and on the return I also wanted to try something new, with the priority being a flight on Virgin Atlantic’s A350-1000.
In theory I could have booked this as a Delta SkyMiles award ticket, though there wasn’t award availability for our dates, not to mention the mileage cost would have been steep, and there would have been carrier imposed surcharges.
Fortunately there were some really good paid fares. We managed to book a roundtrip ticket from Bucharest to New York for $1,200, with the outbound in business class and the return in economy.
The outbound portion of the ticket (in business class) looked as follows:
10/30 RO391 Bucharest to London departing 12:20PM arriving 2:05PM
10/31 VS139 London to New York departing 12:30PM arriving 4:20PM
If you want to redeem miles for Virgin Atlantic’s A350 Upper Class, see this post.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Business Class Review
Virgin Atlantic 137
London (LHR) – New York (JFK)
Thursday, October 31
Depart: 12:30PM
Arrive: 4:20PM
Duration: 7hr50min
Aircraft: Airbus A350-1000
Seat: 11K (Business Class)
We boarded through the forward door, where we were greeted by a chipper crew and pointed towards our seats. Oh my gosh the Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class cabin is beautiful — I love the finishes, I love how modern the cabin looks, and I love how spacious it feels. The A350 is such a pleasure to fly.
Virgin Atlantic A350-1000 Upper Class cabin
Virgin Atlantic has a total of 44 Upper Class seats on the A350, all located between the first and second set of doors.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class cabin A350-1000
Virgin Atlantic selected a unique layout. The center seats are in a herringbone configuration, meaning they face the aisle. If you’re traveling alone and are in the center, that means you at least won’t be bothered by your seatmate. But if you’re traveling with someone it’s not ideal, since you’re angled away from them.
Virgin Atlantic A350 center business class seats
Virgin Atlantic A350 center business class seats
All the window seats, on the other hand, were reverse herringbone seats, meaning they faced the window. Reverse herringbone seats are incredibly common nowadays, so it’s interesting how they chose a hybrid reverse herringbone and herringbone configuration.
Virgin Atlantic window business class seat A350
I had assigned myself the seat in the last row on the right, 11K, while Tiffany was seated immediately in front of me. This was a very comfortable configuration, and I was happy as could be in my window seat.
New Virgin Atlantic Upper Class seat
New Virgin Atlantic Upper Class seat
There are some minor details of the seat that I find odd, which I highlighted in a separate post. To the right of the seat was a storage shelf, though I didn’t love that it was exposed, not to mention it was a very small area.
New Virgin Atlantic Upper Class seat storage
The seat controls were immediately to the right of the seat, and were easy to use. The problem is that the controls were right where your elbow might naturally rest when sitting up, so several times during the flight I accidentally pushed the controls.
New Virgin Atlantic Upper Class seat controls
On the aisle side of the seat was an armrest, which could be lowered during the flight to create a wider sleeping surface.
New Virgin Atlantic Upper Class seat armrest
Another unique feature of the seat is the tray table. The problem is that it’s really poorly designed, and apparently Virgin Atlantic is working on fixing that on planes going forward. The tray table folds down from the side of the seat.
New Virgin Atlantic Upper Class tray table
You can then either keep the tray next to you (which is a nice concept)…
New Virgin Atlantic Upper Class tray table
…or you can slide it to the side, right in front of you.
New Virgin Atlantic Upper Class tray table
The problem is that the tray table is incredibly close to where you sit, and I’ve heard lots of complaints of people not even being able to extend the tray table. Even though I managed to fit comfortably enough with the tray table extended, I kept finding myself wishing I could push the tray back further. I also couldn’t really recline my seat at all while the tray was out, due to lack of space.
New Virgin Atlantic Upper Class tray table
In terms of legroom and the footwell, this is your standard reverse herringbone seat, with a fairly large footwell.
New Virgin Atlantic Upper Class footwell
The entertainment screen also slid out from the seat in front. There’s no controller for the entertainment, but rather it’s touchscreen.
New Virgin Atlantic Upper Class entertainment screen
To the right of the seat and to the bottom was a small literature pocket, as well as the 110v and USB outlet.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class power outlet & storage
There was also a headphone jack and a second USB outlet.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class USB port & headphone jack
I was thrilled to see that Virgin Atlantic has individual air nozzles at their seats on the A350, which is something I value.
Virgin Atlantic A350 individual air nozzles
Already waiting at my seat upon boarding was the menu.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class menu
There was also an amenity kit, which is new for Virgin Atlantic. It’s probably the most “sustainable” amenity kit out there, and is made of recyclable kraft paper, and most of the goodies in there are recyclable and/or sustainable. It’s a cool initiative for the airline to take.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class amenity kit
There were also a pair of headphones, which were fairly good.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class headphones
One more comment on the seats — while I loved the finishes and found them sleek, the cabin was already showing wear & tear. The white aisle-side panels might not have been the best choices, as they all already looked scratched up.
Virgin Atlantic business class wear & tear
About 10 minutes after settling in I was offered a pre-departure drink in proper glassware, with the choice between sparkling wine and orange juice.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class pre-departure sparkling wine
Now let’s talk about a real highlight of the flight from the moment we boarded — the crew. My gosh they were all so lovely. As I said when I reviewed the Clubhouse, every Virgin Atlantic employee I interacted with the entire day was incredibly friendly, and the crew in particular stood out.
After serving pre-departure drinks the crew came around to each passenger and took their time explaining the seats and service. It was clear they were proud and excited about the new product, and their enthusiasm showed.
I loved the level of detail they went into about the seat, down to explaining that you could watch the tail camera during takeoff.
The cabin manager, Caragh, apologized that it was the first time on the plane for many of the crew members. Meanwhile I had Laura taking care of me, and she was incredible as well. This was a superstar crew, though to be honest I find that to be the case on Virgin Atlantic more often than not.
At around 12:25PM the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us that our flight time was 7hr20min, and that we’d have a “very watery Atlantic crossing today.” Hah.
Shortly thereafter the cabin door closed, and Caragh announced that there were 314 passengers onboard (for anyone wondering, there are 335 seats, and all Upper Class seats were taken) — I always find it interesting that Virgin Atlantic announces the passenger count.
At 12:35PM we began our pushback, at which point the safety video was screened. The video is… a lot to take in.
I loved being in seat 11K, as I had an awesome view of the wing and engine — I love the Virgin logo on the raked wingtip.
Taxiing in Virgin Atlantic A350
Then of course I also had the tail camera on the entertainment screen — I couldn’t decide which view was better.
Virgin Atlantic A350 tail camera
We had a short taxi and not a long wait for takeoff, and at 12:50PM we were cleared for takeoff on runway 9R.
Virgin Atlantic A350 tail camera
View after takeoff from Heathrow
As we climbed out of Heathrow I first checked out the moving map for our flight, which was highly customizable, and had a great interface.
Virgin Atlantic A350 entertainment system
I then checked out the massive entertainment selection, including tons of movies and TV shows.
Virgin Atlantic A350 entertainment system
Virgin Atlantic A350 entertainment system
Virgin Atlantic A350 entertainment system
I also connected to the Wi-Fi — I’m thrilled that Virgin Atlantic upgraded their Wi-Fi system for the A350.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Wi-Fi
There are three passes you can buy:
- Instant messaging for the entire flight for $3.95 / £2.99
- One hour of unlimited browsing for $8.95 / £6.99
- Unlimited browsing for the entire flight for $26.95 / £20.99
Virgin Atlantic A350 Wi-Fi pricing
I thought the pricing was good, given that they had no data caps and the Wi-Fi speeds were excellent, among the best I’ve had on a long haul flight. I worked almost the entire flight, and was extremely productive.
The seatbelt sign was turned off about 10 minutes after takeoff, so I decided to walk around the cabin a bit. First of all, how beautiful is the cabin?!
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class cabin
Immediately behind Upper Class is “The Loft,” which is Virgin Atlantic’s new lounge concept. On all their other planes Virgin Atlantic has bars, while on the A350 they went for more of a lounge.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class lounge
It’s a beautiful place with plenty of seating…
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class lounge
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class lounge
There’s even a perfect seat for an introvert in the corner. 😉
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class lounge
As a standard they have the tail camera playing in The Loft, which is cool, but on demand you can even watch movies or TV shows here.
The crew has eight special wireless bluetooth headphones, so you can potentially have several people watching a movie or TV show here. It’s a concept that sounds cool in theory, though in practice I can’t imagine many people will do it.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class lounge headphones
Just to test it out, we did watch Tom & Jerry for a moment. 😉
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class lounge
There was no food or drinks in the lounge, with the exception of a fruit bowl.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class fruit bowl
There were a couple of bathrooms behind the lounge, which were fairly standard for the A350.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class lavatory
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class lavatory amenities
As it turns out, the lavatories at the front of the cabins have windows, so that’s a cool reason to use one of those.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class lavatory
This otherwise reminded me most closely of Etihad’s A380 onboard lounge, as they have a similar concept.
Anyway, about 30 minutes after takeoff drink orders were taken.
The menu read as follows:
The drink list read as follows:
To drink I ordered a glass of sparkling wine, which was served with some popcorn. I love that Virgin Atlantic mixes it up compared to other airlines, most of which seem to offer nuts.
Virgin Atlantic business class — champagne & popcorn
Once I was done with my sparkling wine I decided to order a passionfruit mojito, which was both tasty and adorably presented.
Virgin Atlantic business class cocktail
Service was definitely a bit slower than one would hope, but that was clearly because it was the first time for much of the crew on the A350, and new planes take getting used to. About 75 minutes after takeoff my meal order was taken, and about 100 minutes after takeoff my table was set.
Virgin Atlantic has a unique table setting, including the airplane-themed salt & pepper shakers, the A350-specific napkin rings, a tablecloth and placemat, etc.
Virgin Atlantic business class lunch — table setting
Virgin Atlantic business class lunch — salt & pepper shakers
Virgin Atlantic A350 napkin holder
The starter was served about 120 minutes after takeoff. To start there was the choice between soup, prawns, or cauliflower, and I selected the citrus seared prawns with watermelon salsa, coriander, mint, and sweet chili lime dressing, which were great.
Virgin Atlantic business class lunch — starter
As soon as my starter was cleared I was served the main — I selected the grilled salmon with fennel, walnut, tomato, and basil butter. It wasn’t the best airplane fish I’ve ever had, but it was pretty good.
Virgin Atlantic business class lunch — main course
Shortly thereafter I was offered dessert. I chose the chocolate hazelnut tart with white chocolate mendiant, which was excellent. I also had a cup of coffee to go along with, and in particular loved the mug it was served in.
Virgin Atlantic business class lunch — dessert & coffee
I was asked if I wanted a cheese plate, so I got that as well (just for the picture, of course). 😉
Virgin Atlantic business class lunch — cheese plate
While the pace of the meal was on the slow side, the food quality was good. In fairness, British Airways has hugely improved their business class catering, and I think the two airlines might just be tied in business class in that regard, or British Airways might even have the slight edge in that regard (I can’t believe I’m saying that!).
After lunch I decided to test out the bed. Virgin Atlantic has proper Upper Class bedding in the overhead bins, including excellent pillows, blankets, and mattress pads. The bedding is top notch.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class bedding
So, how comfortable was the bed? Very comfortable, thanks largely to the bedding, and also thanks to the seat in general. Comfort-wise it was on par with your typical spacious reverse herringbone seat.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class bed
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class bed
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class bed
Virgin Atlantic doesn’t have doors in A350 Upper Class, though they do have privacy screens that extend out a bit, and I’d say they make a difference.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class privacy screen
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class privacy screen
I didn’t actually sleep because I wasn’t tired and also wanted to get work done, so I instead just kept working.
Moving map enroute to New York
Moving map enroute to New York
Before I knew it we were under 90 minutes from landing in New York, at which point the crew came around to ask if I wanted to have a pre-landing afternoon tea.
The pre-landing menu read as follows:
I ordered a cup of earl grey to drink. To eat I had the smoked salmon tart, the sweet potato falafel, and the sweets and scone. Mmm…
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class afternoon tea
Before I knew it the captain made his pre-landing announcement. At 3:30PM New York time he announced we were at 38,000 feet over Cape Cod, and would be descending shortly, and touching down at 4:10PM.
It was extremely windy on approach, and we swayed back and forth quite a bit. For a minute I felt like we might be having a go around.
View approaching New York
We ended up touching down at 4:15PM.
Final approach to JFK
The taxi to the arrival gate took about 25 minutes — that’s because we had to hold short of a runway for about 15 minutes in order to cross it.
Pulling into gate at JFK
When we arrived at the gate there were problems with the jet bridge, and it took them over 10 minutes to get that connected to the plane. Fortunately we were both through immigration in no time thanks to Global Entry, and with that our trip ended.
On the way out I of course took the opportunity to snap a picture of the plane exterior, since there was no good way to do so at Heathrow.
Virgin Atlantic A350-1000
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class A350 Bottom Line
The new Virgin Atlantic A350-1000 is a gorgeous plane with a massively improved business class product. Are there some things I would have designed differently about the seat? Absolutely.
But on balance this is probably one of my new favorite transatlantic business class products. The window seats are comfortable, the bedding is excellent, there are air nozzles, the entertainment and Wi-Fi are top notch, and most importantly, the crew was spectacular.
To me Virgin Atlantic is one of those airlines with the “x-factor.” It’s not that any one thing about the experience is that amazing, but when you put it all together, it’s a really top notch airline.
I can’t emphasize enough how much of a difference the people make. The crew was so incredibly friendly, which more or less matches my typical Virgin Atlantic experience. The crews are fun, cheeky, professional, and happy, all at the same time… and that’s an unbeatable combo.
If you’ve flown Virgin Atlantic’s A350 business class, what was your experience like?
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