This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
The car turned up early and was in immaculate condition, with a polite and friendly driver. Unfortunately, road closures and central London traffic meant the late-morning journey from Southwark to Heathrow took 1h45. Reception at the Wing was incredibly efficient - too much so, as my checked luggage was whisked off without me realising it! Ordinarily this would have delighted me, but I needed to get something out of my main case. "Do you really need it?" asked the check-in agent, looking a bit put out. When I said I did, she took me to the luggage area and retrieved my case, but I was left feeling a bit awkward about the whole thing. I was then directed through the security channel, which was incredibly quick, and found myself in the main terminal. It's not particularly obvious where the Clubhouse is located, but I found it soon enough.
The Clubhouse is easily the smartest airport lounge I've ever used. I started with a shower, which was immediately available. The room itself was large, with a toilet, vanity unit, hair dryer and walk-in rainforest shower. Then it was time for a late lunch in the restaurant. The tomato soup arrived in a stylish little jug, which the waitress poured in front of me; the burger and chips were tasty, and were smartly presented on a wooden board; and there were several flavours of ice cream. I didn't take advantage of the pool table, the bar or the business area, but I was quite content to sit on the comfy chairs and enjoy the champagne that the roving waitress delivered.
Boarding was well handled. After flying Emirates, I had imagined walking straight from the lounge onto the plane, so I was initially surprised to have to leave the Clubhouse and tramp along to the gate. With hindsight, of course, Virgin operates far too many flights for lounge boarding to be feasible! Unlike most people, I'm not a fan of priority boarding. I'd much rather wait in the lounge and board at the last minute, but given that it was my first time on Virgin, I decided to check out the cabin as soon as I could.
The aircraft was VHOT (Tubular Belle), and we were told there were 304 passengers on board. Upper Class was quite full, with every seat in the nose taken. It was nice to get on the aircraft and turn left, and the nose section is certainly roomy. Overall, though, I found the cabin environment disappointing. In terms of the 'hard product', the aircraft was showing its age. Virgin seems firmly wedded to herringbone seating, perhaps because they pioneered the large flatbed suite revolution in 2003, and no doubt because many customers seem to love them. From my point of view, the seat is wide and long, but that's where the positives stop. It faces away from the window, and the high sides make it feel enclosed whilst offering little privacy. There's no smooth transition from upright to La-Z-Boy to bed - instead, the seat reclines a bit, and then you have to get up and flip it over to turn it into a mattress. The IFE is old and slow, with a small (non-touch) screen. There's no WiFi or mobile phone connectivity, and electronic equipment has to be plugged in via a crew-supplied adaptor. The individual air vents are inoperative, and the lavatories are small and cramped. I've flown in the J-class mini cabin of a four-class Cathay Pacific 773 (with reverse herringbone seating), and on the upper deck of an Emirates 380 (J-class partial suites), and both cabin environments were considerably better than the Virgin 744.
In terms of the 'soft product', I found it fine but not special. There was no boarding music, no greeting by name, and no offer to explain the seat functionality or dining arrangements. The Lanson and the champagne coupe glasses had disappeared, to be replaced by ordinary flutes. The amenity kit was small and contained cheap, own-brand stuff - unlike the large, Bvlgari-filled Emirates offering. I placed my jumper and passport on the ledge behind my seat, next to the bedding bag. One of the cabin crew appeared and explained rather officiously that it was very important that the grille wasn't obstructed, that the ledge wasn't a storage area, that putting my things there could cause a danger, and that I would therefore have to allow him to move them... This tone continued throughout the flight. I was told I could plug in my phone, but not charge it because of the fire risk; though if I agreed to stay with it at all times then that would be ok. And later: "The captain has turned on the seatbelt signs. If you are moving around the cabin, using the washrooms, or seated at our J-class bar, please return to your seats immediately and ensure your seatbelt is securely fastened. If you have infants in a sky-cot, you must take them out of the sky-cot and hold them on your lap, just as you did for take-off. The washrooms will remain out of use until the captain has switched off the seatbelt signs. This is for your own safety." And so on, which got a little tedious and irritating.
The food was ok. I thought it was possible to dine on demand, and maybe it was, but we were all handed menus immediately and ordered at the same time. I had a lovely salmon pillow, a rather thick and oniony piece of beef, an average panna cotta, and a small but pleasant cheeseboard. Once everyone had finished eating, the plates were cleared away, the crew largely disappeared, and most people slept. Whilst I appreciated and admired the crew's efficiency, the service perhaps felt a bit formulaic and hurried.
Arrival at JFK went fairly smoothly. The seatbelt signs were turned on and the lavatories locked 30 mins before landing, which I thought slightly excessive. The nose section deplaned first, and I was through immigration (as a first-time ESTA holder) about 10 - 15 minutes later. I'm not sure how those at the back of the Economy section would have fared.
Overall, the airport experience was pretty near perfect, but I felt the aircraft and the onboard environment were a bit disappointing. Whilst there was nothing objectively 'wrong' (other than a hot cabin and no air vents), the flight was somehow underwhelming and not special. The return flight (which I'll cover in a separate post) was better, but first impressions of Virgin Upper Class were mixed.
