worried????

First time with Virgin this summer and being a bit of an internet review forum reader, i have been worried for some time on what i have seen on the airline quality forum for Virgin Atlantic. Yes we are in economy, but hey 70% of the passengers are! I have read reports of tired interiors (i know 747s are under refit), poor entertainment, awful food (salmon pasta seems the biggest gripe, and as myself and daughter have fish allergies i do hope they take not of our booking notes), lack of drinks, and now responsible drinking warnings. have looked on review on here and most are from PE or business class, can anyone assure me good service. Our flights are LGW-Vegas, and LAX-LHR

Yes, the 747's are being refitted;you may be on a refitted aircraft. The existing 747 cabins are showing their age and the IFE on these aircraft is obviously nowhere near as good as the new offering.

A lot depends on the cabin crew; my advice is to be pleasant to them (as I am sure you will be) but if things are not what you expect mention it to them and escalate it to the Flight services manager if need be.

Chances are - you will have great flights and a great holiday.

You will have a fabulous flight I am sure.

Don't worry about the food, you do get a choice you know it's not just Salmon Pasta or starve, so don't choose that, simple.

The old aircraft are tired but hey they aren't falling to bits really and are still acceptable unless you are spectacularly fussy. You might get a refurbed aircraft anyway.

Err on the positive side, Virgin is a great product, we have used them for years in both PE and EC and overall enjoyed our experience even when maybe things haven't been perfect but you get that on any airline, just give it a mention to one of the crew if you are not happy, they are very helpful and take on board comments and pass them on. y)

Enjoy your trip

[honey lamb]

The airline quality forum is notorious for being selective about which posts it publishes and tends to publish poor reviews rather than good ones. Some of us here as an experiment sent in good reviews based on our TRs and none of them were published v(

My view would be to relax and enjoy the flight - the LGW 747's are tired on the inside but VS crews are generally great and, IMHO, a flight is what you make of it.

I had a similar apprehension about my upcoming flight to BGI - I have been used to the newer interiors of LHR metal on all of my VS flights so was a bit narked when the LGW refits kept getting delayed. But ultimately I decided that missing out on a couple of films/watching them in poor quality is not going to spoil my holiday! In fact I haven't really bothered using the IFE on my last few flights.

As for the food - most Y meals are not going to be great on most airlines. VS are trying hard on Y meal offering trying to make it more of an "experience". Stock up at the airport/eat a big breakfast in departures if it bothers you that much or, better still, buy CH access/Vroom if you can and get the holiday off to a real start!

As for the drinking - unfortunately the minority spoil it for the masses. The airline is trying to be responsible and making sure that no-one gets too drunk and causes a fight or become seriously ill, causing a diversion etc. A quick search on youtube will reveal a fight that broke out recently on a VS flight to BGI - not something I would want to be near at 38,000 feet!

In summary - make sure you enjoy your holiday and the flight will be totally fine!

As the others have said, you may get a refitted LGW aircraft and the way out and you get to experience the LHR configuration on the way back....

Airlines have always given out 'responsible drinking' advice. It is not just virgin and it IS good advice!

The food is the food and the IFE is the IFE. Yes it will not appeal to all the people all the time but this is mass catering not a la carte service.

Take reviews with a pinch of salt - what are they complaining about? are they exagerating a problem? Did they complain about the food because it was awful (e.g. cold etc) or because they didn't like a particular dish - there is a big difefrence between the two.

Again why was thre IFE awful - was it because it didn't work or was it because the films didn't appeal to the review writer - againa big difference between them.

I'm sure you will have a great flight and holiday - go with a positive mind set and you will have a great time. Go with 'a this will be awful' mind set then no matter how good it is you will never be satisfied.

I agree with what has been said. All my flights on VS lately have been in Y and I would say that they have ranged from great to average! Yes there have been gripes about poor food and inconsistent service but you will get that with most airlines.
Embrace the flight and have an awesome time !!

Hey, Much of your enjoyment will be down to your attitude and approach.

Remember that you are going in holiday and approach the flight with excitment and positively and you will enjoy the flight.

If you have a negative, everything will end up upsetting you and that wont be a great start to your holiday.