After trying out Virgin Atlantic’s premium economy product a couple of times over the last year or so, when it came time to fly home on the redeye, I booked myself an Upper Class seat so that I could sleep for a few hours on the short 7 hour 50 minute flight once we were up on the air.
The mileage booking process was fairly straightforward. There was plenty of availability and I was able to find a flight quite easily and booked with 47,500 Flying Club points and $982.80. Of course, the taxes and fees when flying in and out of London are outrageous but there’s simply nothing to do about it.
What I received in return was a perfectly pleasant, if aging hard product for a night’s sleep across the Atlantic, and a less than stellar service staff, as well as a free English breakfast once I arrived in London. Here was my experience in Upper Class (business class) on Virgin Atlantic’s A350-1000.
Exploring the American Express Centurion Lounge in Atlanta
Before the flight, I used my American Express Platinum card to get into the new American Express Lounge at Hartsfield Jackson. The lounge was fairly full but I did not have to wait to get in. Once in, it was not difficult to find a place to situate myself by a window and there were plenty of charging points. The food offerings had a southern focus and barbeque, mac and cheese and collard greens were all on offer. And, like any airport lounge worth its salt, the plane spotting was top notch. The lounge is located in a different terminal as the gate Virgin Atlantic uses, but it’s worth the visit if you can get in. It’s quite easy to take the train or walk between terminals if you leave yourself enough time.
The business class seat on Virgin Atlantic’s A350-1000:
The Virgin Atlantic A350-1000 business class seats are laid out in a 1-2-1 herringbone fashion and all have direct aisle access. They are fairly standard and remind me a lot of the A350-900 seats. One of my pet peeves on planes is the dreaded shoulder belt, which the flight crew was very intent on insuring passengers were wearing for takeoff and landing. We made do for decades without these things. Has anyone ever been kept safe by them? Oh well, a first world problem, I suppose. I sat in 2K, pictured below.
After takeoff, an amenity kit was passed out and I have really enjoyed the UK-based Ren skincare products that were inside. The tray table was quite sizeable and dwarfed my little iPad, and also accommodated my 15-inch MacBook Air without any issue. Most aviation geeks will agree that the tail camera is one of the best parts of riding an A350, and the screen definition was crisp and clear during takeoff and landing. I also turned it on in the lounge for a bit before landing.
Surprisingly, the seats are already starting to show a little wear and tear. The footrest especially was quite beat up, and I can’t believe I’m saying it but it might be time already for Virgin Atlantic to consider a cabin refresh on these planes.
The food and beverage on Virgin Atlantic’s Airbus 350-1000:
As I had work to do after getting in and had eaten dinner in the airport, dinner was not on the cards because I needed to get as many hours of sleep as possible. So, I enjoyed some Lanson bubbles and crisps after takeoff and a couple of cups of coffee before landing. The flight attendant accidentally poured one too many glasses of champagne so I happily took a second one off his hands. For all of the eco-conscious flyers out there, you might be interested to hear that instead of plastic bottles, Virgin Atlantic is offering water to Upper Class passengers in aluminum cans. For those who would be interested in dining on this flight, I took some photos of the menu.
Upon landing, I had a full English breakfast in the Virgin Atlantic arrivals lounge where I also took a shower. I guess the Atlanta flight was one of the first to land because the lounge was totally dead when I arrived and filled up during the day. The lounge isn’t particularly large or luxurious, but the food and service are great. In recent years, the ordering system has been upgraded to be done via a QR system on each table, so that helps to streamline things as well. If you are not feeling a full fry up immediately after your red eye, there are less heavy options as well such as avocado toast or yogurt with granola.
As London was not my final destination, I booked a Eurostar trip with a couple of hours in between when my flight landed and when the train departed so that if the plane was delayed, I wouldn’t be stuck. However, I was lucky and the plane actually came in a few minutes early so I had some time to kill. There was a quiet area in the corner of the lounge where I was able to get some work done for a few hours to kill time and get some work done before I had to catch my train.
The service on Virgin Atlantic’s A350-1000
While admittedly, I did sleep for the majority of the flight. I was conscious enough to know that this flight crew was not up to the same standard as other Virgin crews I’d flown with recently. I got a pretty severe “can’t be bothered” attitude from the majority of the crew both at the beginning of the flight and at the end.
And it appears that they didn’t get up to much while I was asleep either. I ordered a glass of champagne after takeoff and finished it before going to bed. However, when I woke up, I saw that the glass still hadn’t been cleared from the table. Not a good look.
The bottom line
When I’m flying on a redeye and I need to get some sleep before landing, I view my seat as a hotel room. It should make sleep as easy as possible and I like it to have all the amenities of a room. There should be something good on the TV, the seat should have a “blackout” feature, and there should be individually adjustable air vents above the seat. While Virgin Atlantic doesn’t have the widest business class seat and or some reason the A350-1000 doesn’t feature air vents on Virgin, it was comfortable enough to catch a few hours of shuteye on the short transatlantic flight. The flight attendants left something to be desired, but as I was passed out for the majority of the flight, I’m willing to give them a bit of a pass.
