Finding Level 1 Delta business class awards to Europe (Sweden) – Part 1
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class outbound via Manchester – Part 2
The Escape Lounge Manchester T3 – Part 3
KLM Euro business class to Amsterdam & Gothenburg – Part 4
The smallest lounge EVER – the Ford business class lounge in Gothenburg GOT- Part 5
The Club Carlson Park Inn by Radisson Stockholm – Part 6
Hertz Presidents Circle GOLD club rental in Sweden – Part 7
KLM Euro business class to Amsterdam & Manchester – Part 8
The KLM Crown Lounge Amsterdam #25 – Part 9
ASPIRE lounge #26 Amsterdam AMS Priority Pass lounge review – Part 10
SPG Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel Schiphol suite review- Part 11
The Escape Lounge Manchester T2 for Virgin Atlantic Upper Class guests review- Part 12
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Manchester to Atlanta – Part 13
Final thoughts, costs and Virgin vs. DeltaONE to Europe – Part 14
That is NOT my ride home from Manchester to Atlanta. I wish it was as I love the “Queen of the Skies” and even more so since Delta is getting rid of their 747s but I was again on the bird they run between ATL and MAN that is an A330.
So the same type setup as the way out that is the same seats as well and if you want to take a look then peek at the outbound post to see more on those as well as the near worthless amenity kit. But stay tuned as I have lots of thoughts about the “hard product” later on in the post.
I will say I was pleased this time that I picked the window side. I really disliked the center section on this jet. In the middle there is no overhead storage or air vents etc. Having a vent may seem like a small thing but I very much like this and having quick access to my overhead when I want it (not like there is a lot of extra storage space anywhere with these Upper Class seats anyway).
Appetizer was chicken skewers and they were tasty but a bit on the dry side. Still pleasant and I would have them again (hey Noah Mark, like the bread – on a plate)!
Even though a day flight I decided on the cold steak salad. The mint in it was way over the top and just made it almost inedible. The steak was plentiful and the rest was good but if they had used about 10% of the mint included it would have been great.
After dinner I went with the cheese plate and it was just nummy. I could have eaten way too much of this as it was just fresh, flavorful and perfect after the steak dinner.
Later I had “high tea” and the scone and clotted cream was very pleasant with a cup of Earl Grey. Virgin does a very nice job feeding you in Upper Class I must say!
Since this was a day flight I spent some time at the “bar” onboard. Like last time, I really just don’t get this concept. The seats are not comfortable and there is no seat belt. I can drink at my seat and have access to Virgin’s excellent selection of IFE choices and not worry about possible injury if there is severe turbulence. Don’t get me wrong, the FA helping at the bar was great and fun to talk to but I think this space could be much better unitized (like offering more space and storage in and around my seat)!
Let me also say the service was good. No, very good. Part of this may have been the flight was just about 50% empty but we had a full crew compliment. One thing the crew did very early on was fold down all the middle Upper Class seats into the bed position. Sweet. I was thinking that, since only the outer seats were filled on the flight, that they were making up the other seats so we could choose either those as a “bed” for a nap and still have our upright seats for use as well. Yeah, well, no.
What happened was crew came and slept for most of the flight from in back and even up front when they had time off. Not saying the crew should not get rest but as bad as the Upper Class seats are this would have been nice for the “paying” passengers.
Now let’s talk about seats. Gosh I dislike this Virgin Upper class seat. It is narrow. It has no storage. Power is hard to get to (when it works). You cannot really look out the window without needing a trip to the chiropractor after the flight. The IFE has lots of choices but the screen is not the greatest and must swing out and just about blocks the tray. The tray is good but so loud when you put it away. These are just BAD business class seats – end of story.
However, take a look at the Virgin version of Comfort Plus seating or Premium Economy. Does it look nice to you? Does it look “big” to you. It should. Why? Look at the specifications from Seat Guru:
Yep, that “coach” seat is as wide and reclines 1″ MORE than the brand new Delta 737-900 1st class seats. Stunning. But this also shows you why Delta flyers do NOT have access to this coach seat as the Delta better than coach Comfort Plus seat is the same seat as the rest of coach just with a little more space. I will let you know a little rumor I was told and cannot confirm, but we may see some changes coming one day in this regard with Delta – at least on international routes. I would not hold my breath and doubt it happens.
Overall I enjoyed the Virgin Atlantic experience. Not perfect by any stretch and I would much rather fly DeltaONE, even the 777, as even those seats are better than these and service is normally just as good. Next up my final thoughts and the numbers. – Rene
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I am terribly claustrophobic and, just looking at the picture of your feet stretched out, gave me the heebie-jeebies. Don’t know if it’s the picture or not, but I won’t be flying that plane anytime soon.
Couldn’t agree with you more. For the amount you are paying, this should be a special experience. However, having flown both Premium Economy with this airline and their upper class, their upper class is inferior to almost every other airline I have flown business class with. The seats stink, the service is poor for a business class section. Their partner Delta shows them up in every aspect. The biggest insult was perhaps a small thing, but it is the small things that make a flight sometimes. In Delta during a movie they offer you an ice cream sundae and they go all out, preparing it at your seat with hot fudge (chocolate to us brits) drizzled on top. On Virgin? A cheap economy class frozen to the core tub of ice cream and a plastic spoon that you are likely to break trying to dig into this frozen cheap mess. In business class. A tiny, cheap, plastic spoon. That kind of sums up the Virgin experience. You see the video and you think wow, this is going to be fun. The reality it is overpriced tat. And their partner Delta needs to show them how it is done. Branson should be ashamed. The other superiority they show over Delta is in their premium economy where Virgin’s seats are much better and their food in premium economy is superior to Delta also — it’s basically economy class food served on china. But the kicker here is that Virgin’s economy food is really, really tasty. You’d expect that Virgin’s business class would go all out, but nope. No way. It truly is shoddy and lazy and outdated business class that you’d expect from an airline in trouble.
Well I like the Virgin flights, I,ve flown all three classes, I do agree the seats in Business class, need upgrading,and are not as good as say KLM, or Delta one, I feel flights from Manchester, are top price, and not as good as from other hubs/cities, With virgin, I,ve always found the service great, in all cabins. I fly sometimes, to Amsterdam, or Paris, and the KLM, or AF flights in business, are usually great, buts, to catch connects , its 5,55am flight, the only other way, is Man/JFK, but again, you miss connections,therefore its a hard choice, I,m flying to Atlanta , in a couple of weeks, with Virgin, so lets hope, I can sit at the bar, which I think is great,