This was our first time flying BA’s new Airbus A350, and given the mixed reputation BA’s been building online lately, we were more than a little curious to see which side of the fence we’d land on. Spoiler alert: it was a bit of a rollercoaster, but it ended on a surprisingly high note.

Booking British Airways Club World

Let’s be honest — British Airways has been getting a bit of a kicking recently. Delays, cancellations, dated cabins, poor service — the internet hasn’t been kind. And while we’ve never been BA’s biggest fans, we thought it was time to give them another chance and judge their Club World Business Class product for ourselves.

We’d racked up enough Avios points and qualified for a 2-for-1 Companion Voucher through our British Airways Amex Card, giving us the perfect excuse to book a long-haul Business Class flight to Las Vegas.

That’s where the fun started.

The BA website is, to put it kindly, not great. Clunky searches, endless crashes, and an overall user experience that feels like it’s straight out of 2006. Things got even more frustrating when we tried to book an open-jaw flight (flying into Vegas and out from LA). The website simply wouldn’t let us use our voucher or points combo, forcing us to pick up the phone — a terrifying concept for our generation.

To the agent’s credit, while she initially claimed the flights didn’t exist, she did go above and beyond to fix things. After a complicated back-and-forth — part online, part over the phone — the whole booking came through perfectly. Full credit to her.

Still, it shouldn’t have been that hard. BA gets low marks for their online systems but high praise for the human on the other end of the line.

Cost: £475 in taxes and fees + 90,000 Avios points (for two people from Manchester to Las Vegas). Honestly, that’s excellent value for Business Class.

Seat Selection Frustrations

Here’s a real head-scratcher: BA charges for seat selection even in Business Class.

To pre-select our seats for the outward leg would have cost around £150 per person, with another £100 each for the return. For a premium cabin product, that’s a poor look. We know other airlines do this, but not all, and in particular not Virgin Atlantic, at least at the time of writing!

Luckily, we’re not overly picky — the Club Suite setup means you get plenty of privacy wherever you sit, so we decided to wait for the free seat selection window at online check-in (24 hours before departure).

Check-In Challenges

Our check-in experience continued the trend — clunky and confusing. The online system crashed multiple times, forcing us to check in at the airport instead.

At Manchester, check-in didn’t open until two hours before the flight, leaving little time to enjoy the lounge. The process itself was slow, with repeated ESTA checks and verification issues, but we eventually made it through.

We also flew Club Europe down to London Heathrow — that experience (and the Manchester lounge) is covered in another video, but let’s just say it was… mixed.

Lounges at Heathrow

By the time we reached Heathrow, our patience with BA was wearing thin. Thankfully, things started to look up.

We spent some time in the BA Business Class Lounge in Terminal 5B, which turned out to be a real highlight. Calm, spacious, with a good range of food and drink — even if we weren’t particularly hungry after already being fed twice that day.

It’s not the flashiest lounge in the world, but it was the first point in the day where we actually started to relax and look forward to the flight.

Boarding and First Impressions

Boarding in London was smooth and well-organised — a pleasant surprise after the chaos in Manchester. We boarded early, settled into our Club Suite, and were offered a glass of Champagne before take-off.

The crew took the time to introduce themselves and take both our meal and drink orders for later in the flight — a really nice personal touch.

Inside the Airbus A350 and Club World Cabin

The Airbus A350 is one of BA’s newer aircraft, and it’s instantly noticeable. The cabin feels fresh, modern, and calm, with larger windows and better pressurisation that makes for a smoother ride.

There’s no First Class cabin on the A350, so Business Class dominates the front half of the plane with 56 Club Suites spread across two cabins. We ended up in seats 6K and 7K on the right-hand side — comfortable window seats with excellent views. Couples might prefer the middle seats (E and F), but we’re window seat people through and through.

The New Club Suite

This is where BA really shines.

Their old Club World seats were outdated, awkward, and lacking privacy. But the new Club Suite is a complete turnaround — and honestly, one of the best Business Class seats we’ve tried so far.

Each suite has a closing door for privacy, direct aisle access, and a fully flat bed that doesn’t feel cramped. There’s loads of storage space, a logical seat control panel (which actually makes sense!), and stylish finishes that feel more “premium car interior” than airplane.

We especially liked that BA has gone for fabric over leather — more comfortable and less slippery.

You also get a White Company amenity kit, a comfortable pillow and blanket, and decent headphones. The only thing missing? Pyjamas. But for a daytime flight, that’s fair enough.

In-Flight Dining and Drinks

After take-off, service began with a drinks round. Unfortunately, this part was… slow. Painfully slow. We waited almost an hour for our first drink — hardly ideal when you’ve been looking forward to that post-takeoff G&T.

Once things got moving though, the meal service was excellent.

Starters:

• Smoked salmon and prawn (fresh and full of flavour)
• Buffalo mozzarella (Kate’s choice and one of the best airline starters she’s ever had)

Mains:

• Lamb (tender but could’ve used a touch of pink)
• Cod (tasty but slightly overcooked — a plane kitchen reality)

Dessert:

• Chocolate, orange, and walnut cake (rich and indulgent)
• Cheese plate (simple but perfectly executed)

Generous wine pours flowed throughout the meal, with refills readily offered. Nothing overly adventurous, but solid and satisfying.

As the flight went on, the drinks menu continued to impress. We particularly enjoyed the Speedbird IPA (a fun Brewdog x BA collab) and the Singleton whisky. Wine was available throughout the flight, including the fashionable Whispering Angel Rose.

In-Flight Entertainment (IFE)

We were pleasantly surprised by BA’s in-flight entertainment. The movie library was huge — packed with new releases, classics, and plenty of Disney content to get us in the mood for the Disneyland leg of our trip.

The screen was large, bright, and crystal clear, and the system itself was easy to use. The only downsides:

• The music selection was disappointing (we switched to Spotify downloads instead).
• The touchscreen was slightly too far away when reclined — first world problem, we know — but there’s a handy remote control tucked into the armrest to solve that.

Life Onboard and Facilities

Once dinner was done, the cabin lights were dimmed and passengers encouraged to sleep. While we understand the logic, we always find it a little odd when the crew dictates lighting — some of us enjoy watching the clouds!

We missed the social spaces offered on Virgin’s Upper Class — BA doesn’t really have anywhere to stretch your legs or grab a chat away from your seat. There’s a small galley area with snacks and self-serve wine, but it’s not quite the same vibe.

The toilets were clean and functional throughout, if a little uninspired.

When we finally converted our seat into a fully flat bed, it was genuinely comfortable — supportive but not coffin-like, private but not claustrophobic. We both managed a solid nap before the second meal service began.

Second Meal and Arrival into Las Vegas

For the pre-landing meal, we were offered another full three-course service — but after a long day of eating, drinking, and airport-hopping, we kept it simple and went for the chicken pie, which was actually delicious if a bit heavy before landing.

An afternoon tea option might have been more fitting, but still, we couldn’t complain about the quality.

As we descended into Las Vegas, the clouds cleared just in time for stunning sunset views over Lake Mead and the Strip. After a smooth landing and an easy pass through customs, we were ready to hit the hotel and start our Wild West adventure.

Overall Verdict — British Airways Club World A350

We’ll admit it — we went into this expecting to dislike it. BA’s reputation has taken a serious hit in recent years, and early experiences with their website and check-in didn’t inspire confidence.

But once we were actually on board, the experience turned around completely.

The new Club Suite is fantastic — private, comfortable, and one of the best-designed Business Class seats in the sky. The food was solid, the drinks plentiful, and the crew professional and friendly throughout.

Sure, the website is clunky, seat selection fees are cheeky, and the lack of social space is a downside, but overall? We were impressed.

If you can guarantee you’re flying on an aircraft with the new Club Suite, British Airways Club World is absolutely worth considering.

Next time, we’ll probably skip the Manchester connection and fly direct from Heathrow — but BA’s A350 Business Class? We’d happily do it again.

Coming Up Next

We’ve got loads more travel content from this trip, including:

• The best of Las Vegas beyond the casinos
• A full Disneyland 70th Anniversary guide
• Our journey through the Wild West’s national parks
• More airline reviews, including BA Club Europe and World Traveller

Make sure to subscribe and follow along at YourUSACityGuide.com for more travel tips, reviews, and adventures across the States.

We were booked onto the latest Virgin Atlantic 787 Dreamliner and were looking forward to flying in style. Upper-class is well beyond our budget so looked forward to Virgin’s Premium Economy. What many people want to know, is whether premium Economy is worth the upgrade. Our review should help you decide if the upgrade is worth the extra or if you should continue to slum it in coach…or Maybe lump for the whole hog in Upper-Class...

Original Flight – March 2019

Latest Flight – June 2024

Booking

The Virgin Website is a fairly well-polished site and we had no problem booking at any point and this was for a pretty complicated Multi-stop booking. As we required a few days in L.A to explore and recover before Hawaii we had to book 3 flights. The booking system had no issue with this and came back with a great price for economy, Just before final confirmation it offered us the upgrade of £250 for all flights. As we see below we happily took this option, especially considering the 2-night flights we had to take!

One Big Issue is the New Seat Booking Policy. Premium Offers Free Seat Selection with Premium. You are paying quite a bit for Premium so we really expect Seat Selection to be included. However, you only get Free Seat Selection on the Standard Seat Locations. the front 2-3 rows are designated as PREFERRED SEATS. To book these seats there is an additional cost, this is varied but can be £60-80 per person, per leg, we were asked for £268 in total for just the two of us, which would be £536 for a family of 4!

Honestly, it’s not a big issue for us, in most cases as we just refuse and book the standard seating, it’s all good as long as you are in Premium. But the huge issue for us occurs when these Standard, free seats are all taken. Then you are left with the choice of either stumping up the extra cash for something you were told was included!!! Or, taking the risk of being assigned seats at check-in (if you check in online you can select any seat for free at check-in, but that assumes there are still any appropriate seats available)

We really don’t like this system at all. We hate being asked to pay for seat selection, and to have it on a Long Haul flight is even worse, and to STILL be stung for it after plumping for Premium is really not on.

We think this is a really nasty cash grab by Virgin and that can and SHOULD rethink it.

Virgin Premium on other Aircraft?

This review is specifically for the Premium on the 787 Dreamliner Aircraft. While similar there are a few differences on other aircraft. We have separate reviews for these:

A350 Premium Review (2022)

You may also want to compare the Economy experiences as well to see if paying less is the better option for you and your family.

Virgin Atlantic Economy Review A350 (2021)

Virgin Atlantic Economy Review – 787 Dreamliner (2022)

Virgin Atlantic Economy Review – 747 (Retired)

Virgin Atlantic Economy Delight Review – Cut Down Premium (2022)

Is it Worth Upgrading to Premium?

This question is impossible to answer really and that is because of the huge range of potential prices between Economy and Premium. Depending on the flight and current booking level we have seen upgrades from £50 to £800 and upwards per flight! Also, value is very different to some people. For some, the thought of “slumming it” back in economy is horrifying for others, like us, we really rate the Virgin Economy Product so an upgrade is a luxury rather than an essential.

For the flight we took as our review flight we paid fairly little for the upgrade. We were flying From London Heathrow to Hawaii on the following routes:

• LHR – Los Angeles – Operated by Virgin
• Los Angeles – Kahului  – Operated by Delta
• Kahului – Seatle – Operated by Delta
• Seatle – LHR – Operated by Virgin

The TransAtlantic legs were operated by Virgin and the USA Legs were operated by Delta. We were offered an upgrade at booking for £250 per person for all 4 flights. With the Delta flights upgraded to Comfort plus. This works out at just £62.50 per person per flight. At the time Virgin was charging £30 per seat to reserve seating (this has changed somewhat with the new 3-tier Economy Product recently introduced) So we would be getting all the benefits of Premium economy for just £32.50 per flight. At that price we can say resoundingly YES it is worth it. But when prices are £600+ it would feel an awful lot of money compared to the current Economy product!

June 2024 Update –

We recently took another Premium Flight on Virgin’s Dreamliner so have edited this review to reflect the POST covid situation. This was a return flight from London Heathrow to San Francisco. On the whole, not too much has changed but there are fewer drinks services, but it is essentially the same service as before.

What you get in Premium

We feel the best way to decide if Premium is good value is to look at the benefits and simply work out based on the price if that feels like value to you. So let’s take a look at what you get and what the flights are actually like to help work out if it represents good value for you!

So What do you get?

• Premium Check-in
• Seat Selection Included
• 2x23kg Baggage – Yes, you read that right 2 bags EACH
• Priority Boarding
• Welcome Drink
• Much Larger leather Chair in 2-3-2 config
• Premium Cabin
• Premium Cabin Crew
• Upgraded Meal with Real Plates and Cutlery
• Upgraded Wine Offering
• After Dinner Liqueurs – Retired due to Covid
• Wander Wall – Help yourself to Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks in-flight
• Extra Airmiles and Tier Points
• Access to First Class Bar***

This all sounds great but how does it play out in practice and is the product as good as it sounds? Let’s take a look at our experience.

Out Bound – Day Time Flight

Airport and Boarding

Our flight left Heathrow at a pretty reasonable hour and we headed to the airport around 8 am. Arriving at T3 the went straight to our first perk: dedicated check-in. While this was excellent and we wheeled our 4 cases straight to the front with absolutely zero queues. Great, but in all honesty, the other economy desks were basically empty too. So it didn’t save us much. But that’s a good thing. After checking the cases we headed to security. There are no added benefits to get through security so we joined the masses*.

2022 – On our recent flight through JFK this actually changed and we were directed to Priority Security. This knocked a good 30 mins off our airport time, but we are not sure if this was an error, the second agent looked very unsure we were entitled to this, but let us through as she didn’t want to argue.

After security, we grabbed a coffee and sandwich while we waited for boarding. After they called for boarding we headed for the gate. Here we had our own dedicated boarding desk and basically walked straight onto the plane. Well, we would have if the TSA had not preselected Kate for additional Checks…No level of service can get you past the TSA if their random computer falls on you.

Once boarded we were very quickly offered our welcome drink, a choice of Fizz or Orange juice, which for us is no choice. We were then provided Newspapers to while away the time before take-off.

2022 – Again the welcome fizz arrived as soon as we were seated, however, we had quite a delay due to baggage handling issues and there was no sign of a top-up or any other service until we finally got into the air an hour late!

Cabin and Seating

The Premium Cabin is separate from both the economy Cabin and the upper-class cabin. This gives it a Really exclusive feel. With only 30 seats in 5 rows of six (2-4-2). it is a quiet and refined space that feels really personal. We love the 2-4-2 seating layout. 3-3-3 or 3-4-3 leads to us being trapped into our row should we want a window seat, which we do. More often than not a solo traveler will occupy a single seat and solo travelers have a habit of getting some sleep in. This means any excursion into the aisle for the toilet or getting drinks or even just to stretch the legs means disturbing the poor soul.

Having just the two seats to ourselves just works so much better. And we hate having to pay for assigned seats so would have needed to pay for this also, although seat selection is again included in Virgin’s economy price assuming you don’t go for the economy light option.

The Seats are also a significant upgrade. They are a lot more spacious and far more comfortable than standard Economy seats. We think they are far better than most Premium products even and are pretty much on par with most first-class products that are not of the lie-flat variety. A big thumbs up here from us!

The seats offer a pretty impressive 38-inch seat pitch as opposed to the meager 31 back in Economy. This gives a lot more space to stretch out! Width-wise the increase seems more modest at 21 vs 17 inches, but that will be a lot more comfortable for larger passengers, and this does not take into account the extra wide armrests that give even more space, a big advantage for solo travelers wanting distance from a random seat-mate.

The Recline is also pretty good, but this is a double-edged sword. It’s great on night flights when you all want to grab some rest but pretty awful when you are seated behind a habitual recliner who slams the seat back the second the seatbelt sign goes off and refuses to move until the cabin crew forces them to for landing. The extra space of the 38″ seat-pitch does help with this and it’s not as claustrophobic as Economy, but it’s still pretty intrusive.

Being on the 787-9 Dreamliner also has a few extra benefits. The Aircraft has much larger windows than most aircraft and plastic manual blinds are a thing of the past. The windows are now electronically controlled blackout windows. A press of the button darkens or lightens the window. The big upside is you can put a 50% tint on it meaning you can still see out the window but still see the IFE Screen properly. This makes for a great flight experience. Of course, this is also enjoyed by Economy and First class passengers.

There is also the “Wander Wall” at the front of the Cabin. Here there is a selection of drinks (non-alcoholic) and snacks for you to help yourself during the flight. The selection was quite intriguing with lots of unexpected items like pepper and lemon corn kernels and various crisps and chips and chocolate. You can also pop your head around to the Upper-class bar. While not strictly a Premium Economy Perk we were advised by the Cabin crew this would be ok.

A lot is made of the 787’s mood lighting but tbh we hardly noticed it and didn’t feel it really affected the flight in the positive or negative, it seems mostly a gimmick. What we did notice was the Cabin pressure” Obviously not directly, but the reduced altitude pressurization (8,000 ft instead of the usual 10,000ft) Made for a much more comfortable flight. Normally flying to the west coast of the US from the UK would leave us tired and grotty with dry mouths and irritated sinuses. On this flight, we couldn’t even tell we had been flying. Of course, we were still tired but no different from a day at work or such. Again this is shared by all passengers not just Premium.

In-Flight Entertainment

The Vera IFE is one of the best we have used and is rammed with the latest films, TV, and Music. After 20+ hours in the air, we were left frustrated as there were still things we hadn’t got round to watching! The Touch screens on the 787 were also really fantastic and were actually responsive and easy to use, a rare thing for Aircraft touch screens!

2024 – We were blown away by Vera when we first saw it back in 2019 but things have aged really fast. The new screens in the A350 really blow these away, even in Economy, the screens are far better. This is simply a case of technology improving faster than Aeroplane Refits. It’s still a great system on the 787 but the A350 tops it significantly.

Movie selection also seems to have dropped off. When we first jumped on a plane after the international; re-start the film selection was Dire! Thankfully this has improved but is still not quite up to the standard of the old selection. But we actually struggled to fill the whole 11 hours.

There were also AC and USB Power sockets in case any of your own devices were running low or you wished to work.

Food and Drink

One thing you will never want for on a Virgin Premium Economy flight is food. Apart from the Wander Wall where snacks are available for the entire flight, you are constantly plied with food. Right after take-off, you are given pretzels with your first drink. After 1-2 hours depending on the time of the flight the Meal service comes around. The Premium Meal is pretty much what you get in Economy but the little touches of it being served on real crockery with real knives and forks just make it that bit more special.

Our meal for this flight was a starter of Walnut and Orange Salad, a choice of Lasagne, Chicken in herb cream sauce, and Mousaka. We both went for the Lasange. And for dessert was a sticky toffee Slice. All are accompanied by a choice of red or white wine and a bottle of water. The Starter was … a bit rubbish. The lasagne was fairly tasty and the dessert was not great, a little dry and a bit nothingy. But really Airline food is never fantastic and this is as good as any other flight. To be honest we just think we lucked out on a less-than-brilliant menu day as the return flight suited us better.

The meal was followed by tea/coffee in a real mug. and then a choice of Cognac or Amarula Liqueur. And we then settled into our big comfy chairs and the IFE system.

2022 – The post-lockdown food does seem to have improved a little, or maybe Economy has dropped off, but the meal was markedly better on our recent flights than in the past. One of the very few improvements of post-covid flying!

As the flight went on we were fed at regular intervals. First an Ice Cream, then later a Steak Pasty, and then finally shortly before landing a Cream Tea, which was excellent.

Drink-wise, we were a touch disappointed. After lunch, the cabin crew seemed to disappear. We had received two drink services plus wine and a liqueur so it’s not like we were starved of alcohol but after a gap of around two hours we were ready for another and our personal crew were nowhere to be seen. Call buttons unanswered. When they finally reappeared and provided us with our drinks they suggested going forward to pop our heads into the Upperclass bar, just behind the curtain if we needed anything again quickly.

This is possibly a little picky and it hardly ruined our flight. It was just a bit odd to have such difficulty in getting a drink. We were not intent on getting sloshed but when stuck on a plane with nothing to do but sit, eat, drink, and watch, it was a bit disappointing when one is taken away. A small thing really. That aside the bar trolly had the usual selection of beers, wines, spirits, and mixers.

2024 – Drinks service has dropped off even further post-lockdown. We only got one full drinks service on our NYC flight. Along with wine for dinner and after dinner tea/coffee, we asked for alcohol instead which was allowed. The After-dinner Liqueur is gone, a covid casualty, and while we could possibly have asked for alcohol with High-Tea we like tea with our …err..tea.

We were able to request drinks at any stage and were never refused, but there was nothing in the way of full drinks service from the trolly after the initial pass. This is designed, in our opinion, to discourage people from asking for more or maybe just not knowing they can. If people are offered a drink they will likely take it, if they don’t know they are available they will possibly just not ask. the result, is fewer dinks served, and more money saved for the airline!

Service

Apart from the disappearing act mid-flight the service was excellent. Being in the premium cabin means you have a dedicated crew serving just the 30 seats in that cabin. This gives a very personal, fast, and attentive service. It feels pretty special and does add to the feeling of exclusivity. We never like to rag on any service personnel as long as they are trying their best. We have been on the other end and know what a hard thankless job they are doing. We see so many examples of them being treated poorly and never wish to contribute to this. The Premium Cabin crew are really a cut above the norm though, it is not just false praise. You are just treated to a much more intimate level of care for the majority of the flight.

2022 – Some crews are operating on a skeleton staff, on our flight out we had one member of the Cabin Crew to service the whole premium Cabin, to begin with. He was later joined by another Crew Member and all it meant it we had to wait 10mins for drinks instead of 5, it just shows what staffing pressure they are under! Despite the enormous stress they are operating under, you couldn’t tell! They are as polite, professional, and wonderful as ever!

We really do love the Virgin Cabin Crews and make sure we let them know how much we do. they are operating under horrific pressure ATM and just being polite and kind back to them really can help a little!

Arrival

The final two perks are all related to arrival. And these can be big advantages when trying to get through US Customs. Premium Economy is second off the plane only behind the upper-class guests. This means you get the run on the immigration desks. If you haven’t been to the US, let us just say immigration can be painfully slow. Any advantage you can get here is a big plus. On arrival at LAX, we were lucky to get to immigration with almost no queue knowing there were hundreds of people from our flight behind us.

On top of this, your bags are prioritized. Getting off the plane and through immigration first is kind of pointless if you have to stand for an hour while everyone else’s bags get to the conveyor first. Being in Premium means your bags are among the first onto the conveyor.

The upshot of all this is from the moment the doors opened to us getting to the car rental was less than an hour. This is truly incredible considering how big and difficult to negotiate LAX is. We were literally on an almost non-stop walk from the plane to the Hire Car bus.

One Perk not included that would have been much appreciated was the “guaranteed L.A Sun”, this is not what we expected on arrival! Of course, we can’t really blame Virgin Atlantic for this…Can we?

2024 – Again we were first off the plane and straight into immigration. This was actually extremely busy, but we used the new MPC app and were through to baggage claim well before our bags got there.

Return Flight – Night Flight

Our return flight left Seatle at 14:00 and was due to land in London around 7:30 am the next morning. We had already taken an overnight from Kahului so our recollection of this flight is a little hazy! The return flight was much the same in terms of basic perks and service levels but there are some notable differences due to the fact the majority of the passengers want to attempt to get some.

Food and Drink

Drinkwise the service was very top-heavy. Plying us with as many drinks service as possible in the first part of the flight to help us get off to sleep. We were also provided with a nice Herchel branded Amenity kit, which makes a nice change from the basic plastic wallet-type kits handed out in Economy, although it didn’t actually contain many extras. The provided pillows also feature a cut-out to try to assist in sleeping and we had the customary Virgin purple blanket as well.

2024 – The Amenity kits have turned a little Green and are now Paper-based which is a little less luxurious but at least they are trying and we appreciate the reduction in plastic, but we always reused the Kit bags.

Food-wise it’s quite different. Dinner service was the same as lunch on the outbound and included the after-dinner Liqueur. But after another drinks service, the cabin crew dims the lights and leaves you pretty much alone for the rest of the flight. While on the outbound we resented the lack of presence, throughout the night any lack of disturbance was most welcome. The cabin was dark and apart from the Hum of the engines and 600mph winds rushing by, very quiet. It was the perfect environment for sleep.

The actual main meal was basically the same as the outbound but a different menu and one that suited us better. Kate had four cheese pasta and I had beef stroganoff. The Starter salad was a little more substantial and the lemon and pistachio dessert much better than the dry Sticky toffee slice.

After a night of fitful and restless “sleep,” we were brought around by the rising sun and the cabin lights. Coffee or tea was served and then breakfast. The breakfast was actually one of the best we have had on a plane. Often we are served Soggy Sausages some flaccid eggs and maybe some baked beans. After 10+ hours in the air, this is the last thing you need. Our breakfast was a fresh-tasting, warm, Pan Au Chocolat with a granola yogurt pot, and some fresh fruit salad served with coffee and Juice. It was just what the doctor ordered and helped clear a little of the fog that had descended overnight.

We didn’t get any pictures as we were so tired and irritable at this point we just couldn’t be bothered. We were at 50 hours + Since actually getting any decent sleep so taking photos of our breakfast had become pretty unimportant!

2022 – More of the same on this flight with no discernable differences apart from the reduced drink services. Breakfast was again really good, with a Bacon Roll and a really refreshing bowl of coconut rice and fresh fruit!

Service

Like the outbound flight, we received nothing but excellent service and witnessed the crew sort out a disruptive couple who had not bothered to book seats, a free perk for Premium, and were complaining they were not happy with their seats. While under no obligation to help they managed to reseat some passengers to allow them to be next to each other.

The Cabin crew retired from view for the majority of the flight as they were aware of the need for most to try and sleep but we did notice frequent trips through the cabin, in stealth mode, offering juice and water to anyone who was awake. There was also the Wander wall obviously for anyone wanting to grab their own Snacks.

Arrival

Like the Outbound flight, our early disembarkment from the plane allowed us to get through immigration and baggage in super-fast time. Unfortunately, this leads us straight out into horrendous rush hour traffic and it was nearly 3 hours after landing before we were free of London and heading home. this was unfortunate timing, nothing more.

2024 – Again, first off the plane but this was little help with the embarrassing Chaos that is Heathrow Airport Arrivals currently. Immigration was horrific, with queues right out of the main hall, down a long hallway, down another long hallway, and right back along the travelators and gates exits!

So yeah we were first to get to this chaos but several flights had just landed before us so it was little help. Even with this Delay, we still beat the bags! And the current ground transport at Heathrow is a JOKE! anyway, enough ranting! – None of this is Virgin’s Fault!

So, IS it Worth it?

As we said this is all very personal. It is certainly not helped by the fantastic Economy product offered by Virgin Atlantic. But that also means the Premium product is a very high-quality offering to try and set it apart from the cheaper economy product.

Really the offering is far more akin to some upper-class products. Virgin’s upper-class product is out of this world but for other airlines, it gets you little more than the premium product offered by Virgin. So the question of value really boils down to how much you are being asked to pay, how much your budget is, and simply how much the above extras mean to you, and could that money be spent better on things to do and food and drink at your destination?

We often hear from the older generation that “Flying just isn’t what it used to be” In Premium, it is far more like that experience. It even helps ease the process at the airports at each end.

The extra bag each is also great value for those that travel heavy or are going for a long time. We were heading to Hawaii for nearly 3 weeks so need quite a lot of baggage having two bags each really took the pressure off. We actually hear people say they only book premium for this reason…this is pretty poor decision making however as you could always just purchase a second bag for £65!

Our next VA flight is to New York for a long weekend. Virgin was asking £300+ per person Per Leg. This is way above what we want to pay the Economy fair was only £430, and we don’t NEED some of the extras so this time chose to go economy.

So as you can see it’s a question with many variables and is hard to answer. You just need to ask yourself if the perks you get are worth it to YOUR for your trip. What we can say very clearly is that the Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy Product is a fantastic offering. It’s right up there with some first-class products and is a brilliant luxury way to travel that can be bagged for a brilliant price on certain flights. We would not hesitate to book if the price is right!

£150 and under – per flight – At this price, we feel Premium is a real bargain! You are getting so much for your money and this fairly modest outlay will transform your trip!

£200 – £250- per flight – this is the dilemma price point. It’s still a reasonable deal but that money really could start to transform a different part of your trip. This is £800-1000 extra for a couple return and that’s a good few decent meals or some pretty high-end excursions!

£300+ – per flight – When the price rises over £300 per flight or £1200+ per couple return, we start thinking this is just too much. In the past, we have paid this for upper/business and this sort of money can just be better used elsewhere. Virgin’s Economy product is still pretty great, we can suffer that for the knowledge we will spend the money far more wisely at the other end!

One final way to look at it is Regret! We never regret taking the Premium Upgrade. As we know what we are getting we can easily assess if the price is right for us. We also never hear anyone else saying they regret it. It really is a great product.

Here are a couple of other things to think about when booking Premium

Single Leg

Sometimes the Premium price is sky high, but if you drill down you may find this is just one leg that is expensive! We often do this and find the upgrade for one of the legs is really cheap and the other leg is bumping the cost up. In this case there is no problem just booking the one leg, just remember that the upgraded baggage allowance will only count for one leg, if you take the extra bag you will need to pay the added £65 fee for the other leg.

Expensive Economy

Sometimes you have fixed travel dates and can’t flex the trip to get the best prices. We often find if we are stuck for dates and economy is looking pretty bad value, Premium is often …not much more! This can make the pill a bit easier to swallow!

Final Negative

Premium is a REALLY nice product and a great way to fly. This unfortunately has a bit of a drawback, you can get a bit addicted. It really is hard to go back to cattle class after experiencing Premium! We suppose this is a theatrical negative, but we will let you decide that next time you have to travel in the back after experiencing Premium!

Have Your Say

Let us know about your Virgin Premium Economy Experience. Did you enjoy your experience? What aircraft were you on? Did you feel it was good value? What is it like compared to other Premium experiences? Just drop us a comment below, we love hearing from you all. Also, drop us a comment below if you have any questions.

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This was a great relief as our journey was pretty stressful and we had arrived at the airport pretty early so it was really nice to have a place to unwind and reset ready for the flight back to New York. We naturally took this opportunity to have a really good look around the lounge to bring you our full review of the AMEX Centurion Lounge at Charlotte Doughless Airport. Here is what you can expect if you are an AMEX Platinum Card Holder and are passing through Charlotte North Carolina.

AMEX Centurion Lounge – Charlotte North Carolina

The Centurion Lounge Network is Amex’s own-brand premium lounge range. It offers a high-end luxury Lounge experience for all members of its Platinum Card Program. The lounges offer a relaxed and refined space away from the main Airport concourse offering complimentary food and drinks while you await your flight.

Why is there an AMEX Lounge at Charlotte Douglas Airport?

When we were planning this trip, we flew into and out of Charlotte simply for convenience. we were visiting the lesser frequented parts of the states and just really thought of Charlotte as a pretty small-town Airport. So we were really surprised when we found out there was a Centurion Lounge here!

Centurion Lounges are pretty prestigious and are usually reserved for pretty large and renowned airports, LAX, JFK, London Heathrow, etc…not little old Charlotte. Even Chicago O’Hare is not large enough to have a Centurion lounge as we found out on the way here!

After a little more research, we actually found out that Charlotte is the 9th busiest airport in the States (23rd in the world) and thoroughly deserves its Centurion Lounge (Although we are still not sure why O’hare (5thbusiest) still misses out? ). We admit that it is used extensively as a hub and not for people actually visiting the Carolinas, which is a shame as we had an amazing time in North Carolina!

Anyway Back to the Lounge

Finding the Lounge

We are not really sure why, but they really seem to love hiding the Centurion Lounges away. If we were more cynical we might begin to believe it was to keep numbers down simply by not letting people find them…

Of all the lounges we have visited, this was the hardest to find! We got the rough area fine but were completely unable to find the elevator up to the Mezzanine where it was located. The Elevator is at the far end of the Terminal between the concourse for Gates D/E, in the new Plaza Expansion. But the actual elevator to the lounge was almost invisible to us.

Access to the Lounge – Who can get in?

The Centurion Lounges are exclusively for American Express Platinum Card Holders and their Guests ONLY. Those with US Cards are charged for each guest they bring ($50 for adults $30 for Children) unless spending $75,000 per year on their card, while Card Holders from other countries have not had those new rules imposed on them yet and can still bring 2 additional guests free of charge.

For those in the US, it is important to remember that you only need to be a Card Holder, not a member, so in our case, Katie is the Member and I am an additional Card Holder so we both get free access. (Actually, our card is a UK card so we both get free access anyway, but if it were a US account adding people to the account gets you around the charge)

Delta SkyMiles Reserve and Delta SkyMiles Reserve area also granted access, with the same restriction on guests as the platinum cards, and must be traveling on a Same Day Delta flight.

Unless you are a cardholder of the above or a guest there is no way to access these lounges.

The full access policy can be found here

The Amex Lounge Layout and Seating

We really like the layout of the lounge. It is not a huge space, but it is open on both sides with large floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the runway and apron of the airport, with nice views of the Airport Museum and Charlotte in the distance.

The lounge is unmistakably Centurion, and the Amex branding runs throughout the lounge. It has a really classy and playful theming through. There is also a really nice artwork collection running throughout with works from local artist Amanda Moody.

The main lounge is surrounded with nice comfy seats looking out of the large windows which offer a great place to rest and relax. There are also more upright seats better for working or eating and some more private cozy snugs.

There are also several enclosed spaces, perfect for families and businesses. One of the best additions to any lounge we have seen was the Phone Room. People use lounges for all sorts of reasons and most of us are looking to relax. But Business travelers use them to and sometimes need to make Phone Calls. None of us really want to listen to these, but this is often the case as busy people need to get the calls in before boarding. Having a Phone Room specifically designed to conduct these calls is perfect, giving the caller privacy and the lounge guests peace and quiet…Kudos!

There was a ton of power points and USB charging sockets all over the lounge. Every seat had access to something and we were easily able to top up everything ready for the flight.

Overall it was a brilliantly thought-out space and one with a spot available for just about every kind of traveller.

How Busy Way The Lounge?

When we arrived, at around 11:20 am the lounge was really quiet and we were able to get a spot by the windows straight away. We stayed for around an hour and a half and the lounge did fill up quite a bit, but there was still lots of space to sit, even prime spots were available.

We do imagine at the morning peak hours then things might be pretty hectic. But on the whole, it does not seem to be suffering the same overcrowding some lounges are experiencing. But this can obviously change and AMEX lounges are always very susceptible to fluctuation in use and they can never really guess how many people will show up. It’s not like an Airline Lounge when they know how many planes they have operating out of any particular airport.

Food

The Food selection was really good. The Centurion Lounges claim to base the cuisine on local flavors and this has been a little tenuous at some lounges, at Charlotte it was spot on with excellent Southern Fare on offer. The Salads were fresh and tasty with an excellent Cowboy Caviar (Beans and Corn) some hearty roast Veg, Saffron Rice, and Voodoo Tofo. A little limited, but excellent. The Satr of the show was the Beef Brisket which was pretty good for an airport lounge. There was also a wholesome Cheese and Broccoli Chowder that may have a little more of an acquired taste but was pretty good with fresh bread rolls.

Overall for a Buffet style menu, it was pretty good. Everything was hot and fresh and well stocked. We were not scraping the barrels getting the last dregs of food which can be the case. Maybe this was good timing, but on the whole, we were impressed.

Drinks

We only got around 90 mins in the lounge so our drinks experience was a little limited. We were not able to get through as many choices on the menu as we normally would. But what we did try was excellent. There was a good selection of beers on tap and some local brews on offer along with some domestic and imported beers in bottles.

The wie offering was also really good. Champagne was on offer and there was a good selection of high-end reds and whites with some East Coast Offerings which was pretty unique!

The Cocktail menu looked excellent, but our time was limited. We had a great Old Fashioned and Kate tried one of the specialty cocktails, the Cheery Cola which was also excellent. The lounge offered a full bar and talented Bartenders able to rustle up anything that might tickle your fancy.

We find the drinks selection a real strong point of centurion lounges and Charlottes Bar was no exception.

Amenities

The Lounge amenities were a little thin on the ground. These were pretty much limited to Shower rooms, private spots, High-Speed Wifi, and a Print/Copy/Fax service.

While the amenities were limited, we think people can expect too much from lounges and what was on offer there is about all we really need or would use. When they have things like spas and bookable treatments etc…we rarely go near, to be honest.

Even here, where we were pressed for time, we didn’t even use the showers or anything other than the basic amenities. All we want is somewhere to sit down and plug in, good Wifi, and decent food and drinks. These were all present and correct. We popped our heads into the showers, and they looked very plush. Like the bathrooms, it was all stone and wood finishes, and each bookable shower suite was cleaned between uses.

Overall

The Centurion Lounge had pretty much everything we have come to expect from Amex’s top-end Lounge Range. The space was really bright with great views, and the food at a really hight level, at least for buffet-style food. Drinks were the same super-high quality across every Amex Centurion Lounge we have visited and we really wanted more time here to experience the full range.

The Layout really is clever with lots of little spaces to make the best possible use of what is actually quite small and boring rectangle space.

We really didn’t expect to find a Centurion Lounge at this airport but we were really happy we did and thoroughly enjoyed our time here on what was otherwise a pretty stressful day!

Have Your Say

Let us know your thoughts on the Centurion Lunge at Charlotte Douglas. Have you visited the lounge? How did you find the Amenities, the Space, the food, the Drink, and the Crowd levels? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and if you have any questions just fire away.

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The Pandemic wrecked so many Travel Plans and lounges were really hard hit, with many very slow to reopen. The Revivals lounge was one of the last to do so with Virgin’s customers screaming out for the reopening of one of their favourite little Virgin Treats. Many, including us, feared the Revivals Lounge was to be one of the many long-term casualties of the pandemic meaning another perk lost to the cost-cutting that has been ongoing as the Airlines recover.

However, this is not the case, and Finally, the Revivals Lounge is back open for business and this little Shangri-La for Upper Class passengers is once again welcoming us in for a glass of bubbly, a hot shower, or just a nice cup of tea before our onward travel.

What Is Virgin Atlantic’s Revivals Lounge?

The Revivals Lounge is simply an Arrivals Lounge. It’s a place you can go after your flight to rest recuperate, get some refreshments, do some work, read a newspaper, catch up on your socials, and just generally re-adjust to the real world after being coupled up in a tin can for several hours.

Where to Find The Revivals Lounge

The Lounge is actually pretty tricky to find. Or at least it feels that way. You are almost outside of the Airport before you get to it and it feels like you may have missed it.

As you head through Customs and then Baggage reclaim you will leave the Airside of Arrivals through the “anything to declare” lanes. You then need to head to the left following the signs for Arrivals Lounge past the Rental Car Booths. You need to head up to the First floor and we find the best way is using the lifts as these are clearly marked for the Virgin Arrivals Lounge. But there are also stairs.

You then follow the branded walkway until you get to the reception. It’s quite easy really but it just feels like you might have missed it as you really are almost outside before you get the lifts. You definitely have to be looking for it and are not going to get here by accident!

Here is an interactive map to help guide you, but following signs should suffice.

How To Get Into Virgin Atlantic’s Revivals Lounge?

Entry is severely restricted to same-day Virgin Upper Class or Delta One Customers, Virgin Gold Members, only when arriving same-day on a Virgin or Delta Flight, along with certain Card holders and Member Statuses

• Passengers traveling in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class
• Flying Club Gold members traveling with us
• Passengers traveling in Delta One
• Delta SkyMiles Diamond Medallion cardholders
• Delta SkyMiles Platinum Medallion cardholders
• Virgin Australia Velocity Club Platinum cardholders
• Virgin Australia Velocity The Club cardholders

However, remember you must be arriving on a Virgin or Delta Flight the Same day to gain access. These requirements are subject to change also. Up-to-date list here.

Why Do You Need An Arrivals Lounge If You Sleep On The Flight?

As the Lounge is reserved mainly for those in Upper Class you may wonder what the point is. Those in Upper Class have had Lie-Flat beds, Endless food and beverage options, a comfortable and relaxed space, and generally should be getting off the flight more refreshed than when they boarded.

• Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Review – A350
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This is never really the case, however. While flying in the luxury of Upper Class really helps with the tiredness and Jet Lag it does not really cure it and after a long flight, often overnight you still disembark feeling pretty rough. Take our recent flight from New York. We were in the air for less than 6 hours and left the plane still in the dark with a body clock time of 3 am after 2-3 hours max of rest. We felt pretty awful, probably better than if we had been stuck in economy, but still pretty awful. So the lounge was a really welcome addition to our trip.

We usually also get the feeling of being abandoned by Upper Class Travel. You are welcomed to the departure airport with a special check-in desk, fast-track security, your own special lounge, waited on hand and foot on the plane, and then, just booted out the other end to fend for yourself. This is an odd complaint we know, but it can be a really rude awakening. The Revivals lounge helps soothe that just a little.

As Flights often arrive at Heathrow early morning, then there is also the issue of what to do. You are unlikely to be allowed to check into a Hotel yet, if you have a long drive you may well need more time to come around from the flight, you may be quite sticky and grimy from the long flight and longing for a shower, or maybe you just want that one last treat from the Virgin bar! There are loads of reasons that you might require, r just like, a little extra piece of luxury.

Admittedly those stuck in the back of the plane are probably far more in need of this kind of amenity, but their ticket was probably a tenth of yours so they miss out, sorry guys.

TOP TIP – The Breakfast on our last flight was absolutely ghastly. This is not always the case, but even so, you need to be woken up early to get an onboard breakfast, and they never really go down too well even when they are better cooked than ours. Ask the Cabin Crew to leave you snoozing, and instead grab something from the excellent Revivals menu instead. It’s better cooked, and fresher, and you get that extra hour of snoozing!

What To Expect in Virgin Atlantic’s Revivals Lounge?

Space

The Lounge is really quite small. At least the main lounge area is, the overall space is pretty huge, but well over half of it is taken up with the 20 Shower cubicles on offer.

After checking into the lounge there is only limited seating options. The tables and chairs are Cafe Style with sofas running around large parts of the lounge. There is limited bar seating, but most of the options are table and chairs tye of affairs. The lounge is probably only good for 40 or so passengers so if there are a lot of arrivals it can be tight, and it is always possible you are not permitted access if full.

There is no view as such, but the Windows are outside facing, however, the View is over the top of a roof area and not particularly exciting so it is largely kept behind frosted windows that allow a small amount of natural light in. Honestly, as a revival lounge, we would prefer more natural light to help bring us around, but we do understand the limitations.

Overall it’s a nice space, just a little small and…well not dingy, but just could be brighter.

Food

Food is a cut-down version of the Clubhouse Menu. Breakfast Items are excellent and all freshly prepared. You can go for a full English or something a little lighter if your stomach is not quite ready for that.

We made the mistake of eating on the plane and were really not hungry at all.

Drink

The Bar is more limited than at the Clubhouse but really that is no bad thing for an Arrivals Lounge. It’s mostly limited to Tea, coffee, Juice, and of course, free-flowing Bubbly. I was on driving duty so stuck to the Tea, which after 4 weeks in America was heavenly, but Kate managed a cheeky glass of Bubbly, and our companion who we had acquired on the flight was making full use of the flowing bubbles!

Amenities (Lots of Showers)

As the Lounge is past Baggage collection and past the point of no return you will have all your luggage with you which is a pain. However, they have full baggage storage so you can get rid of anything you don’t need in the lounge.

There is also a Clothes press service. We had no need for this so can’t vouch for it personally, but if you have a meeting that you were flying in for and your shirts are mangled up in your bag, a Nice Freshly pressed shirt would go down a treat!

And finally, there are the showers. These take up well over half the total space of the lounge with 20 cubicles available. You need to book in but as there are so many showers and not that much space in the lounge we never had anything remotely resembling a wait. We just got directed straight to the appropriate number.

The Showe hallway is a thing to behold as it seems to run off endlessly into the distance, more like a hotel hallway, with showers on either side. The Cubicles themselves were pristine, smelt fantastic, and were highly cleaned and polished.

The White Tiling was a nice touch and the water pressure strong and powerful. It’s hard to describe how amazing this felt after being on the go for 20+ hours with two airports of grime seeping into our pores.

The Showers were stocked with Virgins Partner Tolitry Brand Ren, which adds a really nice luxury touch.

Service

As ever with Virgin Atlantic we found the Service to be fantastic. The Staff were all super polite, friendly, and welcoming. Orders can be taken at the bar or via the App. A quick scan of the QR code and your order worked its way over in a couple of minutes.

We very rarely have any complaints about the fantastic Virgin Atlantic Crews and Staff, They just seem to match our style of traveling, fun, friendly, and un-stuffy.

Overall – Summing up The Arrivals Lounge

Overall, we love the Revivals Lounge. It adds that final layer of indulgence to your Upper Class flight and really sets you up for the day. As we say the Upper/Business Class experience seems to normally just end as you leave the plane so having this final flourish really helps.

It is also really quite useful. We killed a couple of hours here, as we landed so early we really had nothing to do. It was cold and miserable and we were nowhere near fit to drive the 4hours back up the Motorway to Manchester. We had a Hotel Booked in Richmond for an overnight but check-in there was midday at the earliest (paid for early check-in). This would have been a long time to kill in the rain without the lounge. We can also think of many other use cases where the lounge is the perfect stop-off for those just not in a rush to get onto their forward travel or experiences.

Yes, the actual lounge area is pretty small and it can get busy, but Virgin has gauged the throughput quite well and it’s not often full. Most people have plans and just get on with their day, but for those willing to take an extra beat and just make full use of everything the Upper Class experience has to offer the Revivals Lounge is the last stop and should not be skipped…even if it’s just for an amazing Cup of Tea!

Have Your Say

Have you visited the Revivals Lounge at Heathrow recently? What did you think of the Lounge, Food, Amenities, and Services? What were the reasons you stopped by? And how did you find the occupancy levels? Whatever you have to say about the Lounge, just drop us a Comment and if you have any questions just fire away in the comments.

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On our recent trip to the States, we were lucky enough to not only fly in Virgin Atlantics Upper Class but to do so on their brand new A330-900Neo Aircraft. We took this incredible opportunity to take an in-depth look at the Aircraft and see how this NEW cabin compares to Virgin’s other upper-class cabins.

Newest Fleet in the Air?

For quite a few years now Virgin Atlantic has had quite a problem with the age and quality of some of its airplanes. The 747 was forgivable as it was such an Iconic Craft, but with its retirement due to the pandemic and the issues surrounding its 787 Rolls Royce engines, meant the Airline was operating some pretty substandard aircraft on some of its routes. Most notably it’s leased A330-200 and its own A330-300 Aircraft. Obviously, as an Airframe these are perfectly good airplanes, and we have no issue from a safety standpoint of flying on either of these, but from a comfort point of view, these cabins were seriously showing their age.

Fortunately, Virgin refused to sit on its laurels and has been undertaking a HUGE fleet overhaul and is now operating one of the newest fleets on the planet (for now at least). The latest and most modern of these to enter service was the brand new A330-900Neo. We could not wait to get aboard this place and when we finally did we were lucky enough to fly in the Upper Class Cabin. So let’s see how it Stacks up against Virgin’s other Upper-Class Cabins.

Virgin Atlantic’s A330neo Upper Class

For this Review, we are focusing mainly on this NEW upper-class cabin and less on the overall product. We have several in-depth reviews detailing the service and overall package of the Upper Class service so there is no need to go over old ground. The overall package is pretty similar regardless of what bir you are flying on, the main differences will be with the actual cabin and your seat so these are our focus here.

Virgin Atlantic – Upper-Class Review A350-1000

Virgin Atlantic – Upper-Class 787 Dreamliner

The Airbus A330Neo

The A330 is not a new aircraft, this really pains us to say that when we first started flying this was the new kid on the block and was considered state of the art and the Next Generation of Airliner. Time inevitably marches on and we are now in a situation where the A330 is long and long in the tooth, and needs replacing. And this is exactly what Virgin is doing with the A330-300 Aircraft all being replaced by the A330-Neo in the coming years.

The A330Neo is Airbus’s solution to this. Really there is nothing wrong with the older model it’s just that technology moves on. Neo Stands for New Engine Option and features newer more fuel-efficient Rolls Royce Trent 7000 ultra-high bypass engines along with better aerodynamics offering an 11% reduction in fuel making this the cleanest, greenest fleet in the sky…according to Virgins press release.

As a Passenger, you are unlikely to notice much in regard to the upgrades of the Neo, however, what you WILL notice is the brand-new and updated Cabins, none more so than in Upper Class

The Fleet – Why it matters which Plane you are on!

Let’s take a quick look at how the new A330 Neo Upper Class cabin compares to the existing Upper Class Cabins.

As you can see there is quite a difference between the different models and this is not always very clear when booking. It can be quite a disappointment if you see all of Virgin’s Promotional material and end up on the A330-300 with the tired old herringbone layout! And it gets worse to be honest.

Booking Experience

We managed to secure a really good deal on flying upper class with Virgin Atlantic. The flight cost a mere £694 per person, flying out to New York in Upper Class and returning to London Heathrow in Premium. A heck of a bargain, when you consider upgrade bids for upper class start at around £500, and you can easily pay well over £1000 per person return just for Premium!

This is not typical. Expect Upper Class to range from £1000 per person each way to up to £2000! It’s a lot of money but you can bag a bargain, or use one of our tips and tricks to get into the Upper Class Cabin for less.

Naturally, we snapped up this deal, and what was more the outbound flight was to be on the Brand New A330 Neo! so we were very excited.

However, a few weeks after booking we got the dreaded E-Mail from Virgin about flight alterations. And the A330 Neo, which we had not flown on yet was being replaced with an A350 for our flight…bummer.

So we jumped on the phone, and did a bit of haggling and negotiating with Virgin and ended up swapping out our return flight for one on the New Neo aircraft…and also managed to get ourselves upgraded to upper using our points…a pretty decent outcome, all things considered.

However, this really shows the problem of Virign swapping the planes out. Even if like us, you know your onions, know exactly what plane you want, and ensure when booking you ensure you are on the right plane, there is nothing stopping Virgin from swapping out that plane and replacing it with an older less comfortable model. This really can feel like a bait-and-switch tactic, whereas it’s nothing of the sort just regular operational issues for Virgin, but the effect on the customer can be quite profound. We got bumped for the A350, which is probably our favorite of the fleet, so there would have been no harm done, apart from the fact we are Travel Writers planning a trip to Review the New Cabin! But they could have swapped us for the 787 or 1330-300 which is a much lower quality of cabin (although they still have their upside and some people prefer them)

What’s most annoying is just not knowing which aircraft you are going to get, making planning and avoiding disappointments almost impossible. FWIW this is the first time Virgin has done this to us, it is normally just the times that change, but we hear about it all the time.

You can read about the outbound flight here, the rest of this review takes place after our amazing Upstate and Midwest Halloween adventure!

Virgin Clubhouse JFK – New York

One advantage of flying Upper Class with Virgin is you get to use one of Virgin’s CLubhouses or Oartner Loungers. There are only a handful of Airports that actually have a Clubhouse, and JFK is one of those, so we start our Upper Class experience here in the clubhouse.

Check-in and Security were a breeze as we got an Upperclass Check-in line and Priority Security, meaning we got from Kurbside to Lounge in around 40 minutes including a little shopping.

There is no time limit on the lounge so we got there nice and early, despite a pretty horrid drive in through manic Manhattan TRaffic. We headed into the lounge and got a nice spot in the pretty quiet lounge right by the windows overlooking the Airport.

The design of the lounge is inspired by New York City Architecture. It has Cool Britania Vibes along with New York Themes such as the Skyline-inspired Woodwork that meanders around the Chaotic layout of the Lounge.

The food was excellent, with some delicious Chicken wings, A fantastic Chicken and Leon Burger, New York Cheesecake, and a great Cheeseboard our choices.

Drinks were also excellent with endless Champagne Pours and some great cocktails along with a few Local Brews.

Overall it is a great lounge, and we had an amazing time there, you can read our full review here, or if you want to read our London Heathrow Clubhouse Review that is here.

The Upper Class Cabin and Seat

After turning left, the Cabin is at the front of the aircraft and has a seriously swanky look and feel to it. All 32 seats are front-facing and have their very own private cabin. The Middle seats have a central divider, but unlike the A350 this is a full-length divider and completely blocks out the other passenger when up. However when down you can chat away happily, as we obviously did as we know each other (quite well as we are married).

The window seats feel even more private, but the design of the seats means they alternate either being close to the window or close to the aisle. If you want to look out the window then choose a seat that is closer.It is also worth noting as the A330neo still uses the same airframe as the old A330 the windows are pretty small, especially compared to the huge windows fitted to the 787!

Other than that the pods offer 360° privacy. The only issue is that they are open top so Crew or other passengers can peer into the Cubicle, but this is to be expected.

The seat is a large comfy leather recliner. It moves about electronically via a rather complicated Control panel. The seat movements never really felt like they matched the buttons you were pushing, but you just need to keep fiddling to get a comfy position.

We feel the pod is much better designed than the A350. That pod is maligned by the fact it’s angled outwards, making you feel twisted, and the way the seat moves can make you feel trapped. There is also a lack of storage space and we ended up losing my phone (into the bowels of the seat) and having to store even small items up in the overhead. The A330neo is much better with loads of little cubby holes, a super cool bag hook, Wireless charging shelf for your phone and just feels way more convenient.

However, the trade-off for this is the limited room. Upon settling in it felt tight. We are both pretty small people and sideways space was limited. There was lots of room to stretch out, but the width definitely was restricted.

We got served our Glass of Bubbly on Arrival and had dinner and cruise drink orders taken. Discussed breakfast preferences, and received our Virgin Atlantic Sleep Suit (PJs) along with a nice Amenities kit containing a toothbrush, pen, eye mask, earplugs, socks, and various toiletries. It was then off up into the air as we rode the Jet Stream home.

Upper-Class Dining

Dinner Service

We usually love the menu options in Upper Class and this flight was offering some of our favorites so we were really looking forward to it. We got our first drink almost straight away, and dinner came less than 30 minutes after taking off. the flight was only 5-6 hours so the aim here is to get everyone fed so we can all get some sleep. There is an option for a Speedy supper if you are really eager to get yourself off to sleep, or you could eat in the Lounge and skip it altogether. We did both, eating in the lounge and having the full 3-4 course meal on board!

The Starter was a choice of Smoked Duck or Beetroot Tartre, which is no choice at all! The Duck was excellent. It was lightly smoked and a really good portion of meat. Maybe an acquired taste for some but divine for us.

The Mains were a bit more mixed. We had pre-ordered which gives you a few more options. I couldn’t resist the Lobster, calm, and Calamari Parella, and Kate went for the Chicken Meatballs with Truffle pasta. The Paella was great. The seafood stood up surprisingly well to being nuked in an Airline Galley and the rice had a good flavor. The Meatballs were a disaster though. They were really dry and flavorless, a big disappointment.

Dessert was an Almond Berry Cake with Cream or a Chocolate Mouse Cake. The Almond berry cake was really good, nice, and comforting, but the Cake felt a little like those cheap frozen desserts you get at Ikea!

We skipped the Cheeseboard but did both order up some port as an after-dinner tipple. Overall a pretty mixed meal, with highs and lows for both of us. But this is not really unique to the A330neo and could apply to any of the aircraft.

The one unique point was the tray table. This really felt cheap and nasty. It fits nicely in the side unit when not in use. But when extended out felt flimsy and wobbled about a lot. The A350 and 787 Tables are far more sturdy and secure.

Drinks

the drinks flowed all night. We only got a single service, as well as wine with the meal, but that was due to the Cabin operating a night flight. The crew appeared moments after pressing the call button and would rush you with anything you liked from the pretty high-end menu.

We would have to drive at some point after arriving in London so kept the drinks to a minimum, but there was an excellent array of wines, some great craft ales, and top-shelf liquors on offer. Virgin has really amped up the Alcohol-Free options too with several Booze-free options as well as regular soft drinks, teas, and coffees.

Breakfast

Night flights are horrible, even for Upper Class. Even the best breakfast can be hard to stomach after Flowing alcohol and not enough sleep. But this one…really turned my stomach. The centerpiece was the undercooked sausage, and really from that everything just went down very difficultly even the smell was enough to …you know. Kate ordered a Breakfast Bap and this seemed much more palatable and seemed the better option, but as you discuss breakfast options at the beginning of the flight you don’t really know.

You do get the option of not having a breakfast. The Crew will simply let you sleep right u until the moment they require you to revert the Seat to its upright position for arrival. Honestly, this would have been the better option as the flight was so short we really did not get any meaningful sleep, this was made worse by the poor seat design, which we will get onto.

Overall the food service was a little below par. This is not down to the particular aircraft but just this particular service. We do always find the return flights a little poorer as the caterers are not Virgins usual Home Base choice. As we said the breakfast was dire, but nothing would have sufficed, but we do find with the day flights the snack menu served later on is FAR better than the Breakfast.

Inflight – Entertainment – System

Vera

Overall the IFE System is the best we have come across, but this is merely a product of tech advancements. Touch Screen Tech moves so fast that even a couple of years means you can get a bigger better screen for less money than you could. This really shows in the 787 Cabin where the screens are very old, compared to the large screens in the A350 and the even better screens in the A330neo.

Super bright, high resolution, and really responsive to touch, it was a joy to watch stuff on. But there were a couple of downsides. One there was no tail cam or belly cam, or any way to track the flight. This is fine for most of the flight, but as we were in the middle seats there was no way to see what was going on during take-off or landing.

Then there was the seat position, which meant most of the time the touch screen was too far away. This is an odd complaint when you think of Economy where the screen is almost touching your nose after the person in front slams their seat back. But it is a bit of an issue, as it is the fact you can’t reach the light and call button without standing up.

Fortunately, there is a small remote control that solves all these issues. It’s a bit fiddly for complex navigation but for starting, stopping, pausing, calling crew, etc it’s perfect. If you are looking for a film you can just mean forward a little.

The Big Issue with VERA is the catalog. This is a common issue across all cabins and aircraft for Virgin, but really there is just not that much to watch! You do get some ice new releases, but the back catalog is very thin. For this flight there really was on;y a couple if films we wanted to see between us. In the end I spent more time listening to music than watching Films. VERA used to be so good but now it’s very poor, especially compared to many rival airlines catalogs! We flew into JFK on a Domestic American Airlines flight and the catalog of films on there was 10x VERA’s and in a world where we are used to endless streaming services it feels very restricted.

See the Latest Lineup here

Connectivity

There was a great little power outlet plate. This had a US/UK plug, several USB connectors, including USB-C, and even a wireless charging plate. This is the best selection of charging points we have seen in any Virgin Cabin.

There is also WIFI available but we were on a night flight and were quite happy to unplug for a while.

The Loft – Social Space

All Upper Class Cabins have a Social Space and Virgin’s offering on the A330Neo is the Loft. On the A330 and the 787, there is a Bar area and on the A350 there is also a space called the Loft (The Leisure configuration only has a tiny space called The Booth for two people). Of these, the Loft on the A330Neo is our least favorite!

The Seating area is designed to be at perch height rather than seated height and we found this pretty uncomfortable, giving you the feeling you are not supposed to be loitering here long. The Loft on the A350 feels much more welcoming.

While the Bars on the A330 and 787 sound amazing they are little more than a raised table with a few bar stools. There is no bartender and No Bar as such. You will still need to ask a member of the cabin crew to get you a drink from the Galley. However, you will be able to grab a seriously envy-inducing selfie of yourself at the bar at 30,000ft!

The Saving grace could be the self-serve fridge, however, ours was not stocked so pretty useless. There was a small selection of snacks on offer such as crisps, fruit, and granola bars.

Overall while the Loft is a bit of a let down it’s still nice to have a spot you can head to to stretch your legs and get a change of scene. We often have a fun time in these spaces chatting with other passengers or even the Cabin Crew…in fact it’s usually the cabin crew. nive

The Retreat Suite

The Retreat Suite is Virgin’s new flagship Cabin and really we are not sure of the point of it. After booking an Upper-Class Seat you have to wait until 14 days before the flight for the avaibility to open up. Then for £200, you can book one of two Retreat Suite Cabins. These are in the middle and right at the front.

These are larger cabins with a larger screen but really apart from that smug feeling you get from having the best seat in the house you do not get a lot for your money. The biggest selling feature is that it can convert and you can have an intermate 2-person dinner, or open both suites up and have a 4-person dinner…assuming you know other people in Upper-Class. It’s all a bit unscary and we are happy with our cheaper pods right behind.

The only real advantage is the extra room does help a little with the following issues.

Sleeping in the Sky: Bedding and Comfort

When the A330Neo was announced with its full 360° privacy pod we were pretty excited. Having your own little space on a plane where you can blank out all other passengers is a real slice of luxury. It’s one thing we really don’t like about the other cabins. So after dinner, after a Baileys Hot Chocolate, after finishing off our Movies and donning our Virgin Atlantic PJs it was time to convert the Seat into a BED!

This is always the most exciting part of the Upper-Class experience and after a long day, we were looking forward to some rest. The bed converts electronically, as seen in the Video at the top of the Page, and then you can fit the Virgin bedding on top, or get the Cabin Crew to do it for you. You won’t have to ask, just stand there looking lost and someone will ask to help out.

Once converted and once in the bed with the privacy doors shut the real problem of this bed became apparent. It was apparently designed for Dracula!

The bed is really low down, almost on the floor, and with the cabin rising up one side and the storage cabinet the other you just have a small, claustrophobic, Coffin-shaped space in which to sleep. This tails off towards the Foot box giving you very little room to move around.

We are not large people at all, Kate is a mere 4ft10, but we both still felt very restricted. I was so uncomfortable I ended up reverting to a more upright position and simply snoozed listening to music rather than trying to get proper sleep in the Coffin.

The A350 is a much better bed to sleep in and while the foot box is still limited, there is more space high up as your arms can hang over the side, giving you much more space. However, the 787 is actually the best of the bunch as far as sleeping goes. The bed actually flips over and offers a fully flat surface. You also get the full width of the pod as space and if feels far more roomy and there is NO foot box. This issue with the 787 id the lack of privacy and the risk the cabin crew or passenger might knock your feet, but overall it’s way more comfy.

For this reason the the A330Neo would be in third place on any flight you want to actually sleep on. A real surprise for us as we wholly expected this to be the winner. We love the Cabin for day flights and probably have it top for many routes (the 787 can take on a real oarty vibe on certain routes such as Vegas and Orlando) but for actually getting some real sleep we are not fans at all. However some people might actually like the cramped sleeping position, maybe you will find it cozy…or maybe you are actually a Vampire. No Coffin lids were provided, however!

Service and Hospitality by Virgin Atlantic Crew

We are going to start this section with a little rare gripe. We love the service usually provided by the Virgin staff but on this leg of the journey, there was a slight hiccup. It was not actually in the air, but instead in the Clubhouse. Upon arrival, we actually had to wait nearly 20 mins for our first drink to arrive!

Now, we are hyper-aware that this is the very definition of First World Problems, complaining about waiting a few minutes for our free champagne. It all sounds a bit obnoxious and entitled and really we probably only mention it as we find it pretty funny hearing ourselves (working class as we are, moaning about waiting for Champagne. But actually, it’s not really a very good impression. It’s something that only takes a few seconds and makes the customer happy and it’s not like the lounge was busy at the time. Infact we are actually only mentioning it here as a contrast point to show just how utterly fantastic the Virgin Crew usually is.

It stands out as in reality, it’s about the only thing we can come up with in terms of a negative about the service element of the flight. The server in question got assigned to another table (t just happened we did not complain) and from that moment on the service was exemplary.

A glass of bubbly was put in our hands the moment we were seated, all our needs attended to before the airplane even moved. Cruise drinks arrived seconds after the Seatbelt sign went out. Dinner service was prompt and efficient and the wine glasses were never allowed to go empty.

As it was a night flight, there was no other service until breakfast but the crew was the touch of a button away, and any whim catred to with a smile.

The service on Virgin is always warm and friendly. They never go down the formal route. Like the whole brand, it’s supposed to be a bit more fun and un-stuffy and we always have such a great time with the Cabin Crew.

We had a very difficult passenger seated near us, and the way they dealt with him was phenomenal. Never breaking the boundary of being rude even when he was unsufferable the entire flight.

Comparing the A330neo to Other Business-Class Experiences

Virgin has always been our go-to airline, at least for transatlantic travel, based on cost, convenience, and just the fact we get phenomenal service, great products, and the whole vibe is just more cool and fun than the very business-like services offered by rival airlines.

This is never more evident than in the Upper Class. This is essentially Business-Class, but where the rival airlines all provide a product squarely aimed at the business Traveller, Virgin’s is more of a Leisure offer. It’s the same level of service and amenities just geared around a traveler going on Vacation not to a Meeting or conference, and this suits us to a tee.

The Neo Cabin is aimed to compete with the dazzling array of new Business-Class cabins that offer 360° Privacy such as the Club World Suite, the Delta One Sky Cabin, and Air France’s Business Class Cabins. However, most of these suffer from a similar Coffin problem that the New Virgin Seat Suffers.

The engineers seem to have delivered a solution to a problem, the lack of privacy of some Upper/Business Class Cabins, but produced another, in the form of making these private pods just feel too cramped. The only real solution is to make each cabin bigger, but the trade-off is going to be the number of seats available, which would make the cabin unprofitable or too expensive for customers…

At least Virgin has an answer to all this, you can choose your poison. Super swanky, Private pods on the A330Neo, Large comfortable sleeping space on the 787, or somewhere in the Middle in the A350. But all these are a huge improvement over BA’s Club Seat some of which are really badly designed.

The worst of the Current line-up is the A330-300 do everything you can not to be on this aircraft, but Virgin is phasing these out soon.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Overall we had a really good flight on the Neo. There are clear issues with the Seat, and there were a few niggles on our flight due to the food quality and one moment of poor service, but these are actually minor in the grand scheme of things and the overall flight was stunning.

We are a little wary of recommending this for a flight where Sleep is a priority. The Lie-Flat bed is really cramped and if you are liable to feel claustrophobic or required to sleep in certain positions, or are quite tall or wide, it could be a real issue. For this we would prefer the 787. The 787 cabin looks the most dated and some complain the Bed is a little firm, but the fact if flips over to provide a true flat surface, along with the fact it is WAY wider than the others means it just sleeps better than the other cabins.

The 787 can also be really fun on certain flights and many prefer it for PArty destinations such as Vegas and Orlando, it’s just way more interactive, but this stems from the lack of privacy.

The A350 sits somewhat in the middle. It’s got ample privacy and a really comfy seat that sleeps pretty well. All the mod-cons and ultra-modern layout. and overall feel like what Upper Class really should be. This middle ground takes the win for us, but there are some out there who really despise it. The angled seats and the fact you get a bit trapped in the pod really seem to anger some, we don’t find these issues, issues, but for some, it’s a deal breaker.

Overall, the whole package is really one we are drawn to, time and again. When we need to get across the pond, which is often, it’s always Virgin that comes out on top. The Upper Class is super fancy but still accessible and fun for all.

It is certainly not cheap at the usual price, but if you can bag a bargain like we did or use points to upgrade it’s probably our favorite way to fly.

Have Your Say

Let us know your thoughts on the A330Neo or FLying in Upperclass in General. We love hearing your tales of upper Class adventures so just fire away in the comments. And if we have missed anything and you still have some questions we would love to help out so just drop us a question in the comments.

You May Also Like

• Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper-Class Review
• Virgin Atlantic 787 Dreamliner Upper-Class Review
• Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Lounge Review
• Virgin Atlantic 787 Premium Review
• Virgin Atlantic A350 Premium Review

On our recent trip to the States, we were lucky enough to Fly in Upper Class with Virgin Atlantic and on the way back got to visit the Clubhouse Lounge at JFK Airport, New York. If you are lucky enough to get to pass through this lounge here is what you can expect.

Vigin’s Clubhouses are the Airline’s own-brand Upper-Class Lounges and they are designed to reflect the brand and ethos of the Airline. This means they are often a lot cooler than other Business and high-end lounges. They offer quirky design features, and modern food and drink options and are generally a more relaxed and hip place to hang out in the airport before your flight. However, things are still really high-end, with top-notch fixtures and fittings, Amazing service, quality food, and top-shelf drinks.

These are some of our favorite places to spend some time before a flight, so much so we often get there earlier than we would usually just so we can enjoy the lounge for longer. There is no Time Limit on your arrival so as long as you have a same-day ticket you are good to go. Each Lounge takes inspiration from the City it is located so we were excited to see what inspiration Virgin would take from New York, one of our favorite Cities in the world!

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class A330Neo Review

Lounge Access

Full list of who can access the Lounge

Access to the Lounge is restricted to Virgins Upper-Class Passengers, Select Business Class on Delta or China Airlines, and certain Top Tier Status holders, so it’s pretty elite and gets you away from the business of JFK’s public spaces. While the below list covers quite a few people, the reality is only really VirginUpper-Class passengers use the Lounge as most other people eligible have either their own lounge or there is just not much through traffic at this terminal.

Upon arrival, we found the lounge pretty empty and for the 3 or so hours we were there it never really got very busy, possibly one of the quietest lounges we have visited recently. We just found that the large space more than copes with the amount of custom it receives.

It is also worth mentioning that not all of your party has to be flying upper class to access the lounge. Each Upperclass passenger can bring one Guest who is not upper class but is traveling on Virgin or Delta into the lounge. This can change and used to be more generous, so check the requirements before you head to the lounge.

Getting to the Clubhouse

Check-in was a breeze as we got to use the Upper-Class desk with zero queues, and then we headed for the Priority security line which is usually really fast. However, there were some issues on the day we visited, but was still a lot quicker than the standard line getting through in around 20-25 minutes.

The Clubhouse is Located in Terminal 4, which is handy as this is the Terminal where Virgin operates its flights. The Lounge is located in the A-wing of the terminal, which was nice and convenient for us, as our gate was also in the A-Wing, however be warned if your Gate is in the B-Wing then you will have quite the trek from the Lounge to the Gate.

Finding the Lounge was pretty easy, you simply turn left after security, follow the signs for the Lounges and the Virgin Clubhouse is just upstairs around halfway down the A-Wing, and is well signposted. It took us around 40 minutes from Kurnside to Lounge and that was with an unusual Delay at Security.

The Clubhouse Space

We love the Styling of the Clubhouses, they are always funky and relaxed while still feeling premium. Each Clubhouse has its own unique style and the JFK Lounge takes its design queues from the Big Apple.

The Centre Piece is the quirky Ball Sofa, although it’s not as comfy as it is cool. There is a lot of wood finishing all around the Lounge and the Lines are all Chaotic and curved rather than a classical layout. This lends itself from Central Park where Paths and routes are not straightforward to encourage you to get lost. The wood paneling also forms a really neat Skyline effect as you walk around which is quite subtle but really nice.

There are large windows all around the large lounge space, looking out over the Flight Apron. This allows lots of natural light and really helps open up the space. We were there for sunset and we had a wonderful view over the airport as the sun dipped down and the sky burst into an array of reds and oranges.

There are lots of varied seating options from comfy and cosy to secluded and business-like. The seating options are definitely quirky and many of them have the feeling of being style over function. Such as this super cool Men In Black Inspired Seating area, great to look at, but not so great for sitting.

We found a nice spot with a great view out over the airport and go straight on with the Menu. Naturally ordering up some Bubbles First.

Food and Drink

The Food and drinks are always a highlight at the Clubhouses. The Food Menus are always Alacarte, not the Luke Warm Buffets favored by most lounges, and offer modern and delicious food items to represent the Locations along with a fantastic drinks menu that offers high-end liquor and a fantastic selection of beers and wines.

We were offered Actual Menus on arrival or you can scan the QR code and order directly to your table from the APP. The Servers seemed to prefer taking our orders but after some pretty slow service, we took to either ordering from the App or just heading to the Bar.

Food

The food menu was excellent, with tasty light bites or some more substantial meals. We started off with some Chicken Wings, we ordered a double portion and they were really good served with a Blue Cheese dip.

I then had a Grilled Chicken and Lemon burger that was excellent, nice, and spicy with bags of flavor. Kate was not that hungry so opted to move on to dessert, but there were some really interesting options on the Menu such as Chicken Tikka Masala, Cauliflower Mac and Cheese, and the Beyond Meat Burger.

For Dessert, we had New York Cheesecake, this was baked New York Style and was pretty decent for Airport food, but you can obviously get better in the City. Kate went for Cheese Board which was really excellent, with three good Cheeses (Brie, Stilton, and Aged Cheddar) with a selection of crackers, Bread Chutney, and Grapes.

We then settled in waiting for our flight while exploring the Drinks menu and ordering up some amazing cocktails. The Menu is Al A Carte and on demand so we could easily have ordered more but we know we get well fed on board the flight so this was more than enough.

Drinks

If the food menu is good then the drinks menu is exceptional. This is an upper-class lounge so it’s rude to not start with some Bubbles. And they do not mess around, offering their Nicholas Feuillatte Frech Champagne as soon as you walk in. They also have a nice Rose Champagne or just Prosecco if you prefer.

The White wine options were a little disappointing with no USA whites on the list, but there were a couple of Washington State reds on offer which was nice after visiting that region last year. We are also pleased to hear that Virgin has ditched the Whispering Angel Rose as for us that was style over substance!

There was a decent selection of imported beers, but far more exciting were the Local brews on offer. Brooklyn Lager, Fat Tyre, and Sweetwater Brewing Co. Extra Pale Ale. were the options when we visited.

There was a fantastic selection of Signature Cocktails, and all the ones we tried were excellent. With average cocktail prices in the City over $20 it was really nice to get some top-shelf creations for free! (well included in the rather expensive flight ticket!). We tried the Dry Martini, Cosmopolitan, Negroni, and of course the Old Fashioned. All top-shelf spirits and hand-crafted. There is also a Full Bar so if something is not listed feel free to ask one of the Bar Tenders.

Menus

There were the Menus when we visited but you can find the latest up-to-date menus here, although these are subject to change, but will give you a good idea.

You can order via the Servers, at the Bar, or fire up the App by scanning the Barcode and order directly to the Table. Everything is made to order and Al a Carte, which is a really nice change from most Lounges, even business class and high-end Credit Card Lounges, where food is served via a lukewarm buffet station of questionable quality.

Service

Once in the lounge and settled in our comfortable spot by the window, we were instantly attended to by a server. This is the kind of service we have come to expect from Virgin lounges. However, this level of service didn’t last, and we were left quite a while with no drinks and no sign of another server.

This is the very definition of First World Problems, but really, it took from our arrival at 3:02 pm until 3:25 pm to get a drink, that’s 23 minutes, just for a glass of Champagne. It was pretty annoying, just sitting there for 20 minutes waiting for drinks. After this, we didn’t see the server again, so when we needed more drinks we simply went to the bar. Here drinks were poured to order, and the bartender seemed to give us a knowing glance that the server we had may not be the best.

After this, we simply used the App for food and drinks we just went to the friendly and helpful bartenders who naturally received a great tip. This lapse in service was also compounded by the fact the lounge really was not very busy at all. Compared to the service we get at the Heathrow Clubhouse, it really is night and day!

Amenities

There is not much in the way of amenities at the lounge, these are pretty much limited to Shwers, Luggage Storage, and a few games. However, what there is on offer is pretty decent.

The bathrooms were certainly an experience with a freaky psychedelic Corridor leading to them. There were standard Cubicles along with combi Shower stalls. These did not need to be booked so we helped ourselves to a pre-flight shower. All cubicles were clean and well maintained with a permanent attendant keeping an eye on things.

The White tiling and high-end fixtures added a sense of luxury and the cubicles were warm and inviting. It really can be hard to explain just how good a nice warm shower can be after a stressful journey through an airport, helping you start the flight off on the right foot.

The Ball Sofa area is what is considered the fun zone. There is a Pool table and various board games along with a tv. It’s not a part of the Lunge we really used, nor did anyone really while we were there.

How Crowded was the Lounge?

Not at all. Lounge overcrowding is becoming a real issue as the word spreads about how nice lounges are compared to spending time in the main airport. This means many lounges are overcrowded to the point they are less enjoyable than the main concourse, and may simply be full with access being denied even to those with bookings!

This was far from the case here. We found the lounge quite deserted on arrival and as the day wore on, it got a little busier but never to the point where it felt crowded. There were copious amounts of empty seats of all kinds for the entirety of our stay, it was very pleasant and a consequence of the fairly straight access requirements and lack of Virgin Services in and out of the Airport. While Delta upper-class can also use the lounge, they also have access to the Delta Sky Club lounge, and most Delta passengers seem to opt for that.

Summing Up

Overall we loved this lounge it’s right up there with the best. It’s more fun and lighthearted than some business offerings and we love the design cues from the City. The poor service was fixed by ordering at the bar/app and actually improved as the stay went on, we think we just got a bad server, and other than that the experience was excellent and we hope we get to come back sometime soon,

As the sun set we had a few more drinks, before heading off to board our Upper-Class Flight back to London.

You May Also Like

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Virgin Atlantic Upper-Class Review – A350

Virgin Atlantic Upper-Class Review – 787 Dreamliner

Virgin Atlantic Upper-Class Review – A330Neo

Have Your Say

Let us know your thoughts on Visiting the Clubhouse at JFK New York. Have you visited the lounge? What were your favorite parts? How was the crowding? Let us know in the comments below. Maybe you are visiting for the first time soon, what are you looking forward to and do you have any specific questions? Just let us know in the comments and remember to come back and add your thoughts after you have visited.

But the Year is now 2024, which is basically the future! Surely by now, the Travel pillow came has evolved? We have Robot Vacuum Cleaners, Automated Drones, Smartphones, and smart homes we are even on the cusp of driverless Electric Cars! Surely someone has worked out a way to get some decent sleep while cramped into the back of the economy section? For our latest trip to New York, we decided to take the Travel Pillow game to the next level and share our results with you, in Our Ultimate Guide to the Best Travel Pillows for Long Flights.

Best Travel Pillow Reviews 2024 – How do we test?

With most of these reviews, you will see the review has hands-on experience with the product, but testing a product in the home or office really doesn’t cut it. It may feel amazing when tested for a few seconds but that does not mean it can cut it in the air, as we found out.

We did the ultimate test, we took the pillows onto a plane during a Red Eye and actually tried to sleep. The Flight in question was a Virgin Economy Flight Between New York and London Heathrow. We needed to drive once in London so needed to be refreshed and sober. This was a test in the real pressure cooker of an economy cabin, an environment that would really identify any flaws or weaknesses in the product! This was also on Virgins A330-300 which has one of the least comfortable long-haul Economy seats we have experienced. It really was the ultimate test!

We tested 3 different products that attempt to fix the inherent flaws in the U-Shaped pillow. These were the J-Pillow, The Bcozzy, and the TRTL “pillow”. There were a few others we dismissed beforehand, not because they were ineffective, but because we just couldn’t bring ourselves to use them in public. We think a Pillow should be discrete and as you can see these options are anything but.

What is Wrong With U-Shaped Pillows?

They just don’t work very well. For years we have endured the misery of trying to sleep on a plane with U-Shaped pillows and we never get more than an hour or two at best. Airplane seats no longer recline anywhere near enough for effective sleep and the U-Shaped Pillow does nothing to stop the head from rolling forward, and even sideways movement is not reduced adequately. This result is neck ache and ultimately you waking up. This Fitful on-off sleep does nothing to refresh you and doesn’t even pass the time effectively. And Hour like this can feel longer than just staying awake.

You will see some people Sleeping soundly on any flight with a U-Shaped pillow but this is more to do with their propensity to be able to sleep anywhere than the effectiveness of the pillow. For anyone without this ability, adequate neck support is the only way to get off to deep restful sleep.

Results:

1: GIN!

Without a doubt, the best sleep I have ever had on a plane was when We flew to the Dominican Republic. Kate wasn’t in a Drinking mood, but the Cabin Crew insisted on providing two drinks each round, which I happily necked leaving me practically blackout drunk! I slept like a BABY!

Obviously, this is not always completely practical, both for when you reach your destination (Maybe you have to drive?), or for the long-term function of your liver. It can also be a fine line between passing out and throwing up in the aisle, which is definitely frowned upon by the cabin crew. So while it’s effective, it does have its drawbacks.

Obviously, this one is just a joke and we don’t advocate excessive drinking to get through a flight. We also can’t recommend sleeping pills or non-natural sleep aids. There is some merit to that approach, but it’s best discussed with a doctor, not a travel expert. so let’s reset the list and start again with our REAL Number 1.

1: J-Pillow

• RRP: $29.95

What is it?

A Classic Pillow Re-Imagined to provide real support exactly where you need it. It is J shaped Pillow that fits under your chin with “wings” that wrap around the side of your head to give support. It’s pretty hard to explain so a picture paints a thousand words as they say.

It doesn’t seem particularly revolutionary and is pretty underwhelming to look at. However, the design of this pillow seems to be geared toward functionality, not quirks or marketing.

What we think:

When we first unboxed this we were pretty underwhelmed. Testing it out a few times we found it slipped away and was next to impossible to keep in place to provide any support. I then gave it a try while on the sofa watching a football match. I missed the entire match. I awoke a few minutes after the final whistle still upright, with the pillow in place… This bode pretty well for the Pillow. We still had the acid test, however.

In use in Virgin’s Economy section, we found the pillow even more effective. Its ability to wedge up against the seatback or the fuselage really boosted the already impressive amounts of support and enabled us to get off to sleep. We enjoyed long sections of deep sleep that eat away large sections of the flight.

It was not perfect, at times your head can roll away from the support side and most times I woke up my head had indeed rolled off to the right and the pillow was on the left. Incredibly the J support was still firmly under the chin stopping forward movement. This meant sleep was not instantly interrupted but eventually it would cause you to wake.

Being a Night flight from New York it was also a cold flight, but the Pillow was very warm and comforting which when combined with Virgin’s blankets kept us snug all night, not to the levels of the Trtl Below but still comfy.

Overall we found the J-Pillow very effective, it still has issues and we can’t say the pillow problem is solved, but the j-Pillow is several steps forward in the evolution of pillows.

Best For:

Most people, especially heavy sleepers who need a lot of support.

Buy From Amazon US / Amazon UK

2: Trtl

• RRP: $29.99

What is it?

A total rethink of what a travel pillow is! It is essentially a scarf that you wrap around your neck and secures in place with velcro. Inside one side of the scarf is a plastic support that you rest your head upon. It’s a super clever idea that really took an out-of-the-box approach. Let’s be clear, we REALLY wanted to like this. As a concept, it felt perfect and we genuinely thought this was the answer to all aviation-based sleeping issues, which shows the importance of real-world testing!

What we think:

This is a VERY close second. We loved the Trtl, and in fact, Kate preferred it to the J-pillow in just about every way. The Scarf is super-soft, warm, and a real pleasure to wear even when not sleeping. The Test feel of the Scarf makes this the easy winner of the test. It provides fantastic sideways support and the Scarf stops your head from lolling forward pretty well.

It only comes in at number two because, for me, it wasn’t enough. I have a heavy head and I Fidgit when sleeping and the Trtl did not provide enough support once I began falling into a deep sleep. When Testing awake, you naturally give the pillow a little helping hand, subconsciously. Only when you fully lose awareness can you fully test the pillow and I found it lacking. Often waking instantly as my head shifted.

This was in part the fact it relied on you staying upright. As there is no real pillow to speak of, it only supports your neck. Nothing else, with a real pillow you can jam yourself up against the seat, the fuselage, your partner, or anything. But with the Trtl this doesn’t work so if your body shifts so does your head.

So we put this at number two, as it only suits light sleepers. Heavy Fidgety sleepers may just not find enough support here. But it is still far better than the classic U-shaped.

The best feature of the Trtl is its warmth. This is basically a really comfy scarf and you really can snuggle into it. Long Transatlantic flights really can get a bit nippy, especially near Exit Rows, and the Trtl really gave you that added warmth boost. Allowing you to get really comfy and off to sleepy land.

Best For:

Light Sleepers, Cold Flights, and Light Packers.

Buy From Amazon US / Amazon UK

3: Everlasting Comfort 100% Pure Memory Foam Neck Pillow

• RRP: $27.95

What is it?

This pillow is basically the Evolution of traditional neck pillows. It’s not the Reimagining or Technological revolutions we were looking for. It’s more a fine-tuning or perfecting of the current solution…or maybe it’s just polishing a turd?

Honestly, there are many of these products on Amazon and at airports and most are simply cheap imports from China, we are not specifically targeting the Everlasting Comfort pillow but simply the wholes range of U-shaped Pillows with Bells on.

What we think:

While these pillows really work well for some, none of the tweaks really address the inherent design flaw that with a minimal seat recline your head is prone to roll forward, causing neck strain and sleep interruption.

The Evolved versions are much thicker and more supportive than pillows of old and using new technologies such as memory foam can improve comfort, but we still do not find them overly effective. The basic concept is flawed and we are really looking for an innovative solution, not tweaks to a flawed design to overcome it! But we can’t ignore them as they do still offer a valid solution.

Best For:

People who sleep easily and cost-saving.

Buy From Amazon US / Amazon UK

4: BCozzy

• RRP: $29.97

What is it?

The BCozzy is a traditional U-shaped Pillow that extends around the front of the next to Wrap around like a scarf. Where the Pillow overlaps under your chin it bulks up and provides

What we think:

This Pillow is an Amazon bestseller and the reason is pretty clear, the people behind the pillow spend a lot advertising it and pushing it on Amazon as a sponsored product. We really didn’t get on with it at all. The idea is sound enough and the under-chin support was good but this seemed to compromise the side support. There was just not enough there to stop your head from falling to uncomfortable angles.

The Pillow also felt pretty restrictive. Think of being strangled by a Boa-Constrictor…only gently, but there is definitely some restriction. The Pillow is advertised as being usable in multiple ways but anyway we tried has issues. The only way we found it to be supportive enough was by folding it in half, but then it is nothing more than a pillow and has all the issues that come with that.

Maybe other people get on with this pillow better but for us, we just didn’t get along with it. We fear its Amazon bestseller status may be because it’s a heavily promoted item.

Buy From Amazon US / Amazon UK

5: Business Class!

Of course, the best solution to all this is to get yourself up in Business class, you can’t beat a lay flatbed to help you get off. Of course, Cost is the prohibitive factor here …so maybe just stick to the Gin…

But check out our Virgin Upper-Class Review here

Others:

There are several other types we found on Amazon, We considered these but found fundamental issues with them and decided against testing them So we can’t really provide real reviews we thought they are worth a mention and sharing our thoughts on them:

Weird Belt Pillow

• RRP: $23.95

What is it?

This inflatable “pillow” is worn across the body as a Sash. with the front part inflating to form the pillow. By wearing the pillow it utilizes your own body weight to hold it in place and provide a lot of support.

What we think:

While we think this is an ingenious idea it does nothing to address the issue of forwarding head movement. You can see clearly from the example image there is nothing stopping the head from falling straight forward once the wearer falls into a deep sleep. It’s a case of solving a problem but doing nothing to solve the additional problems. The U-shaped Pillows already stop lateral movement and it’s not the problem that needed fixing!

You also look pretty ridiculous wearing it!

Buy From Amazon US / Amazon UK

Giant Table thing

• RRP: $32.99

What is it?

This is a massive inflatable table that you blow up and then lean forward onto to get to sleep. This can either be placed on your knee or the tray table.

What we think:

We imagine this is incredibly effective. However, really we just couldn’t bring ourselves to use it. A large inflatable mass filling almost the entire space between you and the seat in front is just a bit too much “look at me” for us. We also have HUGE issues with how much of a pain it would be when not using it. Once inflated it’s going to be very cumbersome and in your way.

We see this as classic over-engineering and not suitable for real-world applications. However, It would almost certainly offer some really good deep sleep.

Buy From Amazon US / Amazon UK

Final Word

For us, it was a close call between the J-Pillow and the Trtl. Overall they got one vote each. The J-Pillow did work well for both of us though where I just could not get comfy with the Trtl, so we awarded it our top spot, with the Trtl a close second.

The upgraded U-shape and the Bcozzy were bringing up the rear and quite a long way behind. We don’t feel they have adequately solved any of the issues with travel pillows and as such, we would probably take a gamble with a cheap basic pillow and the airline seat support.

Unfortunately, none of the pillows were able to adequately make up for the inherent discomfort provided by uncomfy cramped seats with limited recline. It is still a case of making the best of a bad situation.

It is also worth noting that a quick survey of the cabin showed 99% of passengers were still just using the standard U-Shaped Pillows…

Other Tips for Sleeping on a plane!

• Temperature – It is Vital to stay warm. We find a lot of Red Eye Flights are particularly cold, whereas daytime flights can be uncomfortably warm. It is important either way, to be at a comfortable temperature. So, ensure the cooling vent is on if it’s warm, or utilize the free airline blankets if it’s a cool overnight trip. Even Stand up and wrap the blanket fully around yourself to cocoon the heat in.
• Noise Canceling Earphones – These are a technological innovation that can work wonders to help you get some shut-eye, especially on a very child-filled flight. Simply Pop them in and let the distracting noise of the cabin drift away. You will find most phones now come with some kind of noise-canceling earphones.
• Listen to White Noise – Make sure you listen to something quiet and relaxing. Movies with explosions are perfect for ripping you from a deep slumber. Instead some relaxing music, actually white noise or sleep sounds, or our personal favorite a wildlife documentary narrated by David Attenborough…zzzzz (p.s We love David and all his work but just can’t help but find that voice incredibly relaxing)
• Choose a good seat – Seat selection can be important. We always get a window seat and choose seats away from toilets galleys or anywhere where people can congregate and make noise.
• Shoes Off – As long as your socks are clean and your feet are not sweaty we always find having your shoes off helps promote comfort and hence sleep. We are not meant to sleep with our shoes on.
• Wear Your Seatbelt – If the Cabin Crew cannot see your seatbelt is fastened. If the seatbelt light goes on they will wake you to make sure it is. Ensure before sleep it’s fastened and can be seen to be fastened. That’s on top of any blankets or layers you may have!

Have Your Say

Have you tried any of the pillows from our test? Maybe you have tried a different pillow and think it’s fantastic? Or maybe you hate one of the pillows we loved? Whatever your opinion let us know in the comments below. We feel Travel Pillows are deeply personal so we expect quite a few differing opinions on this!

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• Best Lightweight Suitcases
• Virgin Economy Flight Review

We finally got the chance to take a look at the New Economy Delight Product from Virgin Atlantic. Well, we say NEW it was actually released in 2018 but we hand not got a chance to fly this class until now, something to do with Air Travel being shut down for 2 years! So finally we for onboard to see if the upgraded Economy experience is much better than the Standard Economy experience, or Economy Classic as it is called.

We love the Premium Experience from Virgin, one of the best out there and only a few steps sway from upper/business class on some airlines. But this Premium comes at a cost, sometimes upwards of £500 per flight. The Economy Delight level is designed to give you something a touch over the basic cattle class but not be so extravagant that the cost is through the roof!

We take a flight on Virgin to check this out. We show you exactly what the Economy Delight Product offers, How this translates in reality and what it really is like to fly Economy Delight on an actual Virgin flight.

• Flight Taken – 25th February 2022
• Route – London Heathrow – Las Vegas (Return from L.A)
• Class – Economy Delight
• Price – £350-400* – £50 upgrade each way over Economy
• Aircraft – Boeing 787 Dreamliner – Maid Marrion/Lucy In The Sky
• Score – 4.2 / 5 Stars

What is Economy Delight?

Virgin now operates a convoluted 5-tier class system on its flights. There is the now-standard Economy, Premium and Upper/Business Class, but Economy is now split into 3 separate Classes.

• Economy – Light
• Economy – Classic
• Economy – Delight
• Premium
• Upper Class

Economy Classic is the regular Economy you expect on Trans-Atlantic/LongHaul flights, at least with scheduled carriers like Virgin. You get a checked bag, seat selection at booking, free drinks and meals, and a small cramped seat in the back. Here is our take on Economy Classic!

Economy Light is a No-Frills option. For those who don’t really need any extras. They just want a seat…any seat, and to get to go where they have booked. There is no seat selection, no checked bag, but you still get the same service as the rest of the Economy Cabin so it’s not “that” no-frills. Honestly, we think the main reason Virgin introduced this is so it appears cheaper o the various Price Comparison Pages. We can think of a few times where people might wish to fly transatlantic with no bag and no pre-selected seat but on the whole, it’s a pretty useless product. But Virgin Flights appear a few bucks cheaper in the search engines and only at booking do you see the real price.

Economy Delight is very different. It is an upgraded Economy Experience. It’s not Premium, but it’s not Basic Economy either. You get a few extras and perks, but on the whole, it’s just Economy with a few tweaks.

• More Space – Larger Seat Pitch
• Separate Cabin*
• Premium Check-in
• Priority Boarding
• Extra Virgin Points
• Priority Service*

We look at these in-depth below but remember the in-flight service is exactly the same no matter what class of Economy you are in. The seat is also the same, you just get a touch extra legroom, and a tough is 3 inches, not a lot but makes a real difference

* by priority service we just mean you get served first. They start at the Economy Delight section and move back through to the back of the Plane. This, along with the separate cabin is also not the case on Some Planes and Configurations such as the A350, but it was the case on the B787 Dreamliner we flew on.

How Much Is Economy Delight?

The Upgraded Economy Experience varies depending on the cost of the flight and the availability. We Paid £50 per person, per leg. While we have seen this surge priced, it is a pretty good estimate of the basic cost of the service.

It is worth mentioning that you can also purchase Economy Prefered seats are also available. These vary from £17.50-£80. These are sometimes just well-placed seats and sometimes Exit-Row Seats. While we think the 3 inches given by the Economy Delight seats really help give that bit more room, it’s still going to be cramped for very tall travelers and an Exit Row Seat is still probably the best option for them.

Is Economy Delight Worth It?

The upgraded offering seems pretty good value at £50 when even Preferred seats, with no extra legroom, check-in, or perks are around £35 each those few added extras seem a good deal. But as ever without actually getting on board it’s hard to tell. So we did just that!

Flight Experience:

When we wrote our Economy Review in December there was a noticeable lack of the “little touches” that we are used to getting with Virgin Atlantic. These are the reasons we keep coming back to them and consider them our favorite Trans-Atlantic Airline.

We ended that review with the line “We do hope these little touches return soon.”

So we were excited to get back in the air with Virgin again to see if their service has got back a bit closer to pre-pandemic levels.

Booking

On our latest trip to the States, we booked onto Virgin Atlantic once more to make use of our final “saved” flight from the pandemic. We had booked this flight for…honestly we can’t remember we have booked and rebooked so many times we lost track.

However, we have used the Virgin Atlantic booking system extensively and booking is clear and easy with the Final Prices displayed throughout. We find we always start by pricing up the Economy basic and then at the end the option to upgrade to Delight is there and the price for the upgrade is clear.

You can also book just one leg as delight either the out or back. Or book as Classic and upgrade at a later date by simply selecting a Delight Seat in the seating planner. We actually didn’t book Delight for this flight and were instead looking to score a cheeky upper-class upgrade through the bidding system. However, this failed, and we jumped at the £50 Delight upgrade instead.

We have mentioned the benefits of Delight above, but the real one for us was not listed. Essentially it was a great way to 95% ensure we would not be getting a Seat-Mate.

You see most Virgin Atlantic flights now operate cabins that have 3-3-3 Seat configurations (the exception being the A330) and this means flying as a couple we are likely to get someone sitting next to us that we don’t know. While this isn’t the end of the world, it’s a bit inconvenient on long flights especially if they are prone to sleeping, and we have to keep waking them for toilet breaks. It’s also not great in Covid Times. We just enjoy our flights more alone. So by using the Delight Upgrade we can see how full the cabin is and if there are any free rows we can select.

You see it’s unlikely someone, as the flight approaches, will suddenly decide to upgrade from Light/Classic Economy to Delight just to choose a seat that is already partially occupied. They are likely to have already upgraded, due to the need for more legroom and extra comfort, or they would only do it at this stage to get a free row or better location.

As long as availability is light this really works like a charm and we had the row to ourselves every time. You can also do this with the Preferred Seats as the same rule applies. All in All this meany Wall-E got a seat all to himself!

Travel Requirements And Covid Safety

In our last Review of Virgin Atlantic, we gave some in-depth thoughts on Covid Saftey during flights. We will not re-hash that here but feel free to read our thinking here. But in short, we feel Air Travel has been deeply misrepresented and scapegoated during the pandemic. We have felt terrible pressure and judgment even from family for traveling during the pandemic and even more understand people still think the risk is too great.

We have always felt far safer on a plane than in our local supermarket and the same people still pack into crowded pubs and restaurants while demonizing Air Travel. The truth is that Ventilation on planes is phenomenal and all but eliminates the risk of transmission. Along with meticulous cleaning, really Airtravel is one of the safer activities to consider during a pandemic and as long as travel requirements are met, there really is very little risk, certainly no more than doing your weekly shopping.

And let’s remember, the USA had its borders closed for months, it didn’t exactly help, did it?

When this flight took place we were still under pretty strict travel requirements. Flying out to the US required proof of full vaccination and negative Covid tests (PCR or Antigen) the day before the flight along with an attestation form.

Coming home we had less stringent requirements and while we were away these were actually lifted meaning there are no travel requirements coming back into the UK.

Documents for the US were checked at check-in and were not then re-appraised when we got to the US border, but you are still required to have copies available as they “could” be checked at entry.

Virgin also offers the Fly-Ready service which means your documents are checked (by a human) before you even get to the airport. This is highly recommended as it reduces stress at the airport and also gives another REALLY big benefit that we will go into next.

As we were flying from Heathrow but we live in manchester, we had driven down the day before. So we used Randox at Heathrow to provide the Antigen Test. The test center is right next to our hotel and super convenient, which really for us the most important part about choosing a test center/company. Pick what is most convenient for your trip. The result was back before we had checked into our rooms and we proceeded to fill in the Virgin Fly-Ready and the very simple attestation form.

Check-in

In the morning we headed over to the Airport in an Uber. The traffic was pretty light and we arrived in good time. There was a choice of three Check-in queues at Virgin’s dedicated Terminal 3. As we were Economy Delight, we could use the Premium Check-in Queue. Which seemed to be pretty long and slow-moving. Or we could still use the regular, but things were even worse there.

However, this is where, for now, the Virgin Fly Ready really comes into its own. There were only a handful of people in this queue and it was by far the fasted moving. As we had completed the process and had all our docs checked we headed into this queue and were sorted in a few moments.

Unfortunately, this negated one of our perks of being Economy Delight as we were unable to use the Premium Check-in. However, it also highlights the issue of allowing this as a Delight Perk. The premium Check-In is now not much shorter than the Economy. With the whole Premium Delight along with the Premium Cabin now all squeezed into this one queue, it really didn’t look like it would be much faster. Upper Class has their own line, and that’s good as they would probably riot if they had to join this melee after forking out so much!

While this is less of an issue for the Delight Customers, I think we would be a little upset in Premium having such a large “dedicated” Check-in! FWIW the Economy Queue looked about 20-25 mins long with the premium about 15 mins, and of course, the Upper was basically walk-up. The fly-ready was less than 5 min, much less.

We assume in the not-to-distant future, the US will rescind the entry requirements and the Pandemic fades, but for now, the Fly-Ready option is by far your best bet regardless of what class you are flying.

Boarding

We then headed off and made use of our Priority Pass to enjoy a lounge. We love the lounge life and really struggle now to visit airports when a lounge is not available, something we had to get used to in the states! But this meant we missed another benefit of Economy Delight, Priority Boarding.

For us, this is never a great perk. We were boarding an 11-hour flight, what is the rush to get crammed into your pre-assigned seat? You are going to be there for a while, it’s not overly important to get into it early! Ok with Premium or upper you are settled into your large comfy space with a welcome drink and that’s wonderful, but back in economy, you are simply sitting there with just the In-Flight Shopping magazine for company.

So, as usual, we sauntered in late, slightly inebriated, and just wandered onto the plane when ready. It really is the best way, but if everyone did that the plane would probably be late!

In the case of Priority Boarding, there is not much to it, they just call Delight, 4th in order before the rest of economy, so it’s Extra assistance, Upper, Premium, then Delight, then the rest. So even if you do get use of this perk, it’s not much of one anyway.

In-flight Experience

So Up until now, there really was very little advantage to Delight, the Premium Queue was only slightly better and we don’t really care about the Priority boarding, so a lot of it hanging on the seat, or at least the 3 inches of legroom!

Cabin and Seats

On the 787 the Economy Delight is in a separate cabin area of the plan, it’s not quite sealed off like the Premium Cabin, but the toilets provide a barrier and it feels private, which is nice. The position on the aircraft is above the wings which is less than ideal for us as the view out the window is somewhat compromised. But overall it’s a nice space and feels a little more exclusive.

This is not always the case, on the A350 the Delight section is in between two other Economy Sections, and on the A330 while the Delight section is furthest forward it just merges into the regular economy with no break. But we really liked the 787 configuration.

The seat itself is really comfy. We were routed in place for 11 hours out and 10 hours back and were never massively uncomfy, the extra legroom is really nice. It’s not going to help really tall people much, but it gives enough breathing room that it no longer feels claustrophobic. All but the tallest people will have enough legroom and there was loads of space under the seat in front to stretch the legs out, there is an annoying IFE box in the way for the end seats of the row, but this is present in Economy and Premium, without the luxury of extra legroom!

Remember the seat is exactly the same as economy, Same Width, Same IFE, Same Recline, Same everything, it is just the fact the Seat in front is positioned 3 inches further away. This sounds like nothing, but it actually does make a big difference and is the same seat pitch as premium and they feel really roomy (but they are much wider)!

Aircraft – Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The Dreamliner is still easily our favorite plane that Virgin Operates. There has been a lot of Buzz around the A350 but it did not live up to the hype in our opinion. Let’s be clear this section is all about Aviation Geekery and for most people it has very little relevance.

The Dreamliner has a really nice Cabin. There is mood-lighting, but unlike the A350, it’s subtle. it provides a tint of color whereas the A350 bathes everything in whatever color is chosen and normally it’s Purple, at least on a Virgin Flight. Spending a long time bathed in a strong purple glow is a little annoying TBH we prefer more natural light. The Dreamliners moonlighting if far less obtrusive.

The windows are also massive! the A350 has larger windows than the older airliners, but they are not close to the huge 787 portals. The 787 also has Electrostatic Window blinds, not only are these really cool (they will keep the kids entertained for hours), they mean you can partially block the outside world out. This means if there is not much going on outside, then you can put the blinds on 50%, this keeps the sun from washing out your IFE Screen, but you can still keep tabs on the outside world through a darkened lens and open up if something exciting happens!

From an Aviation point of view, it just feels like a better plane. We were amazed at how loud and bumpy the A350 was. It seemed to be constantly applying thrust, moving around in the air, and making hard work of the flight. The 787, powers up to the cruise and just glides across the pond. Maybe piolets feel very different but it’s just a better experience in the back of a 787!

The Biggest advantage of the Dreamliner, and it shares this with the A350 is the Cabin pressure at 8,000 ft, instead of 10,00ft. This seems inconsequential and most people overlook it, but the difference this makes is ENORMOUS.

Spending time at 10,000ft when you are not used to it is rehabilitating. The air is dryer there is less oxygen, and after a long flight, it leaves you tired and fatigued with dry sinuses. At 8,000 ft the difference from sea level is negligible. After flying on the Dreamliner and A250 with this lower altitude Pressurisation, we now dread flying on older planes as the whole experience is much more uncomfortable.

Dining And Service

Virgin does not advertise this but Economy Delight Customers have from our experience got Priority Service. By this, we simply mean you get served before the other guests. This makes sense as A: you have to start somewhere and B: the Delight guests are usually at the front of the aircraft.

This is a minor advantage as you really are not going anywhere and if you have to wait a little while for your drinks or meal, it’s no big deal, but it’s always nice to be first. And there is a chance they will fun out of any particular meal option.

Other than that the service is identical to Classic Economy. And the good news is most of the little extra’s that were missing from our last flight seem to have mostly been restored. We had 3 separate services, the main meal service, Snack Service, Mile High Tea, and a mid-flight Ice-Lolly.

Service Started with the Drinks Trolly which offers the usual beer, wine, and Spirits with mixers and obviously soft drinks. And while our favorite Cheese and Onion Pretzels have not made a comeback there was a salty snack to go with our first drinks.

The Main Meal was a choice of Vegetable Thai Curry and Chicken Pasta. We both went with the Tha Curry as we fancied a bit of spice and flavor, It was ok but obviously the veg and rice wildly overcooked, but there was a decent amount of spice and was fairly palatable. This came with Soft cheese and crackers and a pretty tasty Chocolate Pot, that was far too small as is always the case.

The wine was back in bottles which is a good thing for many, (Although it was Return of the Cans for the return Flight!)

This was followed by a Tea/Coffee Service but we were also able to order Drinks from this service. There was then a break in proceedings as we let the meal settle, and after a few hours, the snack service was brought round. This consisted of a Cheese Toasty and another Beverage service. Not long after we got our Pineapple Ice-Lolly.

Finally around an hour before landing the Mile-High Tea was served. Unfortunately, we had a big issue with the last Cream Tea Virgin Served and we were ready to bring the hammer down this time, but the situation was rectified! Yes, the clotted cream is BACK!

There was a cheese and tomato roll, strawberry jam, a current scone, and a little tub of Clotted Cream. Sorry but it’s just not an afternoon tea without clotted cream…and of course tea.

As far as we were concerned this was a return to form. We got everything we used to get and everything we expected. We really had made good use of our lounge so the drinks service was perfectly adequate, we didn’t even need to ask about additional drinks, see we were more than happy. We think the snack serve may still be missing on shorter haul flights, but overall it’s really back up to standard and most of those little touches are back.

On the return flight, it was more of the same, only with a large chunk of the flight the cabin lights were off to encourage sleep, and service was reduced to the odd pass through offering water or juice. We still got the same drinks services, main meal, and a pretty hearty breakfast. There was no snack or ice cream but this would have been during the lights out phase and 95% of us asleep, and the rest trying.

Cabin Crew

The Virgin Cabin Crews are always delightful. And this was no different. The last flight we took was right at the beginning of the reopening so there was a little extra spring in their step as we think they were just as happy to be back in the air as us. This has faded as the normality of things has kicked back in but they were still as happy, bubbly, and polite as ever.

One special mention needs to go out to the Pilot, we have experienced hundreds of landings but this one was sublime. We don’t often mention the landings unless it’s one of those where they try and put the plane through the tarmac, but wow this one was gentle. We could barely tell we were down apart from a slight rumble of the tarmac. Absolute perfection!

In-Flight Entertainment – IFE

We are still pretty downbeat about the IFE. We used to really rate VERA, but the selection has just not returned to the old ways. There are two issues one is Virgin’s fault the other less so. First, the movie release schedule is pretty slow at the minute sp there are only limited NEW movies available, and most of what we wanted and expected were there. Virgin can’t help this unless they start making movies, so we just have to wait for things to pick up.

The big issue is the back catalog though. We used to easily be able to find fun and relevant things to watch but now there really is very little going on in the back catalog. This needs urgent expansion. There is little choice or variety. There are more NEW movies than older ones and that should never be the case.

Due to this We did take a look at VERA’s Music choices and found a really healthy selection of music available. From a huge array of artists and genres, there is probably something for everyone, great if you want to slap an album on and just try and get some sleep.

This is also one area the A350 really beats the 787. The Screen on the A350 is HUGE and really clear. The touch screen is really responsive and the flight tracking amazing, with exterior cameras and loads of viewing options and brilliant Picture in Picture so you can watch a film AND keep tabs on the flight. The 787 is already feeling old. Small, low res, and a bit clunky. Tech like this moves so fast but IFE seems to lag behind quite a bit and can feel old FAST!

Arrival

Arrival into Vegas was uneventful and we were off the plane and into Immigration in no time. Unfortunately, this is where things slowed down as US immigration was Sloooow. With no automated stations open it was well down to Agents who just seemed in no rush at all. Due to this Baggage was waiting for us and off we went on our adventures!

Return Leg

The return leg was more of the same. At check-in, there were no longer any requirements. The Premium Queue was really short, but then so was the regular economy so there was no wait in either queue. Again Priority boarding got us on the plane a little quicker, and for longer. It was all a bit of a rush as we were clearly running late for our slot.

Dinner was an interesting Fried Chicken dish, and came with Cheese and crackers and Canned Wine! There were two beverage services and a hearty breakfast after the long Lights-out Portion of the flight.

The 787 Chairs are not as well suited to sleep as the A350. They have a similar headrest but the A350 is more adjustable and helps support the head better so you don’t move as much and wake yourself up.

After sleep, breakfast was a 3 part meal. Honestly, it’s far too much after a long flight and disturbed sleep. We think the idea is most people won’t want or like all three items and as such will just pick what they want. There was a HOT cheese and Tomato Croisaint, a Blueberry Porridge, and a cereal Breakfast bar. The Croissant was nice, and the Porridge really creamy which hit the spot after a horrid night, the cereal bar was too much but we pocketed them and they were pretty tasty when we finally got around to them.

This is in no way Virgins’ fault but we arrived back at Heathrow to utter chaos, enough to make us just want to jump back on the plane and get the hell out of the country. Over 2.5 hours to get out of the airport and on our way!

Summing Up

Overall we have two main points to make summoning up, one about the Economy service in General and the other about whether the Delight Upgrade is worth it.

On this flight, we really felt the service was back up to snuff. We were really concerned that the flight experience was cut back for covid but they had used the restart to seriously diminish the offering as a cost-cutting exercise. Sometimes when things are taken away for good reason, they are kept away when the reason is removed and the resulting profit is simply snaffled up by the old provider.

This doesn’t seem to be the case. The service offered us just about everything we used to get and we were once more delighted by the little extras and regular bits and pieces that were offered throughout the flight. Maybe they have bumped prices a little to cover this, but honestly, if that’s the case we would prefer this to a miserable and unexciting flight! We just need them to fill out the VERA back catalog now!

Secondly, Is the Economy Delight Product worth it. We really do think so. The fairly modest £50 upgrade got us seats by ourselves a much roomier Seat Pitch, zero waits for the service, and a slightly more upmarket and exclusive feel.

The added legroom is more than enough to remove that claustrophobic feeling you can get on Economy flights, but not enough to remove the issue of the person in front slamming the seat back the moment the seatbelt light goes out. The semi-private Cabin in the 787 is nice and really helps with the upscale feeling.

The Priority Boarding and Premium Check-in are only minor perks and sometimes not even worth anything, so we would not suggest the upgrade for those.

The main selling point for us was the ability to at least partially, control who was sitting next to us. While this is no guarantee, and will definitely not work on full flights, the chance to pick a row that will probably not have anyone extra seated in it was worth WAY more than £50. As such we will probably use this service whenever we fly Economy from now on!

It is not what the Service was designed for but it really can be used that way and for that reason it is invaluable.

Have Your Say

Have you flown Economy Delight in any of Virgin’s services? Let us know your thoughts on the service? Which aircraft were you flying on? How did you find the extra legroom? Was the Premium Check-in a time save or not? How was the service on your flight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and fire off any questions in the comments too,

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The Las Vegas strip looks pretty incredible from any location, be it on the strip itself, your high-level hotel room, the High Roller, or even a distant view of the skyline. But for the ULTIMATE view, you have to take to the air. Soaring over the Las Vegas strip is real Bucket list stuff, and as such, it’s important to get it right so we take a look at all the Best helicopter tours in Las Vegas, Which tours to take, and Who to fly with. We can assure you this is an experience you will never forget as you soar over the dazzling bright lights of Las Vegas!

Flight Routes and experiences

There are 3 main experiences available from Las Vegas, each company will have several variants and additions of these but they all boil down to 3 main flight paths. We will take a look at these before diving into the different operators.

Vegas Strip Helicopter Tours

This is the basic and cheapest option, ranging from $80-$120 and 12-15 mins in duration. Most of these are night-time flights to get the full effect of the strip, while some companies offer Daytime trips we find the strip is just so much more spectacular at night.

The Trips are pretty simple, Take off from Harry Reid International, head up the strip, take in the bright lights of Las Vegas, and Past the Stratosphere for a close look. Loop around Downtown Las Vegas and head back down the strip to the Heliport.

The whole thing takes about 12-15mins but you get to see pretty much all of Vegas, the strip is not huge and even at the reduced airspeeds the choppers fly, there really isn’t much else to see.

The experience is a typical Vegas Cheap Thrill. Get up, take it all in, and back down to earth, with a lighter wallet, all before you know it. But we don’t mean this as a bad thing. These trips are for many the absolute highlight of their Vegas trip. Vegas at night is like nothing on earth and seeing it from the air is a real lifetime experience.

There are some inherent downsides to this tour, however, and it is not easily remedied. Vegas is the home of Gambling, but we “bet” you didn’t think you would be gambling when you booked your Helicopter tour! The problem is the Las Vegas Airspace is insanely busy, with 50+ helicopters doing tours of the strip every hour, along with constant arrivals and departures from Harry Reid International, plus 2 other airports and a USAF Base all within a ten-mile radius, it is seriously busy up there.

So the FAA keeps Helicopter traffic simple. Any of the Las Vegas Strip Tours ALL take the same route. It does not matter which company you choose. They all head the same way. From the airport, they head north with the strip on the left-hand side of the Chopper. At Downtown Vegas it’s a 180° turn and back down the opposite side of the strip, again with the strip to the left.

See the problem? With the EC130 Helicopter layout, anyone in the front or back Left Seats is going to have a heck of a view. Those stuck in the Rear right-hand seats, well it’s pretty sh$$y! It is not as bad as you may fear, the Rear seats are elevated (Stadium Seating) above the front so you can see over the Pilot and front-seat passengers, but it’s not as cool and clear as from the front. You still get a great view of the Strip, but there is that nagging feeling of being shortchanged. You know you are just not getting as good an experience as the other guests!

The Seat selection is also “Random”. The operators will tell you, Over and Over, that the selection is based on weights and balances assigned by the computer. This is rubbish. On our last outing the Pilot said: “You two in the front“, to a nice couple we were flying with, “and one other in the front?” With my camera in hand, I jumped at that. “And the other 3 in the back, however, you like!” Weights and Balances… Yeah right.

This is a cover as they KNOW they are short-changing couples or groups by stuffing them in the worst seats, They KNOW people are going to kick back and as such use the weight and balances computer argument. Sorry, but as a Private Pilot, it doesn’t wash. The Choppers can easily handle any load configuration any set group of people is going to throw at them. Come on; these are multi-million$ Aircraft with a 1000hp Turbojet engine, Do you think they can’t handle a fat (or skinny) kid sitting in the wrong place?!

There are a few ways around this, Maverick Private Hire is almost the same price as 4x passengers. If there are 4 or more of you just hire the whole Chopper! Sundance and Pallipan let you reserve the front seats for $25 each, it’s a bit of a con, but if you want great seats guaranteed it’s the only way. YOU CANNOT CHOOSE between right and left in the rear!

Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours

With the Grand Canyon Tours, the seat position is less important. Front seats are better, as you get the pilot’s eye view, but really in an EC130 there is little to worry about, the rear seat view is mindblowing. As the Canyon rears up on both sides the view is staggering, although any strip flyover will be subject to the same restrictions as the stip-only tours.

Grand Canyon Helicopter tours are the top-end tours and the ones we all aspire to, there can be nothing more magical than flying down into the Grand Canyon, Celebrating with Champagne, and then soaring back to Las Vegas. These tours are serious bucket list experiences, but they come at a cost!

Prices start at $550 (from Las Vegas) and for this, you get a flight over some incredible terrain, a landing inside the West Rim, a Plastic cup of California Champagne, and some basic snacks (think crisps, maybe a sandwich!) and finally a flight back and over the strip.

When put like that it may sound pretty unappealing, but the landscape is one of utter beauty. The Desert that surrounds las Vegas has a real rugged appeal, backed by towering mountains, once aloft it really is beautiful. Vegas itself from the air is like nothing on earth and the stunning blueness of Lake Mead and the fiery reds of the valley of fire contrast starkly with the endless beiges of the desert. It is a wonderful place to take a helicopter flight. Then there is the Canyon itself.

The West Rim is where most Helicopter tours will take you. This is one of the most beautiful and stunning canyons on earth, however, it actually falls well short of another location. Namely the South Rim of the grand canyon! This part of the Canyon just cannot hold a candle to its bigger sister but the south rim lies 280 miles away from Las Vegas and is not practical for a helicopter flight from Las Vegas (see below for some tour ideas). So what you get from Vegas is the West Rim.

From above it is still incredibly vast, a giant scar carved into the earth and as you descend down into the canyon the sheer walls rise up and devour you. From the landing sites at the banks of the Colorado River, we can assure you, that thoughts about this being a lesser canyon will be far from your mind!

If you are looking for that ultimate Vegas Experience, one to share with your loved one and build memories that will last a Lifetime there is little better than a Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour, We know they are costly but this is proper Bucket list stuff and you do get quite a bit for your money.

Red Rock Canyon Helicopter Tours

The Red Rock Canyon flights sit somewhere in between the two. A bit more costly than a Vegas Strip flight and not quite as spectacularly as the Grand Canyon. If you want the Grand Canyon but looking to save money this is a poor substitute and will always feel like settling. But in reality, it is a unique and fun experience, less touristy than the Grand Canyon, you get to see one of Las Vegas’s very special rock formations and overlook Vegas for a place very few get to see. Combined with a flight down the strip after dark.

This is more for people wanting an upgraded experience from the Vegas Strip Tour, this gives you Vegas, Vegas, and More Vegas, the view from the canyon landing sights is seriously special, and watching Vegas come alive a night is unforgettable.

Options

Most operators will offer a host of options, such as Meal deals, Shows, and other add-ons. On the whole, these are not always great value and you really are paying for the convenience.

We normally book separately if we want a Helicopter, Dinner, and a Show as we find doing our own thing gives us the freedom to really just do exactly as we want. Why be limited to the show and restaurants they are offering when you have ALL of Vegas to choose from?

One exception to this is the Skywalk add-ons to the Grand Canyon Tours. This will include two landings, Top and bottom, and access to the Skywalk Attraction and usually lunch.

This gives you a really all-inclusive experience of the West Rim, you can get out and explore the canyon from the top, and walk along the glass floor of the Skywalk. It is not entirely necessary as quite frankly after viewing the Canyon from a chopper, any other view is a letdown really. But if you want to tick EVERY box this is a good option.

Best Las Vegas Helicopter Tour Operators

There is a good choice of operators, which helps keep competition healthy and prices low. The flights are all very similar as they are restricted by the FAA and clearance from Harry Reid Tower, Las Vegas’s airspace is VERY busy. The main differences are cost, the type of helicopter used, and any added extras.

The Other differentiation is the base, the big operators all fly out of Harry Reid International’s heliports, but there are some smaller operators who fly from North Las Vegas Airport.

Harry Reid International Airport

The Big three all fly out of Harry Reid International Airport. This has a distinct advantage that you are on the strip right away, as soon as you lift off you are at the golden towers of the Mandalay Bay, and the entire flight time is over the strip. This can lead to shorter flights, but you get the whole strip, all of the time. From North Las Vegas there is a little flight time to get to the strip, and they miss a bit out to avoid the heavy congestion around McCarran.

The Home bases are bigger and glitzier, and the fleets are generally newer top-end helicopters, The Airport is much easier to get to from most strip hotels and the companies often offer free pick-up from most locations.

Maverick Helicopters #1

These are the big boys in Las Vegas. Their fleet is huge and their home terminal is a shiny modern complex that processes customers in a fast and efficient way. Expect a glass of champagne upon arrival and free hotel pick-up from anywhere on the strip.

The Fly Exclusively in the EC/HC 130 Eco-Star helicopters which are modern Aircraft with impeccable safety records, perfect for tourist flights. They sit 4 across the back and 2 to 3 in the front with the Pilot. The windows are large and even the worst seat still gets a good view, although you may feel hard done by if you are right in the back-right seat!

The company is very professional and provides an efficient and well-oiled service, although it can feel a little cold and a bit impersonal seeing as you are one of many customers they will be flying that day!

Best Flight Experiences from Maverick

• Las Vegas Strip Tour – $104 per person
• Las Vegas Strip Tour – Private Flight – $498 up to 6 people!
• WindDancer – Grand Canyon – $ 469 per person ($499 Sunset)

The Vegas Strip tour is a basic flight up and down the strip, it is nothing fancy but the spectacular Vegas Strip at night is more than enough and this certainly feels pretty magical. If there are 4 or more of you in the group then the private Flight ensures you have the chopper to yourself and will get the best seats!

The WindDancer Tour is Mavericks Grand Canyon Experience. This flight takes you out via Hoover Dam and Lake mead to Mavericks private landing site inside the west rim, where light snacks and a “glass” of champagne are served.

Maverick’s Landing site is not the best of the bunch, it is quite high above the river so doesn’t feel quite as inside as others, but the views down the canyon are still utterly mindblowing

After leaving, you fly through the canyon a short way before heading back over the Valley of Fire. The final part of the trip takes the standard pass over the strip. If you take the Sunset option the flight back with be during sunset with incredibly beautiful colors and the Vegas stip coming alive in all its nighttime glory!

Book Direct at Maverick Helicopters Today!

NOTE – You can get the Maverick Las Vegas Strip Night Tour as part of the Las Vegas Go Pass, saving quite a large amount of money when combined with other Las Vegas Attractions. Read the Full Review here.

Grand Canyon South tours with Maverick Helicopters

The West Rim is a truly incredible place, however, it is NOT the best part of the Canyon. The South rim is even more stunning, and its scale is hard to fathom, up to 18 miles wide, a mile deep, and filled with colors of unthinkable beauty. The problem is the South Rim and the Grand Canyon National Park are a LONG way from Vegas, too far for a helicopter, and 5+ hour 560+ mile journey by Coach or Car.

Maverick will take you there however, they offer 2 options, a light aircraft flight to Grand Canyon National Park Airport, then a helicopter tour over the canyon (Grand Canyon Dream @ $544), or if you make your own way to the park you can just do the helicopter tour (Canyon Spirit @ $299). These are Expensive Tours but you will not be disappointed!

Experience airplane, helicopter, and foot sightseeing tours at the Grand Canyon. Book Today!

Sundance Las Vegas Helicopter Tours – Closed

Sundance has permanently Closed its Tour operations and is no longer offering Las Vegas Helicopter Tours!

Papillion Helicopters

Papillion is one of the oldest operators flying out of Las Vegas, They also operate out of Boulder Airport, a short drive from Las Vegas, or with free Limo pickup, this will add a good two hours to any trip so make sure you know where you are flying from.

Papillon is best known for its Grand Canyon Tours and this is where they shine. Their Base is one of the largest at McCarran (shared with Atlantic Aviation) and can process a large number of people, and can feel a little like a cattle market.

Best Flight Experiences from Papillion

• Las Vegas Strip Night Flight – $99 per person
• Golden Eagle with Vegas Strip – $378.99 per person
• Grand Celebration with Las Vegas Strip – $448.99 per person ($474 Sunset)

Papillion’s Landing site in the Cayon is the best of the bunch, it is much lower than the others and has stunning views up and down the canyon along with the quartermaster tributary. Being so low the Canyon walls really tower above you and you get a real feeling of the incredible scale of the Canyon.

watch out for trips from Boulder City, they are considerably cheaper but you miss out on the Las Vegas Strip and instead require a 50-mile round trip by car, limo, or bus. We much prefer flying out of Vegas, but if you only want to experience the canyon and want to save a few $ these are a good choice.

The Golden Eagle With Las Vegas trip is a purely airborne experience. Jump in the Chopper, fly to the canyon, and take a look at the incredible wonder by air only, for many landing inside the canyon is all part of the experience but seeing it from the air is the main course really and this option saves time and money!

Book Now Direct from Papillion

Helicopter Tours from North Las Vegas Airport

A little outside of the main strip area is Las Vegas North Airport. This is a very different place to McCarren. There are no big terminals, no large rental car places, and no Jumbo Jets taking off and landing every five minutes. The place is in fact eerily quiet most of the time.

This makes it a fantastic place for air operations such as Helicopter tours, Private Jets, and Light Aircraft. We recently booked our own light Aircraft from here and flew ourselves over the Grand Canyon!

Don’t expect the glitz and glamour of the large terminals the McCarran operators fly out of, instead, everything is low-key and a little more relaxed, they also tend to use older helicopters, but this is not always a bad thing (the Robison 44 is an incredible aircraft!)

These tours tend to be a little more personal and a little longer in duration, mainly as you need to get to and from the strip,

5 Star Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours

Flying the older AS350 A-Star Helicopters 5 Star Helicopters offer some of the cheapest tours in Las Vegas. The A-Star is a fantastic helicopter and is a real workhorse with billions of safe flying hours the world over, We would not hesitate for a second to board one, the truth is it is not as good a touring helicopter as the newer more expensive Eco-Star (EC-150). The only issue is the seating is more cramped and basic and the windows are smaller providing less panoramic views than the Eco-Star.

This is the trade-off for lower prices. We also find 5 Stars tours to be a little longer and take their time a bit more with less of a “pack-em-in” feel.

The whole operation has a slightly more budget feel to it, but we find this leads to a more personal and friendly approach, far less corporate than the big Players at McCarran.

On the whole, the offering is very similar to the big players, just a little cheaper, and rougher around the edges. But when you are soaring over the GC are you really going to notice how big the windows are?

5 Star also fly out of Boulder so make sure you know where you are flying from, Boulder is a fair drive from Vegas

• Las Vegas Helicopter Night Strip Tour – $149
• Grand Canyon Floor Landing Helicopter Tour – $429

Skyline Helicopter Tours

Skyline is a completely different operation from the rest. For a start, they operate Robinson R44 Helicopters. These are lightweight 4-seat aircraft (meaning everyone gets a window seat) that generally Fly lower and slower than the bigger turbojet aircraft.

They only really offer Strip tours or Red Rack Canyon tours as the GC is a pretty long flight for these smaller aircraft and the incredibly high fees the Reservation charge make it unfeasible.

With only 3 seats you are usually on your own or can ensure a private flight for only $35. They also offer Doors off flights which are one hell of a rush.

We recently flew with Skyline and they are a really nice company to fly with and their doors-off tour is incredible!

• Las Vegas Strip tour with Skyline Helicopters

702 Helicopters

702 Helicopters is a similar operation to Skyline, offering tours in the 4-seat R44 Helicopters. Their website and operation are quite basic but the tours are fun and inexpensive.

Private Strip Tour over Las Vegas – $297.00

FlyNYON Las Vegas

FlyNYON is one of our favorite operators in North America. Their New York Doors off Tours are like nothing on earth. For the last few years, they operated Las Vegas/ Red Rock Canyon Tours but have ceased operation in the area. We will keep an eye out for their return as Covid restrictions lift and bring you more details

Safety

Helicopter tours get a bad rep in some internet travel forums and message boards. The truth is there have been crashes during some Tourist helicopter operations, and some during Las Vegas and Grand Canyon tours.

Flight operations of this nature do carry an inherent risk. We wish we could say they didn’t but the truth is a lot can go wrong and when it does the results can be disastrous.

However, the safety procedures, maintenance, and precautions put in place by the FAA and the Aircraft operators mitigate nearly every possible scenario. The chances of being involved in an accident while taking a Las Vegas Helicopter tour are infinitely slim, you are far more likely to hit a jackpot in the casino and we all know that isn’t going to happen. These operators fly hundreds of tours every day the vast majority without incident, it’s just those one-in-a-million events that attract a lot of headlines!

Fear Of Flying

Despite the amazing safety precautions and records of the operators, some people are just scared of flying. Some people are scared of heights and some are only scared of flying in small aircraft, which they often don’t know until they get to the chopper door. All the reasoning in the world will not help. These Phobias are often irrational but very real to the sufferer. You can tell someone scared of spiders, that they can’t hurt them but that does not make them any less scary.

For people with a fear of heights, Helicopters are usually fine. Height is a strange thing but to feel the fear of falling you usually have to be stood on something solid. It is strange how being in an aircraft just doesn’t affect the brain the same as being on a tall building.

If you have a real fear of flying, then this is less perception-based and more a fear of knowing what you are doing. The stress and anxiety this causes will likely make a flight very un-enjoyable.

The Helicopter Platform is actually one of the least fear-provoking methods of air travel. The aircraft’s ability to hover negates the need for the runway wind-up, this makes many nervous as the perception of speed is very real. With the helicopter ascending nearly vertically into the sky, it feels more like a floating platform than flying, it’s not certain but some who are scared of flying can be fine on a helicopter.

If you are one of those who doesn’t know your fear until you hit the door, then you have to rely on the goodwill of the companies. They will not force you into the air as a scared person on the ground getting a refund is better than a full-blown panic attack in the air.

Essentially we find unless you know you have a severe phobia of flying or are generally a very nervous person who is not keen on new experiences we think fears should not stop most people. Not overthinking things is key, focus on the jaw-dropping sights you are being rewarded with and try and forget the mechanics of what is going on. Trust in your supremely trained piolet and the incredible levels of precautions the flight operators take.

Have Your Say

Have you been on a Las Vegas helicopter tour? Let us know your thoughts, who did you fly with what tour did you take, what bits did you like, and which bits were you less excited about? Let us know what you have to say in the comments below. And if you have any questions just fire away.

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Back on the road again after a summer of rain and cold through the UK, we were jetting off for a Fall adventure that would hopefully include a little sun, blue skies, pumpkins, and autumn leaves…the forecasts were not looking too good but we were back underway on one of our epic road trips. Starting in the best City in the World… New York City…and we planned to arrive in style!

Preamble

Our last trip around California was now a distant memory, a whopping 3 months ago, so maybe not that distant, but it feels like it after a very hard summer. This time last year we were heading for Halloween in Lahaina and not that has been destroyed by Fires, breaking our hearts in the process. This year it was the East Coast that would be graced with our presence for Halloween and we had a huge itinerary of spooky fun as we hit New York, Boston, Salem, Upstate New York, Niagra Falla, Cedar Point, Chicago, and finally heading south to see if we can catch the last of the warm weather in Wilmington North Carolina. It was going to be EPIC! And to kick it off, a little Upper-Class Luxury!

Sheraton Skyline – Club Class

As always we find the trip just easier if we head down to London Heathrow to jet off across the pond. We drive down the night before, stay in an airport hotel, and leave the car for the duration in the Hotel Carpark, all pre-arranged by Holiday Extras. This just worked and gave us a stress-free arrival. We got to our Hotel around 5 pm after a pretty event-free drive down and checked into our Club Class Room. This upgrade was pretty reasonable, £40 per night, and got us a superior room, Runway View, Dressing Gowns, and access to the Club Lounge.

The Club Lounge offers light breakfast and Snacks between 6 pm and 8 pm…and most importantly, FREE Drinks between 6 pm and 8 pm. We were sure we could drink more than enough in 2 hours to cover the upgrade. Plus our room was really nice and the food options were actually so substantial we skipped dinner, saving us another £5-60 on dinner! There were two wines available and a fridge full of Beers, so pretty basic but acceptable. We ate, Calamari, Stuffed Vine Leaves, DIY NAchos, Ceasar Salad, Cheese Board, Red Velvet Cupcakes, and Fresh Fruit!

Overall pretty good and we helped ourselves to a few drinks before retiring to the room. A little last blast of British telly and off to sleep ready for tomorrow.

Virgin Atlantic Club Lounge

We woke nice and early, packed up, and headed out of the hotel. We pulled up an Uber and sped off to the Airport. Destination Virgin Atlantic Upper-Class Wing!

We had an absolute STEAL on this trip. The initial cost was £700 Return per person for Upper Class outbound and Premium Return. We really like Premium and are happy enough flying back in the middle class but love getting the VIP feels on the the way out. We had booked to fly on Virgin’s new A330-Neo to check out the new Upper-Class finery, but Virgin did the dirty on us and switched the plane! We were very annoyed and were forced to fly the A350-1000. There is nothing wrong with that… in fact, we LOVE it, but we had down it before and wanted to try the new plane, we are travel bloggers and Aviation enthusiasts after all.

After a little two-ing and fro-ing, we came to a solution and upgraded our Return flight to Upper Class using points, so we were on both legs in Upper and on the New on the way back. This also means we will get to visit the Club Lounge at JFK later on in the trip…For now, we were heading to the London Clubhouse and couldn’t be happier.

The Upper Class Check-in was manic, which meant we had to wait 30 seconds for a check-in clerk, and a whole 5 minutes for security. In total, it took around 25 minutes from the Hotel Lobby to the Duty-Free hall! We love the Upper-Class wing, it really makes you feel special and even though the above experience is pretty bad for the Upper-Class wing, it’s still incredible.

We were now out in the melee of the Main Airport terminal, and forgot how bad things can be out here so scurried off to the privacy of the Upper-Class Clubhouse. This is probably our favorite Upper-Class Lounge, and we headed in and scouted out our favorite spot, in the separate section behind the bar looking out over the Apron. We had barely sat down before a glass of Champagne arrived, and we settled into updating the social media, messaging family, and enjoying some of the great food and drink.

We had around 3 hours in the clubhouse before heading off to the Gate, a little tipsy and very happy.

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class A350

Boarding was a little chaotic with no obvious priority lane. But we kind of excused our way to the front and, politely, demanded priority access. It seemed a good job we did as there were a lot of other upper-class customers, politely waiting in huge queues they didn’t need to and came forward after following our lead. It’s a small thing, but the Priority boarding is one of the dwindling perks of Upper Class, so we are not going to wait in line when we do not need to.

We headed aboard and settled into our Upper-Class pods, we had booked the front row on this flight as these offer even more space than the rest of the cabin, and we wanted to see if the space was worth the pay-off of being near the lavatory and the noise and intrusion that brings. For us, definitely, there was very little noise, and none once the headphones were on. A couple of times we had people standing over us as they waited for a free cubicle, but overall there was barely any intrusion and lots of extra legroom. For those with longer legs, this row is a must.

The Service started on the ground with a welcome drink. Then we had our lunch order taken, although we had pre-ordered mains and got a little upgrade as we pre-ordered and they took our in-cruise drink order. Being at the front of the cabin gets you the best service as the Cabin Crew works from the front to the back.

After a little ground delay, we were up in the air and the pampering began, drinks to start with, and straight into the meal service. the starter was Parma Ham, and I had a Crispy Cod Main, which was nice, but lacked some CArbs and was anything but crispy, The fish was moist and a good portion. Kate’s Porkbelly was incredible and a huge portion, so big she didn’t finish it and left the rest to her human dustbin Husband. Dessert was a Chocolate Deluche bar that was divine and then onto the Cheeseboard and port.

Overall a really good meal and plenty of wine was served alongside. The service was then left open. Allowing people to sleep, but a flight attendant would be on hand at the push of a button, I timed it and was attended in less the 14 seconds!

We watched films and listened to music, and Kate had a little snooze. At some point, the crew came around with a little tub of Ice-cream and we spent some time in the Loft, the Social space on the plane, where we chatted with the cabin crew and had around 30 offers to get us some drinks, some of which we accepted, but we were pretty well along by now!

With around 1hr30 left the Afternoon Tea service commenced, this was a Choice of Cream Tea, a Chicken Bao Bun, and a Lamb Flatbread. The Cream tea was tempting but we split the LAmb Flatbreab and a Bao Bun between us. Both were really good. The LAmb was rich and spicy with a hint of Mint Yogurt, and the Bao bun had a real kick. The Chicken was curried and there was a spicy satay dressing and some Red Chilli Slices, I like my heat and actually found the Bun pretty spicy, it could really blow away those who like less heat!

With this done, we started our descent and had a swift and diversion-free arrival at JFK. There was a little delay on the tarmac, but overall we hit the gate about 15 minutes early, first off the place we headed to immigration having spent the last 10-12 hours in the lap of luxury…the bubble was about to pop violently.

Arrival in JFK

The arrival hall was seriously packed. We have not seen it like this for several years. we joined the Queue as it snaked towards the few open counters, and just waited, packed in like sardines. Nearly two hours later we approached the front, naturally stuck behind some of those awkward arrivals who seem to have three passports and take ten times longer than us.

Eventually, we headed to the baggage carousel and found our luggage instantly, 2 hours being plenty of time for them to process the flight’s luggage. We then headed out into the New York night.

It was now past 6 pm and New York traffic was at its finest. Uber was surcharging up to $90 but we sucked it up and jumped in the cab, in the end regretting not using the Airtrain and Subway. The drive-in was gnarly. Huge queues, stationary traffic, and lots of irate drivers. Not much fun and an hour and a half later we arrived at the Hotel…pretty exhausted, it was nearly 8 pm when we got to our room, and that was 2 am on our body clock, having been awake since 7 am going on 20 hours!

Any sensible person would knock it on the head and hit the hay…

Riu Plaza Manhattan Times Square

We had booked this Hotel very early on in the booking process at a pretty reasonable rate. We did this mainly to lock in a rate so we could try and find something better and/or cheaper. But after booking rates had soared we never really got close to beating the $250 per night we paid for a room here, and it was a superior room with an enhanced city view.

On check-in, the clerk was very proud to say we were on 45 floor, of 48, and with the best view direction, giving us one of the best rooms in the building. We headed up the elevator and sure enough, the view was epic!

The room was nice enough, modern and recently refurbished, large LCD screen we would barely use, and a large bed that was pretty comfy, but actually pretty basic. A nice work desk area, quite a bit of storage and organizing space, and a pretty plush bathroom. It was small, but decent by New York Standards. Overall a decent room and spotlessly clean. The best feature was those floor-to-ceiling windows and that view!

After settling in a little, as we said the most sensible decision was to call it a night after a LONG day…we are not sensible…

Times Square

First order of business, Time Square. No one’s favorite place, but an essential visit for all. As we were literally a quarter block from the iconic Square, this was the first place to visit. And we instantly got that System Shcok as we were hit by the bright lights and throngs of people. The Square is one of those places where you really forget how bonkers it is until you go back.

We simply wandered through the square taking things in and a quick stop in McDonald’s mainly as we were really thirsty and a giant Icey Soda was just the ticket…and maybe a few nuggets as well. Then it was on to one of our favorite spots in NYC.

230 Fifth Rooftop Bar

We headed out of the square and pulled up the Uber App they wanted $30 to travel less than a mile and estimated a 30-minute trip…it was a 20-minute free walk, and despite being exhausted, that just didn’t add up so we took to our heels and powered down fifth. The walk ended up being longer than 20 mins as Google just cannot calculate the time spent waiting at crosswalks!

Finally, at the world-famous Rooftop bar, we headed straight up with no problems. The Bar has certainly grown in popularity since we first came all those years ago where the small deck was half empty most nights. Now the vastly increased rooftop space was packed to the gills with pretty much standing room only on a Wednesday night!

This was fine by us as were mainly here for the view. And there is bad news on that front. Nothing stands still in New York and the city is CONSTANTLY growing, we visit so regularly, 12 months as a minimum, and every time a new building has sprung up like a mushroom. And this time one had sprung up right in front of 230 Fifth, partially blocking the view. The building is no “looker” either and just sits right in the skyline like an ugly eyesore. And it’s there forever now!

The view from the main deck is not too badly affected, but it’s still there and bloody annoying. But it’s still an incredible view and one of our happy places. So we just took in the view and for once didn’t actually drink, we had both had more than enough on the flight and were more in hangover mode than drinky mode…

BED

Eventually, it all caught up with us and we started flagging, so it was time to head back and finally get some rest. The Uber was still $20 but at least it was a shorter drive time.

Walking Total – 9,590 Steps – 5.2 Miles

A long day time-wise, but largely spent sitting down in a leather lie-flat seat, so not too many steps, we will put this right tomorrow!

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