Virgin Atlantic Airways - VIR

Advantages: Cheap fares, excellent service, first-class entertainment system, decent food
Disadvantages: Long wait times, London-Delhi leg needs major improvement

...experience in luxury that flying Virgin Atlantic represents? The Virgin Clubhouse lounges, the on-board massseuse and manicurist, the bar right there in the cabin, the fully reclining beds...the list is endless. But what about economy class? Was there any trickle-down effect, or was the difference enough to effect a Marxian-style revolution (sorry way too much philosophy/history this semester!) My father was eager to find out and so booked us on ...
...away thoroughly disillusioned with the Virgin myth. What on earth had all those people who had recommended Virgin raved about? This flight was the pits, and needless to say, I was not too pleased with the prospect of flying back to the US later in the summer on my way back to university. When I landed in Newark, NJ I was a changed woman. I couldn't WAIT to fly Virgin back home in December for Christmas break. It turns out that while the India-UK ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap, reliable, friendly staff, good entertainment options, free booze
Disadvantages: Lack of legroom

Having never used Virgin Atlantic, prior to Christmas we booked a holiday for four people to Las Vegas via Expedia.com. As there wasn’t a choice of carrier, we were stuck with Virgin and much to my dismay, in the weeks approaching the actual holiday I heard horror story after horror story of the level of service to expect. Departing on 23rd December we were to fly direct from London Gatwick to Las Vegas. I had never been to the USA, most of my holidays ...
...help but spot the large Virgin signs and the red and white colour scheme. Once the party had assembled we approached a long but fast moving queue. Whilst waiting to check in our bags we were approached by Virgin security and were asked the usual mind numbingly simple questions. Although the fact the lady asking the questions was not fully conversant in English, the process was simple and after a few repetitive questions we quickly came to the desk ... Read review

Advantages: Safe and good service
Disadvantages: No upgrade for me

...since I last travelled with Virgin long before the days that I knew of Ciao existence, probably before I even knew about the existence of "tinternet" and on this trip I had little choice over the airline as the whole holiday was booked with Virgin Holidays. Given that it was a nine hour flight I was quite happy to be going with an airline that has a good safety record, is known to be customer service focused and being a scheduled airline would mean ...
...at all. Booking with Virgin was via the phone and the flight to Havana was out of Gatwick, not my favourite airport as it is a pain to get to and basically pretty crap as well. However on the plus side Virgin do make every effort to reduce the amount of time you have to spend in the airport on the day you fly, which is a good thing as the owners of Gatwick try to do everything possible to extend your stay but that is for another review. I took advantage ... Read review

Advantages: High level of service, as always
Disadvantages: Economy is a little, well, bijou!

...my rather poor review of Virgin with a much better one! So, where have I been with Virgin this year? I've flown to both Newark (New York) and Los Angeles. I've flown in all three classes (Economy, Premium and Upper Class), and on both Airbus A340 and 747 Aircraft.... Website: The Virgin website upholds the funky brand that Virgin has everywhere. It’s easy to use, bright and cheerful, and does have the cheapest flights on the web. At several ...
...such as the destinations that Virgin serve, but I’m sure you can find them easy at www.virgin-atlantic.com The website also allows you to sign up for their frequent flyer scheme, and if you have the airline locator code for your journey, it allows you to input your frequent flyer number, change meal requests and also view and change your seat numbers. Planes: Richard Branson is a canny chap. Whilst various American Airlines are going into ... Read review

Advantages: Economy class with first class service
Disadvantages: Need detachable video monitor controls

Virgin Do It Better For one month of the year, I and she who will be obeyed escape to Florida, Orlando to be precise. Our mode of aerial transportation is provided by Virgin Atlantic. Thank you Sir Richard Branson for creating an airline that treats its passengers like people and not like cattle (BA take note). Our last trip to Orlando was in March this year, (2005). The holiday started with a 300 mile journey by car to stay with relatives near ...
...point I should mention that Virgin Atlantic have a number of ways that check in can be completed, the first is :- Twilight Check In. This is particularly good if you have an early morning flight or you want to minimise the hassle of turning up 2 to 3 hours prior to departure with all your bags, screaming kids and all you can see is a long queue in front of you. The way it works is that you can check in between noon and 9pm the night before you ... Read review