Virgin Atlantic Avis 2 215

Booked a trip to the Caribbean with a quality company who offered an upgrade to Upper Class on Virgin or BA. Although Virgin was £100 more expensive, we wanted to take the Virgin option. We paid the quoted price but despite the flight being for January 2027 and only a moment or two elapsing between giving our card details, and the company confirming to Virgin, Virgin had increased the price by another £500 without any explanation. The BA prices were fixed for 4 days. Guess who we decided to fly with???!!! Sooooo disappointing and not what I would expect from Virgin. Hardly a good PR exercise as neither I nor my 2 friends will travel Virgin again and I doubt anyone else we share our experience with will either. Come on Richard Branson, time to send your customer service on another training course!

I recently flew with Virgin Atlantic on flight VS5 from London Heathrow on Sunday 8 March, travelling in the Premium cabin. Unfortunately the experience fell far below what I expected, particularly given the additional cost of the Premium product.

To start with the positives, the cabin crew were polite and professional throughout the flight and the pilot delivered a smooth journey. However, several aspects of the onboard experience made the overall flight very disappointing.

The most surprising issue was the drinks policy. My partner and I had just got engaged and simply wanted to celebrate the occasion with a glass of champagne or prosecco. Moments like that are exactly the type of occasion where airlines normally help passengers celebrate. Instead we were told this was not possible as these drinks were reserved exclusively for Upper Class passengers and could not even be purchased in our cabin. We were not asking for anything complimentary and were happy to pay. Being told we could not even buy a glass of champagne to celebrate our engagement felt absurd and made us feel undervalued as customers. Even on short European economy flights it is usually possible to purchase sparkling wine.

What makes this even more disappointing is that we are flying back with Virgin Atlantic this coming Sunday and still have no way of celebrating the engagement on the return flight either.

The cabin also appeared poorly stocked with certain drinks. Sparkling water and tonic were unavailable during service, meaning we had to follow up with the crew just to obtain a mixer for the drink we had already ordered.

There were also issues with the catering. The vegetarian meal provided stated that it may contain crustaceans and fish in the ingredients. As someone who avoids those foods, I could not eat it. At the same time peanuts were removed due to another passenger’s allergy, which is completely understandable, but the combination of those two factors meant I effectively had no suitable food available for the flight.

The seating experience on the new Airbus A330 900 aircraft was also problematic. When the passenger in front of me reclined their seat it became extremely difficult to eat due to the restricted space. When the seat moved backwards it also knocked over my girlfriend’s drink, spilling it onto her lap. The seat back even wedged her wine can between the tray table and the seat in front.

Another issue was that the armrest on the aisle seat would not lift when meals were served. This left a noticeable gap between the seat and tray table and made it extremely difficult to leave the seat to use the toilet until the plates were cleared.

The onboard WiFi also did not work at all for the entire flight. I often choose airlines based on internet connectivity as I plan to work during long haul journeys, so this was highly inconvenient.

Virgin Atlantic markets itself as a premium airline with a strong focus on customer experience, which is exactly why I chose to fly with them rather than using my British Airways air miles. Unfortunately the reality of this flight did not reflect the level of service that the brand promotes.

I contacted Virgin Atlantic customer care afterwards. While the response was polite and acknowledged the issues, the outcome was simply the offer of loyalty points rather than any meaningful resolution or partial refund for the Premium upgrade that clearly did not deliver the expected experience.

Virgin Atlantic has historically been known for excellent service. However based on this experience, and the way the complaint has been handled afterwards, I would be reluctant to choose the airline again.

VS104

I recently travelled on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Atlanta to Heathrow on 11 March and had both a positive and a negative experience that I would like to share.

First, I would especially like to recognise a crew member named Andrew. He was incredibly kind, patient, professional, and genuinely helpful throughout the flight. His attitude and care made a real difference and helped make the journey much more pleasant. Andrew truly deserves recognition for the way he treats passengers. I am very grateful for his help and wish him all the very best.

I would also like to thank two other crew members who were working on the right side of the Premium Economy cabin — a lady and a gentleman whose names I unfortunately did not catch. They were both extremely kind, attentive, and helpful during the flight. Thanks to their professionalism and friendliness, I had a very positive onboard experience.

However, the beginning of the journey was quite stressful. The flight was overbooked, and several of my colleagues and I were unsure until the very last minute whether we would even be able to board, despite having booked our seats months in advance. This situation caused a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety and did not feel fair given that we had planned and reserved our travel well in advance.

Because of this experience, it has unfortunately affected my confidence in booking with Virgin Atlantic again in the future. While the cabin crew did an excellent job and helped improve the situation during the flight, the overbooking issue made the start of the journey very unpleasant.

Thank you again to Andrew and the other crew members for their kindness and professionalism.

Beware of paying for a Premium Economy upgrade with Virgin Atlantic.
We paid £455 each (nearly £1,000) for Premium Economy on an 8-hour flight. The in-flight entertainment system at both of our seats did not work for the entire journey. Cabin crew attempted several resets but it never worked.
By the time meal service reached our row, the advertised meal choices had run out. The “Wonder Wall” snack area was also empty with no crew nearby to replenish it.
In reality the experience ended up being worse than our outbound flight in Economy.
Virgin Atlantic later offered a £100 voucher. Their terms state in small print that onboard services cannot be guaranteed – despite these being key features used to justify the Premium Economy price.
The matter was eventually taken to the small-claims court, where the decision turned on a legal interpretation rather than the fairness of the situation.
For us, paying nearly £1,000 for an upgrade that delivered fewer working services than Economy was extremely disappointing.

booked a return to Washington, had to fly back via JFK but through ticketed by Virgin. The Washington JFK flight was cancelled by Delta. Virgin washed their hands of the whole thing. No flights even indirect for 36 hours, I had to use Expedia to find an ex JFK flight later that day and organise my own train as all the Delta flights were cancelled or full. A very bad experience and I felt completely abandoned.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Francis in your customer service team today who was excellent. He helped me with my seat query ahead of my flight next week and went above and beyond for me. Even wising my a happy birthday for next week when I asked him to check if my date of birth was correct. Thank you Francis, I hope this gets back to you

Just flew san Francisco to Heathrow
I've used many different long haul flights , I cancelled my Emirates from Australia and flew united which were really good. And virgin atlantic for the long trip home instead.
But virgin atlantic on may second leg about 10 hours long .was terrible, upon boarding there was a dirty smell, got to my seat which I paid £55 for ,it was dirty and smelt old the table was dirty & greasy, window was greasy and the TV/ entertainment was crap and screen greasy , old TV, earphone was slack and kept slipping out ,they charge for messaging on flight which all the other airlines i have used has been free.
Then the mostly male hostess team were rude, abrupt , poor service , cold food , cold coffee .the food was disgusting and with cardboard cutlery. I honestly thought virgin would be better but I would put them around Ryan air level . I also had to pay for my luggage. I would never book with these again

The beds in upper class are horrible!! Narrow, hard and gave me backache instead of sleep!! Onboard food mediocre at dinner, vile at breakfast. Too bad. We used to love VA. Looking for new airline.

I have flown with Virgin Atlantic before, but this economy flight completely shocked me with how poor the service was. My route was LHR–MCO–LHR.
On the flight to Orlando, the flight attendants were unbelievably rude. Their attitude was so aggressive that it genuinely felt uncomfortable. The “afternoon tea” consisted of a tiny sandwich and a single scone — that was it. The lunch portion was so small that even a child would still be hungry afterwards.
Unfortunately, the return flight was no better. Once again, the flight attendants were rude and dismissive.
When dinner was served, I asked for a tomato juice. The flight attendant, smiling, said, “I’ll get one for you.” Thirty minutes later, I had already finished my (again very small) dinner and she was clearing trays. I reminded her that she had forgotten my juice. Her response: “Oh, we’ll be serving that in a minute.”
It never came.
I eventually gave up waiting and tried to sleep. Perhaps they plan to send it to my home by post.
Breakfast was the worst I have ever been served on any flight: a plain bagel. Nothing inside. No butter, no filling, not even a single leaf of lettuce — just a dry bagel.
Even business class is not much better than economy, but I will spare the details to keep this review short.
Virgin Atlantic used to have a reputation for good service. Based on this experience, that reputation is clearly long gone.
Never again.

After flying with most major transatlantic airlines, I cannot fault the service of Virgin Atlantic T3 Heathrow lounge. Service was impeccable. I know it's not easy to smile all day but the moment I walked in and got served, Nicole was a vibrant server who made sure not only myself but other guests got what they wanted. Thank you Nicole and well done Virgin for getting the flyers off to a good start 😊

On flight VS300 (Heathrow→Delhi, 21 Dec 2025), a visibly intoxicated passenger was served alcohol despite clear signs of impairment. Multiple warnings to cabin crew about his escalating behaviour — including verbal abuse and a request from a neighbouring passenger to be moved — were not acted upon. A passenger when reporting their concerns to cabin crew was told that marijuana was found on them before they boarded the plane.

The situation escalated to a physical assault on a passenger. Cabin crew arrived approximately five minutes after the violence began. Passengers, not crew, restrained the aggressor. Restraining passengers themselves were assaulted as a result of their intervention. The crew then responded by restraining the passenger in his seat by tying his limbs to the seat with seatbelts. An empty 1L vodka bottle was later found in his bag.

Post-incident handling was poor: passengers attempting to document the event were shouted at by crew; coordination with authorities on landing was confused and delayed. The assaulted passenger had to take their seat near the restrained and intoxicated passenger who continued to hurl abuse towards him.

Virgin Atlantic's response to our formal complaint: a generic apology and 20,000 loyalty points. No investigation findings shared. No confirmation of reporting to the UK Civil Aviation Authority. No details of corrective actions being implemented.

The affected passengers continue to bear the trauma of the assault, affecting their work and personal lives. Not to mention the anxiety of having to fly again under such conditions.

We believe this reflects systemic failures in:
• Pre-boarding flight checks and protocols
• Alcohol service protocols
• Crew training on de-escalation and crisis response
• Passenger safety escalation procedures

We urge Virgin Atlantic to prioritise transparency: publish investigation outcomes, confirm regulatory reporting, and detail concrete steps to prevent recurrence. Passenger safety must be non-negotiable.

Really disappointed with our recent flights with Virgin Atlantic.

I appreciate that we were flying in economy, but the seats were extremely uncomfortable – honestly, I’ve had more comfortable seating on a short EasyJet flight. For a long-haul airline with such a strong reputation, this was surprising.

What concerned me more was the professionalism of the cabin crew on our return flight. Several staff members appeared distracted, making personal calls and texting, and overall they didn’t seem particularly organised or confident in what they were doing.

One moment that really stood out was when a paralysed passenger requested assistance to go to the toilet and seemed to be forgotten about for a period of time. I also witnessed crew members discussing how they were going to support him while speaking with the passenger and amongst themselves, which felt like something that should have been handled more professionally and privately before the flight.

It was also difficult to watch someone with mobility issues having to travel from one end of the aircraft to the other just to use the bathroom. In this day and age, you would expect better consideration and accessibility for passengers with disabilities.

Overall, the experience did not live up to the Virgin Atlantic brand. I left the flight feeling disappointed, and based on this experience I would likely choose another airline in the future if the option is available.

PUBLIC NOTICE – BEFORE FLYING WITH Virgin Atlantic ❌They confirmed wheelchair assistance wasn’t provided to my disabled mother — their failure. She’s now bedridden and hospitalized.
We only asked to reschedule. CEO Corneel Koster No refund, flexibility or waiver.

Having just returned from a flight from Delhi on virgin I found the plane very cramped,the food awful, inedible and disgusting. Only one alcoholic drink allowed on such a long flight. Had to ask about duty free, was told to go to the back of the plane and ask. Did that only to be told everything I wanted was sold out ! Inflight entertainment was outdated in fact I was surprised it wasn’t all in black and white. All of that and I had to pay £160 extra to get a confirmed seat next to my husband. I expected so much more ☹️

After speaking with Virgin Atlantic customer service regarding our flight scheduled for 9th March, we made it clear that, as a family of five, we do not feel safe travelling to the UAE at this time. We contacted them to understand what reasonable options were available given the current situation.

We were told that our only choices are to cancel and pay a £300 fee per person or change to another destination. There is no option to receive a travel credit valid for 12 months, and no option for a full refund.

For a family of five, this means a £1,500 penalty simply because we have genuine safety concerns. This feels completely unreasonable and unfair.

When we were offered the option to choose another destination, we were informed that it would likely cost even more. Everyone knows that booking a holiday only a few days in advance is significantly more expensive. This effectively means paying even more money to avoid travelling to a destination we do not feel safe visiting. It gives the impression that Virgin Atlantic is using the current situation in the Middle East to generate additional income rather than supporting concerned customers.

Virgin Atlantic publicly states:
“The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our number one priority…”

However, in reality, we have not been offered any meaningful flexibility that reflects this commitment. If customer safety is truly the number one priority, customers should not be financially penalised for making a decision based on genuine safety concerns.

This experience has been extremely disappointing.

We attempted to book two Premium Economy tickets via Virgin Atlantic’s website on 6 February 2026.

The website crashed during payment. Despite this, our business account was charged multiple times.

In total:
• Three ticket payments of £3,281.78 were taken
• Two separate £220 seat reservation payments were taken
• Only some of these were refunded

One full duplicate booking was refunded.
One booking (later cancelled) was partially refunded correctly.
However, £3,501.78 (£3,281.78 + £220) remains unreturned.

We never received tickets for the failed bookings.

Over the course of several weeks, we have:
• Provided full bank statements
• Highlighted transaction timestamps
• Supplied screenshots
• Explained the issue repeatedly

Virgin Atlantic’s Customer Care team continues to insist only one charge was taken, despite documentary bank evidence showing three separate debits on the same day.

This has required significant senior management time from a small UK business to pursue recovery of funds for services never supplied.

We are now pursuing recovery formally.

The most concerning part is not the website failure — technical issues happen — but the inability to reconcile merchant transactions against bank evidence, and the repeated need to restate the same facts.

For a premium airline brand, this experience has been deeply disappointing.

After two long haul flights with Virgin Atlantic to South Africa and back I do wonder if anyone on the management has had an opportunity to sample the inedible food!
As compensation we were offered Virgin Points! Not much use if we will never fly with them again.

I have travelled in every Virgin class, and all have been brilliant.Much better the BA

Our recent journey with Virgin Atlantic was extremely disappointing and stressful, particularly for a group of 10 travelling together on a long-planned trip home from the Caribbean.

We flew from Union Island to St Vincent to connect onto the Virgin Atlantic service via Barbados to the UK. Knowing the connection time was tight, we contacted the airline several times in advance to stress how important it was for the first flight to depart on time so our checked baggage could be accepted for the long-haul sector. Despite this, the incoming aircraft arrived late and additional unscheduled island stops were added, making the situation even worse.

When we finally arrived in St Vincent but our checked luggage — which had already travelled with us on the first leg — was refused and left behind. Your staff were dismissive, unfeeling and disrespectful, even with the lady acting as your main rep, laughing at us. We were given no practical assistance, no clear solution other than “book a different flight” which would mean paying for and finding a hotel to stay in that night, late notice, on an island we don’t know, until the next flight to take us home which would be 3-4 days later. Choosing the only possible option for us, we had to board the flight with no reassurance about when or how we would receive our belongings. We were effectively forced to continue our journey without our suitcases and had to arrange and pay for their collection from the airport.

After allowing a long winded conversation about why they cannot take our bags, they suddenly changed their mind and told us we could not board at all. Luckily we noticed they failed to follow basic procedure, missing the fact we had already checked in online during our thorough preparation for this journey. We then managed to rush through to our plane enduring a condescending attitude from all your staff. Finally taking our seats, having said goodbye to our belongings, we couldn’t help but feel frustrated as we sat on the aircraft for a further 30–45 minutes before departure, which only reinforced the feeling that there had been time to handle the baggage properly, and execute the proper, basic and polite customer service.

We arrived in the UK without essential items, with the inconvenience and cost that comes with that, and with no real sense that Virgin Atlantic took responsibility for what happened.

This experience fell far below what we expected from a premium long-haul airline. A proactive solution, clear communication, or a small amount customer care at the airport would have made a huge difference.

We are now left chasing the return of our belongings and seeking reimbursement for the disruption caused.

Very disappointing.
Unless this case is given the attention needed along with an urgent resolution, sadly, my sincere advice is: do not fly with this company.