This is the second part of the review of the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class A330neo press trip to Tampa earlier in November. The flight was a night flight from Tampa to London Heathrow. I’ll be looking at the lounge, how comfortable the new seat was to sleep. You can read about the outbound flight here. 

Check-in

Tampa is a modern and large airport with a new Virgin check-in area. There was a short queue as staff tried to deal with an IT issue, but they remained friendly and cracking jokes throughout. 

The lounge

I was pleasantly surprised by the lounge in Tampa. Let’s be honest, US lounges are often a bit of a disappointment, although they are gradually improving. The International Club Lounge is situated in the same area as the Virgin gate in Terminal F, near gate 78, which made it simple. This is apparently the former British Airways lounge.

If you wanted to work, it was well laid out for this with a long worktop down one wall and charging points. There were also plenty of other charging points in the comfy seating area. 

Inside there was a friendly barman serving a very decent range of wines with a choice of several red and white wines as well as Prosecco, spirits, beer or cocktails.

There was no shower, but there were changing facilities in the generous-sized toilets. There was a great array of food, too, with everything from prawn cocktails to charcuterie and cheese. The only hot food was soup. 

Boarding

I headed to the gate a bit early, and soon Upper Class were welcomed to board. It was also announced in the lounge once they were ready for Upper Class passengers.

Once onboard, I was offered a welcome drink which was a choice of water, juice or the signature Ruby Slipper cocktail, which has rhubarb and raspberry tonic and sparkling wine. However, I was a bit of a diva and asked if I could have plain sparkling wine as rhubarb is one of the few things I detest (rhubarb crumble school dinners killed it for me). Of course, I was made to feel it was no trouble at all and was even offered a top-up later as we were slightly delayed due to ATC and then a technical fault. 

At the seat were the usual Goodie bag amenity kit and a menu. Hidden in the headphone cupboard was also a can of water which I always appreciate.

I was also offered a pair of pyjamas (coming soon to the next TLFL giveaway next month).

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class A330neo seat and sleeping

I was in the same seat as the way out, 6K. This is a window seat with the console on the aisle side so you are close to the window. You can read all the details of the new seat in my previous review. In this one, I will concentrate just on sleep quality.

I will just pop a photo here of the extra storage space that is available in some seats with the console on the inside of the seat rather than the aisle.

The seat goes flat with your feet in the gap under the seat in front. Unlike some A330 seats, this area felt very spacious. You get what I think is the best sleep amenities in business class with a very thick mattress topper that actually hooks over the top and bottom of the seat. Often with some of the thinner ones that you can’t attach, I end up with it in an uncomfortable ball after a while. You also get a light quilt and a large pillow with a proper pillowcase. The crew will make your bed up for you if you wish, but I usually just do it myself. 

Regular readers will know how fussy I am when it comes to seats and them being too hard. Well, there were no complaints from this diva about the firmness of the seats here. Usually, new seats are more prone to being hard due to lack of use, but even at this stage, it felt just right. I liked having the air vents above as well, which meant it was easier to regulate your own temperature.

Being a side sleeper, I sometimes feel a bit cramped as I like to spread out a bit but I was surprised with the A330 how much space it felt I had. I also appreciated being able to close the door so you were less likely to be disturbed by people walking past in the aisle. Overall I slept well, having some very weird dreams in the process!

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class A330neo Food and drink

The service started with a drink and some crisps. I decided to try the margarita even though it sounded a bit odd.

However, I do enjoy the taste of tequila, and I thought this worked extremely well with the sweet apple. I’m going to try it at home as it was more refreshing than a margarita which is my usual cocktail of choice.

If you wanted, you could have an express menu. This consists of a cold starter and dessert along with tomato soup and a toastie all on one tray. However, since I was meant to be reviewing the flight, I decided I had better suck it up and have the full month!

Here is the menu:

The table was laid up and a choice of bread was offered.

I decided to start with the seared tuna, which was something a bit different for business class. This was everything a starter should be, light, fresh and a bit of zing from the chilli. 

I was also surprised to see ribs on the menu which is one of my favourite treats. Now a fellow journalist on the trip was less than impressed with his, but I really enjoyed it. The pork ribs were very tender and the bbq sauce full of smoky sweetness balanced by a slight tang. I also enjoyed the mustard mash which had wholegrain mustard running through it. The only thing I could criticise was the beans which were overcooked. Some may say it looks a bit small, but it was perfect for me as it meant I had room for dessert. 

Now the dessert was not a looker, more like 50 shades of beige. However, it was absolutely delicious, with the caramelised banana adding a great depth of flavour but without being overly sweet. 

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class A330neo Breakfast Menu 

I’ve always really enjoyed Virgin Atlantic’s breakfast offerings which have usually been a step above the competition with full-cooked breakfasts and some interesting choices. I really liked the sound of the breakfast hash, being a fan of something a little bit spicy in the morning! It was very tasty with just the right amount of chorizo and a lovely creamy hollandaise with just the right amount of kick from the chipotle. I also thought it was presented well for what could be a messy dish.

The egg was definitely overdone, but I don’t think you can really help this on an aircraft when you are oven-baking things. I also tried a cappuccino and thought it was well up to par with other airline cappuccinos. They never get the dense velvety foam you get on the ground, but it still had plenty of froth. 

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class A330neo Entertainment

On the way out, I tried out the mobile phone pairing to control the entertainment. This time I decided to try the headset pairing. I have a pair of trusty Bose noise-cancelling headphones that are super comfortable, so it’s always nicer to use those than the standard airline ones, good though they are on Virgin. The pairing was surprisingly simple and fast, and I was also impressed with the clear sound. I have used various Bluetooth pairing devices on board for headphones which are not always that great for sound quality, but this was spot on. 

As it was a night flight, I decided not to bother with a movie even though there were plenty to choose from. Instead, I decided to start watching a TV series. Big mistake, huge! Of course, I got completely hooked and ended up staying up far too long watching it instead of sleeping. Then I had to try and find it on UK TV so I could finish the last episode. It was good that Virgin actually had the whole series available. I just did not have time to watch it all.

The series was The Truth about Pam, which has received mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed the take on a very bizarre true crime story. The screen is large and has great definition, so it’s easy to get hooked into something compared with older, smaller screens, where I tend to get distracted easily. 

Prior to arrival, we handed a packet of the retro sweets, Love Hearts which I thought was a cute touch. This goes back to when airlines used to hand out sweets before you landed to help your ears pop as you descended. 

Conclusion

Despite being slightly sceptical about how comfortable a Virgin Atlantic Upper Class A330neo seat would be given the narrower width of the fuselage, I was pleasantly surprised by the space available and the comfort of the padding. The Virgin sleep amenities are some of the best in business class with their heavily padded mattress topper, and having the extra privacy of the door also helped ensure a decent night’s sleep. 

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A few weeks back, I wrote about both the benefits and pitfalls of Virgin Atlantic joining the SkyTeam alliance. A large part of the benefits side is the ability for Virgin to create new partnerships with other members of said alliance. 

My analysis stemmed primarily on Virgin Atlantic utilising Hong Kong as their primary hub within Asia to connect onto Asian SkyTeam carriers – at least until Shanghai Pudong on the Chinese mainland reopened. I argued that while Hong Kong is not a hub for any SkyTeam carrier, its geographical location in Asia is well suited to connect onto regional SkyTeam airlines such as Korean Air, Vietnam Airlines and Garuda Indonesia. 

That was completely wrong. 

Just a few days after publishing, Virgin Atlantic announced the ‘indefinite suspension’ of flights to Hong Kong. As noted by Head for Points, Virgin has just purchased twenty-four slots from SkyTeam and Transatlantic Joint Venture partner, KLM. While I feel that some of these slots will go towards more US destinations, HfP also noted that Seoul Incheon could be a potential destination.

South Korea’s largest news agency, Yonhap (Korean language), stated in a news article that “Virgin Atlantic is likely to operate the London – Incheon route after the merger of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines”. The report states that Korean Air have proposed Virgin Atlantic as an alternative to Asiana Airlines to increase competition between the UK and South Korea. It seems unlikely the Korean Air would make a statement like this without some confirmation from Virgin Atlantic. 

Launching a route to South Korea could have some benefits for Virgin Atlantic, namely connectivity to a vast network of routes across Asia. Both Korean Air and Virgin share a common owner in the form of Delta who have an equity stake of 11% and 49% respectively as well as joint ventures across the Pacific and Atlantic. Out of any of the carriers in SkyTeam outside those Virgin Atlantic cooperates with already, Korean Air seems like an option. 

However, as much as this makes sense hypothetically – the real world situation might make this impractical. Currently, only South Korean airlines operate direct, non-stop flights between London and Seoul with British Airways pulling out earlier in the pandemic. Despite British Airways increasing destinations in the US, Seoul as well as other non-core Asian destinations are unlikely to be restored any time soon due to lighter loads.

The other issue with Seoul is geography. It is not great for connections from Europe to Southeast Asia and Australasia which are important destinations for a lot of the global super connecting airlines. Even prior to the closure of Russian airspace, routings to Seoul take around 12 hours. Unless your destination is South Korea or Japan, Seoul is not a desirable connecting location from the UK to major cities such as Bangkok, Hong Kong, Sydney and Singapore due to the amount of back tracking required. Flight connections in the Middle East or Southeast Asia are going to be far more efficient for passengers and the airlines.

I struggle to see how Virgin Atlantic will be able to succeed on this route without meaningful cooperation with the combined Korean/Asiana airline whether that is in the form of a deep codeshare agreement or joint venture. Cooperation with the combined Korean Air will be a necessity to ensure that Virgin Atlantic has any chance of the route succeeding with onward traffic. This would seem contrary to the statement by Korean Air’s CEO stating that Virgin Atlantic would provide added competition, when working together would be a necessity for success. 

While I genuinely hope that Virgin Atlantic can get more non-US routes off the ground, however it feels like the airline may be picking the wrong place to start. Hong Kong, still, provides a better connecting location or, even better, Singapore with both having extensive connectivity with Virgin’s SkyTeam and non-alliance partners. It certainly would be nice if the low redemption rates stayed around from the Hong Kong era…one can hope. 

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Following on from my review of the standard Upper Class Suites on Virgin Atlantic’s A330neo, Ed the pilot has now written up his experience in Virgin Atlantic A330-900neo Retreat Suite at the front of the aircraft. Ed flew a few days before me on the A330neo’s inaugural flight for Virgin.

Don’t forget if you have a question about ATC or flying you would like us to answer you can submit your question by email to admin@turningleftforless.com or in the comments below. 

Introduction

Whilst the Heathrow to Tampa flight was chosen for the press flight and celebrations, Virgin Atlantic brought their A330-900neo into service a week earlier on the 27^th of October to Boston Logan. These A330-900neos were ordered in 2019 to replace the airline’s current generation A330s. Virgin ordered 14 of the aircraft with six further options for delivery in 2021.

The pandemic got in the way and the first plane G-VJAZ was only delivered in October 2022. Earlier in the year, the airline announced that it was to take 16 of the type meaning two of the options were converted to full orders. I do have to appreciate the amount of effort that Virgin goes through in naming their aircraft. The last three letters of the registration are always connected to the name. G-VUFO is Lady Stardust and G-VJAZ is named after one of the most famous jazz singers, Billie Holiday.

In interviews, Virgin’s CEO has hinted that the A330 and A350 may be the sole types in the fleet, meaning that the 787s may be returned, in the near future, as they come off lease. The perk about these A330s is that they can be flown by A350 rated pilots with minimal conversion, which helps Virgin behind the scenes meaning one pool of pilots is needed rather than the current duopoly of Boeing and Airbus pilots.

Onboard the product is a major improvement compared to the older A330s which use herringbone style seats, a nightmare for passengers like me to take photos from! The standard Upper Class seat has already been reviewed from the press flight, but I was lucky enough to snag one of the two “Business Plus” products the Retreat Suite!

Booking

Whilst you may assume that booking through Virgin would be the easiest way to purchase this flight, I found it better to use KLM. The booking was less than half the price than if I had booked directly. As part of its joint venture with Air France, KLM and Delta, most transatlantic flights are bookable on all the websites so shopping around doesn’t hurt. You should note however the terms and conditions of each airline can vary, so book carefully.

I had some issues where the issued ticket was different from the one described on the booking engine with a £150 cancellation fee appearing and a business class seat on a Delta A220 coming home booking into the economy cabin! Previously, I have been informed that the cancellation fee is to do with Delta operated flights but it is a poor show to advertise a ticket as fully refundable when it isn’t. KLM were less than helpful in solving the seating issue but I have noted that the seats now book into “Delta One”, it seemed to be limited to the A220.

With regards to the Retreat Suite itself, you have to log into Virgin Atlantic’s site using your booking reference to pick a seat. These suites are available 14 days before departure (one assumes because the aircraft operating the route has been finalised). I logged on both at the beginning of the day and at departure time, but neither were available, it was only when I checked the next day that I saw them available.

My seatmate bought his ten days before departure. The upsell to book these seats is £200 and I would argue it was well worth that. If the seats don’t sell, then they are allocated to high-level Virgin Flying Club members. Some on board, my flight, were disappointed not to have been allocated the suites because they had been bought by me and my seatmate.

Ground Experience

This was my first time flying Virgin Atlantic and, therefore also my first times trying out the Upper Class Wing and the Clubhouse.

I was really impressed with the drop-off area though surprisingly, the three Virgin staff who met us seemed rather surly, which was a surprise. We were checked in with no issues though and headed through to the private security lane, which is a godsend during the chaotic travel times we live in. The one quirk, down to the layout of the airport, is that this does just open out into the terminal unlike BA’s First Wing which empties into the lounge.

The Clubhouse was a really rather impressive lounge with a good selection of food and drink (QR codes at the tables mean you can order from anywhere). There are also good views and activities in the lounge including Peleton bikes as well as an open-air viewing terrace. Virgin really have thought of everything to keep you comfortable and entertained, even going so far as installing a padded bench in the lift to the lounge!

Cabin

The Upper Class cabin consists of 30 new Upper Class seats that have been reviewed already and two of the new Retreat Suite seats. The seats are arranged over eight rows with the Retreat Suites in the centre of Row 1. The new seats are all forward facing and have privacy doors. These seats are very similar to those that you would find on Delta. This makes sense given the ownership stake and close partnership Virgin has with Delta. That said Virgin has put their own colours and touches to the seat that make it very competitive.

At the rear of the cabin is the new seating area The Loft, this replaces the onboard bar and is at door 2 where the boarding is done. Here there are four seats, higher than previous iterations to allow better eye contact with those standing, and two 27-inch televisions that can be watched using Bluetooth-connected headphones.

Disappointingly, until I read the review of the press flight, I didn’t realise that there is also a freezer here with a selection of ice creams available during the flight! At least I know for next time.

Departure

Having shooed away the other avgeeks crowded round my seat taking pictures I was able to settle in. A member of the cabin crew came round and offered welcome drinks, with a selection of water, champagne, orange juice and the signature Ruby Slipper cocktail. I tried the cocktail which was very nice, it’s a combination of champagne and rhubarb and raspberry-flavoured tonic water. The Captain welcomed us onboard with an announcement about the details of the flight, mentioning the fact it was the inaugural flight and introducing herself and her co-pilot who would be operating the flight to Boston.

Impressively, before departure, the passenger in the window seat, managed to lose his phone in the seat and lower the top half of his seat’s door. I thought this was a very ingenious way to get the meal service passed through without opening the door. In actual fact, it was activating the emergency escape mechanism. At least with Virgin’s door the whole thing doesn’t come off the rails like BA’s does and so is easily reset, the phone was reclaimed by the crew after take off.

After climbing away from the northern runway at Heathrow, sadly having to peer across the aisle longingly at my neighbour’s window, the crew passed around again taking a drinks order, this time I had the refreshing cranberry spritz which came with a small bowl of crisps.

Seat/Bed

For a business class seat, the Retreat Suite really is quite incredible. When reclined, the bed is six foot seven inches long which for someone my height is brilliant. It means that when I was laid back I couldn’t touch both the top and bottom of the bed, that’s relatively rare on an aeroplane for me. Even better is because there are no seats in front and the footrest doubles as a chair for buddy dining; there is no tiny cubby where your feet get squashed.

The only minor, and it is minor, complaint I had is that when fully reclined, the width was a little tight for someone my size with their elbows either side of them. This is a common feature of the A330 though given the relatively narrow fuselage. Virgin also provide bedding for the seat though I did not utilise it as I was happily watching my films and trying to enjoy the full experience rather than sleep. I found the seat very comfortable even without the mattress pad that’s provided.

Unlike the standard Upper Class seats, there is plenty of storage with deep bins by the side of the seat, I was able to put my rucksack and coat in one for easy access during the flight. There was still extra space if I needed to store other items. There are also the same storage compartments in the armrest (for the IFE remote) and over your shoulder as in the normal seats with a mirror in each. Behind you is also a wireless charging point which is recessed with a small lip to reduce the likelihood of your device slipping down into your seat or being bashed and a normal plug socket.

There was an amenity kit tucked into the side of the suite and a resealable can of water. The suites, like the rest of the seats in the cabin have doors, these are double doors given the size of the suite and open from both the front and back and meet in the middle. The two suites are not identical and so the big storage compartments are slightly different on each one, mine was by the doors to the suite and my seatmate’s in the middle. He also could not locate his amenity kit as it wasn’t in the same place as mine and seemed to have gone AWOL.

There is always a dire lack of individual air vents on European long-haul services, but amazingly, the Retreat Suite has four per suite, two for your head and two for your feet (or more accurately, your buddy diner). This meant that there were eight vents in the overhead area, more than I have ever seen grouped together on a long-haul plane. In this unit there were also reading lights, one issue I noticed was that if your neighbour either behind or beside you had their overhead light on and you were reclined, it was quite noticeable and distracting, potentially making it harder to sleep without an eyemask as they were really quite bright.

The two Retreat Suites are designed to be combinable a la Q Suites on Qatar. When travelling with a partner with the dividing wall down, the seats feel incredibly spacious. When it is up, however, they definitely feel noticeably smaller though still a lot bigger than standard Upper Class seats. The dividing wall was curious as it was raised electronically by the crew but only actually comes up from your waist to your feet, you then must manually pull out the middle section to fully deploy it. 

I think really, these suites have been designed for a family to eat together. Parents sitting together with children joining for buddy dining.  My seatmate and I kept the divider down for most of the flight as it was more spacious and we were chatting about various planes and first flights we had been on.

These seats really did feel more akin to a First Class product rather than a Business one!

Dinner

One of the interesting things about the Retreat Suite is that the passenger is not meant to operate the tray table. When my seatmate attempted to open his table, the crew rushed over to do it for him. I am still not 100% sure why that was the case, though I think it might have something to do with the release mechanism. He had been able to pull it out halfway, but then it got stuck whereas the crew seemed to push down on it first. Both tables can slide together over the seat divide to form a larger table if you are eating as a group.

The tray table is more traditionally shaped than the ones in the other seats, with no crescent cut-out, given it is intended to be used for buddy dining. One thing I didn’t like about the service itself though was that Virgin only provides a small mat rather than a table cloth to cover the table. If you are buddy dining, it was mentioned that no mat is provided at all. I found this mat too small to comfortably have your food and keep your cutlery off the table.

Whilst this was the inaugural flight, and the table was therefore clean and unused, I’m not sure I would be particularly comfortable keeping cutlery on the table on subsequent flights given how notoriously unclean tray tables tend to become.

When the table was set up, I was given the famous Wilbur and Orville salt and pepper pots shaped liked planes. These are aptly labelled with “Pinched from Virgin Atlantic” on their feet. Interestingly, the sets provided to the Retreat Suite are different from those provided to the standard Upper Class seats. They are maroon rather than silver. (look out for some in the upcoming giveaway!)

As mentioned before, I am new to Virgin Atlantic so did not know that, unlike KLM and their clog salt and pepper pots, they are not sealed in any way. This meant that when I turned one of them over to see the label on the foot, I emptied quite a bit of the contents over myself, so if you ever fly in my seat and find salt everywhere you can blame me, whoops.

Moving past the table and the salt, Virgin’s culinary offerings were good with a choice of two for both starter and dessert and three for the main course. For a starter, I chose to have the chicken parfait. This was a nice change from the standard offerings for a starter and was served with toasted bread and chutney. The serving size was also good as well. A choice of bread rolls was provided as well along with butter.

The main course I picked was the chicken and wild mushroom pie with mashed potato, peas and carrots. This was one of the more unusual main courses I have had on a plane. Overall, it was good and maintained its structural integrity when it was served.

For pudding, I was asked if I wanted the chocolate gateau, but I decided that I would prefer the warm brioche bread and butter pudding. I did think it was quite a small portion for dessert, but it was tasty nonetheless. Afterwards, I asked to have the cheese plate as well as I was still hungry and a plate of three cheeses, grapes, biscuits and chutney was brought to me soon after, all delicious.

Inflight Entertainment/Wifi

Unlike on the press flight (Michele managed to write her 3000-word article on the flight over WiFi), I was not at all impressed with the wifi, but I think it should be put down to teething issues. It only worked for the first and last hours and nothing in between. Helpfully Virgin did make the Full Flight pass available for free, though interestingly, the hour long passes still had a price on it so careful not to buy it when you can get it for free, at least for the inaugural season.

When it was working, however, I was quite impressed. It was smooth and rather quick to load the webpages I was looking for.

Where the Retreat Suite excels is in the IFE department. The TV is giant at 27 inches. For comparison, Spirit Airlines in the US gives you one more inch of seat pitch in their standard economy than the size of this TV! This is about 10 inches bigger than the screen in the standard Upper Class seat. The screen is a touch screen, though I would be impressed if anyone could touch it whilst still wearing their seatbelt given how far it is from your seat.

The controller is clever in that you control it using a carbon tracking pad with your finger to move the cursor on the screen. I also really like how the remote displays the remaining flight time on the route. You can also pair your phone or other device to the system to use as a control. I found the built-in controller was more than suitable though.

The entertainment selection was varied as well. I was able to finally watch AmbuLAnce, a movie I have been wanting to see for months and Downton Abbey, a New Era. As well as newer movies, there were older films, including the very relevant to the destination The Town, about Boston bank robbers, available as well so you should be able to find something interesting to watch.

The airline’s complimentary headsets are stored in one of the storage compartments over your shoulder, which some of the other passengers struggle to find, and are wrapped by a paper envelope where Virgin hopes you will leave spare change. Much like the remote, it was possible to pair your own headphones to the entertainment system which is probably recommended if you have a particularly good pair.

Second Meal

Surprisingly, at least to me, Virgin Atlantic doesn’t actually have a second formal meal service. Instead, they have a light bites menu that can be ordered at any point. Given I had stayed awake the entire flight to try and enjoy the Suite as much as possible, I was pleased that a member of the cabin crew came over and asked me if he could get me anything to eat. I opted for the chicken Caesar salad sandwich which came with a side of crisps.

When it came, it looked like Virgin had only given me a quarter of a sandwich, but it turned out it was two that were stuck together. I also asked if I could try the cream tea option which came with two scones, one plain and one caramel, clotted cream, strawberry jam and salted caramel spread. It was absolutely delicious! I really liked the second meal service, although the sandwich by itself may not have been enough to keep me from being hungry.

I emptied the rest of the salt from Wilbur into the empty jam jar so that I wouldn’t get it all over my bags when I took Virgin’s advice and pinched them. The pepper, however, didn’t empty out as easily so Orville still contains its contents. (if you ask the crew they will empty them or bring something to wrap them in). 

Arrival/Entry Experience

During the descent, the purser came over to the Retreat Suites and handed me and my seatmate a pack of Virgin Atlantic playing cards each. The jack, queen and king are some of the nose art figures that adorn the Virgin jets. I thought this was a really nice touch. The crew also came round with sweets before landing, a throwback to the bygone era when pressurisation systems were not as good, and you got sweets to suck on to equalise your ears.

The crew seemed to be in no rush to take their seats, and in fact, those of us in row one advised them just how low we were from looking out the windows. It’s the first flight I have ever been on where at least one of the crew was not safely sat in their seats for landing. Famous last words of “If I’m at least in my seat when the wheels touch down, it will be fine” followed almost instantly by the wheels touching down. At least it was a very smooth and gentle landing, with no injuries occurring, kudos to the pilots for that.

I (and a couple of other passengers) had hoped to get some pictures of the flight deck once disembarkation started, but the Captain’s family came to say hello to her and obviously got first dibs, they stayed in there until we were shooed off the plane by the purser, so, sadly no photos.

There were no queues at passport control which was good, but the border guard we had wasn’t the friendliest. As is sometimes the case at the US border, they can be a bit surly and a little devoid of humour, this one tried to be funny several times but sorely missed the mark. Baggage reclaim was quick and the bag was already on the belt when I got there allowing for a quick pickup and for us to head to the taxi rank without delay.

Bottom Line

I have to say, I really enjoyed my flight with Virgin. I hadn’t been sure what to expect when I booked my flight. I did feel that despite their marketing hype, the airline isn’t all that different from any of the others. Enjoyable, but no more memorable than others I have flown with. Maybe this is because the celebrations and onboard party were reserved for the Tampa press flight.

What I will say is the new Upper Class cabin is a real step up from previous iterations, particularly the herringbone design on the A330 and whilst I haven’t flown Virgin’s version, I have flown a similar product on Air Canada. The cabin is inherently more comfortable and private.

The Retreat Suite is a brilliant product, particularly considering the marginal upsell, but it remains unclear to me whether it will be a success long term given the fact there are only two of them on each plane and the booking process is a bit chaotic. If you are on a plane equipped with one though, I would highly recommend them for the extra space, storage and buddy dining opportunities you get.

The post Virgin Atlantic A330-900neo Maiden Flight Review – Retreat Suite appeared first on Turning left for less.

I am currently writing this onboard Virgin Atlantic’s new A330neo, which only went into service a week ago. It’s even still got that new plane smell!

This was a press trip with Virgin to celebrate the launch of their new A330 and the first flight to Tampa in Florida. In future articles, I’ll be reviewing the new The Edition hotel by Marriott in Tampa which is the only 5* hotel in the city, and talking a bit about Tampa and the surrounding area.

Check-in

I decided to go through the Upper Class Wing which is a step above BA’s First Wing in that you drive right up to the entrance. You don’t have to call ahead anymore like you used to. 

Your car takes a separate entrance before T3 and when you arrive, you give your name and destination. Then when you pull up the staff are waiting for you. It’s definitely one of the most VIP arrivals you can have.

Even though I hadn’t been able to do online check-in, it still only took a few minutes to get through security and I was airside within 5 minutes from getting out of the car.

Virgin have its own security channel, which with the issues at T3 currently, was very welcome.

The lounge

While oneworld has a great choice of lounges, Virgin’s Clubhouse is still the best business class lounge at Heathrow in my opinion and is well up there globally too. The lounge is H and is signposted once you go past the main shopping area.

The lounge is situated along the main row of lounges at T3 and you can take the lift or the grand staircase up to it. On arrival, I was asked if I have visited before. If you haven’t, the staff will give you a quick low down on where everything is and, if it’s quiet, even give you a short orientation.

It was great to see a selection of real papers and magazines which most airlines have ditched since the pandemic.

Sadly I was there at breakfast time again so I can only bring you my breakfast choices.

Here is the menu:

My egg arrived very quickly and was perfectly cooked with some tasty salmon. As well as the menu you can also go up to the deli which has things such as cereals, pastries, fruit salad and smoked salmon if you want to grab something quickly.

The spa has not returned to the lounge, which is the same with most other airlines. I do hope that they come back to premium travel again in the future, as I used to love the Virgin one.

Instead, they have three Peloton bikes and some extra seating that is perfect for a selfie (I’ve named it influencer corner!).

Boarding

Although the lounges at T3 are amazing, the long walks to the gates are less amazing, so I advise lots of time if you don’t want to rush. Luckily this one wasn’t too far, and the walkways were all working. I got some great views of “Billie Holliday” with the sun rising in the background.

Being in Upper Class, I was invited to board first. Virgin does not use boarding groups but invites Upper Class to board anytime along with Virgin Flying Club Gold members. We had a separate entrance for Upper Class, which always leads to a sense of occasion. Once onboard, I headed to my seat in 6K and found that there was already a washbag on my seat.

Before take-off, we were offered a choice of champagne, orange juice or water.

A can of water was already at the seat (which had a way to close it once open) along with their washbag nicknamed a “Goodie bag”. Inside were the standard Virgin contents with Ren moisturiser, lip balm and hand cream. There were also socks (shame the jazzy ones have gone), toothbrush, toothpaste, pen and ear plugs.

The cabin and new seats

This is Virgin’s second new seat in recent years, with the A350 having a slightly different seat. Virgin took the feedback from the A350 and has really upped its design for this new seat. The seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration with aisle access for all seats.

Being an A330, they are slightly limited in their choice of seats since it is a narrower frame than most wide-body aircraft.

In this case, all seats are not created equal as there is a special suite called the Retreat that is situated at the front of the aircraft, which I will go into later. Ed, the pilot, our latest team member, will be doing a full review of his Retreat suite flight on the first flight to Boston very soon.

The regular seats are also not exactly the same as the window seats alternate by being either up against the window with the console table to the left or vice versa. I much prefer being by the window as a) I can look out of the window more easily and b) it’s more private, and there is less chance of being disturbed as people walk past your suite.

However, the seats with the console away from the door have an extra storage area, so you may want to bear this in mind. For those of us who are not as svelte as we may wish to be, I would also recommend the seats with the console away from the entrance as otherwise, it could be a squeeze to get in.

The seat has slightly more storage than the A350, with soft items being able to be stored in the ottoman area under the seat in front.

There is a small cupboard for your headphones that you could fit some small items into. Those are the only options prior to take off. Once you have taken off, you have the whole console area, a magazine rack that would fit even a fairly large laptop. There is a handy area underneath this cupboard as I managed to fit most of my bits and pieces, like the washbag, toiletries etc, in here. There is also a decent size mirror. Underneath, it says “Well, don’t you look lovely?” After a quick glance into it halfway through the flight and having got up at 4am, I’m pretty sure it was being sarcastic!

The seat is controlled by a simple panel, and I’m pleased to report there was a separately controlled leg rest. I’m 5ft 6in, and it took quite a lot of reclining to reach the ottoman, so I was pleased that I could be more upright and have the leg rest up, which was very comfortable. The area leading to the ottoman is also sloped so that gives a comfortable place to out your feet partially up too.

The bed goes into a flat position which feels spacious even with your legs under the seat in front due to the curve of the under-seat space. You get a very nice mattress topper which actually gives some good padding, unlike some that merely pay lip service to comfort. The pillow is large and well padded, plus there is a nice soft quilt that seemed thinner than before. I did sometimes find the more duvet-type cover a bit warm, but this was about right.

With the doors closed, it was not claustrophobic at all and felt cosy for getting some sleep.

I only had a brief lie down on this flight, but I’ll talk more about sleeping comfort on the return journey since it’s a night flight. However, I was really surprised by the comfort of the seat. As you know, I am super fussy about hard seats for sleeping and being a brand new plane that was yet to be broken in, I feared the worst. But – it wasn’t hard at all, and even without the mattress topper, it was perfectly comfortable. The mattress topper has to be the best in business class. It’s really thick and has an elasticated top and bottom to fix in position. No more waking up to find it in a bunch underneath you!

I’m a side sleeper and felt there was plenty of room, but I’d suggest the same configuration I had with the console on the aisle. That extra bit of room between the seat and the fuselage by the window makes a difference. There was enough room for my knees and legs, plus at shoulder height too. The only complaint would be the controls that are on the side so you can reach them from bed are easy to knock accidentally and turn the TV on. The seat goes very low when in bed mode, so I see why they put them there.

The good news on this A330 is that there are air vents above each seat that you can control, so if you find it too hot, you can cool down with them. Sadly, many aircraft no longer feature individual air vents.

The table is a huge improvement to the A350 but is still large and reasonably stable, though slightly more bouncy than the previous very sturdy A350 version. It features a clever curve to the edge, which should accommodate every size of person (unlike their seat belts that are the tightest I have ever had in all the flights I have taken, even when I was carrying my post-Covid weight!).

You can see all the seat dimensions here:

The Retreat

We will be doing a separate review of the Retreat, but I thought it was worth mentioning as it has much more storage and space than the other seats. You can reserve these from 14 days before departure for an extra supplement from £200pp. It will only be offered to those that are already booked.

It comprises a 6ft7” seat to fully flat bed and a 27” touchscreen with Bluetooth connectivity and wireless charging. Each suite also has an ottoman that doubles up as an extra seat, up to four people can comfortably dine, chat or play games in their own private space.  This is not dissimilar to Qatar’s QSuite which can be configured in a 4 seater, but this means you can get 4 people in two seats in effect with the use of an ottoman. However, unlike the QSuite they can’t be configured as a double bed.

The Loft

This is Virgin’s answer to the bar that they have on older aircraft. It is less disruptive to passengers being behind the Upper cabin rather than in it like the bar. However, although it’s a lovely space, I have generally noticed it gets less used than the bar, which makes it a bit less of a social experience. I would suspect it is probably more lively if they were showing something on the screen which you can listen to by pairing your headset.

They do, however, have a great reason to pay it a visit even if you don’t feel like being social – the ice cream freezer and a drinks fridge!

Food and drink

Shortly after take-off I was presented with a menu and the cabin crew member looking after me introduced herself. The food service started with the offer of a drink. There were several cocktails to chose from, but I went for a bloody Mary. I asked for it spicy, but sadly it was a little bland. I did love the crisps that they served with it. These were some seriously posh crisps – truffle and rosemary. They were very moreish as the flavours were very subtle, which makes a nice change from most truffle-flavoured foods, which are usually very overpowering.

Here is the menu and drinks list:

The beetroot starter was a pleasant surprise being full of fresh flavours and even edible flowers. There was cooked and raw beetroot of various varieties, and the goat’s cheese was one of the fresh ones, so full of creamy lemony flavour rather than being overpoweringly “goaty”.

For the main course I decided to try the pie, as that is hard to achieve well on an aircraft. I’ll admit it doesn’t look that pretty as the pie had somewhat collapsed, but it tasted a lot better than it looked. I liked that you got a little dinky jug of sauce, so it didn’t make it soggy. This feels more like a first-class addition. The pie had good quality tender chicken with a slight hint of tarragon along with plenty of sauce, and the colcannon mash was creamy. Overall it was filling and tasty.

For dessert, I decided to go for the hot dessert as, generally, Virgin excel at these. Usually, they go around with the cheese trolley, but due to all the annoying journalists like me blocking the aisles, they just hand-ran it, so I did not get a shot of the cheese. The bread and butter pudding was good but maybe could have done with something sharp or fruity to give it some contrast. There was also a jug of cream to pour over for some extra indulgence.

Before landing, we were served a light snack. I was tempted by the afternoon tea, which is designed by Eric Lanlard, a well-known pastry chef. However, the fish finger butty was also calling my name – Virgin you need to stop making it so hard to decide! In the end, I have already reviewed the afternoon tea so I thought I would try the posh fillet of fish. It’s quite small, but for me, it was just about right. There was a little too much greenery to be able to eat it delicately, but it tasted delicious with lashings of tartare sauce inside. A real comfort food treat!

Entertainment, Wi-Fi and charging

The technology on the aircraft is impressive. with Bluetooth-enabled entertainment systems, their fastest ever Wi-Fi, a greater number of USB connections and wireless charging in Premium and Upper Class.

As well as the wireless charging there are also two USB sockets, a USB C and a multi-country socket. Even someone with multiple devices could charge them all at once!

You can pair your headphones with the entertainment system, although you do get noise-cancelling headphones provided. I found these pretty decent and fairly comfortable, but I must admit it’s great being able to pair your own headphones, especially if you have spent a lot of money on a really good pair.

You can also pair your phone or tablet to be able to use it as a remote. It gives you access to most of the onscreen functions, such as the call bell, lights and entertainment. I was surprised by how easy it was to use (there was a little bit of faff to get it paired, but it was relatively straightforward). It was also very responsive, which is unusual as often they lag. You use it a bit like a touchpad on a laptop to highlight something and then just tap to select it.

As is usually the case with Virgin, there were plenty of recent films and TV shows to watch as well as older options you may have missed. I watched “Where the Crawdads sing” which I would recommend.

The screen was a decent size at 17.3”. You could also control the entertainment by touching the screen or the remote, which was also like a touchpad. I liked again that it was simple and responsive. Plus it was handy having flight time remaining displayed when the TV was off.

Virgin claims that this is their best Wi-Fi yet, and I would agree. It was extremely easy and quick to connect, whereas I have often struggled in the past. Best of all, it was pretty fast, considering there were 30 journalists all trying to use it. It was certainly enough to write this article on board and upload some photos. For the first two months, Wi-Fi is free on the A330neo, and then it will be the standard Virgin pricing. 

Conclusion

This is an impressive product from a comfort and technology point of view in particular. I’ll reserve final judgement until I’ve had a full night flight, but I found the seat surprisingly roomy when in bed mode and soft enough to be comfortable even without a mattress topper. Whether working or lounging, it was all very comfortable.  There is also everything a tech geek could dream of, from Bluetooth headset pairing to USB C ports.

My only real criticism would be there could be more storage for pre-departure, but on the A330 with this particular seat, there is not a lot that Virgin could do to add additional storage. Once we had departed there was plenty of room to keep everything out.

Routes with the A330

The A330 is scheduled to be on Tampa, Boston, Miami and New York.

Boston

Virgin Atlantic has scheduled A330neo service to Logan Airport with six weekly flights, the schedule is as follows:

Flight VS 11 LHR 16:25 – BOS 20:20

Flight VS 12 BOS 22:50 – LHR 09:30+1Tampa (TPA)

Tampa

Four times a week and from November 28 increases to daily flights, the itinerary is as follows:

Flight VS 129 LHR 13:25 – TPA 19:35

Flight VS 130 TPA 21:50 – LHR 10:15+1

 Miami

One of the two daily services to Miami (MIA) will be operated on Airbus A330neo, the aircraft will make its debut on this route on November 13, from December it will offer five times a week, and moves to daily flights from January 20, 2023, the schedule is as follows:

Flight VS 5 LHR 12:20 – MIA 18:40

Flight VS 6 MIA 20:40 – LHR 09:20+1

New York

The Airbus A330neo will have a special flight on November 7 on VS9/VS10 flights and becomes scheduled service from March 6, 2023 with six flights per week, the schedule is as follows:

Flight VS 3 LHR 08:55 – JFK 13:15

Flight VS 4 JFK 19:30 – LHR 06:30+1

You can find more information and fares on virginatlantic.com

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From today, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Virgin Red members who use Virgin Points to buy or upgrade to a Virgin Atlantic reward seat for any future travel between the UK, USA and Caribbean destinations before 25 March 2023 will see their account credited with 50% of the Virgin Points that they used, 28 days after they have travelled. 

The discount applies to all classes of travel.  You must book by 7 November and depart by 25 March 2023. 

A reward seat is when you use Virgin Points to cover the full airfare of your Virgin Atlantic flight or upgrade with points, so all you need to pay for are the taxes, fees and carrier-imposed surcharges – which vary according to destination, season and cabin. So cash plus points bookings are not eligible. 

It is worth noting that the taxes and fees have risen dramatically over the last year and are often over £800. New York return costs a whopping £988! However, when you offset with the 50% off points it makes them much better value. 

There is more good news in that you can use this offer with the Virgin Atlantic Mastercard vouchers for upgrades and companion tickets. That makes it extremely good value. 

Don’t forget that Virgin now have taken delivery of their new A330neo which I will be reviewing next week and has a new Upper Class suite.

Obviously, another issue will be that this is not a strictly 50% off promotion as you need to have the points in the first place, and the 50% refund will take up to 28 days from your return to credit to your account. 

If you don’t have enough there is currently a special offer for up to  a 70% bonus on buying Virgin points. 

Virgin Atlantic guarantees a minimum of 12 reward seats on every flight – eight in Economy Classic, two in Premium and two in Upper Class.

To be able to purchase a reward seat, Virgin Red members need to be a member of both Virgin Red and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.   It’s free to join Virgin Red, and it offers lots more options to earn and redeem points than Virgin’s Flying Club. There is also 500 points free for joining currently. You will need to link your Virgin red account with your Flying Club account. 

You can find the offer page here.

Richard X Moore, Director of Partnerships at Virgin Red, says: “This is a fantastic offer, allowing members to get more out of their Virgin Points than ever before and we really encourage them to take advantage of it! The points saved can be used on hundreds of rewards, across Virgin Red and Flying Club, from everyday treats to extraordinary experiences or even another flight!”  

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I am here at the World Aviation Festival in Amsterdam, listening to some of the top leaders in airlines and airports discuss travel. Today I caught up with Anthony Woodman, VP of Customer Journeys and Rewards at Virgin Atlantic, to ask about the future for Flying Club members after the airline announced it planned to join Skyteam in early 2023.

Virgin Atlantic has always been known for being innovative with their airline, and they proved this earlier in the pandemic by offering customers the chance to gain tier points on reward flights. I hadn’t realised that they also launched a new initiative to try to personalise their premium customers’ journeys. By trying to understand what their customers are looking for from their trip, such as catching up on sleep, celebrating a special occasion etc, Virgin share this information with the various points the customer will interact with staff such as the Clubhouse, in case they can help enhance the experience.

They have also launched welcome cards for their most loyal customers in Upper Class but may expand this further. Although it’s a small thing, I had something similar on Cathay First and was really touched by how they had personalised it to my trip. It’s probably a nicer way than a slightly awkward conversation with cabin crew that have been told to welcome you as an Elite member.

Virgin are trying to do small things that all add up to a big impact across your journey. I often think it is the little touches that can mean a lot. I was also pleased to hear that Virgin’s meal pre-order includes an expanded choice for Upper Class customers which means customers aren’t disappointed and there is less waste. While this follows in the footsteps of Singapore’s “Book the Cook” it’s great to see it on Virgin.

Are any changes to Flying Club planned in the light of the Skyteam announcement?

Anthony said that at present, there were no changes to the Flying Club planned. For Virgin, joining Skyteam was the next step to formalise what was already in place with their partners Delta, Air France and KLM. But by joining Skyteam it will make it simpler for members rather than several different agreements. When a Virgin Flying Club member with status enters any airport, they will instantly recognise the Skyteam Priority signs for them, rather than having to understand agreements with lots of individual airlines. 

Are you planning to review your existing partner airlines, such as Singapore Airlines, in light of the addition of Skyteam membership?

Anthony indicated that Virgin Flying Club had no plans to review its partner airlines in light of the airline joining Skyteam. However, each airline contract is agreed upon and reviewed regularly, so obviously, there is never a guarantee that any partnership continues if airlines wanted to end the agreement.

This is good news as that means that by being a member of Virgin Atlantic, you will not only be able to earn and redeem on all the Skyteam airlines but there are also some great airlines for other alliances that you can use. For example, the first time I made Gold on Virgin, a large part of my flying was actually on Singapore Airlines. As Virgin are a relatively small airline, this allows you the freedom to remain loyal no matter where you are flying. ANA business and first redemptions are also one of the great value redemptions in airline loyalty, if hard to get!

Do you anticipate Skyteam airlines redemption flights being bookable online like KLM/Air France and Delta?

Other than the main Delta/Air France/KLM partners, most partner redemptions can’t be booked online. Are you planning to improve this for members?

From now onwards, Virgin will ensure that any new partner airlines (not including Skyteam) will have the ability to redeem flights online. Ideally, they would like to move more airlines to online redemptions (it’s in Virgin’s interest too, since it is more cost-efficient for them to have online redemptions). However, they are reliant on partner airlines being willing and able to share the ability to provide online redemptions. 

With companies like Seat Spy and Reward Flight Finder using airline data to provide a service to your customers, do you see scope for you to provide this as a benefit?

I asked this question to a group of airline loyalty managers, and they all agreed this was an area they needed to look at. Obviously, this is fulfilling a customer requirement that the airlines aren’t providing, so it leaves scope for airlines to look at doing something similar themselves.

While you may think that airlines would rather you didn’t redeem your miles, they still drive revenue from them (just looks at the premium taxes and charges!). So not only do they miss out on revenue if you can’t redeem your miles, but it also makes you less like to be bothered engaging in the loyalty scheme and thereby defeating the object of it. 

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With Virgin Atlantic announcing on Tuesday that it would be joining the Skyteam alliance, I thought it was worth a quick overview of what the different levels of status mean.

As a reminder, here is what Virgin said about how the Virgin Flying Club tiers would match to Skyteam.

• Virgin Atlantic Silver Card holders will be SkyTeam Elite Members
• Gold Card members will become Skyteam Elite Plus.

Overview of Skyteam

Skyteam is the smallest of the three alliances, but after oneworld, it will now become much more useful for those living near UK regional airports as well as those near the major ones. Air France/KLM were already partners with Virgin but now that’s taken a step further when Virgin become part of Skyteam. Both Air France and KLM offer good regional connections and some decent value fares.

• Destinations: 1,150+
• Countries: 175+
• Lounges: 750+
• SkyTeam Partners
  • Aeroflot (temporarily suspended)
  • ITA Airways
  • Aerolineas Argentinas
  • Kenya Airways
  • Aeromexico
  • KLM
  • Air Europa
  • Korean Air
  • Air France
  • Middle East Airlines
  • Delta Air Lines
  • Saudia Airlines
  • China Airlines
  • Tarom
  • China Eastern
  • Vietnam Airlines
  • Czech Airlines
  • Xiamen Airlines
  • Garuda Indonesia

Which Skyteam scheme should I join?

So far, Virgin has not announced any changes to how you attain elite status with them. Once you get status with Virgin, then you will receive the equivalent status in Skyteam, which means you can get benefits on any Skyteam airline. You will also be able to redeem and earn miles on any Skyteam airline. But should you stick with Virgin’s Flying Club or branch out?

Which Skyteam scheme you should join all depends on your aim. If you simply collect miles through mainly non-flying, you are probably better off sticking with Virgin. That’s because the opportunities for someone UK based to do this are much greater with Virgin Red, the Virgin Atlantic Mastercard and the Shops Away Flying Club shopping. There are currently a wide selection of partners too including Singapore Airlines, that you would not get with other Skyteam airlines.

With Air France/KLM you can collect Flying Blue miles by transferring from Amex Membership Rewards, but there are fewer perks compared to having a Virgin Mastercard.

If you are a frequent flyer, you are usually better joining the scheme of the airline you most travel with. That’s because, in times of disruption or getting upgrades, they will favour their own status members. 

However, Flying Blue does have one big advantage, its monthly promotions called Promo Rewards that offer discounted redemption tickets on certain routes. This can be as much as 50% off. The destinations change every month but they are all t start or end in Europe. You can view the current list of Promo Rewards on the Flying Blue website

Status Levels

Unlike oneworld there are only two levels of status with Skyteam. Fortunately, that marries up well with Virgin that also only have two tiers.

The tiers are:

• SkyTeam Elite
• SkyTeam Elite Plus

Benefits

SkyTeam Tier – Elite     

• Priority Reservation Waitlist/Standby
• Preferred Seating
• Priority Check-In Counters
• Priority Boarding
• Extra Baggage Allowance – 10kg extra or 1 extra piece depending on the system in use
• Priority Baggage Drop-Off

Skyteam tier – Elite Plus

• Priority Reservation Waitlist/Standby
• Preferred Seating
• Priority Check-In Counters
• Priority Boarding
• Extra Baggage Allowance – 20kg extra or 1 extra piece depending on the system in use
• Priority Baggage Drop-Off
• Priority Baggage Handling
• Guaranteed Reservation on Sold-Out Flights – guaranteed full-fare Y-class reservations on sold-out long-haul flights, at least 24 hours prior to departure.
• Airport Lounge Access – regardless of class flown and includes one guest
• Priority Security Lanes (Select Airports)
• Priority Immigration Lanes (Select Airports)
• SkyPriority Recognition
• Priority Transfer Desks

There are some annoying exclusions apply to the benefits. Preferred seating on Delta flights isn’t available if you are traveling in basic economy. On Air France, preferred seats are only available for elite members traveling on full-fare, Y-fare and B-fare tickets.

SkyTeam Lounge access

SkyTeam provides “Exclusive Lounges” at the following airports (there are some others but they have closed during Covid and not reopened). 

• Dubai (DXB): Terminal 1, Concourse D
• Sydney (SYD): International Terminal, Pier B (East) next to gate 24
• Vancouver (YVR): West wing of the International Concourse D, near gate 53
• Istanbul (IST): west wing on Level H
• Santiago (EZE): Terminal 2 Pier E

Lounge access is only guaranteed on international flights when not travelling in business or first. As usual, there are various exclusions on some lounges, so it is best to use the Skyteam lounge finder here. When bringing a guest, they must be on a Skyteam flight, but they don’t have to be on the same flight as the Elite Plus member.

Redeeming for Skyteam airlines

Once Virgin join in 2023, your Virgin Points can also be redeemed across the entire SkyTeam network. At present, we do not know whether the redemption rates will stay the same for Delta, Air France and KLM, which are already Virgin partners. We also don’t know what the earning and redemption rates will be for other Skyteam airlines if you credit to Virgin.

You can find the current rates for redeeming Air France through Virgin here and KLM here.

When it comes to finding availability, you can already check Air France, KLM and Delta redemptions online through Virgin Flying Club. However, often for Air France/KLM it will show availability and then won’t allow you to book. This can usually be done by calling an agent, it doesn’t mean the seats arten’t available.

One of the airlines that I am most excited about being able to redeem on is Vietnam Airlines. They have modern business class seats, a decent route network and great crew.

For other airlines, the KLM version of Flying Blue is the easiest to use to search availability. If you book with Flying Blue they allow you to place a hold on tickets usually which is another reason to consider them over Virgin’s Flying Club. 

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Today there was a large press conference for Virgin Atlantic headed by Shai Weiss, the airline’s CEO.

I’m currently in Hawaii, so sadly missed out on the rather swanky breakfast at London’s Gherkin. But it’s definitely good news!

Virgin Atlantic announced that they will definitely be joining Skyteam. The airline could not give an exact date but said it was aiming for January 2023. 

Skyteam consists of many useful airlines such as Air France, Delta and KLM as well as some slightly more random ones. Virgin already had an agreement allowing their Flying Club members to use their points on KLM, Air France and Delta so this is the next logical step. It will be interesting to see exactly how it intergrates with Skyteam as the rates for using Virgin miles on Air France/KLM is currently pretty high on long haul compared to redeeming on Virgin, for example. 

Virgin Atlantic will become SkyTeam’s first and only UK member airline, enhancing the alliance’s transatlantic network and services to and from Heathrow and Manchester Airport.

Virgin Atlantic customers will have more opportunities to earn and redeem points across member airlines and access to a network of 750+ airport lounges, spanning six continents.

The airline’s Flying Club members will enjoy significant benefits from the day of joining, with a global expansion of its loyalty offering. Virgin Atlantic Silver Card holders will be recognised as SkyTeam Elite Members, whilst the airline’s Gold Card members will become Elite Plus.  This recognition provides a raft of benefits, including priority check in, baggage handling and boarding. Flying Club members will be able to take advantage of the benefits as soon as Virgin Atlantic officially enrols in SkyTeam, which is expected in early 2023. 

Virgin Atlantic’s entry into the alliance builds upon the success of its transatlantic joint venture partnership with Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM, each already long-established SkyTeam members. The four partners are co-located at London Heathrow’s Terminal Three, alongside existing SkyTeam members Aeromexico and China Eastern, providing customers with smooth airside transits and the most convenient connections times possible.

We don’t know whether this will affect the partners they already have, such as ANA and Singapore, that are not part of Skyteam. Currently, you can already book Air France, KLM and Delta redemptions online with Virgin but their other partners require a phonecall. It will be interesting to see whether you will be able to book redemptions on all Skyteam members online when they join.

Shai Weiss, CEO Virgin Atlantic, commented,

“At Virgin Atlantic we strive to create thoughtful experiences that feel different for our customers and SkyTeam shares that customer first ethos. 2022 marks the year Virgin Atlantic gets back to its best for our customers and people and joining SkyTeam is an important milestone. Our membership will allow us to enhance established relationships with our valued partners at Delta and Air France-KLM, as well as opening up opportunities to collaborate with new airlines. It will enable a seamless customer experience, with an expanded network and maximised loyalty benefits.”

Walter Cho, SkyTeam Chairman said,

“Virgin Atlantic is synonymous with innovation and excellent service, an iconic British airline with a global outlook that puts customers at the heart of its operations – like SkyTeam and its members – and we are delighted to welcome them into our alliance

Obviously, it will mean you may want to look at other Skyteam airlines to see which may give the best loyalty options for your Virgin travel instead of the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. I will take an in-depth look at Skyteam in the coming week. 

Here is the full list of Skyteam members:

Aerolíneas Argentinas
Aeromexico
Air Europa
Air France
China Airlines
China Eastern
Czech Airlines
Delta Air Lines
Garuda Indonesia
ITA Airways
Kenya Airways
KLM
Korean Air
Middle East Airlines
Saudia
TAROM
Vietnam Airlines
XiamenAir

What do you think about the move? Would it encourage you to favour Virgin over other airlines? Let us know in the comments below.

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Today I had the pleasure of attending Virgin Atlantic’s launch party for its new aircraft, the A330neo. The aircraft will gradually replace their A330-300s and will be 11% more efficient and 50% quieter than its predecessor in terms of airport contour noise. 

The airline’s Upper Class cabin boasts a brand new seat, an evolution of its social space, the Loft and the unveiling of The Retreat Suite, the most spacious suite in Virgin Atlantic’s history.

As well as new seats, those travelling in Premium and Upper Class can take advantage of in-seat wireless charging, whilst customers in every cabin can enjoy a greater number of USB connections including USB-C, Bluetooth enabled entertainment systems so you can pair your own headphones (love this feature!) and the airline’s fastest ever Wi-Fi. 

In 2019, Virgin Atlantic became the first UK airline to announce a firm order for up to 16 Airbus A330neos. It’s been a long wait, but now they have revealed what we can expect from the new aircraft.

Virgin has put a lot of investment in fleet transformation over the last decade and now operates a fleet with the average aircraft age of just under seven years and 68% next-generation aircraft. This increases to 100% next generation by the beginning of 2027.  

Virgin Atlantic’s A330neo is expected to take off to Boston on its first customer flight in early October. Tickets will go on sale later this month. From September 2022, the airline will take delivery of three aircraft, with the remaining deliveries following between 2023 and 2026.

Upper Class

The Retreat Suite is brand new for Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class offering and consists of two exclusive suites at the front of the cabin.  These are extremely spacious – it almost feels a bit like Qatar’s First class in terms of layout. It comprises a 6ft7” seat to fully flat bed and a 27” touchscreen with Bluetooth connectivity and wireless charging. Each suite also has an ottoman that doubles up as an extra seat, up to four people can comfortably dine, chat or play games in their own private space.  This is not dissimilar to Qatar’s QSuite which can be configured in a 4 seater, but this means you can get 4 people in two seats in effect with the use of an ottoman. However, unlike the QSuite they can’t be configured as a double bed. 

The Retreat Suite featured lots of storage and felt very spacious indeed when I sat in it. There were two large bins which is way more than most other business class products I can think of. It’s a bit like a business-first type of seat or perhaps the Mint Studio by Jet Blue. 

It will be very interesting to see how the Retreat Suites are priced and whether you can book them on points. It will only be bookable 14 days before the flight and will be offered to customers already booked. It’s estimated to cost around £200pp for the Retreat but we don’t know the exact figures yet. 

In addition to The Retreat Suite, the A330neo will offer 30 brand new Upper Class suites.  These are all forward-facing suites which offer more space and storage alongside a fully closing privacy door, which has another of my favourite feature – a ‘do not disturb’ feature. 

It has passenger-controlled mood lighting, 17.3” touchscreen TV and even a mirror so you check for bed head when you wake up!

The airline’s social space, The Loft, remains and is where you board the aircraft. It’s a shame as personally I preferred the bar but the loft means less disturbance for other passnegers (and less partying!) The A330neo version consists of space for eight people, with four seats. I did like the addition of the new self-service fridge and drinks dispenser.  That’s great, even if you just want to stretch your legs and grab a drink. You can also connect Bluetooth headphones to the dual panoramic 27” touchscreens or utilise the wireless charging facilities. On the A350 flight I did there was no one using the Loft but hopefully, things like the tasting experiences I have mentioned before may encourage its use. 

Premium Economy

The A330neo cabin will consist of 46 seats.  The seats are basically the same with a 38” pitch remain, but they’re accompanied by calf rests in every seat and a 13.3” touchscreen with Bluetooth audio.  The airline is also offering its Premium customers an in-seat wireless charging pad. This is interesting as it looks like as one pair of seats share a charging pad in the middle. Given the armrest wars with middle seats, this could prove to be the source of some conflict if one person has a large phone!

Economy

The aircraft will feature the largest ever economy screen at 13.3”, with an intuitive touchscreen and Bluetooth audio to connect headphones, with customers able to use their phone as a controller.  There’s also plenty of storage, plus AC power and USB ports to keep gadgets energised.  Customers can choose between 28 Economy Delight seats, which offer an increased 34” seat pitch, or 156 Economy Classic seats, providing a 31” pitch.

Corneel Koster, Chief Customer and Operating Officer at Virgin Atlantic, commented;

“When it comes to innovating for our customers, we never stand still.  Our desire to create memorable experiences means we’ll continue to imagine with fresh ideas. We care about every detail of the cabin design and every step of our customer’s journey. We’re proud to unveil our state of the art A330neo and show the evolution of our customer experience, with each of our customers receiving a premium experience regardless of the cabin they travel in. They’ll be better connected with their fellow travellers and our amazing crew in the air, and with their friends and family on the ground.

“The A330neo plays a significant role in our multi billion dollar fleet transformation, demonstrating our commitment to the planet. We know the most impactful thing we can do as an airline is to fly the cleanest, greenest, youngest fleet possible and the A330neo is integral to achieving this goal. It’s truly a plane for the future.”

Virgin Atlantic in-house Design team worked in collaboration with Factorydesign to develop the Retreat Suite, Upper Class Suite and The Loft.

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I noticed on TLFL’s Facebook group recently that there was quite a bit of confusion about the upgrade and companion vouchers for Virgin’s credit card. So I thought I would go over that again in this article as well as the changes.

More reward seats available

Virgin Atlantic is following BA’s lead and guaranteeing a minimum number of reward seats when they are released at midnight 330 days in advance. These will be:

• Two seats in Upper Class
• Two seats in Premium
• Eight seats in Economy

They will also be releasing extra top-up seats to the same minimum amount for all flights after 29 July unless the flight is sold out or they had already released that many reward seats for the flight. These changes take effect at midnight on 29 June so if you have been looking for seats it could be worth staying up to see if any are released for your dates!

Extra seats for Gold Flying Club members – with a catch

The second change also follows BA with Gold members being able to book a reward seat in any cabin. The catch is that you have to pay double points which is the same as BA but you have to book more than 60 days in advance which is worse than BA’s 30 days. The taxes and charges are the same – you don’t have to pay double those! While the double points can be quite useful on short-haul for BA when prices are very high, I can’t see many scenarios where using double points on long haul would be cost-effective with Virgin. 

You must be gold at the time of booking but don’t need to be at the time of flying. You can book other people on the same booking that are not gold. 

This change also takes effect on 29 June 2022. 

Using the Virgin Atlantic Mastercard’s upgrade and companion vouchers

Virgin has two Mastercard credit cards which earn companion or upgrade vouchers.

The Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard costs £160 a year and you earn an upgrade or a Companion ticket or Clubhouse access when you spend £10,000 in a year (taxes and fees still apply for both tickets).  There is also a free card, the Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard, which gets you an upgrade to Premium or a Companion ticket when you spend £20,000 in a year (taxes and fees still apply for both tickets) or a Clubhouse pass. 

The first thing to be aware of is that unlike BA, you won’t be able to see your vouchers on your account which is very annoying. Therefore you won’t know when you have earned one or when it expires without contacting Virgin via phone or chat. 

You can only earn one reward every 12 months. The 12 months resets on each anniversary of the date your Virgin Atlantic Reward Credit Card account was opened.

You can spend your reward for up to 24 months from the date it’s issued. That means you have to have booked your flights and taken the outbound flight within those 24 months. You can take the return journey afterwards.

For Upgrade or Companion Reward Tickets, you can use it on a round trip, or upgrade two one-way flights. It’s subject to availability because they come from a limited number of seats in booking classes G, P and A only (reward seats). You’ll still need to pay any taxes, fees and surcharges.

Upgrade Rewards and Companion Rewards are not valid on codeshare flights. Flights must have a “VS” prefix and be operated by Virgin Atlantic.

Using Companion vouchers

• The Companion reward will automatically be added to your Flying Club account within 30 days of earning it. It’ll be ready to spend straightaway.
• Companion vouchers can now be used in conjunction with any ticket in any booking class and can be used in any cabin of travel (excluding Economy Light and Economy Delight) regardless of your tier status. Your companions can’t be booked into a higher cabin than you.
• You can take one extra person with zero or 50% extra points but you will still need to pay the taxes and fees in full for both people. 
• If you are Silver or Gold when you make the booking (not when you earn it or when you travel) the companion reward seat will be zero points. If you are Red when you make the booking, the companion seat will be zero point in Economy Classic and Premium, or a 50% reduction in the points needed for Upper. 
• You will have to contact Virgin to use the voucher or find out if you have one and its expiry date. You can call or use chat. 
• You can check availablity of reward seats (there will need tio be two seats available) on Virgin or by using Seatspy.

Using Upgrade vouchers

• The reward will automatically be added to your Flying Club account within 30 days of earning it. It’ll be ready to spend straightaway.
• Upgrade vouchers can now be used in conjunction with any ticket in any booking class including reward flights (but excluding Economy Light), for a one cabin upgrade for a return flight. This includes cash tickets, even if you bought them through an agent. 
• Upgrade Rewards may be redeemed by calling the VAA Customer Centre. Alternatively, you may redeem your Virgin Points for an Upgrade Reward (subject to availability) on the day of departure at the VAA ticket desk at the airport prior to checking in and at least two hours prior to departure.
• Upgrade Rewards cannot be used in conjunction with any promotional fare or discount. Round trip Upgrade Rewards relate to two flown sectors only.

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