WTH carrying $4500 cash. Now, if AM would just improve their food (and tear down MEX and start over). I reviewed the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse lounge at Heathrow Terminal 3 here. My boarding pass indicated that boarding was supposed to start 40 minutes before departure (at 9:10PM), though it ended up starting at 9PM, 10 minutes ahead of schedule. Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 Each seat had individual air nozzles, which is a useful feature. We were booked onto the latest Virgin Atlantic 787 Dreamliner and were looking forward to flying in style. Luckily, too, Virgin is pretty generous when it comes to offering award flights on its own metal. See. I decided to watch an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. However, the insane brownie with squeeze tube of salted caramel made up for any faults. Thankfully (and oddly), the bar was left practically deserted for most of the flight. I boarded through the second set of doors, and was pointed left into the Upper Class cabin by the flight manager. I flew home from London to LA on Virgin Atlantic’s new 787-9 in Upper Class, my first Virgin Atlantic flight since 2014. There is simply nothing better for me than being outside, right in the heart of one of the busiest airfields in the worlds. Watch our HD video via YouTube below. I took Seat 7A, a window seat in this 1-1-1 configured cabin. Read on for my honest review. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. BS. Many people want to know, is premium Economy worth the upgrade. Just as in Qantas' Airbus A380 first c… As far as the Upper Class amenities go, waiting at my seat was an amenity kit made mostly of recycled materials. Pro tips: this is an average business class seat: Add a Tip. Be the first to review this seat! We booked my trip between London and New York as a round-trip award, so we paid a total of 95,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles and about $845 in taxes and fees. There’s no denying that the cabin looks incredibly swanky with the mood lighting. I also checked out the nearby bathrooms, which looked good and were large and stocked with Cowshed products. Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Both VS and BA had to fly me whenever I needed/wanted. ... Boeing 787 engine. @ Frederik — To be clear, I was saying that they *do* offer hot breakfast, unlike some other airlines. The major catch is that the TVs are really small, especially with some of the massive TVs we see nowadays on airlines. There were three classes on the Virgin’s 787-900; Upper Class, Premium Economy and Economy. If I hadn’t skipped leg day so often, I might have been in real trouble. The seat is not my favorite in the sky by any means, because I love staring out the window so much, but it is comfortable, even if switching to a bed is a production. Virgin Atlantic’s “classic” herringbone business cabin (the one featured here) is being phased out in favour of a new 1-2-1 configuration on its A350 aircraft. OMG! Earn 75,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $5,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. There were over 150 movies and over 40 TV shows to choose from. On my recent flight to Hong Kong , strangely I didn’t notice anyone use the bar. Whether you're with us for business or pleasure, travelling in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class makes your journey something to look forward to. That wasn’t an issue, but just something that stood out to me. You’re not an Albanian mobster boss to carry $4500 cash in a purse. To me, the seats just look like the love child of a Japanese capsule hotel and a shop window in Amsterdam’s red light district. Going into this flight, I knew that Virgin doesn’t have the best seat around installed for its Upper Class product, but its Clubhouse at Heathrow gets a lot of praise, and generally the onboard experience is positive and fun — would this be enough to overcome its outdated hard product? The new Virgin Upper Class seat being rolled out on its A350s will be a real game changer, because it really is the seat and cabin that let down the whole experience. The Balik salmon starter came with a celeriac-and-pea salad and was really tasty, and was served with a selection of bread. One Mile at a Time is owned by PointsPros, Inc. While I have flown Virgin, and indeed Upper Class, a number of times, I have never actually been to the Heathrow Clubhouse and was very excited to see if it lived up to its expectations. The amenity kit had socks, eyeshades, earplugs, a pen, a dental kit, and some lotions. Lastly for dessert I had the lemon and blackberry mascarpone cheesecake, which was excellent as well. I didn’t want to be shy ordering, so I moved seats and plowed through the menu once TPG UK social media whiz Liam joined me in the lounge. That’s more than sufficient, given that almost no one actually eats. Otherwise it looks pretty pretty good. Earn 75,000 Membership Rewards® points | Terms Apply. This is a review of my return journey from Barbados with Virgin Atlantic. Seat: 11A (Upper Class Business Class). Stay connected via social media, or subscribe to our free email newsletter for tips on upgrading your travel and maximizing your miles! Our takeoff roll must have been the fastest I’ve ever experienced on a transatlantic flight, which I guess isn’t surprising given the light load and short flight time. Please check your email to confirm your subscription. The tray table also folded out from the left of the seat, and was a single large table that couldn’t be folded over in half, or anything. I would love to try them sometime, even though their J cabin looks very cramped. Trendy looks, completely nonfunctional design and lukewarm service. They both have 31 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration with a bar at the back of the cabin. Virgin Atlantic 787-9 Upper Class Review in 56 Pictures Minor updates to a solid, stylish business class experience On my latest trip to London I decided to try and get on the 787-9 of both major British carriers — the British Airways 787-9 in first class , and then a nice revisit to Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic’s 787-9 . The bad part of sitting in 11A is that you might as well be sitting at the bar, because it’s that close. It’s not like their fares are discounted for the bad seats or anything. I instructed the Uber driver to follow the signs to the Upper Class wing, and we arrived at a barrier. 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