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Virgin Atlantic VS023 LHR Heathrow ✈ LAX Los Angeles Economy

Flight Report by: The Lady Jennifer Lynn

My family and I had not flown Virgin Atlantic prior to our most recent trip to London. The last long flight we took was on American to Paris, which was unbelievably uncomfortable.

With Virgin Atlantic, the online the check-in was seamless, with no wait to check our bags at the airport. What I immediately noticed at the check-in counter was that the staff uniforms were designed by Vivienne Westwood, which automatically gave Virgin extra points. With more scrutiny, I changed my mind and took the extra points away. When I asked how the staff liked the outfits, they complained about how uncomfortable the clothes were, ill fitting, particularly under the arms. The red pumps (similar to what the Queen Mum would wear) were especially hated – they were so uncomfortable that some of the staff had to get a doctor’s note not to wear them. The design was also problematic- with a snug fitting red soldier type jacket, that reminded me of the Gucci tin soldier dress that Kelly Anne Conway wore to the Trump inauguration.
On our return flight, we were disappointed that our flight was delayed more than an hour and a half, but were more than happy to use that time for duty free makeup shopping. We had to walk at least a half mile to our gate, and then were taken by a shuttle bus to our plane. The shuttle ride took at least 15 minutes. We went such a distance, I thought they may have taken us to Gatwick.
As we boarded, we were met by stewardesses in their Vivienne Westwood garb, many done up in retro updos with black eyeliner – like a corporate version of Amy Winehouse. I have to say the Virgin ambient lighting is nice, although it makes me feel like I’m in a party scene in a vodka commercial. Additionally, the pre-flight safety instruction film aimed to be hip, a cross between hipster, Sergeant Pepper, and Peter Max. I like that Virgin aims to put glamour back into the flying experience.

We opted for seats with extra legroom (which $60 per seat) – well worth it. The seats are very hard, with an odd head/neck rest that is uncomfortable no matter how you adjust it. For a 10-hour flight, the seats were not great. There were blankets, sleep masks, headphones, and bottles of water waiting for us in our seats. We had a great free movie selection. There were countless movies, some still in theaters. I watched three movies that I had wanted to see. The movies makeup for the fact that there was no free Wi-Fi.
The food was ok – the entrees were near inedible (think Stouffer’s frozen meals), but you are provided many snacks that are like small meals. We were served Allouette cheese with crackers, chocolates, warm breakfast pastries, and Cornish pasties in addition to our entrees. Drinks, wine, coffee and tea were served throughout. The staff and service were great and not intrusive. The bathrooms were awful, but no worse than any other plane bathroom.

Overall, for the price (less than $650, including tax) – I was really happy with the experience, despite the hard seat. We plan to go to London next year, and will fly Virgin Atlantic again.