pgcowie flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (05/05/2013 16:46)

I was offered an upgrade from PE to Upper Class at check in and thought my luck was in until they told me it would cost £1600, decided to stick with PE. Boarding was well organised, with sparkling wine or orange juice offered soon after taking my seat. Amenity kit containing socks, earplugs, eye shades, pen & toothbrush/paste offered promptly too. Returning from Tokyo on A340-600 having flown out on a 300, so pleased to get decent in flight entertainment on this leg. Good selection of movies and since I could not sleep I watched 4 films on the flight. Food served on china with metal cutlery, choice of 3 main courses, all were available. Plenty of drinks offered throughout flight, with ice cream as a treat between meals. Hot breakfast served prior to landing also not bad for airplane food. Flight landed 30 mins early and luggage was on the carousel by the time I made it through border control.

MikePocock flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (28/04/2013 20:50)

Good experience on outbound flight, economy class was nearly empty and passengers were stretched out over 3 seats and looked to be sleeping like babies. Not as good as the 747 experience to Barbados but ok for room, service was mixed again good bits and bad- not nearly as good as BA economy to the likes of New York.

annshaw flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy (22/04/2013 15:39)

VS85 and VS86 Manchester to Las Vegas and return. We travelled premium economy. Service excellent. Both flights shorter than expected. Non flexible premium economy gave us upgraded service for reasonable cost and we felt it was well worth the difference. The only negative was that our pre booked seats were not those we were allocated when we checked in and this being the case we wonder if it is worth the effort of selecting seats in advance of check in..

Slotski flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A330-300 (3-class) (08/04/2013 20:49)

Boarding plane was good, with Premium Economy boarding after UC. Was served sparkling wine and due to delay was topped up twice. After an hours delay, pilot reported fault could not be fixed and we were told to de-board and switch planes.

Eventually took off on replacement plane 4 hours late. Service was friendly and attentive, food tasty but a bit mean. After dinner brandy was very generous, but limited drinks trolleys except water and juice, but could request drinks. IFE on new Vera system was top notch. Afternoon tea was served with two small finger sandwiches (tasty) and small cup cake. Very limited snacks available during flight, limited to pretzels. Overall great crew, seat and IFE, let down by mean food. Shame about the delay.

ElijahLevy flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (08/02/2013 13:24)

Very good service but food can be improved allso they should not allow economy class passengers to use wcs in pre econmy

janicetatham flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (18/01/2013 11:08)

Brilliant flight to New York, going out was the best with seats 18H and K - feet up on bolsters and fabulous service throughout the flight.

Coming back we were in 20E and G and although still a great flight and great service I envied the people in 18H and K especially after 5 days pounding the New York Streets!!! I spoke to a fellow traveller who flew business class and they said they would have prefered premium economy to their seats any day!!!

LeTigre flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (13/12/2012 14:14)

This was a recent experience on the VS400 from London to Dubai in premium economy.

After an uneventful but friendly check-in experience, I proceeded to the No.1 Traveller lounge at terminal 3 which, while busy, remains a firm favourite.

Unfortunately, the catering experience in this lounge does leave a little something to be desired, unless you are willing to pay for the a la carte meal service, a lot of the reasons I often go there are related to the savings from avoiding a trip to an expensive restaurant or Cafe. Regardless, the service remains excellent, the facilities modern and the condition clean.

Boarding commenced about 75 minutes before the flight and wanting to take my seat early, I was one of the first through. I was informed by the helpful ground staff that due to the risk of delay from adverse weather conditions, they were hoping to have the flight depart early. As a result, not a mere five minutes after taking my seat at the battered boarding gate (Heathrow T3 gates need a refresh!), priority boarding was announced, followed very quickly by general boarding.

Aside from how much the gates need a refurb, one other thing I noted about the boarding, is that Virgin Atlantic boarding at T3 is nowhere near as orderly as at T5. When I think about it, this is probably due to T5 being far better designed and the gates actually having a reasonable number of seats. Still, I think something needs to be done, with T3 being around until 2019 at the earliest.

On board, the experience was quite different. The staff were very welcoming, though clearly busy, but took time to welcome all the passengers before showing us to the seats. A few minutes later, welcome drinks of sparkling wine or orange juice were served.

The seat in Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy on board these aircraft is quite a step-up from economy, much more so than BA. The seat is actually the same width as Upper Class, and clad in purple leather, so provides a very comfortable experience, but is still firm enough to provide back support.

I was assigned a seat in row 18, the very front of Premium Economy, meaning significantly more legroom but IFE that swings out the arm (which annoys me a bit when eating). Other than that, there is a headrest which most people find useful, but I always seem to find irritating.

Unfortunately, on this particular evening, the fog was thick and heavy. Therefore, we did not push until about 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time, after which there was a queue for departure that delayed us a further 20 minutes. It always amazes me that within 10 seconds of take-off you are through the fog, giving a delightful view of London tucked under a blanket with just a few muffled lights under a star-lit sky.

After we had reached cruising altitude, the cabin crew came round with hot towels. Seated in row 18, I could see into the galley, and watched them heating the towels, which was fun! I say this because the process involves pouring hot water, from a kettle, onto a tray of towels and then compressing the towels and draining the tray of excess water. Do try this at home, ha! Hot towels for your family at breakfast?! The new amenity kits were also supplied to everyone and these are a real gem, with many useful bits, and the case feels like it deserves reuse!

The main meal service was prompt and again, friendly, featuring a choice of chicken or pasta main meals with the chicken dish featuring vegetables on the side but the pasta intriguingly not. There was a choice of warm(ish) breads which were the normal kind you get on planes (why doesn't anyone use PROPER bread???, just a tip for Gate Gourmet: don't use rubber!!!). This was served with a beverage of your choice, somewhat after you had began the meal, as well as a starter and dessert.

Please note, this service is on proper chinaware and uses real metal cutlery, in addition to the much loved salt and pepper shakers (which I have never stolen, ha!).

While the style to this service is undeniable and way more comfortable than BA, the meal, despite being 3 courses, is still substantially smaller in size to the portions BA serve. Virgin Atlantic needs to improve this, there is too much space on the dinner tray, and it is very obvious. However, the new Premium Economy catering is way better than before, though the chocolate cake is still very sickly! Tea and coffee was also served, but preferring to sleep, I declined.

Trays were then promptly cleared away, leaving passengers to sleep or otherwise. Hot chocolate for movie watchers was also offered, though few accepted (shame, cause it is way better than any Cafe!)

The seat is built with a very decent recline, which makes sleeping very much easier than in economy.

However, here's a warning, it's not the airline's fault but...LAPTOP USERS BEWARE...the recline can be hard and fast, I have heard of laptop screens breaking and this almost happened to the businesswoman behind me when I reclined my seat. There is nothing that can be done but perhaps laptop users can keep the laptop slightly forward on the tray and stay alert.

I am a light sleeper on all flights, a malediction for a frequent traveller, but I still managed to get about 2 hours. The cabin crew at no point awoke me and as soon as dinner finished spoke in hushed tones, dimmed the lights and were very considerate in their sales of duty-free, non-intrusive. No calls of the announcement system were made until descent.

I woke a little while before breakfast started about 2 hours before landing. I decided to watch a movie, the latest Batman, definitely a first-run movie, which was very enjoyable (though I didn't finish it).

The IFE provided was very good, they recently replaced the systems which a uniform 'Vera' system with many useful features including save something for later, Virgin recommends and a simple categories system. It also remembers where you have got to on anything you start watching and wish to finish later on.

The breakfast service was again friendly but left something to be desired in terms of substance. It consisted of cooked eggs, tomato and something resembling hash browns. This was very tasty but lacked meat, was quite small and does not compare to the full English in large size you get on BA.

I could take the small portions at dinner but the breakfast service really needed to be improved. Still, I wasn't really hungry, so it didn't really matter. Hot drinks and soft drinks were also served at this point.

After everything was cleared we began our descent and IFE was turned off (just at the film's climax...great way to guarantee return business!) and we landed in Dubai just 15ish minutes late, after we made up time in-flight.

I have to say the crew were fantastic all the time and very accommodating with passenger requests. We then parked by a jetty, disembarked about 10 minutes later and entered the glorified shopping mall that is Dubai Airport.

In conclusion, the difference between BA and Virgin is quite noticeable, both offer a good service, but Virgin Atlantic offers by far the better seat, and BA by far the better catering. Considering the entertainment and style on Virgin, things really are better on VS. Just sort the catering out please!

denisebreheny flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (23/11/2012 11:18)

My husband and I both love flying with Virgin Atlantic. This 747 we were on although seated upstairs which is much nicer, was a very old plane inside and the seating quite uncomfortable.

With premium economy you get a lot of very good benefits like priory check-in desk, boarding before economy passengers, glass of champagne (which always go down very well) Luggage coming off plane first.

Food and wine always very nice with good selection. Virgin Atlantic staff very attentive.

They will always be my first choice airline.

CliveMillard flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW Config (08/11/2012 17:18)

Booking your seat on Virgin Atlantic is nothing more than first come first served we always travel premium economy, to book your seat opens 24 hours before the flight after filling in a very lengthy form the computer chooses your seat only to find when you book your wife in she is sitting two rows back and know way of changing your seat until you check in at the airport I thought this kind of Check-in was for budget carries!! Last time I book long haul with Virgin

JerryPollentine flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW Config (04/11/2012 21:08)

Flight delayed no explanation given that I was aware of. In fact on entering the V-room I'm certain I was told the flight was on time. It was in fact delayed for 45 minutes and we were soon in the PE queue to board.

We sat A15 & C15 this was a refurbished plane and very comfortable they were. The entertainment system was absolutely great, around 50 films on a touch screen that could be paused, many albums, TV progs, games and a where are we now, how far to destination, how fast, how high etc. If you didn't have your headphones on the sound from the cockpit and other announcements were incomprehensible.

The food was OK and the pre take off fizzy wine was awful we had the orange. The crew couldn't have been better and the guy who was looking after us was really good, pleasant, a sense of humour and nothing too much trouble. Everything taken into account it was a good experience and we are holidaying in Tobago next year and will be upgrading to PE.

ivangould flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW Config (14/10/2012 02:05)

Virgin were unable to provide an allocated seat until 24 hours before the flight, this should have been made clear before our booking was taken. Their explanation was poor to say the least, due to aircraft being refurbished they didn't know which aircraft would be used on the day !!! - the configuration was the old layout with PE upstairs on the 747.

Boarding was prompt using the priority lane to enter the holding area. The staff were polite and reasonably friendly. The food was OK, but nothing special, the wine choice was limited but good quality. The in flight entertainment was good, although I can never understand why on an 8 hour flight they cannot plan the film starts to get 3 x 2 hour films in before descent for landing - we missed the last 10 minutes of a film, but to add insult to injury we then circled for about 20 minutes waiting to land in Orlando.

The flight was on time and our baggage was off early, unfortunately the line for immigration was so long that our cases were jammed on the carousel. Not Virgin's fault.

Overall I was less satisfied with this PE experience that previous Virgin flights. I will see how they perform on the return flight, but sadly I may need to look at competitors.

ValeriePatch flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (05/10/2012 21:49)

Flew DC to London overnight. Having flown Air NZ premium economy on several occassions I was bitterly disapointed. Seated on the port side of the aircraft bang in the middle, was disgusted to find that they had run our of the Beef dish. still half the cabin to go! I do not expect to pay premium fare to not receive a popular dish such as beef.

Leg room not as good as Air NZ, Alcohol offering was very poor, and I laughed out loud at the after dinner liqueur which was a choice of two cheapo liqueur and a whole 1/4" in the bottom of the glass. No seconds! Crew in a great hurry to clean up the cabin and turn out the lights. On the plus side seat is wide and comfortable.

IanRobinson1 flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-300 (01/10/2012 14:33)

Never again.

Booked premium economy as wanted extra leg room (6' 2" tall) and all I can say is I dread to think what it was like in economy! Bad enough when seat upright but when person in front reclined seat even worse. Having flown long haul in premium economy with Qantas earlier in the year was severely disappointed by space in Virgin cabin.

EdwardRead flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy (30/09/2012 13:40)

Flew Virgin PE 10/09/12 LGW to Orlando, dedicated check in and security a god send, no long waiting times. Got the new cabins going out, comfortable seats, good leg room, good entertainment system most importantly, no crying,babies/kids infact no kids period!

Coming back got the old style cabin, no way is that worth the extra money but Virgin say the whole fleet will be upgraded by the end of October.

Points to note, Virgins online check-in system is pants, we could not select seats either way (apparently due to the cabin upgrades) I also get the feeling that if you have only booked a flight with virgin it is pot luck if you get the upper cabin as those who have booked their complete holiday with them are given these first.

LesleyHill flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (18/08/2012 08:54)

We have not flown with VA yet, flying on 27 December, 3 of us, paid extra for Premium Economy. After paying discovered that we cannot reserve/choose seats (in ANY class) because of changes being made. Lots of calls, emails, no help whatsoever as to when this option might be available. My complaint? If we had known about this before paying we would not have chosen VA. Does anyone know when this facility will be available again.

RichardGould flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (29/07/2012 07:12)

We’ll never fly Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy again. When the seat in front of you reclines, you lose all leg room & become excruciatingly uncomfortable.

My 5’ 3” partner exited with a tortured body & my 5’ 10” body took days to recover. (The moral is, don’t believe Virgin’s seat pitch figure, which misleads because of their bad seat design.)

Further, both our seats were faulty both trips – hers wouldn’t recline, my lumbar support was broken & my TV didn’t work. Further, the wings on each side of the head rest fall down, so your head doesn’t get supported, so you can’t sleep comfortably – more bad seat design. Further, the personal TV in each seat back is at a height & angle that an adult male has difficulty seeing the picture clearly – more bad design.

Further, the food was usually tasteless, calorie-laden stuff that you’d send back if served it in a restaurant. Further, the toilets for Premium Economy were frequently not available for use on all 4 sectors because Economy passengers streamed through the curtains to use the Premium toilets, never being discouraged by staff. In short, fly with someone else.

NicolaWilkins flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW Config (22/06/2012 20:00)

The flight on the way out was ok. On the way back, we had an older aircraft, which had not been refurbished. I paid £349 per person to upgrade and receive all the little extras, but....;
1. we didn't get drinks on boarding
2. We didn't get pre-dinner drinks
3. Our entertainment didn't work for the whole flight
4. There was not enough choices of all the main courses in the premium cabin
5. We didn't get offered bread rolls
6. The only choice of starter was smoked salmon, which was ok for me, but not for everyone
7. We didn't get any cheese and biscuits, which you always used to get with them
8. We didn't get any after dinner liquers
9. You could inhale the breakfast it was so small
10. It took 20 mins from serving the breakfast to get the tea or coffee
11. There was no duty free on board
12. Despite paying for priority disembarking, half of economy was let off first.

Save your money for your holidays. Premium economy is no longer worth the extra.

Holidayer flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 (17/06/2012 18:35)

Check-in was open nice & early for our arrival, we were boarded quickly and then we were delayed due to some cargo but the stewards just brought more drinks around. The food came around about 10pm and then I watched some tv there choice was brilliant all the latest movies and the latest music. The food kept coming around until 4am, the food was nice for plane food.

On the way back we had a contact who got me a visit to the cockpit of the 747 which was brilliant. The return was also good however there was a lot of heavy turbulence which we were uninformed of and we encountered some more at about 1am. Offloading was good at Heathrow however the passport queue was over an hour long which is annoying when landing at 5-6 in the morning.

Boodles52 flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LHR Config. (03/06/2012 13:17)

Booked a premium economy ticket and tried to select bulkhead seats but system didn't allow.

When we arrived the check in lady was very friendly, when I asked about our seats she said she would put a request in the system and check at the gate. After that we were soon going through security.

Quick look around duty free and just on the off chance asked about clubhouse access. They let us pay to come in and what a place to be! Staff lovely and friendly, food delicious and cocktails amazing! An hour before the flight was to depart the announcement was made and we made our way to gate 22.

Priority lanes were well signed. At the gate the machine beeped and we were given a bulkhead seat! Legroom!!! Boarded quickly and after a few minutes of sitting down were offered pre-departure drinks.

Left the gate on time but had to taxi for about 30 mins before we were away. When we got in the air, the IFE had to be rebooted once or twice but the rest of the service was good. Food mediocre but edible. Landed more or less on time and a short queue at immigration. Well done Virgin for a wonderful flight!

chrisw4 flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A330-300 (18/05/2012 10:47)

Manchester to Orlando, an excellent service, on time, food was very good the staff were excellent - five star.

The return journey however while also excellent I have never been so hot on a plane it made both myself and my hustband feel quite ill. It was an overnight flight I did mention to cabin crew but they said where they sat was cool! I am sure there was something wrong with the circulation of the air, I did ask some of the other passengers and they said they too had been very hot. On a plus side the rest of the flight both service etc was excellent.

NickEvans flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (09/04/2012 19:19)

I was disappointed in Virgin Atlantic premium economy.

I've flown both BA and Qantas premium economy and my recent flight with VA from Sydney to London was the worst by a long way. The check in hostess was apologetic that we were sitting in the back row of premium economy and by the end of the flight we understood why.

The seats felt cramped, particularly when the seat infront reclined. I was right next to the toilet which was being freely used by not just the PE cabin but a very full economy cabin as well. Constantly bustled by people waiting and unpleasant smells as they changed occupants.

The food was really ordinary. If this was premium dining, I hate to think what was being served in economy. The low point was waking after some sleep on the HK London leg and hungry because we'd not wanted dinner after leaving HK at the equivalent of 02:00 am Sydney time. We asked for a snack not expecting much but maybe a sandwich and received one rather dry cookie each. Overall really poor value for the significant extra cost.

The_Fury flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy (21/03/2012 16:31)

Fantastic seat pitch. Service was amazing and I never want to fly any other operator again!!!

The food was so tasty and the added touch of a Baileys or Brandy afterwards was brilliant :)

Huge choice of films and TV more than enough for a 11 + flight - great work Virgin!

DebraTurner flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (15/03/2012 03:54)

I place this review today after checking my youngest daughter in this afternoon with your airline staff.

Wow, what exceptional customer service we received. The check in representative Marianna was just so very helpful and pleasant, we were then asked to move onto the Service Desk for further assistance where we were greeted by Karina & Sue.

Fantastic customer service again with a professional but personal touch to the high level of service I received with a great outcome for both myself and my daughter.

I cannot thank them enough and hope that the service is just as good on her return trip. She was upgraded with out fuss, it appeared to be the pleasure of the Check in Staff as I asked nicely.

Boodles52 flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (10/03/2012 02:40)

Quick attentive service with snacks and drinks going round at intervals, cabin crew friendly!

topmedsec flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (02/01/2012 07:09)

just back from los angeles on a direct flight vs23.

have to say that going out i was very impressed with the food and the service. i booked premium economy because i had never flown long haul and didnt want to be squeezed in for the 10 hour journey. i had heard various comments about this class and was to say the least sceptical!! i am inclined to agree with other reviews which is that this class does not warrant at all the extorionate extra money that you pay.

firstly the seats are a dark leather purple with wrap around head rests. yes you do get an extra 8 inches wide on the seat and yes there is slightly more leg room, but at at the end of the day you still cannot recline comfortably to sleep, the chair only goes back about 4 inches and you have a leg rest. the only difference with this class is that you get complimentary champagne (a very small glass)! and some extras like an eye mask, ear plugs (which we needed as we seemed to have the brats from hell on the way out and back)! the food is identical other than the fact that instead of a plastic tray you get miniature china dishes. cannot fault the staff at all, they were fantastic, polite, attractive (a must for Virgin!) and could not do enough to help so full marks Virgin for this. the other problem with premium is that yes you get priority boarding.

however you still get the whole of economy trawling past you in the cabin to board and if you dont get up quickly to get off you get caught in the stampede of economy getting off as well!!. all in all i would not fly economy as i always get the screaming brats next to me but then but you will still get the problems of unsavory children and their parents in this class plus you cannot sleep comfortably at all unless you are near to a window so that you can prop your head onto a window.

def not worth the extra £500, i would say vfm only an extra £100.

croomes30 flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (14/12/2011 13:10)

Background: This was a leisure flight booked via Sandals.co.uk originally as an economy ticket, but upgraded to Premium Economy several weeks before we travelled.

Check-In: I checked-in online using the Virgin Atlantic website on my iPad at the hotel. The website worked well on the iPad, despite my previous review about the clunky appearance and method of checking-in.

As on the outbound flight I had managed to pre-select our seats ahead of check-in when they had been released by the airline a month before, and had already selected 78H & 78K upstairs.

When I finally got through the check-in procedure I found that no other seats were available, so opted to stay with my pre-selected seats; I was unable to print out my boarding passes, so we had to collect them from the airport the following day. The process was swift with the security checks being done before you got to the desk to check in the bags.

Lounge: I had opted for the Club Mobay Lounge which is located between gates 9 & 13 at Montego Bay airport. Consisting of three separate rooms, the service was swift and friendly and snacks were available at various locations throughout the lounge, with a hot meal service also being provided at additional charge.

Boarding: The lounge did announce the flights boarding so we were surprised to be called for boarding a good hour before take-off, with the final call coming 45 minutes beforehand. By the time we got to the gate boarding had more or less completed, but we went straight to the Upper Class and Premium Economy queue and the lady who had checked us in greeted us and ushered us through to the aircraft.

Seat: The Premium Economy class on this configuration is of the older fabric type seats with the footrests which flip out from your own seat, rather than from the seat in front.

As with the new purple leather seats, the pitch was 38” and the width was more than sufficient. Premium Economy is split across the two decks, with a small cabin of 16 seats in two rows, configured 2-4-2 on the lower deck between Economy and Upper Class, with 24 seats configured 2-2 on the upper deck.

Although I had found the seat very comfortable on the outbound daytime flight, it was a different story on the night-time flight; even though I slept for the majority of the flight I just could not get comfortable – perhaps the fact that my footrest would not extend to its fullest due to the age of the seat, was the problem.

IFE: As previously on the majority of the Gatwick/Manchester aircraft the Nova system was installed, but as this was a night-time flight, I only watched one film whilst I ate, before going to sleep.

Flight: As soon as we were seated we were offered sparkling wine or orange juice. Menus were handed out along with complimentary headsets prior to departure from the gate. The menu offered one starter and a choice of three main courses – chicken, beef and pasta.

We pushed back from the gate about 30 minutes early and were finally airborne within 5 minutes. However, this did not delay our arrival as the captain announced that instead of 9hrs, our flight time would be 7hrs 40 mins and that we would be arriving at least an hour earlier at Gatwick.

The food and drink service on this flight was not as good as the outbound flight, but this was to be expected considering this was a night-time flight. The first drinks service was served within 45 minutes of taking off, with the hot meal service following within 20 minutes. All meal choices were available and served on crockery dishes with metal cutlery. After-dinner liqueurs of Brandy or Baileys were offered once the meal service had finished.

Breakfast was served about 1 ½ hours before we landed, consisting of hot omelette, bacon, sausage and mushroom, along with tea or coffee. I did not partake but I was reliably informed that it wasn’t the best meal of the flight.

We arrived at Gatwick at 08:35, rather than 09:35, 1hr early as promised by the flight crew.

Arrival: Premium Economy passengers upstairs do tend to get stuck due to the fact that the crew allow the front mini Economy cabin, the lower deck Premium Economy cabin and the Upper Class cabin off first, before allowing the upstairs cabin to disembark. There was therefore a small delay exiting the aircraft but immigration at Gatwick was swift due to the time of day.

Bags arrived within 10 minutes of us getting to the carousel and we were through customs and out of the airport within 30 minutes of landing.

Verdict: Despite the old style Premium Economy seating and the antiquated IFE, the product is still one of the best on the market and the crew worked exceptionally hard. With the 747 Gatwick/Manchester fleet being upgraded in 2012, it will be even better value for money to upgrade on the leisure routes in the future.

croomes30 flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (14/12/2011 12:48)

Background: This was a leisure flight booked via Sandals.co.uk originally as an economy ticket, but upgraded to Premium Economy several weeks before we travelled.

Check-In: I checked-in online using the Virgin Atlantic website. Their system seemed a little more convoluted than some other airline websites I have used in the past (such as Lufthansa, BA & Continental) as I had to pass through several screens before I got to confirm that I even wanted to check-in. The screens were also slightly confusing and the information was not laid out especially clearly. The system also did not recognise that the booking number had my husband on it as well, so I had to manually add him to be checked in.

I had managed to pre-select our seats ahead of check-in when they had been released by the airline a month before, and had already selected 78H & 78K upstairs. When I finally got through the check-in procedure I found that no other seats were available, so opted to stay with my pre-selected seats and printed our boarding passes out for the following day.

Lounge: Whilst customers going with Virgin Holidays have the option to use the V-room at Gatwick South, I had opted for the No1 Traveller’s Lounge. Although smaller than the other lounges on offer, this lounge has a far nicer feel about it and the view is exceptional overlooking the runway and aprons.

You are allowed one hot meal from their set menu and we opted for the Eggs Benedict, which was served within 5-10 minutes of ordering, by waitress service. Drinks are ordered at the bar and other breakfast snacks were available on a large white table at the other end of the lounge.

Boarding: The lounge did not announce flights boarding so it was a case of watching the boards. The flight was due to leave at 12:00 and boarding started at approximately 11:05. The gate was about 10 minutes from the lounge.

By the time we got to the gate Economy class boarding was well under way, but we went straight to the Upper Class and Premium Economy queue which consisted of a couple of passengers and were on the aircraft within 5 minutes and ushered upstairs to our seats.

Seat: The Premium Economy class on this configuration is of the older fabric type seats with the footrests which flip out from your own seat, rather than from the seat in front.

As with the new purple leather seats, the pitch was 38” and the width was more than sufficient. Premium Economy is split across the two decks, with a small cabin of 16 seats in two rows, configured 2-4-2 on the lower deck between Economy and Upper Class, with 24 seats configured 2-2 on the upper deck.

The seat was in fact very comfortable. The overhead lockers were slightly smaller than on the lower deck due to the curvature of the upper deck, but extra storage, albeit too small for any hand luggage larger than a handbag, was available in the side lockers. In our seats (78H & 78K) we had 2 ½ windows to see out of.

IFE: If I mention Nova, then I’m sure most people will know that it is old, plagued with faults and is highly unreliable. It took my husband three attempts at watching Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy until he actually managed to watch it uninterrupted from start to finish – the previous two times had been thwarted by the system in his chair swapping to another channel of its own accord!

Flight: As soon as we were seated we were offered sparkling wine or orange juice. Menus were handed out along with complimentary headsets prior to departure from the gate. The menu offered one starter and a choice of three main courses – chicken, beef and pasta.

We pushed back from the gate about 15 minutes late and were finally airborne by 12:35. However, this did not delay our arrival as the captain announced that instead of 10hrs 20 mins, our flight time would be 9hrs 40 mins.

The food and drink service on this flight was exceptional and I have never seen a cabin crew work so consistently throughout such a long flight. The first drinks service was served within 45 minutes of taking off, with the hot meal service following within 20 minutes. All meal choices were available and served on crockery dishes with metal cutlery. After-dinner liqueurs of Brandy or Baileys were offered once the meal service had finished.

Throughout the flight, in between every meal and snack service the crew were constantly walking the cabin with juice or water for passengers. They were also happy to oblige if you asked for further alcoholic drinks.

A couple of hours after the main meal service we were served with a hot snack – a hot savoury sausage roll, and another drinks service.

A couple of hours after the hot snack we were served with ice cream and another drinks service. The final meal service being served about 1 ½ hours before we landed, consisting of afternoon tea with sandwiches, scone, cream and jam.

We arrived at Montego Bay at 16:50, rather than 17:20, 30 minutes early as promised by the flight crew.

Arrival: Premium Economy passengers upstairs do tend to get stuck due to the fact that the crew allow the front mini Economy cabin, the lower deck Premium Economy cabin and the Upper Class cabin off first, before allowing the upstairs cabin to disembark.

There was therefore a small delay exiting the aircraft but immigration at Montego Bay was well organised with landing cards getting an initial check by staff before they directed you to the immigration desks. Immigration was swift and friendly.

Bags arrived within 10 minutes of us getting to the carousel and we were through customs and into the Sandals lounge within 40 minutes of landing.

Verdict: Despite the old style Premium Economy seating and the antiquated IFE, the product is still one of the best on the market and the crew worked exceptionally hard.

With the 747 Gatwick/Manchester fleet being upgraded in 2012, it will be even better value for money to upgrade on the leisure routes in the future.

FrustratedRegistration flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (01/12/2011 20:50)

I booked our flight 11 months in advance and took advantage of the free facility to reserve seats.

A week before departure I checked my booking and found that the seat allocation had been scrubbed. I sent two emails which went unanswered and finally a phone call left us with the assurance that similar seats would be provided, though no actual seats numbers. In the event that was true but it put a very sour taste in my mouth before I even started.

On-line check-in was a nightmare. Virgin required personal details (e.g. visa number) that even the US immigration do not ask you to provide. After 15 minutes filling in this data the system appeared to have no facility to print boarding passes. Having arrived at the airport we spent another 15 minutes filling in our details at a self-service kiosk to still not be issued boarding passes!

Mercifully the dedicated PE bag drop was quiet and efficient (as is LGW's new south terminal security).

We boarded late so I can't comment on crowd control.

Upstairs on the 747 for PE has seats in 2 * 2 which is probably the best thing about the whole service (and the reason for all the angst above). I never saw it but I would not have liked to have been in the 2 * 4 * 2 downstairs.

The seats are spacious but very old and they have a curious "lumbar support" that most people agreed were in the wrong place. We received a small but adequate amenity kit and a glass of Champagne on boarding.

The food was adequate but not startling; ditto the wines.

The IFE has a good choice; the screens in PE are tiny by today's standards but they worked well.

The crew on the outbound flight were generally good and helpful.

On the way back we were treated to an address by the Cabin Service Supervisor on alcohol consumption which put me in mind of a boot-camp rather than part of a hospitality group. The boarding Champagne became a very orangey Bucks Fizz because they had run out (this is before take-off).

After take-off (scheduled 16:35) the crew went straight into a meal service with no pre-dinner drinks offered, stating that this was standard procedure. The food was poor. Breakfast was a foil of eggs and potatoes - full stop. We got one round of tea/coffee and even orange juice was on request.

In summary almost the only thing going for this product is the privacy of the seat layout upstairs. The rest of it is very ordinary.

anderson_stephen flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-300 (24/10/2011 18:21)

This was an extremely good,albeit long, flight. The service was excellent - as was everything else about it.

MaxwellB flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-300 (17/09/2011 21:08)

Sydney to London via Hongkong forward on 15/8/11, return on 15/9/11.

VA delivered on seat comfort, legroom, cabin service, baggage reclaimand a high ratio of toilets to passengers in PE.
Priority embarkation only worked at Sydney. At Hong Kong two separate gates funnel everyone into the same hallway, so Economy and PE passengers lined up in a long queue at the aircraft door.

Meals are apparently identical with Economy, but PE get first pick, so selected choice was always available. The stainless steel cutlery was sometimes provided with the meal listed on the menu, other meals were identical with what is served in Economy.

The last meal was tiny and horrible. It looked and tasted like reheated leftovers. The fruit bowl appeared on two out of 4 flights, shortly before landing, much too late to be useful, also on the last occasion the choice was pears or pears.

Someone has commented about the fruit bowl being leftovers from Upper Class. My experience causes me to suspect this may be true.

The finishing touch was a handout of small packets of Love Hearts lollies, endorsed "For Ever", "Don't Cry" etc. just prior to landing. Initial amusement quickly changed to a feeling of insult.

As for the IFE, it was over 2 hours before it was persuaded to work, when it became apparent that the screen was way past its use-by date, and so badly burned that text was difficult to read.

Buy PE to get extra leg room, because that is about the only advantage ov er economy. Overall it represents extremely poor value for money.

Penelopops flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-300 (23/07/2011 17:35)

We flew out on the 10th July from Manchester on the new A340-300. Absolutely impressed with the service from start to finish.Priority boarding was quick and well organised and it is a nice touch to get a little glass of fizzy pre-flight. The new seats are comfortable ,wide and recline further than economy.The new entertainment system is superb esp the fact that everything is on demand and the quality and variety of music was phenomenal. The meal was fine,a good selection ( though one meat course ran out before it got to us) and the after dinner brandy was cute. The staff were fabulous though.I will challenge anyone that says different.They have a hard enough job for 9 hrs serving 50-odd people in our cabin and to be so attentive ,pleasant and helpful all the time made our journey all that more special.We have been flying Virgin Atlantic for over 10 yrs now and have no plans to change this. So all in all,the new Premium Economy experience is impressive but oh so about time .

camholgate flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (27/04/2011 04:07)

We recently flew with Virgin to New York. We'd flown Premium Economy in the past, and had always been impressed by the service.

Boarding was quick, and Premium Economy passengers were given priority ahead of Economy passengers - unlike British Airways.

The cabin was clean and the wide purple seats stood out as soon as we entered the aircraft. The seats themselves were very comfy, with adequate incline. We were given menus and 3 choices of meals - unlike BA.

Drinks were served in glass tumblers and the meal - which was nice - was served in china dish-ware with metal cutlery. This was a class above BA. The IFE screens were big, however the IFE wasn't fully functioning on the aircraft. The system had to be rebooted several times.

Overall, a pleasant experience onboard the A340.

smokeybacon flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (10/04/2011 12:19)

Does Virgin Atlantic Really Care about Customers?

The Virgin Atlantic brand has been built on the perception that it cares for its customer. It has fought the good fight against the big airlines and played on its role as the underdog. We can all remember the issue with BA using Virgin’s customer data to gain a competitive advantage. Virgin Atlantic cried foul and rightly so according to the courts.

And yet, when the tables are turned, when Virgin Atlantic are pitted against the individual passenger, their corporate value structure is immediately forgotten. In these circumstances, caring seems to be the last thing on their mind, far behind the opportunity to make profit.

Last year, I booked a trans-Atlantic flight with Virgin. Unfortunately my father died the week before we were due to fly. Each of the providers of the services, hotels, car hire, airport parking and theatre tickets all refunded monies in the light of tragic circumstances, ignoring their standard terms and conditions. And yet, Virgin Atlantic referred to the small print and kept their money. To rub salt into the wounds, they also refused to credit any air miles on the basis that we never actually flew – unbelievable I know!! One would think this is one part of the organisation not knowing what the other part were doing, but when pressed and highlighted the situation, their inappropriately named ‘Customer Care’ team stood firm.

I strongly advise anyone to think very seriously about dealing with such a callous, double standard organisation in the future.

disneymania flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (27/02/2011 08:21)

we save really hard to buy premium economy seat for a couple of reasons:- My husband is 6'3 and the frame to go with so he does not fit into economy, and I am not a good flyer the bubble seats on the 747 are great for me. We have been to Florida every year since 2002 with Virgin and apart from one set of crew I could not fault the service. The last flight in December 2010 the crew and service were first class. Thumbs up Virgin!!!!

LinguaFranca flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (20/02/2011 19:29)

After being on a recent journey in January to Las Vegas with Virgin in a B747-400 having no complaints in the Premium Economy configuration, that cannot be said for the Airbus long haul.

Departed with one of my favourite airlines to Cape Town 9 Feb 2011 [Virgin Atlantic] in Premium Economy on a A340-600. Designated seats were at the rear of cabin - 23D and 23F - disgusting. No leg room in comparison with Economy row 31 A / C / H & K who pay far less. There is no value in paying Premium Economy for such poor seats on the A340-600.

After being disturbed throughout my flight as the seats were adjacent to the toilets used by both cabins, an email to Virgin prior to my return flight on Friday 18 Feb has still had no response.

Come on Virgin - you can do better than this - get your seat configurations sorted.

angel83 flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (01/09/2010 09:46)

I flew with Virgin Atlantic on the "kangaroo" run from Sydney to Hong Kong in 2009.

My agent had recommended the premium economy seat before I booked, and going with his advice, I grabbed it.

What a great idea! The service upon entering was distinguishable compared to what I had been used to in the economy area of the plane. I was offered beverages the moment I sat down.

The food was also a class above than that in economy, with three options on the menu, compared to that on the regular economy pla.

Cannot also help mentioning the seat pitch and leg room, with the reinforcement in the middle, which makes for a long flight, more comfort.

Definitely would recommend Virgin Atlantic to everyone for the Sydney to Hong Kong leg. Not bad value for around $2000.00 AUD return.

Becky35 flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 (18/08/2010 14:51)

Premium Economy on Virgin Atlantic is a waste of money, judging from my experience.

Seats were no better than those in economy with the exception of a wider armrest that could accommodate two elbows. Food was dried-out and mundane; legroom poor with typical, standard footrests located on seats in front of you; breakfast not served; entertainment system malfunctioned; seats pictured on their website (the red ones, not even the purple leather ones they're so proud of) are NOT what we got.

No premium economy baggage reclaim as they state; baggage reclaim was like everyone else's; in fact, people in Economy were getting theirs first.

Do yourself a favour, and pay 50 pounds extra for exit row seats in Economy; you'll be more comfortable and you won't be spending exorbitant upgrade fees that can vary from $200 as listed by people on other sites to the $375 per seat I stupidly paid expecting more comfort and service.

Becky35 flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 (18/08/2010 14:44)

Davehill99 flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 (13/05/2010 10:35)

Fly Virgin Premium Economy from London Heathrow to San Francisco return. Originally had only booked the return leg Premium, but they upgraded my outward trip at online check-in for free, which was a nice touch.

Virgin Premium Economy feels to me like the old style business class, pre the days of fully flat beds. Seats are very wide, and very comfy. The arm rests don't intrude on you like in economy. There is ample leg room. I am 6ft 2 and could stretch my legs under the seat in front without my knees hitting the back of the seat. There is a foot rest that is provided with two settings, which provides nice comfort when watching the TV.

Meals are excellent, you are provided with a in-flight menu, and all food is served on proper plates and metal cutlery is used. During the flight you are offered drinks in glass tumblers, and the service is excellent. This really is the same as the old business class.

You are in your own cabin, cordoned off from Economy, and there is even private toilets marked "Premium Economy Only", just a pity people don't pay attention to this. Priority boarding is also an added bonus, so you are not involved in the economy "Queue".

In my opinion the service is excellent, and for any frequent flyer who's company will no longer pay for Upper Class, this is an excellent substitution.

The only complaint is the limited 6KG weight restriction for hand luggage! This stops you from taking your small carry on suitcase, and briefcase, which BA always allow.

debrablakemanbarratt flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (01/05/2010 12:48)

skyguyj flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 LGW/MAN Config 2 (24/04/2010 04:21)

A tip for Virgin Lovers (like me). Book Premium Economy out of Las Vegas to Gatwick. It's the only 747 in thier fleet with Premium UPSTAIRS in the bubble. It's 2 and 2 seating (it's thier old "Upper Class" seats) and it's very civilised. I recommend ANY window seat upstairs.......Row 70 is the bulkhead. It's the best!!!! Enjoy all.

LindaCrowfoot flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-300 (11/12/2009 11:46)

I had the honour and privilege of flying Virgin to Boston on the 3rd December. I chose to pay double the economy price and fly premium economy. I expected something a bit better than economy but I was under no illusion it would be anywhere near Upper Class. I was very wrong in expecting anything to be different.

On reflection I should have kept the extra money I spent on the PE fare and flown economy which would have given me more money to spend in Boston. The flight out was ok, a nice glass of champagne of bucks fizz when you board which was most welcoming. I can honestly say that having chose two seats at the back the only difference to being in economy was the fact that our food came with proper knives and forkes and we had glasses to drink out of.

The food on the flight out was ok, nothing to shout about. The service was ok too, again nothing to shout about.

The flight back was the worst I have ever experienced - worse than any economy flight I have ever taken. As I said I thought flying PE would be much better than economy but it wasn't. There were no packs on the seat when we boarded so I had to ask for one so I could take off my boots, the food on offer (bearing in mind it was an overnight flight was BBQ chicken or a curry - who wants a curry just before they go to sleep? There was supposed to be cheese and biscuits on the tray I had both, my sister had the biscuits but no cheese. People around us also had a carton of water but we didn't. When we asked the steward he said he would get some for us - obviously he didn't. Then my sister asked for decaf coffee and it was like she had asked for Cristal Champagne - he said he would get it but it was with reluctance.

Breakfast was a joke, orange juice and a sponge cake - oh I almost forgot the steward came round with some fresh fruit (probably leftovers from upper class).

The tv screen was too small to watch and flickered and flashed the whole way through every film.

My lasting memory was about four hours into the flight, everyone asleep, I got out to allow my sister to go to the toilet and stood by my seat - a stewardess barged passed me - although I was attempting to move behind my seat to let her pass - not a thank you or excuse me - nothing. Little did I know that she did exactly the same to my sister who was returning to the toilet - no way do I think stewards/stewardesses should be treated as royalty - why do we have to step aside and let them pass - my sister was met with the same blank look and no comment for being allowed to pass. They were awful.

I know Sir Richard Branson is proud of his airline, well he wouldn't have been on this particular flight! I was given a questionnaire to fill in which I did openly and honestly - I doubt that reached Sir Richard, they probably put it straight in the bin.

The Virgin webside advertises Premium Economy as having fine dining - wrong, served on china dinner ware - wrong - the food was just the same as economy, heated up in plastic trays with the foil on top.

jimmcgreg flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a B747-400 (21/04/2009 21:59)

Arrival at the airport, there are special desks for Premium Economy which speeds the process. Once you arrive for departure, you're allowed to board early along with Upper Class passengers, but after "families with chldren". I hate to think what that means on a flight to Florida - probably that you're last on. As it was, we got on fairly early and stowed our baggage.

Seats are wide, leather (or maybe fake leather) and initially feel pretty roomy. That's until the passenger in front reclines their seat a millisecond after the seatbelt sign goes out. It then feels rather cramped, but the width still makes a difference.

I slept a little, using the adjustable headrest to lean against, but I can't say they were fantastic and nowhere near Business Class standard. Neither are the prices of course.

Service was friendly although they forgot to bring me my pack containing earplugs, socks and eye covers. In flight entertainment was wide, varied, on-demand and should have something for everyone. My screen was rather fuzzy, but it was big and still watchable.

Food for dinner (beef borgingon or chicken creole) was not too bad, but breakfast - an orange juice and a sponge cake -was poor. I wasn't drinking after the complimentary pre-flight champagne or juice, always a nice touch, but it seemed to me that drinks were rather slow on coming for other passengers.

Flying from JFK to London was fast with the aid of the jet stream, but we were an hour late taking off. This translated to half an hour late at London Heathrow Terminal Three, which is somehere near Birmingham. It took us half an hour to walk to baggage reclaim.

I've got to be honest here, I'm not sure I'd pay much extra for Premium Economy for a six hour flight as this was. It's okay, but I'd almost rather save the extra to try and get into Upper Class, especially if was a twelve hour slog.

We were upgraded into this on the outward flight, and I thought that maybe with Premium Economy this was a perk - a better chance of shuffling up the 'plane. But as I stowed my bag in Premium, a lucky young lady from Economy was being upgraded to Upper Class. "Awesome!", she said as she passed, and she was right.

frustratedflyer flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-300 (06/02/2009 07:49)

Was in 18C which had the advantage of extra legroom. IFE was not great and some channels did not work, food was average and service was not the best. I had to request a newspaper which you are supposed to get in PE and was the only person to get one. I sat with an empty glass at my seat from the first drinks service until just before we landed (about 9 hrs!). On a positive note the seat is better than BA's and the decent arm rest means that you do not nudge your next door neighbour. Row 18 does not have a built in foor rest and soft 'wedges' are available in the overhead locker to rest you feet on instead.

slinky09 flew Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, on a A340-600 (02/10/2008 09:33)

Comfortable, spacious, good IFE to while away the time, PE on Virgin Atlantic is IMO a very good offering. Recent service improvements have added to this. Areas for improvement still include the breakfast service though, and on the 343 planes it doesn't seem as good as on the 346s or 747s. Overall, beats most of the competition in this class hands down.