As well as the pictures below, some more should appear on our Instagram feed (click here) during the evening from the launch party. Virgin Atlantic has, very wisely, decided to fit the tail and belly cameras on the A350. But I doubt anyone so obsessed with privacy has been flying either Club World or the current Virgin Upper Class suite, given how open they are. There are a few reasons for this. How does GHIC, the EHIC replacement EU travel insurance card, work? In other aircraft designs, this space would be open but covering much of the passengers behind legs. The aim of the design was to offer passengers similar comfort to that of a luxury lounge or a hotel. Safran, the seat manufacturer, has a bit of a reputation for these issues – Cathay Pacific experienced similar problems with its own A350s (see this article) which are also fitted with Safran cabins. Part 1 of our A350 Upper Class Suite review can be found here, the Delta One suite that Anika reviewed here, Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points, our recent articles on Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club, our home page with the latest news on earning and spending other airline and hotel points. Upper Class has always featured prominently across the airline’s advertising since its formation in 1984. I mean that it only goes half-way across. The Virgin Atlantic A330 Upper Class Suite. To be honest, I don’t understand why the market continues to accept charges for wi-fi, especially in premium cabins. I know why the airline does not want passengers hogging the bandwidth for gaming or videos, slowing down speeds for those who want to work, but this does not explain why Business Class passengers should pay. Some airlines consider themselves generous for giving First Class passengers free access. Background. Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Virgin Atlantic also has a higher percentage of leisure customers, and these passengers are looking for a more social travel experience. Virgin Atlantic has its own in-house design team and they have done a great job. The new Virgin Atlantic Upper Class suites are a massive step up for Virgin that instantly makes their business class competitive with other top airlines. Virgin Atlantic is receiving four new A350-1000 aircraft this … I have to admit that the Upper Class cabin looks fantastic. Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Virgin Atlantic has today revealed the new Upper Class suite which the airline’s new A350-1000 aircraft will be delivered with. Many of these come down to the Cirrus NG product by Safran. Whilst it looks flashy, the problems are within the bones of the seat – the lack of storage, inconvenient tray table and privacy screen. Especially because of the good value redemptions to be had via Virgin’s Flying Club, this is a product I would highly recommend trying, and is a welcome improvement to the existing product and great newc… Wi-fi connectivity comes in at £20.99 for the entire flight although there are incremental packages starting at £2.99 for messaging. This is generally inline with the market, although Qatar Airways charges just $10 for its high speed ‘Super Wi-Fi’ on London-Doha and offers all passengers one hour for free. Besides offering generally so… Our Upper Class cabins have a unique bar space to gather, grab a drink or dine with friends. Click here to see our recent articles on Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club and click here for our home page with the latest news on earning and spending other airline and hotel points. We were on the first A350 delivered to Virgin, which had been in commercial service to New York for a week. The other option would be to take the Delta One suite that Anika reviewed here – remember that Delta has a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic – and modify it to their needs. On Monday, Virgin Atlantic unveiled the Upper Class suite at its London Gatwick headquarters. Photo: Simple Flying Virgin Atlantic Upper Class. How does GHIC, the EHIC replacement EU travel insurance card, work? The stitching looks great and there are little flashes of Virgin red popping out in unexpected places. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. A brand new Upper Class experience on the Virgin Atlantic A350s is providing business class passengers with a spectacular new start and end to their flights. See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com. The Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Suite is a patented system, which provides passengers with an innovative piece of furniture for sitting and sleeping on, in the form of a chair and separate bed. How do BA American Express companion vouchers work? This is as Virgin insists they are a “social airline”, so they don’t want to place a divider in between staff and passengers. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Your feet disappear into a cubbyhole under the back of the seat in front of you. Weâre the UKâs leading source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. What are the most valuable credit card sign-up bonuses? How does allowing the table to fold in half actually address any of the issues identified? Click for details. Virgin Atlantic has reversed this model. Is this the tray-table? What is the best Virgin Atlantic credit card? Here is a PR photograph: and here is the real thing: The seats have been styled in typical Virgin Atlantic fashion with chocolate browns, dark reds, white and gold accents. Every seat faces towards the window and comes with enhanced privacy, plenty of space and storage, adjustable mood lighting, and an 18.5 inch screen – all with inimitable Virgin Atlantic style. No-one else is flying it. As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards. The first is that a full width door would have meant the loss of some personal space and a smaller seat. You can unsubscribe at any point by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. Click here to see our recent articles on Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club and click here for our home page with the latest news on earning and spending other airline and hotel points. We were given free wi-fi access on our flight to test it out and it worked averagely well by in-flight standards. I was able to browse social media, emails and web pages without any problems, although I did have to re-connect midway through the flight. Put simply, if the traditional layout is like this / / , Virgin has switched it to / /, You will get less disturbance from crew service, passing passengers etc which will be especially helpful on night flights, You can, if you wish, talk to your neighbour easily because their head is close to your head, albeit separated by a partition. For full details of how your data is used and stored, please see our data processing page here. These two articles focus on the new Upper Class Suite. As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. The seat pitch is 44 inches and extends to 82 inches in bed mode. I have not seen the British Airways Club Suite in the flesh, only via a VR simulator. Despite the issues with seat build quality, Virgin appears to have cut fewer corners than British Airways, choosing to install the tail cam, adjustable air vents and mood lighting. change is the switch from seats facing inwards in a herringbone pattern The picture below is a PR shot …. we didn’t get a red carpet welcome! Virgin Atlantic has unveiled its brand new Upper Class suite which will launch on the carrier’s A350-1000 aircraft this summer. Regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a credit broker (FRN 690573). You can find out more on Virgin’s official A350 website page here. Generally, I find award availability through Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Clubto be pretty good, and had there been availability on the flight we needed, it would have cost 47,500 miles plus £447 in taxes and fees. Learn more on our About page. I have been able to sit in the new Upper Class Suite in an impressive training cabin that was built inside the Virgin Atlantic training base in Crawley. Virgin Atlantic is pulling its unique staggered herringbone 2012-released Upper Class Dream Suite business class seats off its Airbus A330 fleet and replacing it with an updated version of its 2003 product, which was the first fully flat business class bed with direct aisle access. Unfortunately I don’t have an image yet. The centre pair of seats is the opposite: you are facing towards the aisle so that your head is in close proximity to your neighbour, although obviously separated by a partition. This is, I believe, a deliberate decision by Virgin Atlantic due to the high proportion of coupled leisure passengers it carries. The tray table is on the inside whilst the IFE screen is on the aisle side. What is the best Virgin Atlantic credit card? Whilst this wasn’t working on the mock-up cabin, you can apparently pair your phone with the IFE screen to use as a remote control. In order to get myself on one of the very first A350 flights, and wanting to avoid the actual inaugural (to see what the “real” service would be like), we paid cash for our tickets, as no award seats were available. Don ’ t get a red carpet welcome whichever seat you prefer, the passenger, since both airlines taken... In front of you anywhere virgin atlantic upper class suite the World adjustable mood lighting a beginner... Operates differently your heads are about four feet apart featured prominently across airline! To be delivered with which I will cover in detail in part.... Over booking direct is novel for Virgin passengers although the norm for everyone else these not! Above our legs here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points from American. 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