Virgin Atlantic has taken delivery of its first Airbus A330 neo aircraft, which will debut on the carrier’s Heathrow-Boston route.

Earlier this year, the airline revealed its hotly anticipated Airbus A330neo, designed to provide a premium, personalised customer experience. The airline’s Upper Class cabin boasts a brand new seat, evolution of its iconic social space and the unveiling of The Retreat Suite, the most spacious suite in Virgin Atlantic’s history.

Throughout the aircraft, there will be more ways for customers to stay connected than ever before. Those travelling in Premium and Upper Class can take advantage of game changing in-seat wireless charging, whilst customers in every cabin can enjoy a greater number of USB connections, Bluetooth enabled entertainment systems and the airline’s fastest ever Wi-Fi. 

Virgin Atlantic will be the first UK operator of the A330 neo, and has 13 of the aircraft on order (six on lease from Air Lease Corporation), with “an intention to expand the fleet to 16 eventually”. You gotta love those cockpit windows; looks like the Airbus is wearing cool shades!

The aircraft also marks the 50th Airbus delivery for the carrier. Read more here.

​Route: Shanghai Pudong International Airport to London Heathrow International Airport

Departure date and time of flight: 11:50 on February 6, 2015

Flight number: VS251 (Callsign: Virgin 251 heavy)

Flight duration: 12 hours and 55 minutes

Cabin: Economy Class

Aircraft type: Airbus A340-313 (0 in service)

There are four variants of the A340. The A340-200 and A340-300 were launched in 1987 with introduction into service in March 1993. The A340-500 and A340-600 were launched in 1997 with introduction into service in 2002. The A340-600 is the longest version in the A340 airliner family.
 
The ageing Airbus A340-300 aircraft were withdrawn from service in April 2015, as rising costs had made it less economical to run the type. Virgin had begun to replace the A340-300 on routes with the two-engine A330-300 and 787-9. The final Virgin Atlantic A340-300 flight was made on 9 April, landing at London Heathrow early on 10 April.
 
Aircraft registration: G-VSUN (this aircraft was stored in 05/2015, and then scrapped in 07/2015, as was the rest of Virgin’s Airbus A340-313 fleet)
 
Aircraft name: Rainbow Lady
 
First flight: January 17, 1996
 
Engines: Four x CFMI CFM56-5C4
 
Aircraft serial number: 114
 
Seat configuration:
 
40 First Class Seats (Virgin calls it "Upper Class" cabin)
28 Premium Economy Class seats
187 Economy Class seats

Punctuality of the flight:
 
The flight departed on time and landed on time. Considering the fact the previous night I had missed two flights (one for Air India and another for Etihad Airways, both denied boarding), it was somewhat of a relief to know that 1. I had made it successfully to the gate without any hassle, and 2. The flight was on time and landed on time without any drama.
 
To cut the long story short, the previous night, I was supposed to fly on Air India’s brand new Dreamliner Boeing 787 aircraft to promote their Business Class (and the aircraft) from Shanghai to New Delhi. I then had a connecting flight from New Delhi to London with Oman Air (via a short stopover in Muscat). Air India had invited me, and their senior management told me that as a British citizen, I did not require visa if I was just transiting via New Delhi (even on a different airline). I had double checked with Air India’s MD in China, and she confirmed the same with me. However when I got to the airport, the Air India check-in staff (who were all Chinese and outsourced from China Eastern Airlines) denied me boarding because I did not have a visa for India. Not one-I say again- not one person from Air India was at the check-in desk to assist (i.e. no Indian official). Despite me showing written evidence from the Air India MD, I was denied boarding.
 
Exceedingly frustrated, and somewhat panicked, I ran to the airport business centre at Pudong Airport’s Terminal 2 to purchase another ticket for London. I managed to purchase a one-way ticket with an Etihad Airways flight the same evening for US$750 (it was 9pm by the time I bought the ticket and the Etihad flight was at 11.30pm). However, when I went to the Etihad Airways check-in desk, the staff could not find my booking reference. In the panic I could not find my booking reference number because I had made the booking using my Gmail account, and I could not access Gmail in China (Gmail is blocked in China and I had no VPN either). So, therefore, I was denied boarding on the Etihad Airways flight, too. I had no choice but to spend more money and stay the night at the Shanghai Airport Hotel (located between Terminals 1 and 2…cost me around US$70 for one night). When I got to the hotel, I managed to book another flight by using VPN on my laptop (which, thankfully also allowed me to access Gmail). I purchased the one-way Virgin Atlantic flight for US$650. Altogether, I managed to lose US$2,000 that night (two flight purchases, hotel for one night and the cost of my connecting missed flights with Oman Air). Imagine if I had a family with two kids, for example…a VERY expensive and exhausting evening (thanks to the blunders from Air India and Etihad Airways).    
 
After the traumatic experience I had been through the previous evening, I was even prepared to fly cargo! So, I didn’t feel disappointed at all with the fact that I was originally going to fly in Business Class on Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and now I am sitting in seat 44 right at the back of an ageing Airbus A340 (well, I was disappointed, but glad that I finally got a seat to go home in time for my mother’s birthday). The interesting thing was that our Virgin Atlantic flight arrived an hour before the flight that I was due to take in the first place (with Oman Air)
 
The configuration in Economy Class is 2-4-2 on the Airbus A340-313, and so being in seat 44A and considering the flight was full, I wasn’t going to escape the fact that I had someone sharing my next seat with me…but who? To my amazement, the young Chinese woman was surprised (and seemed to be very happy, too), that I could speak Mandarin Chinese. So, to MY amazement, her immediate question to me was: “You are Chinese, right?” “Of course, not. What made you think that?” I asked, and her response? “Oh, I thought you were Chinese because your Mandarin is so good and that you’ve lived in China for over ten years”. It turned out later in the flight that she was a university student in the UK and wanted to settle down in the UK with a British man (“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” was my initial reaction…I was obviously not her first choice as I somehow appeared Chinese to her. Enough said.). So, on your next flight, just be cool with whoever your next neighbour is…you get ‘em in all ways nowadays!

Any baggage issues:
 
No issues- the bags arrived on time and in one piece.

Comments on the check-in:

No check-in issues. Everything went smoothly at Shanghai Pudong. I am not sure who is responsible for their training, but the check-in staff of Virgin Atlantic at Shanghai Pudong Airport are very well trained to deal with passengers. Not only do they speak good enough English but they were able to understand the customer’s problems. The experience with Virgin Atlantic was a million times better than the experience I had been faced with Air India and Etihad Airways the previous evening. From my experience, neither the check-in staff of Air India (who out-sourced their check-in staff to China Eastern Airlines) and Etihad Airways seemed to be well-trained (if at all). I was so shocked and amazed at how efficient and professional the Virgin Atlantic staff were, I had to ask the wonderful lady at the check-in desk if there were any problems with my flight (just to reassure myself). She smiled and looked at me as if I was serious…at which point I explained to her how I ended up missing two flights the previous night because of the incompetence and lack of professionalism of the two airlines in question (I could understand why Air India staff were incompetent, but the incompetence from Etihad Airways was a surprise).

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Pen State Pretzels (with Worcester sauce flavour) served with a choice of drinks (standard- tea, coffee, orange juice, apple juice, lemonade or Virgin Cola). There was a choice of red or white wine, and a selection of cognac and whiskeys as well.

Comments regarding the first meal:

Since this was an all-day flight, the crew did not delay in distributing the lunchtime meal- and so the lunch service commenced only around 40 minutes into the flight- which was great! Lunch consisted of a choice of “fish with boiled vegetables and rice” or “Cantonese style beef with noodles”. I went for the former. The rice and vegetables were well cooked, too. Side dishes included salad (consisting of grated mooli (white carrot), tomatoes and lettuce), a soft bread (bun) with anchor butter, and cream crackers. Virgin Atlantic provides plastic cutlery in Economy Class.
 
The dessert consisted of a chocolate cake blended in with “rich fruit”. The meal will filling, and perfect to eat on a long flight such as this.

Comments regarding the drinks service:

A second round of drinks were offered after the meal (and again consisting of “Virgin Cola!”)

Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any):

The in-flight galley was open throughout the flight. Passengers could help themselves to a selection of “Mcvities flapjacks”, “Walkers Scottish Shortbread”, and “Nestle muffins”, as well as a selection of complimentary hot and cold drinks (including tea and coffee). Cheese and ham burgers and ice-cream was also on offer. Hot pot noodles were also on offer. 

Comments regarding the second meal (if any):

Around an hour and half prior to landing at Heathrow, we were treated to a delicious afternoon meal. There was only dish available: seared pan-cod fish with rice and bok choy. Accompanying the main dish was a Hershey’s chocolate bar (made in China!). 

Comments on the in-flight system (if any):

The in-flight system was working without any problems. All the channels were showing the same as it was listed in the in-flight magazine.

Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew:

The cabin crew were very professional, hospitable and friendly- even more so after I explained to them the reason why I had taken this flight.  

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): 

The A340-313 has a standard 2-4-2 layout in Economy Class. The recline for the Economy Class seat was standard, however it was the quality of the seat- it was not soft and seemed to be of the same kind of seats passengers are treated to on Virgin trains in the UK.
 
A nice amenity kit bag containing eyeshades, socks, earplugs (both of which I never use), a pen and a tiny toothbrush with toothpaste (which, I did use!).
 
Virgin Atlantic brand livery
 
Virgin Atlantic's first aircraft were painted with a "Eurowhite" design with a red stripe through the centre of the main deck windows. The engines were metallic silver and the tail red with the Virgin logo in white. In the 1990s, the refreshed design was introduced, removing the centre red stripe through the windows, engines were painted red, the Virgin Atlantic titles in grey were added along the main fuselage, and the 'Flying Lady' was introduced to the nose area.
 
In October 2006, with the delivery of G-VRED, Virgin introduced a new design, with the fuselage painted in metallic silver and a revised tail fin, with red and purple features and the Virgin logo. Near the nose of each aircraft is a pin-up girl, the "Scarlet Lady", carrying a Union flag, which was designed by British artist Ken White, who modelled the motif on the World War II pin-ups of Alberto Vargas – hence the naming one of the fleet Varga Girl. Each aircraft has a name, usually feminine, such as Ladybird, Island Lady, and Ruby Tuesday, but some are linked to registrations (e.g. G-VFIZ became Bubbles).
 
There are a couple of commemorative names (e.g. G-VEIL—Queen of the Skies—which was named by Queen Elizabeth II on 7 April 2004, in celebration of the centenary of the Entente Cordiale). An exception is Spirit of Sir Freddie. An early Boeing 747, it was named in honour of Freddie Laker of Laker Airways, who helped Virgin Atlantic following the demise of his own airline. G-VFAB—Lady Penelope—gained a special livery to celebrate Virgin Atlantic's 21st birthday. On 26 September 2015, G-VFAB, Lady Penelope, was retired after 21 years of service.
 
The current livery dates from 2010 and returns to the "Eurowhite" design featuring purple billboard titles on the fuselage, slight changes to the Scarlet Lady, and new red metallic paint for the aircraft's tail and engines. The wingtips are red, with the Virgin logo on the inside facing passengers on board. The Virgin Atlantic logo was also added in purple billboard titles to the underside of the aircraft.

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 10

Route: London Heathrow Airport to Shanghai Pudong Airport

Departure date and time of flight:

May, 2014 at 3pm

Flight Number: VS250 (Callsign: Virgin 250 heavy)

Flight duration: 12 Hours 10 minutes

Aircraft Registration: G-VEIL

Aircraft Name: Queen of the Skies

First flight: 18/02/2004

Delivery flight: 08/04/2004

Aircraft Serial Number: 575

Engines: 4 x Rolls Royce Trent 556-61

Class: Economy Premium Class

Configuration:

First Class: 45

Economy Premium Class: 38

Economy Class: 233

Aircraft type: Airbus A340-642

There are four variants of the Airbus A340 aircraft; the A340-200 and A340-300 were launched in 1987 with introduction into service in March 1993, while the longer versions A340-500 and A340-642 were launched in 1997 with introduction into service in 2002. The Airbus A340-642 is the longest aircraft in the Airbus family, and is powered by 4 engines.

Punctuality of the flight:

The flight pushed back from the terminal on time at a cloudy Heathrow and landed on time in a very cloudy and humid Shanghai.

Comments on the check-in and baggage issues:

No check-in issues. Virgin Atlantic Airways international flights operate from Heathrow’s Terminal 3, where the airline has a separate building for check-in. Premium Economy class passengers have dedicated check-in counters.  

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Premium Economy passengers are offered hot hand towels and sparkling champagne prior to take-off.

After take-off, Premium passengers are served with pre-meal snacks of sour cream & cheese ‘Pen State Pretzels’ served with a choice of drinks (standard- tea, coffee, orange juice, apple juice, lemonade). There was a choice of red or white wine.

Comments regarding the first meal:

Since this was a late afternoon flight, the crew did not delay in distributing the lunch meal- and so the service commences only around 45 minutes into the flight.

Starter:

Mixed leaf and cherry tomato salad

With herb dressing. Simple but appetising and healthy.

Choices for the main courses consisted of:

Cottage Pie
Minced beef with crusted mashed potato and chive top.

Sweet Chilli Chicken
In a sweet, spicy, sticky sauce with egg noodles, red pepper, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and chopped spring onion.

Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni
Pasta tubes filled with creamy ricotta and spinach. A delight for vegetarians.

I went for the spinach.

The dessert consisted of a delicious chocolate profiterole cake and olive oil and salt crackers with cream cheese.

Comments regarding the drinks service:

A second round of drinks were offered after the meal (and again consisting of “Virgin Cola!”)

Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any):

The in-flight galley was open throughout the flight. Passengers could help themselves to a selection of “Mcvities flapjacks”, “Walkers Scottish Shortbread”, and “Nestle muffins”, as well as a selection of complimentary hot and cold drinks (including tea and coffee). Hot pot noodles were also on offer. 

Comments regarding the second meal (if any):

Around an hour and half prior to landing at Shanghai Pudong, we were treated to breakfast. There were two choices: An English breakfast, or a Chinese breakfast (congee).

I opted for the English breakfast, which consisted of a scrambled egg, pork sausage, back bacon, baked beans, sliced potatoes and button mushrooms.

The sausages tasted as if they were cooked minutes ago, and the baked beans were just too good. The scrambled eggs and the bacon was just perfectly cooked too. Accompanying the main dish was a bottle of Tropicana orange juice, pain aux raisin and fruit yoghurt. 

Comments on the in-flight system (if any):

The in-flight system was working without any problems. All the channels were showing the same as it was listed in the in-flight magazine.

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): 

The Airbus A340-642 has a standard 2-4-2 layout in Economy class and a 2-3-2 in Premium Economy class.

With a seat pitch of 38 inches, and a seat width of 21 inches, the Economy Premium seats on Virgin Atlantic Airways are very comfortable, and some of the most spacious in the industry. Especially for a daytime flight, it was very comfortable. Empower ports are available at all Upper Class and Premium Economy seats. You will need an adaptor to use these ports. There is no power units available in Economy. Audio Visual on Demand is available with a variety of movie and television programmes; children's channels and video games. The system aboard this aircraft is Virgin's V:Port system, which provides 14 channels and 45 CDs of Audio on Demand.

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best):10

Route: Hong Kong International to London Heathrow

Departure date and time of flight: 23:25pm in January 2007

Flight Number: VS201 (Callsign: Virgin 201)

Flight duration: 13h

Class: Economy Class

Aircraft type:

Airbus A340-600. There are four variants of the A340. The A340-200 and A340-300 were launched in 1987 with introduction into service in March 1993. The A340-500 and A340-600 were launched in 1997 with introduction into service in 2002. The A340-600 is the longest version in the A340 airliner family.

Punctuality of the flight:

The flight pushed back from the terminal on time, however as we were taxiing to the runway in use for take offs on that night (which at Hong Kong is about 2 miles away from the terminal building!), the plane had around a 10 to 15 minute wait at the threshold (the starting point of take offs). However, once the plane lined up on the runway for departure, the Captain had to bring the plane back again to the starting point because he lined up too early (another plane was on final approach and it would have been too close a call for take off!).

Any baggage issues:

No issues- the bags arrived on time and in one piece.

Comments on the check-in staff and any issues:

No check in issues. Everything went perfectly smoothly at Hong Kong.

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Pen state pretzels (with Worcester sauce flavour) served with a choice of drinks (standard- tea, coffee, orange juice, apple juice, lemonade or Virgin Cola). There was a choice of red or white wine, and a selection of cognac and whiskeys as well.

Comments regarding the first meal:

Since this was a late night flight, the crew did not delay in distributing the evening meal- and so the dinner service commences only around 30 minutes into the flight- which was great! Dinner consisted of a choice of “Sweet and sour pork with boiled vegetables and rice” or “Cantonese style chicken with noodles”. I went for the former. The Pork was delicious! Must have been cooked fresh that evening. The rice and vegetables were well cooked too. Side dishes included Salad (Consisting of grated mooli (white carrot), tomatoes and lettuce), a soft bread (bun) with Anchor butter, and cream crackers with “Bell Pease Cheese”. The dessert consisted of a chocolate cake blended in with “rich fruit”; and a miniature “Toblerone” chocolate bar. The meal will filling, and perfect to eat on a long flight such as this.

Comments regarding the drinks service:

A second round of drinks were offered after the meal (and again consisting of “Virgin Cola!”)

Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any):

The in-flight galley was open throughout the flight. Passengers could help themselves to a selection of “Mcvities Flapjacks”, “Walkers Scottish Shortbread”, and “Nestle Muffins”, as well as a selection of complimentary hot and cold drinks (including Tea and coffee). Hot Pot Noddles were also on offer. 

Comments regarding the second meal (if any):

Around an hour and half prior to landing at Heathrow (it must have been 4am in the UK!), we were treated to some delicious breakfast. There were two choices: An English breakfast, or a Chinese breakfast. I opted for the English breakfast, while my friend opted for the Chinese one. The only difference between the Chinese breakfast and the English one was that the Chinese breakfast consisted of Congee (Chinese porridge with pork). What I can share is that for a long haul flight, this was one of the better English style breakfasts’ I have had (other airlines offer similar meals too)- but the Virgin breakfast was filling.

The sausages tasted as if they were cooked minutes ago, and the bakes beans were just too good. The scrambled eggs, and the bacon was just perfectly cooked too. Accompanying the main dish was a pot of Nestle delight yogurt, a pot of fresh orange juice, and a French croissant. 

Comments on the in-flight system (if any):

The in-flight system was working without any problems. All the channels were showing the same as it was listed in the in-flight magazine.

Comments on the professionalism of the cabin crew:

The cabin crew were very professional and polite. Just a normal flight, without any incidents.

Improvements that could be made: The seats! Please read below.

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort):

The A340-600 has a standard 2-4-2 layout in Economy Class. However, the seats on Virgin Atlantic are not comfortable at all. It was one of those seats which you have to kind of slide yourself forward when the back of the seat reclines. It felt like you are sitting on a wooden chair and not on a flight that is lasting for half a day (13 hours). Especially for a night flight, it was uncomfortable. I could not sleep the whole night. 

Despite the recline for Economy Class seats being standard as per the industry, it was the quality of the seat that really mattered. That being soft and seemed to be of the same kind of seats passengers are treated to on Virgin trains in the UK (for real!). In other words what I saying is that everything else about the flight was great except the seats. Yes, you can sit on those seats quite comfortably maybe for a medium haul flight, however for a 13 hour night flight it was not a good experience. 

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 8 (the quality of the seats let down the flight)