In the week leading up to the flight I received almost daily emails from Virgin about all kinds of aspects including, more unusually, what my plans were for my visit to the Clubhouse, this included options for Working, Dining or Relaxing. I wasn't quite sure how this may impact my travels, perhaps a personalized lounge greeting, but I went along with it in my attempts to fully try out the Virgin experience. I also picked out my main meal item a few days out...
Route: London - Heathrow - New York - John F. Kennedy International
Airline: Virgin Atlantic Airways
Flight Number: VS25
Aircraft: Airbus A350-1041
Registration: G-VLUX
Seat: 5A (Upper Class/Business Class)
Distance: 3518 miles
Duration: 6hrs 56mins
Route: JOOPY BRADD PLYMM PARCH3
On the day I was due to leave my brother, visiting from the island of Jersey, was also returning home. Alas the handily timed British Airways departure that allowed my mother to do one drop off journey was cancelled and he rebooked out of Southampton. This meant that I was to show up extremely early, even by my standards, for the 8.15pm departure. With one of Heathrow's best lounges to explore for the first time I was far from upset and we rolled up to the barrier guarding the entrance to Virgin's Upper Class Wing right around 4hrs before departure.
There was one car ahead of us and after a few minutes the barrier rose. The extremely poor reception on the intercom was far from ideal to verify credentials and after a couple of attempts the barrier lifted. The ramp to the "Wing" brings you to an extremely impressive entrance mirroring that of a luxury hotel with turning circle, revolving doors and artwork.
Sadly the next few minutes didn't match that...I was asked to take a seat whilst two other agents and what appeared to be a porter for the airline helped a small group that had a large amount of luggage. One other passenger was waiting on the sofa besides me and after a few minutes spoke up and asked if she could be released to the main part of the terminal as this was so slow. An agent sprung into life to help her and once finished with her she called me up. I had one box to check (ironically a British Airways limited edition Trunki for my young daughter) and this was slapped up with Upper Class stickers and passed on to the porter shortly before I was directed down the corridor to the dedicated security channel. This was my first sighting of any regular part of the terminal and with no queue whatsoever, my passage to airside was only hindered by security agents that seemed half asleep not expecting my arrival.
After a lengthy meander through the duty free shops of Terminal 3 I climbed the stairs up to the Clubhouse. I was warmly welcomed into the lounge but no mention of my "Dining" preference from the email a few days before. I knew the lounge had a lot to offer so chose to position myself towards the back corner so I could scope out as much as possible on my way over to a small table group not far from the stairs. As seems to be de rigueur in many lounges now there was a QR code attached to the table and I explored the rather clunky ordering system. I threw in an order for a margarita but couldn't easily track down where to include a request for water...Even though the lounge wasn't that busy it took what seemed like an age to arrive but the waiters and waitresses were buzzing around with regularity so I assumed the bottleneck was at the bartending side itself.
I messaged my wife and a couple of our best friends who also travel regularly and shared a couple of photos of the lounge, the other husband was also travelling but on JetBlue Mint so shared his jealousy about the ability enjoy a decent lounge beforehand! A few minutes later my margarita arrived, I should note with some profuse apologies, some food started to arrive. A (kids) fish and chips dinner, a brownie and a large cookie, plus shortly thereafter a Budweiser. I was initially confused but then saw a message from one of my friends. I'd included the QR code in part of one of the photos I'd shared with them and they ordered some local food for me, and as it was July 4th, a Budweiser too! It was actually perfect and despite being a kids order was just the right size to carry me over until eating onboard. I don't count sweet items against my daily intake!
With the food out the way I chose to explore a little and took my bags up to one of the more unique items at the Clubhouse, the roof terrace.
Positioned with views looking out towards 27R, the active departure runway it was a perfect summer evening to sit out there and follow the movements on Flightradar24. I got to see the BA A380 that had brought me over the previous week depart, as well as the BA293, a Washington bound service that I had taken regularly for many years before I moved to New York.
After a good hour or so I relocated back downstairs awaiting the posting of the departure gate relaxing in an Eames Chair close to the bar. With posted time for embarkment on the boarding pass set for 7.20pm the fact the gate wasn't to be posted until 7.15pm posed a potential issue. Alas, right at 7.15pm Gate 17 was posted so I gathered my items and walked down the pier towards the gate. Having not flown from these dingier piers and gates for a few years now it was quite a departure from the Terminal 5 aesthetic I'm used to. The A350's nose was right outside the window and I lined myself up with another couple of passengers at the Upper Class podium.
Lines formed at the various podiums; Upper Class, Priority and then the rest. Passengers with SSSS and no seat assignments were called forward. This caused consternation for passengers who were in subsequent tranches to arrive, especially those in Upper Class and Priority, who assumed boarding had already begun and then barged past everyone in the already formed lines. When rebuffed by the guardians they would mostly just stand at the front of the line ignoring those standing around them, and I shall admit that after one of these couples ending up standing next to me I did point out that there was a fairly lengthy line behind them. Alas, I was ignored and almost bowled over by them a few seconds later when boarding was called. I was one of the first onboard through door 2L, being greeted warmly and directed towards my port side window seat half way down the cabin. Amusingly the only occupied seat in the cabin was the guy from 6A that had mistakenly taken mine...
As I placed my bags at my seat I took a quick look around noting the amenity kit, menu and slightly dented can of what I discovered was water. As is standard practice for me on longer flights I went and changed into something more comfortable, but as I am putting my bags away I hear another passenger request a sleeper suit, this was something I knew that Virgin used to offer but thought had been enhanced away for a variety of reasons. After being offered a choice of water, champagne or orange juice (same choices as in Club World, surprise!) I relax and get somewhat familiar with my seat. The A350 seat in Upper Class is a unique design, it made a change from yet another iteration of the B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seat that seems to be rather ubiquitous at this point, and as such I felt a bit like a rookie peering around the seat and moving bits and pieces here and there. At least it was an attempt to distract me from the guy behind me who was listening to voicemails on speakerphone behind me and divulging a little more information he should have done about his patients. Overall the seat felt a little more hemmed in than the new Club Suite with not much storage space between the seat and the window. Certainly not a bad seat but a few tweaks and it could have been much better.
Departure was delayed slightly due to late arrival of other passengers and what was an 8.15pm evolved into an 8.40pm pushback, however, it was indicated that we should make up the time enroute. I had by this time, probably with the help of those earlier drinks, requested a sleeper suit and gone and changed again! [biggrin] The safety video, a cartoon film themed one, was certainly rather well done and held my attention as we backed away from Gate 17 and taxied around the south side of the central terminal area, past Terminal 2 and up towards 27R. After the departure of a BA 777 for Boston and a Seoul bound Korean 777 it was our turn to head skywards into the diminishing light of Monday evening a few minutes before 9pm. Incidentally a few days after I got home I realised that Big Jet TV had caught my departure ( https://tinyurl.com/vs350lhr ) though sadly for me I was on the other side of the aircraft.
For those of you that have read my other reports detailing flights out of Heathrow you'll know I always love the first fifteen minutes or so aloft, especially those flights heading west as it takes me over the area I grew up in and where I went to school. I'm always on the lookout for landmarks even if I have done it dozens, hundreds of times...it never gets old and the seats on the left side usually offer better views in that respect with the late evening light offering a perfect backdrop as we ascended over Berkshire and out towards South Wales.
The map system was a little frustrating and so I relied upon my own knowledge of area's geography until the Bristol Channel was replaced by the Irish Sea and the coastline of Devon and Cornwall eventually stretched further and further away.
Around 40 minutes after takeoff the cabin service began, starting with drinks and I opted for "The English Garden", a gin based cocktail that was a sort of English mojito. It was pretty decent and rather refreshing and as always for alcohol aboard I had a glass of water to go with it...Twenty minutes subsequent to that the friendly flight attendant set up my table and offered bread and butter and the well known Virgin Atlantic aircraft inspired salt and pepper grinders. Of the two starter options I went for the Hot Smoked Salmon which tasted a lot better than its cat food like appearance suggested! Of note, fresh wines and drinks were offered at this time too.
With our chase of the sun westbound becoming a losing battle and nothing to see outside but Atlantic Ocean I focused back to the Vera inflight entertainment system. Having been on something of an '80s kick these past few years The Lost Boys seemed a suitable option and I reclined slightly as the Garlic and Ginger Prawns dish I had preordered arrived. Given the description I was expecting a lot more of a Thai curry looking dish but this just looked a bit sad.
Thankfully again it tasted better than the photo suggests but a little more sauce wouldn't have killed it. Of the two dessert options, other being an apple and blackberry crumble, I went for the Passionfruit and chocolate dome. This was a delightful finish but just had me wanting for more!
With meal service tidied away just under 2hrs into the flight there was plenty of time to relax and stretch out. I reclined the seat progressively further and at the conclusion of the film opted for that ubiquitous TV choice on longhaul flights, Top Gear...that was in part thanks to the fact I couldn't get my initial choice to work.
After a couple of episodes I chose to nap, not something I usually do on westbound flights but with this late departure and on the back end of a busy few days in the UK it was the logical choice. I set an alarm on my phone for 90 minutes and got comfortable in the fully reclined position until the chirp beside me ear awoke me from my slumber.
Given how short this nap and how full I was when I went to sleep I woke up remarkably hungry and the offer from the snack bites menu was taken up by myself. This consisted of four options; Barbecue pulled pork, warm crab cakes, cream tea or superfood salad. I opted for the first two and enjoyed them whilst watching the ever silly Brooklyn Nine-Nine. This got me up the point of 1hr from touchdown and the time I prefer to change back out of pajamas, however, the seatbelt sign went on just as I was getting up. It was another fifteen or so minutes before I could prepare myself for arrival.
Our arrival into JFK was one of my most regular routes when arriving from the UK, bringing us down over the North Fork of Long Island, before skirting the southern coast. Having lived on Long Island for 8yrs I always enjoy scanning the lights for familiar landmarks, usually one of the airports. However, this time, being well into the evening of July 4th I had the added enjoyment of the fireworks which came more and more into view as we descended further.
The twist and turns of the 22L arrival path had us then head back north, turning over the Westbury area before we landed just a few minutes before 11pm.
At this hour we only had to wait for the one aircraft, an LHR bound AA 777-300, to depart on 22R and then inched across to the Terminal 4 apron. The moodlighting was slowly inched up in preparation for our disembarkment as we approached Gate 29. Sitting on the port side I was ideally situated to see whether we were to leave from door 1L or 2L and when it was apparent it was the latter I headed rearward. It was a decent hike around to immigration where I was to renew my Global Entry once again. Recently the option to renew on arrival has made things much easier and the officer manning the Global Entry line pointed me back to the open office door where I waited about fifteen minutes to be processed. By the time I was done I walked right up to baggage claim, spotting my case/box instantly and with ease was through to the landside area and upstairs to meet my father-in-law for the ride home...
Verdict: So, as a BA Gold with more Club World flights under my belt than I care to think how did Virgin stack up? Well, in summary I'd say the two very similar in many ways. The Upper Class Wing of Virgin and the First Wing on BA are rather similar, with the exception of the more door-to-door service on Virgin. That said, BA's First Wing puts you straight into the Galleries First lounge, whereas Virgin has you navigating a large swathe of Terminal 3 before reaching the Clubhouse so they're fairly equal in my eyes. I'd give the Clubhouse itself the edge over the Galleries First in terms of ambience, food and beverage options, plus it has neat features such as the roof terrace, pool table and Peloton bikes. That being said, the First Wing and lounge are oneworld Emerald perks I get thanks to my BA Gold card so whilst for me it is equal, Virgin really takes it here when considering a level playing field. Onboard I'd say that BA's Club Suite is superior to the A350 equivalent on Virgin, and no, not just because of the door. The storage feels better designed with more of it, plus the seat seems a smidge wider and more comfortable....and then on a nerdy basis I preferred the inflight map on BA! Service is always tricky to judge at least based on the one flight but my FAs on Virgin gave me little to complaint about but weren't massively proactive and felt a little absent on this occasion. Overall, I had no real complaints about Virgin and wouldn't have any issues flying them again, especially, as was the case here, I was able to save a few thousand dollars compared to my usual British Airways and American Airlines default options.
