Today I’m flying Virgin Atlantic Premium to Nassau in the Bahamas.
But the big question is whether the premium economy service justifies the upgraded cost?
In this review I’ll compare the service to an economy flight I took on the same
aircraft type a few months ago. When booking, Premium seats tend to
cost in the region of 80 to 100 percent more than economy classic seats. Although sometimes
you can pick up an upgrade at the airport on the day of travel for around £300.
Premium has dedicated check-in desks which tend to have far shorter queues. This gives the feel
of a more personalised service. You can take two suitcases
weighing up to 23 kilos each. By contrast economy classic has lots
of rope lines and only one suitcase weighing up to 23 kilos included in the price.
At Heathrow, after check-in you go up escalators to security – there is also a lift.
Premium doesn’t get you fast track security, so you join the standard queues.
After security there’s a walk through duty free before you get to the main departure lounge.
There’s lots of seating and a range of shops and food outlets.
Although expect to queue for any restaurants. There’s no business lounge access included.
My flight was departing from the remote pier,
which was about a ten minute walk from the departure lounge.
At the gate, Premium passengers got to use the priority lane alongside Upper Class passengers.
The flight was on a seven year old Boeing 787-9 aircraft,
registration G-VYUM, called ‘Ruby Murray’.
Premium passengers got to board the aircraft ahead of economy passengers.
Premium was located at the front of the second cabin of the aircraft.
There were 35 seats in a 2-3-2 configuration. I was in seat 21K.
The seat had a width of 21 inches. The distance between each row, or pitch, was 38 inches,
and the seat could recline up to 8 inches. This compared to economy classic seats with
a width of 17 inches, a pitch of 31 inches, and a recline of 5 inches.
On each
seat were headphones, a pillow and blanket and an amenity kit.
In economy there was a smaller pillow and blanket and headphones.
A glass of Prosecco was offered pre-departure.
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Amenity kits aren’t always provided on day flights from London.
But they were on this flight. The kit comprised ear plugs and
a pen. Toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste. And a basic eye mask.
Between the seats at floor level were power sockets,
and below the monitor was a USB port. We pushed
back a little behind schedule as the safety video played.
We taxied across the airfield to takeoff on runway 2 7 right.
Once in the air I unfolded my TV screen to check out the entertainment system.
For most seats the screen was in the back of the seat in front, but in the front row bulkhead seats
it folded out from beside the seat. The headphones were ok. They weren’t
noise cancelling though. Very similar headphones were provided in economy.
The entertainment system featured a range of movies and TV boxsets.
I watched ‘See How They Run’.
WiFi was also available for a fee with download speeds around 4 megabits per second.
Shortly after takeoff the drinks trolley came around.
Wine, beers and a range of spirits in miniature bottles were available.
It was the same offering as economy, just with a glass instead of plastic.
For all seats in Premium, the tray table folded out from beside the seat.
It was a bigger table than in economy.
The Premium meal service was very different to economy.
It consisted of three courses, with a choice of main course.
The starter was a quinoa, butternut squash and feta cheese salad,
which was good with a range of favours coming through.
The meal was served on crockery with glassware and metal cutlery.
For main course there was a choice of vegetable curry, chicken casserole or shepherd pie.
The shepherd pie was also good. It tasted a lot better than it looked.
The dessert was a chocolate and caramel crunch.
The meal was a huge upgrade from the economy offering.
A choice of red or white wine in a can, or soft drinks, was offered.
This was the same as for economy, but with glassware rather than plastics.
The standard Premium seats had fold down footrests. For the bulkhead
seats a footstool was provided after take-off.
There were two dedicated bathrooms for Premium passengers
located at the front of the cabin. Like most aircraft bathrooms, they were snug.
There was a fold down baby changing mat. Also at the front of the cabin was the galley,
where a range of snacks and soft drinks were available throughout the flight.
About halfway through the flight, lollipops were offered.
These were also offered to economy passengers.
On longer flights, but not today, a cheese toastie was also offered.
About an hour and a half prior to landing, afternoon tea was served.
This consisted of some sandwiches and cakes and a scone with cream and jam.
Prosecco was served alongside tea and coffee. This was an enhancement of what was served in
economy. The
seatbelt sign came on about thirty minutes prior to landing.
Overall do I think Premium is worth the upgrade?
The extra legroom and space around the seat are good. The food and drink service is much better.
If experience is important to you, rather than just getting from A to B,
then yes, it is worth looking at Premium.
If you can bag a last minute upgrade at the airport, definitely go for it.
Is it worth the full cost though? Personally I would say yes.
You also get off the plane ahead of economy passengers.
And your bags are tags for priority delivery.
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