Virgin Atlantic VS 316 – London Heathrow to Bangalore - check-in easy - lift to dedicated security - stroll to Clubhouse - shared a window seat – me a well done bacon roll - Champaign - Lauren Perrier - table service good - delay of 30 minutes - boarding easy – Upper Class not full - neither was premium economy - cabin crew attentive - both got our pre-ordered meals - sea bream and macaroni cheese (for me the latter no better than when we flew to China in May) - flight tedious as we had to route away from Middle East - flew over Saudi and turned left - no real sleep - not much on Vera - whiled away time reading Sally Vixen - supper snack before landing - and this is where flights and body clocks clash - India 4 and half hours on - landed around 3.00 - so body clock set at 10.30 – 787-9 configuration showings it’s age as it lacks adjustment and no longer a modern business class product - G-VOWS aka Maid Marion
Virgin Atlantic VS317 – Very early return – 01.30 checked-in – no problems – security slow – passport control efficient - and then it was off to the Lounge – 080 – shared lounge with certain areas linked to the Lounge pass – not great but somewhere to sit – food and drink offer limited and not much information about the flight in the Lounge – took the long walk to gate C1 around the time of boarding indicated at check-in – waited about 10 minutes before being called forward to board – flight not full – welcomed on board by a member of our cabin crew from outbound flight – Upper Class about 50% full – rest of plane not full at all – got away almost on time but very long taxi to the departure runway – and then followed a long tedious and uneventful flight – difficult to get comfortable because seats lack adjustment between slight recline and fully flat – food not stellar given that is a “business” class ticket - chicken and cheese club sandwich followed by 2 hours before landing a cooked breakfast option – in between little interaction with the cabin crew who seemed as bored as I was with the flight – VERA selection not great - landed over London – G-VDIA aka Lucy in the Sky
Given the many changes that Virgin have recently made – for example cancelling Shanghai and Sao Paulo – the airline needs to decide what routes best suit its business model – and at some time in the near future decide whether to invest in new Upper Class seats for the 787’s which are more in line with the A330 Neos – as it is falling behind even BA…..boutique fails if it is no longer comfortable