In this trip report, I review Premium Economy on Virgin Atlantic’s new Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner on a flight from London Heathrow to Newark in New York. This flight flew out of London Heathrow Terminal Terminal 3. You can read all our Virgin Premium Economy flight reviews in this collated guide.
If you have a Priority Pass, you will get access to the Club Aspire Lounge Heathrow Terminal 3, but you will not get access to the Virgin Clubhouse Lounge at Heathrow. You need to be traveling in their Business or “Upper Class” to get access to this lounge. If your Virgin flight is departing from Gatwick and you are traveling in Upper Class, you get access to the Virgin Clubhouse Lounge at Gatwick.
It is worth noting that Virgin Atlantic is partnered with the American airline Delta, as well as many other Oneworld and international carriers like British Airways, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, and Japan Airlines.
When traveling in Premium Economy, you will get priority boarding, so you will get onto the plane before Economy passengers.
Virgin Atlantic’s 787-9s have three cabins — Upper Class, Premium Economy, and Economy. There are 31 lie-flat Upper Class seats arranged in a 1-1-1 layout. Each seat is 22 inches wide and has 79.5 inches of pitch.
The Economy cabin has a total of 198 seats in a 3-3-3 layout, with seats that are 17.5 inches wide with 31 inches of pitch.
The Seats
The Premium Economy cabin is located right behind the Business Class cabin. There are 35 reclining seats configured in a 2-3-2 pattern. Each seat is 21 inches wide with 38 inches of pitch. The seats look more stylish than those in Economy, with lots of padding, a big headrest, and obviously more space. It is worth noting that Upper Class seats are only an inch wider than those in Premium Economy.
Each seat comes with a personal entertainment screen as well as a headphone jack, a USB power port, and a remote. Tray tables fold down from the armrest. The in-flight entertainment system has a decent range of movies, TV series, and music.
I noticed that this flight was quite full as I was heading to my seat. On the seats were an oversized pillow, a blanket, a small amenity kit, and a large pair of headphones (that weren’t that good). The seats felt comfortable and could be reclined quite far back by using a few buttons.
The amenity kit contained just the essentials – a toothbrush and toothpaste, an eye mask, a pair of socks, earbuds, and a pen. The blanket was plush but not too thick.
Food and Beverages
After taking off, I was offered drinks. I chose a glass of sparkling wine (the other option was orange juice). I was also given a bottle of water.
The menu offered had a salad as a starter and a choice from three main course options (including a vegetarian option), followed by a dessert. There was also an ‘afternoon tea’ later in the flight.
For the main course, I chose the chicken with chorizo and bean casserole, which came with vegetables. It looked terrible but tasted fine. Dessert was a toffee brownie as well as ‘cheese and crackers’ — which was a disappointing plastic-covered biscuit with a Boursin cheese dip. Dessert was served on the same tray as the meal.
Afternoon tea came a few hours later on in the flight and was made up of three small sandwiches, cream, jam, and two small pastries.
I particularly liked that Premium Economy passengers get access to the Business Class in-flight ‘bar’ between the Premium Economy and Upper Class cabins, which was well-stocked throughout the flight with snacks, juices, and water.
The plane is also supposedly equipped with Wi-Fi, but during my flight, I couldn’t connect at all.
All in all, I would say that the Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy flight was pretty good, although when compared to British Airways, the food is better in British Airways Premium Economy as it is taken from their Business Class Menu. I felt like it was worth the extra cash to pay for an upgrade. You can see the official Virgin Atlantic Video about their Premium Economy below.
If you are looking to book any premium flights or luxury hotels, don’t forget to contact our Luxury Travel Concierge for complimentary upgrades, discounts, free breakfasts, and more.
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