Virgin Atlantic - Come fly with me! (Virgin Atlantic)

Member Name: puddingmancan

Product:	Virgin Atlantic
Date:	20/10/09 (88 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Friendly with great service

Disadvantages: None

Over the last couple of years I have flown with a variety of different airlines, with a mixture of success and failure, with airlines I'd definitely fly with again to ones I'd avoid at all costs. So, when planning my holiday to Hong Kong this year I was looking forward to trying out Virgin Atlantic. I have always been a fan of the Virgin brand and think that for the most part they provide an excellent service, so I was eager to see if this same level of service was provided in Virgin Atlantic....and I was not let down.

The Website
The website is brilliantly designed and is easy to navigate. When searching my chosen departure and arrival destination with planned dates, the output gave a selection of differing prices with arrival and return dates over a 6 day period. Using this it was easy to see that money could be saved just by changing the return date by one day (in my case nearly £100). The booking procedure was easy and secure. The online account management was also second to none that I have used before. You could choose your seat straight away, not the usual 24 hour before, and all the other features of online management were available.

The Staff
All the staff, from the checking desk to cabin crew, were courteous, friendly and helpful. More than that they seemed to actually enjoy their job, which is something that I have not seen, or at least have not been noticeable on most other airlines I have flown with.

The flight
On the flight I opted for a window seat on economy. The seats were sufficiently large with decant leg room (I'm 6ft and could sit comfortably without knees in my chin). You could not only recline the seat, but could also change the firmness of the back rest. The in-flight entertainment was also fantastic. There was a great choice of films, TV shows, documentaries, cartoons and radio shows; more than enough to satisfy anybody's tastes. On the flight you were provided with complimentary blanket, eye mask, socks, pen (for all the pesky arrival forms), pillow, headphones, toothbrush and toothpaste.

Food
I can honestly say the evening meal I had on the flight there and back (chicken and rice and chicken and mash), were the best I've ever had on an aeroplane. The meat was nicely cooked, not to tough and both the rice and mash tasted delicious. They also came with salad (tasted fresh), bread roll and desert. If you have any dietary requirement you can request particular meals on your online account before flying. My flights were overnight and I found that there was always water, juice and snacks readily available. The breakfast was a bit of a letdown however, with some questionable baked beans in the English breakfast option.

Summery
In conclusion I found Virgin Atlantic to be an excellent airline. It was friendly and provided excellent quality for a low price. I would definitely fly with them again and have recommended them to my friends and family.

Summary: An excellent airline