In April, Simple Flying was lucky enough to fly Virgin Atlantic’s flagship Airbus A350-1000 from London to New Delhi. Given past travel with Virgin in premium economy class, I was confident that the A350 would set the benchmark in this competitive market. However, that may not be true. Here is a review of the product.

Busy day at Heathrow

My journey on VS300 started in the evening at Terminal 3 at London Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic has a dedicated section of the terminal area for its passengers, including a priority queue for premium economy class travellers. Although it hasn’t mattered as much in the past two years due to the low number of flights, it was a busy day for the airline.

The Premium Queue comes with a Document Check Station right at the back, so you don’t have to visit two different areas for clearance of vaccines and forms. In the evening, the Premium queue was even shorter than that of the upper class, and much faster than the economy, which was approaching capacity.

Virgin’s Premium Queue probably saved a huge amount of time on my check-in experience. Photo: Pranjal Pandé | single flight

Unfortunately, the check-in benefits don’t extend to Virgin’s private security channel, and it took a full 30 minutes to complete security. Overall, the ground experience at Virgin remains an important feature and will only become more convenient in the future.

Directly on boarding

It wasn’t a long drive from the duty-free maze to the gate, which was helpful considering I didn’t have much time left for recreation at the airport. It was definitely an exciting experience to see the brand new A350-1000, registered G-VLUX, a three year old bird. Virgin Atlantic includes Premium Economy Class passengers in the Priority Boarding section, right after Status Holders and Premium Class Travelers (a cabin we also reviewed recently!).

Virgin only upgraded service from Delhi to an A350 on April 4, making my flight one of the first on the biggest jet on offer. Photo: Pranjal Pandé | single flight

As usual, Virgin’s dark cabin tones and purple mood lighting leave those most in awe as they board. On the A350, The Loft occupies the space in front of the door, giving all passengers a view of the passenger social area at the front of the aircraft. Premium Economy is located just behind the second door.

Boarding the A350 is definitely an experience. Photo: Pranjal Pandé | single flight

Slimline seats

Virgin Atlantic offers 56 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration on the A350, spread over seven rows. Now, while the -1000 is wider than the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (2-3-2 layout), there’s not really enough space to add another seat without sacrificing the experience. Virgin opted for the denser layout on the 350, which resulted in some noticeable changes.

Photo: Pranjal Pandé | single flight

The premium economy seats are 18.5 inches wide, 2.5 inches less than the 787-9. Seat upholstery also took a hit, with slimmer leather seats chosen for this cabin. The pitch remains the same, but the seat lost a few points due to the standard footrest up front, which doesn’t offer the most room to stretch out while sleeping.

The tighter seats take away one of the main selling points of premium economy. Photo: Pranjal Pandé | single flight

That being said, the Virgin A350 seats are by no means uncomfortable. The leather seats offer significantly more legroom and padding than the economy a few rows behind, making for a comfortable flight. However, compared to the 787-9, for which I had only positive words last year, it certainly feels like a downgrade.

The service remains sharp

Beyond the hard product, Virgin Atlantic’s service remains top notch as usual. Despite boarding late, I was offered a welcome drink of choice in a glass, a nice touch in premium economy. However, one point to note is that dinner took a full two hours from take off to table. On a night flight where speed is key, it felt slower than usual.

However, the contents of the meal did not disappoint. Paper menus are back too! This means you can use the drink service time to choose one of three main courses.

Photo: Pranjal Pandé | single flight

I opted for the chicken lasagna, which was nicely plated and came with a sous vide bun, chickpea salad and dessert. The main course was hot and tasted great, and I could easily have gone for a few seconds. The salad was frozen and needed a bit more time to defrost, but that was made up for by the delicious slice of mango and passion fruit, which was the highlight of the meal.

Photo: Pranjal Pandé | single flight

The breakfast offer took a noticeable hit. The vegetable samosas came out of a plastic wrap, giving them a distinctly non-premium feel, with no noticeable flavors. The best part was the chocolate brownie bar, cementing Virgin’s prowess in dessert making and selection.

Breakfast did not match dinner. Photo: Pranjal Pandé | single flight

Final Thoughts

Virgin provided the standard premium economy headphones, blanket and comfort kit on this flight, all of which were useful (minus the plastic headphones). Overall, the A350-1000 premium economy is a competitive product, which always gives British Airways a run for its money. However, if you have a choice, always choose the Boeing 787-9 in premium economy with Virgin Atlantic, which remains one of the best in the game.

Have you ever traveled with Virgin Atlantic in premium economy class? Tell us about your experience in the comments!

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