Why I’ll Never Fly Virgin Atlantic Again

Man, I was so excited to fly Virgin Atlantic for my first time ever — and do so in the airline’s well-reviewed Upper Class product.

In the lounge and inside the plane, the experience was very good. I won’t pretend it wasn’t.

But after I stepped off the plane, Virgin Atlantic worked daily to ruin the experience, including numerous delays with a suitcase, leaking my private information, and having its phone agents aggressively demand my bank details, which I refused to share with someone calling from a private number.

What shocked me the most was that the airline said this high-pressure experience is actually their business model during luggage delays.

Here’s a look at my flight, how great it started, and why I’ll never fly this airline again after what happened.

Booking Virgin Atlantic Upper Class

Virgin Atlantic flies between the U.K. and multiple U.S. airports, including the route I took between New York City (JFK) and London Heathrow (LHR).

Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club program doesn’t use a fixed award chart, meaning you can book Virgin Atlantic Upper Class with points at different prices, depending on the dates. It’s possible to find these flights starting at 29,000 points, but on the date I needed to fly, Virgin was charging 39,000 points per person, plus $380 in taxes and fees.

Hot Tip:

In the time since I booked this flight, Virgin Atlantic has increased fees on business class award tickets. You’ll now pay closer to $600 in fees when booking this flight with points.

What I Liked About My First Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Flight

I was excited to fly Upper Class for the first time. In fact, I’d never been on a Virgin Atlantic plane before, so I was anxious to check it out after the great reviews from friends and colleagues.

The actual aspect of flying with the airline was great.

Virgin’s Clubhouse at JFK

I enjoyed my time at the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at JFK prior to departure.

I wouldn’t consider the lounge large, but it had ample seating for visitors, and staff members were friendly. I also enjoyed the digital menu for meal service, rather than a buffet. Options included Indian fare, pan-fried salmon, chicken pot pie, and more.

I also appreciated that the lounge had a good range of nonalcoholic beverages on the drinks list, so I got a virgin mojito.

Cabin Layout and The Loft Social Space

My flight was on an Airbus A350-1000 plane, and Virgin Atlantic uses a 1-2-1 layout in business class on this plane type. The Upper Class cabin, as the airline calls it, features mood lighting to avoid harsh light that can hurt your eyes late at night.

Those traveling together will like the middle seats, while window seats are great for those traveling alone. All window and aisle seats are essentially the same, and none of the seats is more private than any other.

The cabin also features a social space at the rear called The Loft. Guests can hang out here, grab snacks, and watch movies on a screen. This space is exclusive to those flying in Upper Class.

Seat

I chose seat 7A, a window seat in the middle of the cabin, and its distance from the lavatories and galleys made for a quieter experience.

The leather seats had a shoulder harness and several small cubbies for storage, though I didn’t find an ideal place for my laptop. The seat felt spacious and had all the usual amenities, such as a reading light and outlets.

Each suite also featured a sliding door for added privacy, which I appreciated.

As a lie-flat bed, I found the sleeping position good — not great, but good. It was roughly 6 feet, 7 inches long and had enough width to not feel cramped.

When I arrived at my seat, I found a mattress pad, a pillow, and a blanket. Before takeoff, flight attendants passed through the cabin offering pajamas, asking customers their preferred size.

Entertainment

I thought the entertainment on my flight was great. Each seat had an 18.5-inch, foldout entertainment screen. There were abundant movies, TV series, music, and games, among other offerings.

Dining

At boarding, I found a menu at my seat. The multicourse menu had smoked salmon, soup, a vegetable curry, and multiple desserts.

There was also an order sheet guests could fill out, including an request to not be woken up for breakfast.

Along with the standard menu, Virgin Atlantic also offered a speedy meal, letting passengers get to sleep sooner. Additionally, there was an extensive list of drinks.

Arrivals Lounge in London

I also liked the Revivals lounge at London Heathrow, available for arriving Upper Class passengers. There were drinks and snacks, along with information about onward travel. I only stopped by for a minute to ask about getting to London Gatwick Airport (LGW) for my onward flight with a different airline.

How Virgin Ruined the Experience

From the lounge to touchdown in London, I enjoyed my first flight with Virgin Atlantic and my first experience in Upper Class. After I got off the plane, the airline did everything in its power to sour the experience and lose my trust.

After moving to Spain earlier this year, I knew I would be back in the U.S. on this trip and left 2 suitcases with a friend. On this trip, I had those 2 suitcases with me to bring home to Barcelona. Virgin Atlantic simply didn’t put one of my suitcases on the plane, despite my 5-hour layover at JFK, so it wasn’t as if the suitcase was left behind in a rush.

When I filled out the paperwork at baggage claim in London, Virgin Atlantic’s agents promised, in no uncertain terms, that the suitcase would be delivered to my home in Barcelona — despite the fact that Virgin Atlantic doesn’t fly to Barcelona. (I asked 3 times to be sure.)

That later turned out to be untrue, and I had to go to the airport in Barcelona to retrieve the suitcase. Given that Virgin Atlantic doesn’t serve Barcelona, airport staff struggled to locate my suitcase (though I had confirmation it was there), and I spent multiple hours dealing with this issue.

However, that was only after 10 days of repeated delays, including airline agents alternating between telling me my suitcase was permanently lost and informing me it was still at JFK, within hours of each other.

The real kicker, though, was the third-party service that berated me over the phone and attempted to phish for my personal details on multiple occasions.

Employees from this service called me over and over and over until I answered, despite it being an inconvenient time. They then yelled at me for not answering on the first call.

The employees also demanded my personal details, including my bank account information, over the phone while calling from a private number. Not going to happen. They also attempted to create a WorldRemit account on my behalf, claiming it was necessary for reimbursing my travel costs to collect the suitcase. They called me demanding — in aggressive tones — that I share a code with them that arrived by text message. It arrived with “Don’t share this code with anyone” messaging, and the agent had the audacity to scream at me repeatedly for not reading the code to him until I finally hung up.

After this experience, I reached out to Virgin Atlantic on X to ask for an alternative way to resolve the issues with my delayed luggage, as I didn’t want to deal with this third-party agency. I also reported them for suspected phishing (and the fact I’ve now received countless spam emails and text messages, so I can only assume someone leaked my personal details). Surprisingly, Virgin Atlantic stated that demanding these “don’t share it” codes over the phone is their standard procedure!

Telling me your process involves “someone pressur[ing] you to read” codes over the phone makes me lose all confidence in your company — whatever company you are. Plus, the fact that I have received spam messages to my phone number and email address provided to the baggage service tells me my personal details were not protected.

I no longer have any confidence in this airline. I’ve even contacted my bank for the credit card used to pay for the taxes and fees on my flight, reporting it lost to get a new card with a new number. At this point, I have to assume my credit card number won’t be safeguarded if my other details weren’t.

To its credit, once I submitted receipts for reimbursement, Virgin Atlantic paid me within 3 days.

I tend to laugh at people who say, “I’m never flying this airline again!” Usually, they say this over a minor inconvenience and end up flying with that airline again anyway. I am joining the list of customers who say this, but I have zero intention of ever flying Virgin Atlantic again after this experience. I wouldn’t fly an airline whose baggage reps break promises, yell at me, phish for my bank details, and leak my personal information. Why would I want to deal with that company again? I’ll take my business elsewhere.

Final Thoughts

I was so excited for my first flight in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class, hopping over the Atlantic from New York City to London. The lounge and flight experience started great, but from the moment I walked off the plane, the experience went as poorly as possible.

The airline couldn’t figure out where my suitcase was — or if it was even still on this planet — and subjected me to a brutally bad experience with leaked personal details, aggressive phone agents, and a system designed to feel sketchy in every possible way.

Given everything that happened after my flight, there’s no way I would fly this airline again. I don’t want the experience to repeat, and there’s no way I can trust this airline with my personal details.