Is Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy Worth It?

Experience Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy in this review of the flight from London Heathrow to Las Vegas. How does the seat compare to economy, and what’s the food and drink like onboard.
This review is of flight VS155 on 9 June 2024. It was on a Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
I was travelling as Virgin’s guest on this flight. As one of their frequent flyers I was lucky enough to be in the small group invited to their 40th birthday party in Las Vegas. This review is independent of that and Virgin has not had any roll in making it.
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/ @doorstoauto
#Gifted #VirginAtlantic #PremiumEconomy #DoorsToAuto #SkyTeam
MUSIC
Limitless Horizons by MoodMode (StoryBlocks Asset ID SBA-347614374)

[@John_B20]

Have flown Virgin Premium and loved the service.

[@clairefea3306]

This will be me next Saturday travelling solo for my first trip to Vegas. I’m going to be in Premium economy. Thanks for the great review 👍

[@DoorsToAuto]

Thank you. I hope you enjoy the flight and Vegas. Just watch out for the excessive heat there currently ☀️

[@clivethereddevil3178]

How did you like Las Vegas ? I am returning on September 4 for 9 nights.

[@hollysimmons16]

How did you find it as a solo trip? I've been twice before but trying muster up the courage for a solo birthday trip!!

[@rajesh4cat]

I love your video. Other brilliant video from you. Well done!!!

[@DoorsToAuto]

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. 😎

[@Fat_Cat_747]

The presence of an ash tray in the lavs is simply that if people are determined to break the rules and risk the legal consequences, then at least there will be the safety of the ash being disposed of in a receptacle designed for it rather than being dumped somewhere to hide it that may involve flammability.

[@gunvaldsandhaland7757]

I Have Experience Premium Econenomy On The A350-1000 I Like The Product.Great Video And Info

[@DoorsToAuto]

Thank you 🙏

[@johnh2601]

Camera Question: You used a GoPro in the window, what was the device you used to go around the camera to cut the glare?

[@DoorsToAuto]

Hi. There were three elements: Forevercam Aluminum Cover Case... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08JFX84S3?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share Sametop Suction Cup Mount... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01EF3Q8SU?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share IPOTCH Camera Lens Cover Hood... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08HHC4HP3?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

[@jasonpayneuk]

Really love Virgin’s Premium Economy product, very comfortable and I like their “book the cook” options - overall it does seem a bit old now and hopefully they’ll do a revamp in the not too distant future

[@internationAL21]

Book the Cook? Surely that’s in Business Class on Singapore Airlines?

[@DoorsToAuto]

Let me know what you think of the review at the Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy experience. Comment, like, and share. And please do subscribe for future reviews.

[@Fat_Cat_747]

I always like your style of production and its quality. You avoid long winded or quirky personal story telling, instead just showing what things look like and the facts. Each approach can be good and we need both. You do your type very well.

[@sandippatel1969]

Excellent review. I've flown BA premium and the Virgin package looks the better bet especially with separate check in and a nicer looking seat plus the Wonderwall. I am flying Virgin to NYC next March bit managed to find a good deal and am flying in Upper Class.

[@internationAL21]

Good video. I’m a big fan of this product and think it’s the best cabin currently on VA Dreamliners with their outdated coffin UC cabin not fit for purpose in 2024.

[@DoorsToAuto]

Thanks 🙏 Hopefully Virgin will replace the UC cabin in the Dreamliner with the same as the new A330neo.

[@MrKrupp42]

Thanks for the video, I fly to JFK soon with VA, only in normal economy, that looked a bit nicer in premium but is it worth the upgrade? also what type of airpods adapter do you have ? I will need one.

[@DoorsToAuto]

Thanks for the comment. I would try the bid upgrade option on the website to see if you can get a good deal. But if it’s a day flight, and you don’t need to sleep, the economy product is ok. I reviewed it a couple of years ago here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXSvi3enhZWqhs0 The adapter I have is an AirFly Pro which works pretty well. But there are lots of alternatives on Amazon.

[@deelowry]

Im toying between BA premium economy and Virgin, which do you feel are better ?Day flight going ( nyc) night flight back

[@Fat_Cat_747]

Biggest thing reviewers should mention when talking about Virgin's Premium Economy is that they reduced the width between arm rests by two and half inches ! The older seats on 787 and A330-300 aircraft are 21 inches and with nice padding. The more modern, tighter seats on the A350 and A330-900 are 18.5 inches. I saw something that indicated the 787 is being re-fitted with the newer type, but it might be wrong. Certainly its true that as A330-900s arrive the older 300's are being replaced. You know its such a shame. It was Virgin's u.s.p. with PE class. A comfy arm chair of 21 inches width. While other airlines seats on transatlantic routes and now their own newer one's are variously 18.5, 18.7, 19 inches, it is nice to know you can still get a some at a comfy 21. For now. In my opinion, being so little different in width to an economy seat in the same aircraft is a bit of a cheek. The worst/best example is on their A330-900. 18.5 inches compared to 17.9 inches which is good for economy nowadays - a beneficial quirk of the A330 fuselage and 2-4-2 configuration. But that's just a 0.6 inches differences between Economy and Premium Economy. Obviously there are other and more pronounced differences between the classes but in terms of width, that's all you get more for your money on the A330-900, which is often double if you buy it as PE at the outset. Additionally, you'll find at least one of the seat sides is hard solid. This means that if the seat next to you happens to be empty, there's no benefiting from that in being able to spill through with your folds of fat. Whereas if you had bought economy not only would you be able to, you could also have gamed things with smart seat choice if its a quieter flying date and departure. Thus by smart selection improve your chances of having two seats to play with or even more - while having saved several hundred pounds/dollars. Who really needs two hold suitcases anyway, or can't put up with a longer check in, or can't just pack a few snacks for themselves to augment the crappy economy meal. While PE is a nice thing, my conclusion is that if you're not over the acceptable economy seat tolerance for your level of fatness, put the huge saving towards your holiday when you get there. Until I lose some more weight I'm kind of forced to PE, for the slight extra width, but more for the room to actually get my tray down past my guts ( ! ) and for the better separation between neighbours. Once I have lost enough gelatinous blubber to get my tray down in an economy seat, that's what I'll be doing ! EDIT : I posted the text above ahead of the release of the video. I see you state at 02:39 that the seat width is 18.7 inches. I believe this to be a mistake. I'll make a separate post about it.

[@CruiseControlM3]

This video is so informative and I love the models. Well done🫶🏽

[@DoorsToAuto]

Glad you liked it! 😎

[@old.not.too.grumpy.]

Even though smoking is completely banned on U.S. flights, aeroplanes are required by the Federal Aviation Administration to have ashtrays on or near the lavatory door for the very simple reason that some people still try to smoke on board.

[@mikiewifnoe360]

I know I have used Virgin, but I have no idea which version. It was a long time ago. If the price was right, I would fly Virgin Premium. Another good review. Why Doors To Auto?

[@DoorsToAuto]

Thank you 🙏 Doors To Auto comes from the instruction from the flight deck when a plane pushes away from the gate. It’s the instruction to enable the emergency slides - ‘Doors to automatic and cross check’.

[@mikiewifnoe360]

@@DoorsToAuto Interesting, thanks for the reply.

[@Rich.C101]

Haha why can’t I get these invites! You must be a UNIQ member with them surely? Lowly flying club gold not enough 😆 great video, premium looks decent, definitely a level up from economy.

[@captinsonic195]

Its not called Preimum Econmy - just called Premium - they removed name Bussiness class due to disagreeing with people because not just business people who go in there. So they changed it to premium. Economy Delight used to be called Preimum Economy. So it goes Economy light, Economy Class, Economy Delight, Premium and Upper Class.

[@DoorsToAuto]

You are correct that it is formally called just ‘Premium’. However on more than half the flights I’ve taken, the FSM still refers to ‘Premium Economy’ in PAs. BTW Economy Delight was never referred to as Premium Economy; prior to Light/Classic/Delight they were just referred to as Economy Extra Legroom seats.

[@koksy]

You still need an ashtray in case anyone does get caught smoking so that you've got somewhere to dispose of it thats not going to set anything on fire (ie you can't put the smouldering cigarette in the waste bin).

[@DoorsToAuto]

Thanks. That makes sense. Guess I just assumed nobody would ever try to smoke onboard.

[@TripReportaviation]

You must have flown them a lot to get invited on this special flight.

[@Furley79]

Did you manage to connect your AirPods to the entertainment system and off so how did you do this? What is the adapter you refer to 7:53

[@DoorsToAuto]

I used an adapter called an AirFly Pro, which you plug into the audio socket. It then connects to your AirPods over Bluetooth. You can see it on Amazon here: amzn.eu/d/eUzFfCq

[@switchbladeromance1466]

Always fly Virgin.. Never let me down yet and fly premium ❤

[@r12004rewy]

Cabin looking tired and in need of a refurbishment, Virgin are no longer' the different to all the other airlines' they are the same bland and boring and offer nothing special.

[@peterellis4982]

This should be standard foe economy

[@Fat_Cat_747]

Earlier I posted about seat dimensions and how there is confusion persisting about it. Now that the video is posted I see you yourself have added to confusion, or so it seems. At 02:39 you state the seat width is 18.7 inches. I don't know where you are getting this figure from. Virgin themselves say the old school version of PE seat has 21 inches. Did you measure it ? Where did you get this 18.7 from ? I like to point out the unfortunate fall of about two and a half inches in Virgin PE seat width between the older type fitted to 787-9 and A330-300, compared to newer type fitted to A350 and A330-900. Indeed I made a long comment talking about it and posted it before the video was actually released. I was surprised to see on the actual video that the width is stated by you as 18.7 and this just adds to confusion. Its hard enough just getting people to realise there are two versions of the seat and that the newer one suffered such a major drop in standard. So I ask, on what basis did you say this ? Is 21 wrong ? Were Virgin wrong to always state it being 21 ? Does 21 relate to a different standard of measuring ? Did you measure it ? Or did you take the figure from somewhere and what was it you were reading from ? Thanks.

[@DoorsToAuto]

The source of the seat dimension was www.aerolopa.com/vs-boeing-789. The Recaro Reverb seat does seem to be narrower than the 21” states on the Virgin website. The seat certainly didn’t have the space beside it below the central armrest/table that the A330-300s do.

[@Fat_Cat_747]

@@DoorsToAuto I suggest the Aerolopa site has made a mistake then with the 787 PE seats. I do acknowledge that in general, where they state a figure, it is more reliable than tired old sloppy SeatGuru. Just wrong here. Remember Virgin themselves said 21. I wonder if they've mixed up with BA. The newer Virgin seats are stated by themselves as 18.5, so doesn't seem to be a mix up with other Virgin aircraft. BA's PE seats are known to be 18.7 - Could be a simple mix up. I'd personally love to do aviation blogging, focusing on making affordable travel more optimal, e.g. PE travel, better economy options looked at in detail, when to buy, first class rail, rail sleepers, airport ground experience enhancements. I'd identify sweet spots, suggesting hacks, looking at your options based on sectors of the world, like say transatlantic and not mix in Asian carriers who don't do that. Vice versa as well. The benefits and cons of staggering your journey thus making economy more bearable. One of the things I'd do is take a measuring device and state figures as taken under the camera. Also, since we're talking about nuances in precious space that could be very tight for some people, to show differences with e.g. front rows and exit rows width, leg room impediments like IFE boxes, seats at the back with compromises, etc. While you do focus on business and PE flights, the one thing you could take from my fantasy channel idea, is the measuring aspect. For example, look at how narrow this business seat is with the armrest up, but see how it does widen when you stow it down, or if it doesn't then show that. Foot cubby hole size can be pathetic and then you wonder why even bother with lie flat if sleeping becomes so impractical. Imagine a laser automatic foot cubby hole measuring device, made by Acme of course !

[@Fat_Cat_747]

@@DoorsToAuto Zodiac Reverb

[@thevirgintraveller]

The high tea has been the biggest disappointment on my VA flights across the last 3 years, there needs to be more of it, finger sandwiches, not full sandwiches, aren't filling whatsoever!

[@DoorsToAuto]

They seem to have gone for a one-size fits all vegetarian high tea, rather than giving a selection of sandwiches including meat and fish - like they used to.

[@thomas-xj1hs]

You cannot do a serious review if you are taking "freebies". Need to unsubscribe to get independent reviews...

[@Fat_Cat_747]

Oh yes he can. Its possible to just like an airline and their service. I think its obvious he does anyway. He uses them a lot and got invited to a party. He disclosed openly. DtoA just doesn't have a hyper critical or drama laden style at all. Others do - each to their own reviewing style. He just gives a well produced matter of fact account of what happens. Another example of this is LuxuryTravelExpert. I just don't see any corruption here. When I challenged an aspect of his video in other comments I don't even think I was criticising him ( I don't even want to ) but rather trying to help get an aspect of nuance right, for everyones' benefit. Virgin seem to be the best received transatlantic PE service going overall. Its not surprising that his reviews of it aren't overly critical as there is no need for it.

[@DoorsToAuto]

Thanks @Fat_Cat_747. I agree the VS Premium product is good, although I did make a few critical comments in the review - around the high tea, the selection of movies and quality of headphones. Disclosing that it was a free flight was important and I did this right at the top of the video to be as transparent as possible.

[@Fat_Cat_747]

@@DoorsToAuto Hey an idea for review : The only transatlantic PE service that may better Virgin, is the unique fifth freedom route MAN-IAH by Singapore Airlines on the A350. ( I think they may also do FRA-JFK as well, or I merely imagined it )