Is Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Worth It? 787 Dreamliner

Come travel with us on board Virgin Atlantic in their beautiful Upper Class (business class) cabin on a Boeing 787-9 from London to Boston. We also check out the Virgin Clubhouse as well as the in-flight bar which are very unique amenities.
This last minute one way flight would’ve cost about $8500 (or £6523) when we booked it, but we used Amex points during a transfer bonus and I explain this in the video. Unfortunately UK airlines add on a surcharge on top of the high taxes so fees are about the highest you’ll find for award flights, but in this case it was definitely worth it and we had a lot of fun!
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Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:55 Checking in
2:46 Clubhouse
4:38 Boarding
6:50 Takeoff
8:20 Dinner
9:13 Pillow Talk
10:36 Loo Review
10:58 IFE
11:32 In-flight Bar
12:35 Amenity Kit
13:31 Landing
14:31 How We Paid
15:05 Conclusion

[@samuelkim101]

Big fan of your videos since the start!! Thanks for sharing them, such a pleasure to watch

[@HDjeff]

Thank you so much Samuel, I really appreciate you following along!

[@GS345650]

Great one Jeff!! Keep'em coming sir

[@josephb3182]

Love your content! , Just discovered you! can't believe more people haven't!

[@HDjeff]

Thank you so much Joseph! I’m still pretty new at creating these types of videos but I’d love to grow this channel to be able to make them more often, it’s a lot of fun and I appreciate your support!

[@neilaviation6860]

Cool video! looking forward to more

[@HDjeff]

Thanks Neil!

[@Ian-vx2xg]

Great video Jeff, glad you had fun on Virgin. Hopefully you'll get to fly the new Upper Class pod and new BA Club Suite soon.

[@HDjeff]

Thanks Ian, I’m definitely planning to try them both out when I can!

[@M.Born007]

Hey Jeff- Awesome video-, how was your Seat 1A-- did u enjoy the Quiet -or having the kitchen near bothered u or Would you prefer a seat much further down - 6 A or 7 A

[@petertran450]

Amazing, camera work as usual. I love the pillow talk segment. It would of been cool if you called the bar segment , bar talk Ahahha .

[@HDjeff]

Thank you Peter, and yes bar talk would be fantastic too! 😆

[@helenskirton1177]

Hi Jeff, What a good positive video. I like your content. I am flying with Virgin tomorrow to SVG so enjoyed watching this latest one. I agree with you regarding the staff so friendly. I personally find them far better than BA on their business class customer service. I like your relatable style and so relieved you didn't winge about what brand of champagne they have or how the steak was cooked etc etc. A good grown up review ! Cant wait for more.

[@HDjeff]

Thank you so much Helen, I appreciate your wonderful feedback! Believe it or not Amtrak cooks a perfect steak on their western long distance trains, but on a plane of course you expect it to be over cooked. 😆 Enjoy your flight tomorrow!

[@19750jrob]

Thanks for the great review Jeff. I've flown VA from LHR to LAX twice, both in economy. The first was in 1999 and then again in 2015. Now with a family in tow we are planning a visit in 2028 for the LA Olympics and we have enough VA airmiles to all travel return in upper class. I cannot wait! I hope between now and then VA continues to evolve the upper class experience, especially the seating environment.

[@HDjeff]

That would be such a fun way to travel with your family, the new seats look amazing so it should be quite a step up. I hope you all have a great trip to watch the LA Olympics, and if you have time drive along the coast down towards San Diego and catch some sunsets over the ocean - it is so beautiful.

[@19750jrob]

@@HDjeff yup, done that already. This'll be my 4th visit in all, but the first with our son who'll be almost 8 and old enough to remember and appreciate the experience :)

[@get2dachoppa249]

Worthwhile watch, with some interesting filming segments. This has made cross off all the Brit carriers, upper class or not. Before I say anything about that ridiculously high tax, I’m going to go back and check on the amount of tax LH charged me when I flew through FRA earlier this year as a point of comparison. I do travel biz class on my own dime, but no way would I pay that kind of airfare for a 6 hour trip, not with the options from other European & Middle Eastern carriers.

[@HDjeff]

The actual taxes & airport fees from Germany to the east coast are about $130USD vs $330 from UK, but Lufthansa is a step down if you’re flying business class it’s 2-2-2 or even 2-3-2. There are no other European or middle eastern airlines that fly that route, only the US & UK airlines, however US airlines don’t typically add surcharges to award redemptions.

[@cmlive2]

Virgin Atlantic is a superb airline!

[@HDjeff]

I agree, I enjoyed it so much - fantastic cabin crew!

[@robertcroft8241]

Before you spend all that money, check on which plane you are going to get. The route from Manchester to Atlanta uses a A330 . Much smaller and cramped. Not worth the extra.

[@HDjeff]

Also worth noting the new A330neo is now in service on limited flights with their newest business class which looks phenomenal!

[@PurplePuppet72]

Great Video, but I must say.....you sound like the American Actor "Michael Emerson" from the TV shows Lost and Evil.

[@HDjeff]

Glad you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching. I’m not familiar with that actor but it sounds like he has a great voice! 😂

[@thatpilatesguy]

I loved everything about Virgin. From the plane to the staff but I really hated this seat on the 787 and a330-300. It looked soooo dated and felt awkward. Who puts a seat away from the window? Same with JetBlue's mint. I loved everything about it except the seats facing away from the window.

[@HDjeff]

Absolutely, at least JetBlue has some privacy though!

[@katecirullo5106]

wait so you cant even see out the window? it’s kind of odd the way the seats are placed

[@HDjeff]

Yes you have to twist your neck pretty good to see out the window because it's angled in the wrong direction, same with the new JetBlue business class too except those offer more privacy.

[@alfamale9555]

That upper cabin is so out of date now. Compare to ba club probably prefer virgin but both are well past sell by date.

[@HDjeff]

Yes you’re absolutely right, hopefully they’ll both update them all with the new seats soon.

[@matthewpoole7752]

@@HDjeff there is a new upper class but right now only on lhr to jfk and San Francisco

[@noonray]

Hi Jeff, Just a point I would like to make Please practise speaking a little more slowly and, importantly, clearly. Frankly, about 35 pct of what you said was difficult to catch......

[@HDjeff]

Thank you for your feedback, feel free to turn on the captions if you have trouble understanding me.

[@caphaenaddiction]

I’ve never payed more than £3k for the wife and I for upper class upgrade. 2023 was £2.2k Jamaica this year was £2.9k.

[@HDjeff]

Yes that’s more like it, they charge a ridiculous amount for last minute one way flights between popular business destinations because corporations will pay it.

[@caphaenaddiction]

I think the T3 lounge is a little over hyped but still a nice place to be. Personally I’m a Boeing man and prefer the -9 and if you speak to crew they’re the same:)

[@PerturbedGoose]

How tall are you and was the seat sleepable at your height?

[@HDjeff]

6’1” or about 186cm, plenty of room and it feels like one of the longest business class flatbeds.

[@genesis1194]

Flew "upper class" on Virgin about a month ago and it was a truly miserable experience. Seat was broken, TV mount was also broken so the viewing angle was way off, couldn't get a drink of any kind until after they reached "cruising altitude", and then trying to get one was damn near impossible since the "service" was nonexistent. Food was truly "English", i.e., horrible. I'll never fall for Sir Richard's line of crap again.

[@HDjeff]

That’s too bad, my experiences with the Virgin brands have all been much better than that and even in economy the service was great.

[@parsottampatel1385]

This is not a comfortable arrangement of Business class Very compact Encroachment system I recently travelled

[@HDjeff]

The new Upper Class suites will be in my next video, it was amazing!

[@kcat-45hcw]

I flew from JFK to LHR in Dec 2023. The only positive feature is the service. Food was OK. Drinks are very sub-par. Those kind of drinks are served in economy flights in emirates or qatar. for ex: Aberfeldy 12 year scotch ($50) was served. The seat is atrocious for an upper class. Absolutely no room to move your arms. very cramped. As the video says, you cannot recline the seat too much. Your feet rest on a small ottoman, not a good design if you are more than 6 feet tall. No space to put your accessories except for a small pockets. This is not acceptable for an upper class.

[@HDjeff]

If you selected one of the flights on the A330neo instead you would’ve had a much better experience with the new seat. As far as whisky I would much prefer the $30 Buffalo Trace bourbon served for many years on United over the overpriced scotch. 😂

[@johnbush3725]

Masks should be a personal choice

[@HDjeff]

I agree, thanks for watching!

[@TheAfiyfah]

Absolutely