This is a first for us, we’re going to London with our 5 month old daughter. We’ve traveled lots of times with her, but never on a flight this long and never overnight. For this flight, I booked us onto Virgin Atlantic on their A350-1000 in Upper Class. This is Virgin Atlantic’s Business Class. It’s been several years since I’ve ridden with Virgin Atlantic and I’m both very excited and nervous about this flight to London. 5 month olds are a little unpredictable, I don’t want to be disruptive in flight.
Bottom Line: We had a great flight with Virgin with our baby. The Virgin A350 is very solid in Upper (Business) Class. The seats are comfortable, the in seat entertainment is good, and the crew was great. On the other hand, the food was not great. All in, Virgin is a very pleasant airline.
Virgin Atlantic A350-900 Boarding
After spending about an hour in the ATL Concourse F Sky Club(Full Review), we made our way to the boarding gate.
We arrived at the gate and the boarding process had already started. A very nice fellow passenger asked if we were on this flight, we said yes. He told us they had already called for families with kids so we got into the line and boarded.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class Cabin
We made our way into the Upper Class Cabin on the Virgin A350. This is also my first flight on an A350-1000, I’ve only been on the -900 variant in the past.
Virgin Atlantic has 2 different A350-1000 configurations. This one has the larger 44 upper class seat cabin.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class Seats
We found our seats on the left hand side of the plane. Because we’re flying with our daughter, we chose the two most forward seats in the cabin. Rows 1 and 2. Virgin does have baby bassinets on the A350 in Business Class so we’ll be holding her overnight on this flight. The plan was to just swap about half way through the flight.
There was lots of overhead bin space on the Virgin A350 in Upper Class. We put our bags overhead and settled into our seats.
In the seat there is bedding along with a mattress cover. I stuffed it into the footwell.
Legroom is as expected in a lie flat seat. Though as the flight went on, these seats did start to feel a little cramped. I’m not sure why.
Overhead, I was super glad to see that Virgin has personal air vents her in Business Class. So many airlines are removing them and I hate it.
On the left hand side, there are the seat controls. The first set is for the in seat entertainment, lights, and call button.
The second set is to control the seat recline.
Over my left shoulder, there was a small reading light. This was actually helpful on this flight as I didn’t want a ton of light when holding the baby.
The tray table was a little odd, or at least I thought it was until I figured it out. It folds out of the seatback, but is not centered on the seat. It’s way off to the right. It does however slide in front of you. Very odd and feels a little unstable. It also blocks the aisle so if the table is down, you cannot get out of the seat.
The in seat entertainment screen swings out of the seat in front. It’s a nice large screen and we’ll get into that later.
While I was getting settled into my seat, a flight attendant came around and offered sparkling wine.
She then asked if I’d like a set of pajamas. I did go for it, but I didn’t get a chance to try them. With holding the baby, it just wasn’t worth the effort to go change.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Menu
The flight attendant came around and distributed menus for the dinner service. I had pre-ordered online, but I do always like to look.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Dinner Menu
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Drinks Menu
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Menu
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Breakfast Menu. Virgin does a menu card for breakfast so that you can choose before you go to bed, and the flight attendant will wake you with your selection. I chose to skip breakfast. Virgin has an arrivals lounge in LHR and I’d rather just eat breakfast there. Full review coming soon.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Push Back and Departure
As we pushed back from the gate the safety video was shown. It’s very Virgin Atlantic.
We headed towards the runway. I took the baby for this part of the flight. We decided that I’d take her for take-off and dinner, Val would eat quickly, then she’d take over so I can eat. I’d also take the first sleep shift and then we’d swap again.
The cabin lights were dimmed and the purple mood lights were on full display. The pilots asked the flight attendants to take their seats and we continued our trek to the runway.
Lovely November night here in Atlanta. This flight does depart kinda early for my preference. I prefer a later flight departure and arrival. Landing in London at 7am kinda sucks.
We didn’t have much wait for a runway and quickly tookoff then made our turn towards the North-East.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class In Seat Entertainment
The in seat entertainment on the Virgin A350 is very good, but the selection is somewhat limited. The screen was fast and responsive so that’s nice.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class Dinner Service
Only a few minutes after takeoff, the flight attendant came around and offered some drinks and snacks. I went with a beer and the chips(crips) were pretty good. Again, I’m still holding a baby so…
Next came the appetizer and I really didn’t care for this. A few shrimp over fennel and apple. The shrimp were fine I guess, the salad wasn’t very good. I will say the service was excellent, when I finished the appetizer the flight attendant asked if I’d like to wait on my main, then Val could finish and swap baby shifts.
For the main, I went with the Peri-Peri chicken. I handed the baby over to Val and the flight attendant brought my dinner. It was fine, nothing remarkable really. All in, I was not very impressed with this meal from Virgin. The flight attendants were amazing, the food was not.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class In Flight
With just over 6 hours left in the flight, I settled into my seat, closed the window, and tried to get some sleep. Val’s going to hold the baby for the next shift while I sleep, then we’ll swap.
I made up my bed and put on Derry Girls to attempt to fall asleep to. I will admit, these seats are very comfortable but a little cramped. I was able to get about 90 minutes of rest, not really what I would call sleep though.
Virgin Atlantic Onboard Lounge
When it was my turn to take over I decided to go to the lounge in the back of the business class cabin on the A350. Not many users right now as everyone is sleeping.
The lounge is made up of 2 sofa like seats with room for about 6 people if everyone is friendly. There are seatbelts in this area too.
In the lounge area there was a snack basket that was kept nice and full for those wanting a little extra treat to munch on during the night.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class Arrival and Landing
With just about an hour left in the flight the lights were brought up slowly. The flight attendants came around and started to offer people their breakfast selections. I was awake as I was holding the baby, but she was sleeping hard so I didn’t have breakfast.
I did have a cup of tea, just as a nice little pick me up. I liked the mug that Virgin uses.
The flight attendants continued their landing preparations as people in the cabin had their breakfast and changed into their street clothes.
About 20 minutes later we were on the ground here at a dark and raining Heathrow. As I said earlier, I don’t like landing this early in the morning. I would much prefer landing later into the day.
A few minutes later we were at the gate and waiting on our stroller.
Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class Final Thoughts
I have mixed feelings about Virgin’s A350 Upper Class. Let’s start with the positives. The hard product is very good. Nice private seats, great service from the crew, and perfectly on-time flight. I really cannot say enough good things about the flight attendants, they were so accommodating and pleasant. Flying with a baby is kinda scary, we got lucky and ours was quiet and calm the whole flight. She pretty much just slept. The little lounge area in the back of the business class cabin was a comfortable place to relax and stretch my legs.
The downsides. The largest was the food was really a miss. I just didn’t care for any of the options and I wasn’t impressed. The seats are very private, but a little tight. I don’t like being trapped into my seat when the tray table is in use, and unfortunately Virgin’s A350s will hold you in. My nitpicking would also add the in seat entertainment as a negative. The selection just wasn’t good.
All in, I like Virgin Atlantic. They don’t take themselves too seriously. If they would improve the meals it would go a long way.