The crew insisted it was the real deal, so I tried a small glass and it did indeed taste like real Champagne. I had assumed only French airlines would be generous enough to serve actual Champagne in premium economy, so I politely asked to clarify if it was actual Champagne, or just sparking wine. A pet peeve of mine is when the crew describes prosecco or other sparkling wine as Champagne. With the sun barely up, I initially opted for an orange juice, but when the crew mentioned Champagne was also on offer, it piqued my interest. Related: Sorry, aisle-seat fans: The window seat is the best in the airīEN SMITHSON/THE POINTS GUY Food and beverageĭuring boarding, the crew passed through the Premium cabin with trays of welcome drinks. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. The information for the Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. With my paid fare, I was able to select my seat for free and chose a window seat in the last row of the cabin, so I could both look out the window, and observe the service flow.

You can also transfer American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Capital One miles at a 1:1 ratio to Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club program.

This means you can get a 4.5% return on these purchases based on TPG's valuations. The card also earns 3 Virgin points per dollar spent on Virgin Atlantic tickets and duty-free items purchased directly from Virgin Atlantic. But, depending on how you use your points, you may be able to get even more than $450 in value from them. TPG's valuations peg the value of Virgin points at 1.5 cents each, so this welcome offer is worth $450. With the Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard®, you can earn 30,000 bonus points (enough to book this flight) after spending $1,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of account opening. The fees, taxes and surcharges were paid with The Platinum Card® from American Express, which earns 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar on purchases made directly with airlines (on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), picking up a further 1,751 Membership Rewards, worth $35 by TPG's current valuation.īy signing up, you will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Useand acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. We booked this flight using 27,500 Virgin Points plus $350.30 in fees, taxes and fuel surcharges for a one-way flight in Premium. I haven't found my premium economy experiences in the past to be twice as good as economy but was willing to give Virgin a chance.Īward availability on this route is usually good as there are multiple daily frequencies. The flight is blocked at six hours and 45 minutes, though it is often much quicker than this, usually at least one hour shorter.Ĭash fares in Premium on Virgin Atlantic currently start from $1,160 round trip, which is just over twice the price of Virgin's economy fares on the same dates. daily, touching down at London Heathrow Terminal 3 at 8 p.m. It is flown by a mix of aircraft, but fortunately on my day of travel, an A350 was scheduled to operate the service.

I am a vocal supporter of jetlag-free daytime flights from New York to London in any cabin, so I immediately focused on flight VS26. Related: Watch TPG UK review all 3 cabins on Virgin Atlantic's brand-new Airbus A350 For the newest seats on its newest aircraft, look for A350-operated flights. Virgin operates a mix of aircraft on this important route, with Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A330 and A350 aircraft being used each day. 27, 2023 and then six flights daily from for the busy summer travel period. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to its home at London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) four times daily, increasing to five daily flights from Mar. Virgin Atlantic currently flies from New York's John F. Here's how my Virgin Atlantic Premium experience rated. team, I decided on something a little more. This time around, after flying the very luxurious British Airways First to the United States to film an all-cabin video review with the U.K. Virgin Premium was the very first airline experience I reviewed for TPG roughly three-and-a-half years ago on a much older aircraft. I've been impressed both with Virgin Atlantic's economy and Upper Class (business class) on its flagship Airbus A350 aircraft, so I was keen to try premium economy, simply dubbed 'Premium,' aboard the same jet. Personally, I've long been a fan of Virgin Atlantic, with its cheeky, fresh and fun approach to flying. Flyers have plenty of options to hop across the Atlantic, especially on the busy route between New York and London.

Capital one near me open now