These reports should go up relatively quickly, as I'm going to try to write each report before the next flight (I wrote part of this at 1:30 am on Christmas day-timezone changes!).
The combination of atrocious weather and the holiday rush meant we had to leave for the airport very early, and what is normally a 1h15m drive took almost 2h45m.
I had booked us on this specific flight, knowing that it was usually operated with a 747, and the return with an A340-600, hoping to get a review of both. Our flight got switched to the A340, but maybe we'll get an A330 on the way back (staying optimistic!).
We arrived at the airport at 7:37 pm.
Terminal 4 is Kennedy's largest, and one of the piers just underwent a massive expansion, so of course, the entrance to the terminal is massive as well.
We had attempted to check in online the night before, but the website had only let us check in one person, only choose one of our seats, and then proceed to tell us that the other two people had already been checked in, without providing boarding passes or seat selection. We were directed to the unchecked in line, which was significantly shorter than the already checked in line.
However, our line moved very slowly, and by the time we made it to the front, the bag-drop-only line had completely cleared out, and nobody had joined our line behind us, making it seem like we were the last ones to check in. It only took 12 minutes to get through check in.
Empty Delta check-in area as well.
Although the check-in areas are separate, all of terminal 4 goes through the same security line, which meant a ton of walking. Security is complete with massive nets, presumably to keep people from throwing things over.
It took us 20 minutes to get through the line. What surprised me was that none of the usual security procedures were in place. Shoes and belts and jewelry all stayed on, laptops stayed in bags, and the new full body scanners were only used on people who were beeped on in the regular metal detector.
Once through security, we separated from the majority of the other passengers to go to the pier of A gates, only 7 or 8 of them. We were at A3, the shortest walk.
We were first greeted by an advertisement for the new Etihad A380 service to JFK followed by a bunch of fancy shops.
Oops, I spoke too soon when I said 'fancy'.
We arrived at the gate at 8:15, where the screen announced boarding would begin at 8:50.
As I looked around the gate area, I noticed a few things. First, there were not nearly enough seats for an A340-600 or even an A320.
It was relatively clean, but since it was so crowded, we decided to hang out in the Irish bar/restaurant right next to the gate.
Aside from the lack of seats, the only other noticeable problem was that it was HOT! I decided to have a wander around the terminal and see what other airplanes I could find.
My first sighting of XL Airways France!
I also found all the seats!
Boarding commenced as promised at 8:50, and boarded from back so front, so we were some of the first onboard. First, we had a nice, open jetway…
…but soon found the standard HSBC one (sorry, this pic turned out blurry).
Here's my seat for the quick 6h5m (as announced by the captain) hop across the pond! I was at my seat at 9:00.
Settling down into 52A, the first problem I found was the massive entertainment box, almost twice the width of my shoe. This destroyed any chance of fitting my backpack and coat under the seat, but I managed to force them in.
Waiting for me on my seat were a pillow (unused), a blanket (unused, the plane was boiling hot the entire flight), a bottle of water (unused), and headphones (unused, I had my own). So much for all of that!
I also found my TV and remote, as well as a USB port for charging, but unfortunately, no power port between the seats.
A closer look at the remote, which proved to be quite user-unfriendly. It took me a full 2 minutes to get it out of its holder in the seat (also managing to knock the holder out of the seat, and quickly popping it back in - oops!), the cord was on the bottom, which felt unnatural, and was impossible to see in its holder once the seat in front was reclined and the TV was extended out of the seatback (the entire flight).
Here's the headrest, which slid up and down, but that was it.
Now, why couldn't my entertainment box be this size? Oh well, I guess that's the price you pay for a window seat.
The tray table was really small, impossible to fit anything else on it once the meal came around. It also didn't extend out far enough if you had your seat reclined.
Options: Kid's mode, English, or Chinese (correct me if I'm wrong). Interesting selection for a transatlantic flight. (you'll also see me in the reflection - haha)
It was announced that there would be a few 'lumps and bumps' along the way and that there were 306 passengers on board (the plane holds 316 - pretty good!). We pushed back at 9:41, 11 minutes behind schedule.
The safety video was fun and animated, and one of the first flights I've been on where the crew did not give a live demonstration.
We received taxi clearance at 9:58, and started our taxi to the recently extended 22R (sorry about these pictures, dark+rainly does not equal good photos).
We took a longer route (B, V, C, E for those who know JFK) to the runway, and took off at 10:25, 55 minutes behind schedule.
We went up quickly, menus were distributed at 10:50, followed by hot towels (wipes) at 11:00.
Shortly after, I was pleasantly surprised by an amenity kit! Inside the resealable plastic bag was a toothbrush, toothpaste, earplugs, an eye mask, socks, and a pen (helpful for filling out the immigration card!). None of it was particularly high quality, but it's the thought that counted, plus as I looked around the cabin, I saw many people using the items inside.
On my previous long haul flights with United, I didn't receive a menu or an amenity kit, so VS was gaining lots of points quickly.
I decided to go with the chicken option almost an hour later, around 11:50.
I also asked for Sprite but got this instead. British equivalent? Oh well, it was nice to get a full can.
The meal was quite good. The chicken and sauce were tasty, but there were no mushrooms as described, and the amount of rice was overwhelming. As for the rest, the salad, roll, and cheese were all standard (these are like airline staple foods), but the cheesecake for dessert was very good. I just looked at the menu again, and saw that dessert came with the option of hot chocolate! I missed that completely on board…oh well.
Our crew was super friendly. They were all very festive and in high spirits, all of them wearing 'decorations' - bows, tinsel, antlers, one even had glitter in his beard! I was really happy with the level of service they provided.
I then finished the movie I was watching (a struggle on the very low-quality screen - first world problems). A more in-depth review of the IFE - the selection was good, but the combination of not having a touchscreen (and instead having an unresponsive remote) and the low quality made it rather annoying to use. The moving map was very standard.
At about 2:45 (I'm going to stay on USA time until we land), the lights came on abruptly, and breakfast was served. I received my meal around 2:55. The yogurt and granola were nice, but the fruit was unripe and stale, rather unfortunate…
The sun began to rise, and we began our descent around 4:00. I took a few pictures of the sun at various stages.
As we approached Heathrow, we did one circle (good considering it was during the morning rush hour) and landed on runway 27L at 9:46 (local time), 11 minutes behind schedule. However, this delay was nothing avoidable, solely caused by bad weather in New York.
Once on the ground, we made the short taxi to terminal 3, and the crew made two great comments. First, the captain gave a birthday shout out to one of the passengers after welcoming us to London. Then, once the cabin manager welcomed us to London, she said 'it's 9:45 am, and we're 15 minutes ahead of British Airways'. This made everyone laugh.
We hooked up to the gate at 9:52, made the extremely long walk to immigration and were into the country by 10:00.
Overall, a very enjoyable flight with Virgin Atlantic.
Thanks so much for reading, and look out for the other segments of this trip soon!
Comments are welcome, I love reading and responding to them!
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Verdict
Virgin Atlantic
8.1/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi6.5
Meal/catering8.0
New York - JFK
7.4/10
Efficiency7.5
Access6.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0
London - LHR
7.2/10
Efficiency5.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0
Conclusion
JFK Terminal 4- Small, clean, crowded, hot, but overall, nice and modern
Seats- Legroom was standard, seat was moderately comfortable
Food- Good, standard airline catering, but having a menu was definitely a plus
Crew- Fantastic and spirited
IFE- Good selection, low quality, poor remote
Heathrow Terminal 3- Lots of walking, but served its purpose.
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Thanks for reading! Normally when I look, the prices for all the major airlines are similar, and move up and down together, with a variance of about $100 between airlines.
The VS hard-product looks dated and much need of a face-lift (or at least the IFE). I can’t image the B747 giving you a nicer cabin. Hopefully the new B789s and A380s are nicer hard-products (saw a B789 lurking around LAX last week). Why are there entertainment boxes under both seats? One wasn’t enough? The amenity kit is definitely a nice touch on a short flight like this.
The dinner offering looks better than what the US carriers would offer on TATLs. The salad is much larger than what the US carriers give. The packaged cheesecake looks sketchy, but that’s just my disdain for packaged airline desserts. Although a menu is provided, a nice touch for Y, there are several discrepancies between the menu and the actual meal served, which is a cause of some concern.
The excellent crew really seems to make up for some of these hard-product and catering deficiencies and would sure surpass what constituted a normal crew on a US carrier. VS seems to be a solid product into London, but the lack of alliance hurts them.
Thanks for reading! The physical IFE definitely does need a facelift, I'm sure that the 789's and the 333's and future 388's are much better.
Interestingly enough, I just arrived home on VS (report coming ASAP) and the crew was dreadful, and no amenity kit, and a completely different seatback!
I think VS's partnership with DL has really helped them...
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61 reviews
8 Comments
Once again I wish I could fly more easily with VS as they seem to offer a special touch when it comes to service.
However, with the lack of feeding on European flights it's a bit hard.
Too bad for the IFE box but the rest of the experience is definitely good for Y class.
How are they priced compared to other airlines such as AA, BA or UA ?
The VS hard-product looks dated and much need of a face-lift (or at least the IFE). I can’t image the B747 giving you a nicer cabin. Hopefully the new B789s and A380s are nicer hard-products (saw a B789 lurking around LAX last week). Why are there entertainment boxes under both seats? One wasn’t enough? The amenity kit is definitely a nice touch on a short flight like this.
The dinner offering looks better than what the US carriers would offer on TATLs. The salad is much larger than what the US carriers give. The packaged cheesecake looks sketchy, but that’s just my disdain for packaged airline desserts. Although a menu is provided, a nice touch for Y, there are several discrepancies between the menu and the actual meal served, which is a cause of some concern.
The excellent crew really seems to make up for some of these hard-product and catering deficiencies and would sure surpass what constituted a normal crew on a US carrier. VS seems to be a solid product into London, but the lack of alliance hurts them.
Interestingly enough, I just arrived home on VS (report coming ASAP) and the crew was dreadful, and no amenity kit, and a completely different seatback!
I think VS's partnership with DL has really helped them...
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