Virgin Atlantic A350-1000 Upper Class London-New York

LONDON-NEW YORK

BACKGROUND Virgin Atlantic is in the process of receiving four A350-1000s and eight more by 2021. These will replace its B747-400s and will initially be on the New York JFK route, with other destinations gradually being introduced, including

Los Angeles. The aircraft features the carrier’s new Upper Class seat.

CHECK IN I arrived at Heathrow T3 at 0945 for my 1205 departure on VS605. Check-in was quick and security took ten minutes.

T H E LO U N G E Virgin’s Clubhouse is still considered one of the best lounges worldwide, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s attractively designed with lots of areas to eat, work or socialise.

BOARDING We boarded at Gate 17. At the seat was the airline’s new recyclable washbag made from kraft paper. I was offered champagne, juice or water.

T H E S E AT The A350-1000 has 335 seats across three classes – 235 in economy,

56 in premium economy, and 44 in business class in a 1-2-1 configuration (rows one to 11; A, D-G, K). The seat is a bespoke version of the Safran Cirrus NG, with a sliding screen added. This is not a door – you can exit the seat and get into the aisle with it “shut” – but it does provide extra privacy and is welcome if you’re in one of the centre seats and don’t know your neighbour. All seats face the window so if you are in one of the centre pairs it can be difficult to chat, but it at least gives you privacy if you want it.

The seat feels spacious, although this is at the expense of storage. Put bluntly, there isn’t any, at least for take-off and landing. To one side is an open area with two shelves, and there’s a table area above the seat controls that is useful during the flight, and a thin magazine holder where you’ll find the headphones, and that’s it. So if you want anything with you during take-off you have to hold it in your hands, and that includes when the aircraft is taxiing, which on this flight took nearly 30 minutes.

This was the first A350 delivery, and there were quite a few teething problems. By the time you fly, the tray table will have been completely replaced – it is being redesigned for this aircraft and all future deliveries – because while this one was large and firm for working on, it didn’t provide enough space. The seat controls take a little getting used to, and I found I had to shift my weight around before the seat would recline into bed mode, and also to return to sitting position.

The in-flight entertainment system

– the Rave system from Zodiac Inflight Innovations ( Zii) – is innovative, not least because there is no remote control so you either use the 18.5-inch touchscreen or pair the system to your device. This is an interesting idea but it didn’t work on this flight or on the return a day later. When it does work, you will be able to control the screen from your device, connect to the

IFE using Bluetooth and watch the content on your device, and buy a data package to use a set amount of MB. There is also wifi courtesy of Inmarsat and T-Mobile. On the way out, this was provided for free so was oversubscribed and didn’t really work. On the way back, it didn’t work at all. There’s a choice of more than 100 movies, 300 hours of TV shows, and more than 350 albums and podcasts. In terms of power, there are two USB ports, one just above an AC plug at knee level, and a second under the shelves.

BEST SEAT The best for legroom are the bulkhead seats in row one. There’s a possibility of being disturbed by noise from the galley there, though, and 1D and 1G face the toilets, so I’d avoid those.

THE FLIGHT This wasn’t a normal flight as it was full of invited guests and very lively (on the way back it was a more standard service and the crew were superb).

The meal started with warm breads, then a choice of tomato soup with crème fraîche; citrus seared prawns, watermelon salsa, coriander, mint, sweet chilli and lime dressing; or cumin-roasted cauliflower, asparagus, tomato, cucumber and minted yoghurt dressing (a cold dish that was tasty although very small). The mains were Louisiana crab cakes, barbecue corn salsa and spiced sour cream; Herefordshire short rib, portobello mushroom, fondant potato and red wine sauce; Thai vegetable curry with jasmine rice, charred baby aubergine and coriander (delicious); or chicken and leek pie with parmesan mash, crushed peas and honey carrots. Wines included Canard-Duchêne Champagne; 2018

Berry Bros and Rudd Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux; 2017 Maddie Lane Chardonnay, Lodi, California; 2018 Eva Fricke Rheingau Riesling, Germany; 2018 Cantor Rojo Rioja, Spain; 2017 Graci Etna Rosso, Sicily; and 2014 Domaine de Valmengaux, Bordeaux. Later, the signature Eric Lanlard afternoon tea was served.

The flight wasn’t long enough to test the bed properly, but on the return I slept well, although it is a little tight if you sleep on your side and are tall, as you can’t get your knees into a good position. A comfortable padded sheet fits over the headrest.

The bar on the A350-1000 has been replaced by the Loft, which seats eight people, with two sofas facing one another and a couple of single chairs. There’s a large TV screen and you will be able to order drinks from your handheld device once you have connected it via Bluetooth to your IFE system. When it works, this will be great.

ARRIVAL We arrived a little early, but then there was a problem attaching the airbridge and we were delayed by 30 minutes. This was nothing, however, to the chaos awaiting us in JFK’s Terminal 4 immigration hall, where some people waited nearly two hours to be processed. VERDICT The seat is preferable to the existing one, since it reclines straight into bed mode without having to be flipped and has a very comfy padded sheet. There were a few teething problems, but, as always, the service was superb.

The seat is preferable to the existing one since it reclines straight into bed mode without having to be flipped