VIRGIN ATLANTIC
Virgin offers three types of economy ticket – Light, Classic and Delight. Light is hand-baggage only (HBO), with an allowance of one item weighing up to 10kg, plus a handbag or small backpack. Classic adds checked baggage and free seat selection.
I flew Delight, with priority check-in and boarding, advance seat selection, checked baggage and 34inch seat pitch (as opposed to 31 inches). Delight replaces the previous option of buying extra legroom.
On my A330-300, there were 185 economy seats (28 of which were Delight in what were the extralegroom seats). Economy Delight was located in the second section of the aircraft. All economy seats reclined 5 to 6 inches, had USB power points but not AC, and a pillow, blanket and earphones. I had plenty of space to stretch my legs. There were two restrooms at the front of my cabin section, and two at the rear.
The same menu is served across economy, with a selection of three dishes for the main meal, plus an afternoon tea. Food was reasonably good and there was a regular drinks service.
The in-flight entertainment was excellent – the A330-300 features the 9-inch VERA touchscreen system throughout economy, and a comprehensive selection of the latest films, TV shows, games and music, plus extras such as guided meditation with Headspace. Passengers can view their own content via a USB connection. Good-quality wifi is available in all classes on Virgin flights, charged at £4.99 for an hour or £14.99 for the flight. Throughout the journey, the cabin crew were upbeat, friendly and helpful.
Is Delight worth paying around £200 more than Light and £100 more than Classic? Light passengers who want to check bags will have to pay an additional £45 each way. Extra legroom, meanwhile, previously attracted an additional charge of £50-£75 each way, but can now only be selected by paying for Delight; the same for priority check-in and boarding. In my case, I would happily have opted for Light for shorter trips (the 10kg hand-baggage allowance would be adequate), but for a longer trip I‘d opt for Classic. On balance, the changes offer passengers more choice in what they want to pay for in economy class.