Virgin upper class

blindman

marksoton wrote: »

I am due to fly out in October to Australia and have decided to spend that bit extra. Virgin appear to be offering the best deal at the minute. I have looked at numerous reviews for Business/first class and they all seem very mixed !

The other carriers in contention are :

Emirates

Singapore airlines

SAS

Finnair

Does anyone have any experience of which offers the best total package ?

All comments appreciated.

The problem with this kind of question is what everyone wants out of the First Class experience

BTW
Virgin UC is actually Business class

Virgin
On the outbound trip do you want a Superb lounge where you can eat\drink\get pampered\Swim\Jaccuzzi before you actually leave LHR?

Virgins LHR T3 Lounge is very nice and people actually plan to bei in there for 4+ hours before TO!

OnBoard.
If your flight is ovenight do you want lie flat beds?

I know Virgin do these in UC do SIN \Emirates do the same?

Inbound?
Overnoght Lie flat beds?

Arrival at LHR Virgin do a "Revivals Lounge"
Bkfst, shoe shine, pedicure (for the wife), shave (for me!)

Lots to consider.

marksoton

blindman wrote: »

The problem with this kind of question is what everyone wants out of the First Class experience

BTW
Virgin UC is actually Business class

Virgin
On the outbound trip do you want a Superb lounge where you can eat\drink\get pampered\Swim\Jaccuzzi before you actually leave LHR?

Virgins LHR T3 Lounge is very nice and people actually plan to bei in there for 4+ hours before TO!

OnBoard.
If your flight is ovenight do you want lie flat beds?

I know Virgin do these in UC do SIN \Emirates do the same?

Inbound?
Overnoght Lie flat beds?

Arrival at LHR Virgin do a "Revivals Lounge"
Bkfst, shoe shine, pedicure (for the wife), shave (for me!)

Lots to consider.

Well thats the problem isn't it, when you are paying £3000 + for a flight you try and weigh up the pros and cons of each airline a little more carefully !

I know UC is meant to be at the same level as business but as Virgin don't do a bespoke first class it just seems to be somewhat superior to business class on Emirates etc.

Moonchild

Having just taken 6 flights on SQ, I would endeavour to fly throughout on them if they are competitive, and you can book the A380 all the way through to Sydney (it's a great aircraft).

Although I didn't do business on them, I did see the product upfront and have done Business on several of the others, and would avoid Emirates, and go Singapore Airlines everytime (avoid their 747's on the SIN-SYD route if possible).

bagand96

If you are flying First Class then any of the airlines you mention would be excellent. Be careful though with First and Business, they are different, and Business especially can vary massively, even on the same airline (with different aircraft having different configurations).

First will always be excellent; Business will be excellent if you get the right aircraft with the right airline. As someone above said, Virgin Upper class is actually a "Business" grade, although it is basically a First Class product that Virgin pitch as being in the Business price bracket. In reality I think its usually priced between Business and First compared to other airlines, which is why it is often excellent, especially for the service you get and the price you pay.

Virgin UC is fantastic you won't be dissapointed.

thelawnet

The A380 Singapore Airlines business class product is more up-to-date than Virgin. It's 34" wide vs. 22" for Virgin. The entertainment system is much better, and has a 15.4" screen rather than Virgin's 10.4".

qwerty123456

Flew Virgin Upper Class a few weeks ago to Washington and found it abysmal. As you'll probably see from www.airlinequality.com the reports aren't that great. I had checked in online and had to queue for 10 minutes to drop my bags at the business class check in desks which were mobbed with only two staff at the desks. The seat when in bed mode is actually like a coffin and because it is curved there are only a limited number of positions you can sleep in. On the way out I had a 10 year old entertanment system which only had 18 channels on a rolling tape rather than video on demand. The service was awful and the food from Heathrow was like dog food though it was a lot better on the way back. You'll find the crew on Virgin to be generally very young and pretty disinterested in delivering a premium service and more interested in chatting about the previos night's antics.

Out of your options I would reccomend Finnair or Singapore

sturll

qwerty123456 wrote: »

Flew Virgin Upper Class a few weeks ago to Washington and found it abysmal. As you'll probably see from www.airlinequality.com the reports aren't that great. I had checked in online and had to queue for 10 minutes to drop my bags at the business class check in desks which were mobbed with only two staff at the desks. The seat when in bed mode is actually like a coffin and because it is curved there are only a limited number of positions you can sleep in. On the way out I had a 10 year old entertanment system which only had 18 channels on a rolling tape rather than video on demand. The service was awful and the food from Heathrow was like dog food though it was a lot better on the way back. You'll find the crew on Virgin to be generally very young and pretty disinterested in delivering a premium service and more interested in chatting about the previos night's antics.

Out of your options I would reccomend Finnair or Singapore

That just goes to show how varied things can be. I have flown VS UC countless times and have never once had a problem. The staff are extremely professional and excellent at their jobs. In UC you tend to get those who are a little more mature than Economy. I have always been greeted by name and basically had my balls pollished for the duration of the flight.

I must admit i feel so sorry that you had to wait 10 mins to drop your bags off. You poor soul - a whole ten minutes. :rolleyes:

The bed is comfy and cosy and i just donlt agree with your coffin statement.

I get the feeling some people would moan if they were on Air Force one and had the presidental suite

neilbond007

sturll wrote: »

That just goes to show how varied things can be. I have flown VS UC countless times and have never once had a problem. The staff are extremely professional and excellent at their jobs. In UC you tend to get those who are a little more mature than Economy. I have always been greeted by name and basically had my balls pollished for the duration of the flight.

I must admit i feel so sorry that you had to wait 10 mins to drop your bags off. You poor soul - a whole ten minutes. :rolleyes:

The bed is comfy and cosy and i just donlt agree with your coffin statement.

I get the feeling some people would moan if they were on Air Force one and had the presidental suite

I'm with you here again old boy. Flown UC half a dozen times. Every time it's been superb. A coffin? Bendy bed? The dividers are bent but the bed isn't!
Try BA business.. you have people climbing over you....

you must have paid extra for the ball polishing mind...

stoneman

neilbond007 wrote: »

you must have paid extra for the ball polishing mind...

They don't offer that treatment anymore in flight since they did away with the IFBT, you have to book it at the clubhouse;)
I must agree that I find the bed really uncomfortable and the layout of the suites only really cater for single travelers. They have even stopped you being able to remove the dividers to talk or sleep next to your loved one.

stoneman

thelawnet wrote: »

The A380 Singapore Airlines business class product is more up-to-date than Virgin. It's 34" wide vs. 22" for Virgin. The entertainment system is much better, and has a 15.4" screen rather than Virgin's 10.4".

Now thats the one I would choose.