VIRGIN ATLANTIC BUSINESS CLASS SEAT REVIEW   :   17 July 2009 by E Hutchins

ORD-LHR in 14K. When flat this bed is as good as any business class I have tried. But the reading light when reclined, not sleeping, is useless. The water tray is oddly placed and there is little to no storage for a book, eyeglasses or such. One needs to get completely up into the aisle when converting it to a bed which is a little inconvenient. You are either flat or at 45 degrees. The ability to have someone dine with you, by them sitting on your footrest, is nice. Privacy good. Don’t bother trying to look out the window; it’s not possible.

Seat is fairly comfortable and reclines fully flat, however, to do this, you have to leave your seat and move all your personal belongings. The seat is great once it is a bed and offers plenty of space. A good IFE available and upper deck was quiet. Privacy was fantastic; however, because of the odd layout of the seats, it was awkward talking to my wife. Service was OK but not brilliant and the some with the food. As a whole, I think British Airways is better as the seat is more comfortable and has better service, food and a good level of privacy.

Seat is fully flat - this is key since I tend to slide down the seat throughout the flight if it's angled. Privacy is great, with each set in an individual pod - very comfortable and cozy. They give you down duvets. Seat width and length are great for me (I am 5'8" and pretty thin). Individual pods are not great if you are traveling with a partner you want to talk to. It is somewhat annoying that the seat has to be physically flipped to go from lounge to bed mode.

Seats 5k and 6K - very private as there is no one facing you. No noises around as restrooms and bar are close but not close enough. Seats are very comfortable and a must for a long flight.

As a bed I find this seat more comfortable than BA due to the width at the top of the shoulders. I have broad shoulders and BA was not wide enough. The Upper deck on the 747 receives wonderful service and also quiet upstairs. Upper class seats allow for privacy, but not good when travelling with a partner.

On the whole, the Upper Class seat was good, better than some business class seats. The bar at the back is nice to sit and have a chat with other passengers and staff are attentive. The seat is comfortable leather, relatively spacious and opens up nice and long. Saying that, there were a couple of irritating things about the seat that I didn't like. Having to get out of the bed to turn it back into a seat to sit or to use the table for meals is irritating. It would be nicer to have something more in between (sliding seat or better located table) *The high sides/angling of the seats and the number of seats in the cabin make it feel quite cramped compared to other business classes, especially when disembarking or when lots of people are moving about. The little utility holder box thing and drink tray are not volumous or ideally placed. The drink tray is particular is not ideally placed, especially when reading at night and having to open/close/move and place a drink on it. I found myself fighting with this quite a few times (it won, naturally). When sleeping, I kept banging my head against the vent thing below where the bottle of water is kept. It was probably me sleeping badly but it did wake me up on a few occasions. On the whole, as business classes go, the ability to stretch out and relax are welcome on long journeys.

The adequacy of these seats depends greatly on your size. If you have broad shoulders, avoid them as you will be very cramped. There is nowhere to put your arms, a wall on each side of the seat. Smaller persons will probably be quite comfortable. Sleeping is a bit better, although very awkward to convert from on position to the other. You need to get out of the seat, get your things out of the way, and the seat literally flips over, the original seat gone and an ironing board available for you to sleep on, thin mattress, only really usable with the duvet.

The limo is a great touch and the Club House at Terminal 3 Heathrow is fantastic. Large, great food, relaxing and staff very attentive. On board, sitting in the seat probably not as comfortable as BA but once you lie flat its larger and more relaxing - particularly with the duvets and soft pillows. Sleeper suit also a nice touch. Entertainment good and Virgin has that trendy factor that BA does not have. The onboard bar is nice - I dont use it, but its a good touch.

Seat 3K. The seat width is good, but the recline is limited. However, with the ottoman I thought it was quite comfortable after all. I reclined it to the max, and placed my legs on the ottoman. I don't know what VS thought about when placing their reading light and the drink table. They are both placed in some odd places, and the reading light is almost useless. Turning your seat into a flat bed was easy, but the bed is too hard for a good nights sleep. Easy to get it back to a seat again also. Food onboard was of Economy standard!

Virgin personnel booked me to be opposite my partner, but on this configuration, seats 3A and D are not opposite each other. Herringbone design feels crammed and one toilet for so many passengers at the front end meant queuing as well as a constant throng of passengers hanging around waiting for it. The only other alternative was to walk beyond the bar/galley and line up there. So few toilets for so many business class passengers is bad planning. For a night flight they seemed unprepared. I had hoped for a sleep suit but 'sorry none have been packed'. Flat bed not wide enough at shoulders and too hard to sleep on side or front. FA forgot my breakfast order and couldnt find another menu. They seemed rushed and not able to handle a full upper class cabin. Shame you cant watch the screen whilst lying flat.

The Upper class cabin is comfortable. One disappointing feature is the seats do not fully recline flat. When you want to engage the flat position you have to get up a flick your seat completely over. this is a bit annoying when you are nearly asleep and all you want is to push a button to fully recline. The capsules are snug and very narrow in the seating position. In the sleeping position they open up a little more in width. The seat when fully flat is firm but comfortable. Traveling solo these seats are great, however if traveling with a partner or family there is limited ability to converse in comfort.

I quite liked the arrangement of the beds and the privacy they offered though obviously not so good for chatting to colleagues etc. I'm afraid that following my meal at JFK I wasn't very hungry on the plane and the "light" meal really was pretty basic and not a good advert for business class meals. The breakfast wasn't even offered to me as I was asleep even though I'd asked to be woken for breakfast. What else? The ease with which I got to sleep on the beds surprised me given some of the reviews. In fact it could be argued that the comfort of the seats/beds meant I could not take full advantage of the entertainment system which seemed pretty nifty and stocked with lots of stuff I wouldn't have mind seeing. The FA were pretty good except for the breakfast incident but since I spent most of the journey asleep I guess I wouldn't have noticed if it had been indifferent either.