Virgin Atlantic Upper Class SYD-HKG
Sep 24, 2005, 11:57 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chicago
Programs: UA 1K, AA Gold
Posts: 3,640
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class SYD-HKG
SYD-HKG is a daily afternoon flight operated by the new A340-600, with onward service to LHR. Since HKG-LHR carries lots of local traffic, there is limited through traffic capacity on SYD-LHR, thus Virgin also carries a lot of local SYD-HKG traffic. I believe this route was inaugurated in late 2004.
I left downtown around 1pm for my 2:45pm departure, of course cutting it very close, but thanks to empty freeways, arrived at around 1:25pm for check-in. It was quite interesting running into the same LAX based United crew staying at my Sydney hotel (and congregating in the lobby when I left) at security. I’m not sure what lounge Virgin uses in Sydney, because they began boarding fairly early and I didn’t have any free time.
This is my first time flying long haul Business Class on a non-US based airline, so I was quite excited to see Virgin’s upper class offering. The cabin was something different to anything I have seen before: 1-1-1 seating – “pods” on a 45 degree angle facing away from the window. The center section faces the left side of the cabin in the front half, and the right side of the cabin in the back half of the cabin. This means that some people are flying backwards. The seats can recline, or be converted into a flat bed. There is also a “guest stool” which doubles as a foot rest, and allows you to share a meal with a fellow passenger.
This is probably nothing new to veteran premium class travelers, but it was certainly something new to me…and it certainly took me time to get adjusted to seats that were so private and laid out at an angle to the window. It’s pretty clear Virgin is onto something here – this is an incredibly functional seat, especially for an overnight flight.
Upon boarding, the massage therapist stopped by to get my massage preferences, and F/As roamed the aisles with pre-departure drinks. Water bottles were also stocked at each seat. Amenity kits (an Ozwald Boateng document portfolio with a bag of amenities inside) were also handed out. The Upper Glass “galley” is laid out like a bar, complete with stools and display cases for the drinks. This meant there were always glasses of water, juice, bar snacks, etc. up for grabs. Many passengers just helped themselves.
Meal service in Upper Class is similarly unstructured – it’s an “eat what you want when you want” format, where the whole menu is up for grabs the whole flight – even though there is an explicit 4-course service after takeoff, and a light snack before landing, but no service carts at all. The 5 F/As serving Upper Class seemed to be mainly British or Australian – at least one of them was based in Virgin’s new Sydney F/A base – with one HKG based F/A. (Y is served by almost entirely by HKG based F/As.)
We pushed back a bit early today, for our 9 hour journey to Hong Kong. Apparently heavy winds would make the trip take longer SYD-HKG, but speed up the HKG-LHR sector. It felt very odd taking off and having to strain your neck to look out the window.
Service began with a ramekin of vinegar potato chips or a ramekin of snack mix (nice hip snacks, but I like mixed nuts better) and beverages, followed by dinner.
Here is today’s menu:
Dinner
Starters
Seasonal leaf salad with herbed chicken, orange segments, and pesto dressing
Cream of sweet potato soup with a hint of lemongrass served with a choice of warm breads
Luke Mangan – Seared prawns served with almond and chilli salad, snow peas and wasabi dressing
Main Courses
Barramundi fish with chat potatoes, broccoli & carrots and lemon & mint salsa
Barbecued duck served with steamed rice, stir fried asparagus and hoi sin sauce
Luke Mangan – Roast lamb cutlets with tomatoes, red onion jam and basil oil
Grilled Mediterranean vegetable stack served with fried Kipfler potatoes and roasted pimento sauce
Cheese
Tasmanian Hertiage Brie
Soft textured cheese, mild and creamy in taste with a bloomy white rind
Kind Island Red Leicester
Delicately sweet cheese with a firm & flaky texture
King Island Roaring Forties Blue
Full-flavoured blue cheese with a sweet, slightly nutty character and a smooth and creamy texture
Cheeses are offered with assorted crackers and dried apricots
Dessert
Spiced apple & raisin crumble served with King Island double cream
Luke Mangan – Liquorice parfait with lime syrup and cigar wafers
Smaller bites
Roast beef & gherkin sandwich on sun-dried tomato bread
Pork fillet with egg noodles, choy sum and black bean sauce
Patchett’s vegetable pie served with tomato relish
Bacon roll served with either tomato ketchup or brown sauce
“I hope you enjoy my dishes on your Virgin Atlantic Upper Class flight today to Hong Kong. Some of these dishes have been selected from my Sydney restaurants, Salt and Bistro Lulu, where my aim is to showcase primary producers with some of the freshest and best produce from around Australia” Luke Mangan
Wines
White Wines
Chablis Domaine Les Manants 2002 Burgundy, France
Seifried Estate, Sauvignon Blanc 2004, Nelson, New Zealand
St Supery Dollarhide Chardonnay 2000, Napa Valley, CA
Red Wines
Dolium Malbec 2002, Mendoza, Argentina
Chateau Haut Beychevelle Gloria 1997, St Julien, Bordeaux, France
Hahn Estates Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, Central Coast, California
I thought it was slightly odd that dinner orders were taken for all four courses at once. Anyway, I started with the Prawn dish, which was very tasty and flavorful with lots of snow peas. Fresh bread (brown rolls, sourdough rolls, and garlic bread) was passed out as well.
Next up was the Barramundi. I quite like Australian fish and was really excited about this course (I’ve had excellent fish catered in United Business ex-SYD). While the dish was freshly plated (as opposed to served in the dish it was cooked in), it didn’t look appealing at all. The Broccoli was overcooked, the fish had the texture of baked chicken, and there was minimal sauce.
I gave up on this dish and asked the F/A for an alternative dish, she didn’t apologize at all for my inedible fish, but was able to get me the lamb chops which were fairly moist and flavorful. What I didn’t like about either main dish was the minimalist sides – i.e. the lamb came with some small baked tomatoes and some sauce. I was working up an appetite for this meal and was a bit disappointed. That said, the Bordeaux wine was excellent and plenty of refills were offered.
For the cheese plate, I didn’t know what cheeses I wanted, so I asked for them all. The portion sizes (especially for the Red Leicester) were generous, and was nicely presented. But since Virgin doesn’t use trolleys, nothing is plated in front of you from a platter, everything comes pre-plated. The Liquorice parfait seemed more like ice cream, but it was very tasty, with unique flavors, and the portion was generous.
After the main meal, I relaxed for a few hours watching a movie (The Aviator) and playing Tetris. We were hitting some turbulence and the seatbelt sign was on continuously for hours. I also had my hand massage, right at my seat. The treatment took about 15 minutes and was very relaxing, and the thereapist was really friendly (knowing that I’m sure that all passengers make the same small talk with her like – “What is your favorite layover city? You must have a cool job? Where is your next trip to?”) – next time I promise to come up with more original conversation…
I was starving so I took advantage of the flexible menu and ordered the appetizer salad and soup. I wasn’t particularly impressed with either dish, but it tied me over (and I guess it was more substantial than the instant noodles UA offers). Because it was a day flight and I was having too much fun with the IFE, and had work to do as well, I never did convert the seat into a bed.
About 1:30 prior to landing, F/As offered more food, and I tried the roast beef sandwich. It tasted dry and bland, and was served with no accompaniments or garnishes. F/As were generous with drink refills, especially since they didn’t seem to be assigned to any one area of the cabin.
We landed in HKG a bit late, around 10:05pm, which put me in a bit of a rush since I needed to get on a conf call at Midnight, but I made it to my unnamed hotel in Causeway Bay around 11:30pm. Guess who I saw in the lobby when I arrived? The crew from my inbound flight.
Conclusions –
1) Virgin Upper Class is very functional. If you’re not looking for pampering or gourmet food, you will have a comfortable seat and a comfortable rest, and be able to eat and drink whenever you want, and to stay occupied with IFE. This seems ideal for eastbound transatlantic flights from the east coast, for example.
2) Service isn’t too formal or stuffy – there is no shame in asking for more food, or grabbing your own drink from the bar instead of waiting your turn at your seat.
3) The positives outweigh the negatives, and given the opportunity, I’d gladly fly Virgin Upper Class again, but would choose it for a night flight instead of a day flight.
Hope you enjoyed this report.
I left downtown around 1pm for my 2:45pm departure, of course cutting it very close, but thanks to empty freeways, arrived at around 1:25pm for check-in. It was quite interesting running into the same LAX based United crew staying at my Sydney hotel (and congregating in the lobby when I left) at security. I’m not sure what lounge Virgin uses in Sydney, because they began boarding fairly early and I didn’t have any free time.
This is my first time flying long haul Business Class on a non-US based airline, so I was quite excited to see Virgin’s upper class offering. The cabin was something different to anything I have seen before: 1-1-1 seating – “pods” on a 45 degree angle facing away from the window. The center section faces the left side of the cabin in the front half, and the right side of the cabin in the back half of the cabin. This means that some people are flying backwards. The seats can recline, or be converted into a flat bed. There is also a “guest stool” which doubles as a foot rest, and allows you to share a meal with a fellow passenger.
This is probably nothing new to veteran premium class travelers, but it was certainly something new to me…and it certainly took me time to get adjusted to seats that were so private and laid out at an angle to the window. It’s pretty clear Virgin is onto something here – this is an incredibly functional seat, especially for an overnight flight.
Upon boarding, the massage therapist stopped by to get my massage preferences, and F/As roamed the aisles with pre-departure drinks. Water bottles were also stocked at each seat. Amenity kits (an Ozwald Boateng document portfolio with a bag of amenities inside) were also handed out. The Upper Glass “galley” is laid out like a bar, complete with stools and display cases for the drinks. This meant there were always glasses of water, juice, bar snacks, etc. up for grabs. Many passengers just helped themselves.
Meal service in Upper Class is similarly unstructured – it’s an “eat what you want when you want” format, where the whole menu is up for grabs the whole flight – even though there is an explicit 4-course service after takeoff, and a light snack before landing, but no service carts at all. The 5 F/As serving Upper Class seemed to be mainly British or Australian – at least one of them was based in Virgin’s new Sydney F/A base – with one HKG based F/A. (Y is served by almost entirely by HKG based F/As.)
We pushed back a bit early today, for our 9 hour journey to Hong Kong. Apparently heavy winds would make the trip take longer SYD-HKG, but speed up the HKG-LHR sector. It felt very odd taking off and having to strain your neck to look out the window.
Service began with a ramekin of vinegar potato chips or a ramekin of snack mix (nice hip snacks, but I like mixed nuts better) and beverages, followed by dinner.
Here is today’s menu:
Dinner
Starters
Seasonal leaf salad with herbed chicken, orange segments, and pesto dressing
Cream of sweet potato soup with a hint of lemongrass served with a choice of warm breads
Luke Mangan – Seared prawns served with almond and chilli salad, snow peas and wasabi dressing
Main Courses
Barramundi fish with chat potatoes, broccoli & carrots and lemon & mint salsa
Barbecued duck served with steamed rice, stir fried asparagus and hoi sin sauce
Luke Mangan – Roast lamb cutlets with tomatoes, red onion jam and basil oil
Grilled Mediterranean vegetable stack served with fried Kipfler potatoes and roasted pimento sauce
Cheese
Tasmanian Hertiage Brie
Soft textured cheese, mild and creamy in taste with a bloomy white rind
Kind Island Red Leicester
Delicately sweet cheese with a firm & flaky texture
King Island Roaring Forties Blue
Full-flavoured blue cheese with a sweet, slightly nutty character and a smooth and creamy texture
Cheeses are offered with assorted crackers and dried apricots
Dessert
Spiced apple & raisin crumble served with King Island double cream
Luke Mangan – Liquorice parfait with lime syrup and cigar wafers
Smaller bites
Roast beef & gherkin sandwich on sun-dried tomato bread
Pork fillet with egg noodles, choy sum and black bean sauce
Patchett’s vegetable pie served with tomato relish
Bacon roll served with either tomato ketchup or brown sauce
“I hope you enjoy my dishes on your Virgin Atlantic Upper Class flight today to Hong Kong. Some of these dishes have been selected from my Sydney restaurants, Salt and Bistro Lulu, where my aim is to showcase primary producers with some of the freshest and best produce from around Australia” Luke Mangan
Wines
White Wines
Chablis Domaine Les Manants 2002 Burgundy, France
Seifried Estate, Sauvignon Blanc 2004, Nelson, New Zealand
St Supery Dollarhide Chardonnay 2000, Napa Valley, CA
Red Wines
Dolium Malbec 2002, Mendoza, Argentina
Chateau Haut Beychevelle Gloria 1997, St Julien, Bordeaux, France
Hahn Estates Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, Central Coast, California
I thought it was slightly odd that dinner orders were taken for all four courses at once. Anyway, I started with the Prawn dish, which was very tasty and flavorful with lots of snow peas. Fresh bread (brown rolls, sourdough rolls, and garlic bread) was passed out as well.
Next up was the Barramundi. I quite like Australian fish and was really excited about this course (I’ve had excellent fish catered in United Business ex-SYD). While the dish was freshly plated (as opposed to served in the dish it was cooked in), it didn’t look appealing at all. The Broccoli was overcooked, the fish had the texture of baked chicken, and there was minimal sauce.
I gave up on this dish and asked the F/A for an alternative dish, she didn’t apologize at all for my inedible fish, but was able to get me the lamb chops which were fairly moist and flavorful. What I didn’t like about either main dish was the minimalist sides – i.e. the lamb came with some small baked tomatoes and some sauce. I was working up an appetite for this meal and was a bit disappointed. That said, the Bordeaux wine was excellent and plenty of refills were offered.
For the cheese plate, I didn’t know what cheeses I wanted, so I asked for them all. The portion sizes (especially for the Red Leicester) were generous, and was nicely presented. But since Virgin doesn’t use trolleys, nothing is plated in front of you from a platter, everything comes pre-plated. The Liquorice parfait seemed more like ice cream, but it was very tasty, with unique flavors, and the portion was generous.
After the main meal, I relaxed for a few hours watching a movie (The Aviator) and playing Tetris. We were hitting some turbulence and the seatbelt sign was on continuously for hours. I also had my hand massage, right at my seat. The treatment took about 15 minutes and was very relaxing, and the thereapist was really friendly (knowing that I’m sure that all passengers make the same small talk with her like – “What is your favorite layover city? You must have a cool job? Where is your next trip to?”) – next time I promise to come up with more original conversation…
I was starving so I took advantage of the flexible menu and ordered the appetizer salad and soup. I wasn’t particularly impressed with either dish, but it tied me over (and I guess it was more substantial than the instant noodles UA offers). Because it was a day flight and I was having too much fun with the IFE, and had work to do as well, I never did convert the seat into a bed.
About 1:30 prior to landing, F/As offered more food, and I tried the roast beef sandwich. It tasted dry and bland, and was served with no accompaniments or garnishes. F/As were generous with drink refills, especially since they didn’t seem to be assigned to any one area of the cabin.
We landed in HKG a bit late, around 10:05pm, which put me in a bit of a rush since I needed to get on a conf call at Midnight, but I made it to my unnamed hotel in Causeway Bay around 11:30pm. Guess who I saw in the lobby when I arrived? The crew from my inbound flight.
Conclusions –
1) Virgin Upper Class is very functional. If you’re not looking for pampering or gourmet food, you will have a comfortable seat and a comfortable rest, and be able to eat and drink whenever you want, and to stay occupied with IFE. This seems ideal for eastbound transatlantic flights from the east coast, for example.
2) Service isn’t too formal or stuffy – there is no shame in asking for more food, or grabbing your own drink from the bar instead of waiting your turn at your seat.
3) The positives outweigh the negatives, and given the opportunity, I’d gladly fly Virgin Upper Class again, but would choose it for a night flight instead of a day flight.
Hope you enjoyed this report.
Sep 25, 2005, 9:37 am
#2
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold, BD Gold, PC Ambassador, SPG Gold
Posts: 4,001
Nice trip report and thanks for the update on Upper Class ^ . I have a couple of quick questions though:
- What was the load like on this sector?
- What is the 346 like - it is supposed to be very quiet to fly in?
- What was the load like on this sector?
- What is the 346 like - it is supposed to be very quiet to fly in?
Sep 25, 2005, 12:04 pm
#3
Join Date: Feb 2005
Programs: EL AL Matmid, BA Executive Club GfL, GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Avis President's Club
Posts: 2,085
Originally Posted by PhilH
- What is the 346 like - it is supposed to be very quiet to fly in?
Sep 28, 2005, 6:30 pm
#6
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: London, U.K.
Programs: bmi British Midland International Diamond Club
Posts: 3,370
Originally Posted by das
I’m not sure what lounge Virgin uses in Sydney, because they began boarding fairly early and I didn’t have any free time.
Last edited by Strawb; Mar 10, 2006 at 7:02 pm
Sep 29, 2005, 12:47 pm
#8
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,526
Originally Posted by kkjay77
Earn miles on UA, spend miles on SQ, like many here at FT do 
Sep 29, 2005, 1:33 pm
#9
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: NYC
Programs: No longer loyal "over-entitled" 1K
Posts: 3,822
Originally Posted by ironmanjt
Or, if you're NW, earn on NW and spend on MH! Over 900,000 NW miles redeemed this way in 3 years!
Mar 10, 2006, 4:07 pm
#11
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 8
Best Virgin Upper Class Seat Airbus 346
We (2 people) are travelling to Shangai in two weeks, Virgin Atlantic Airbus 346- I understand that it is 1-1-1 configuration and that the front half center seats are facing the left and the back half center seats are facing the right...
which are the best seats? , it is better to take like row 3 at the left with the other in the center facing it? or is better in the second half?
can somebody tell me?
thank you!
george
which are the best seats? , it is better to take like row 3 at the left with the other in the center facing it? or is better in the second half?
can somebody tell me?
thank you!
george
Mar 10, 2006, 6:29 pm
#12
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Stockholm/Tokyo/Los Angeles
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Platinum, SPG Platinum
Posts: 558
Correct me if I'm wrong but the OP stated that some people fly backwards in VS Upper Class--and I don't believe that's true. Some people are angled left and some people are angled right, but no one is angled backwards.....
Good report though. Would love to try this product.
Good report though. Would love to try this product.
Mar 11, 2006, 3:58 am
#13
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 732
Originally Posted by JMPBNY
We (2 people) are travelling to Shangai in two weeks, Virgin Atlantic Airbus 346- I understand that it is 1-1-1 configuration and that the front half center seats are facing the left and the back half center seats are facing the right...
which are the best seats? , it is better to take like row 3 at the left with the other in the center facing it? or is better in the second half?
can somebody tell me?
thank you!
george
which are the best seats? , it is better to take like row 3 at the left with the other in the center facing it? or is better in the second half?
can somebody tell me?
thank you!
george