Airport experience

Check in with the PE priority queue was effortless and very quick. Fast track security was a welcome bonus as north terminal was packed this morning. Priority boarding was not brilliantly managed, but again a good touch.

With status on ba, non of the above is relevant, but you can see why to the average traveller virgin are winning here.

Hard product (seat and cabin)

The cabin was well presented and the seat is comfy. I would say on par with BA’s new product, but in a different league from old WTP, which is all that is currently available at Gatwick. I do think the a330 cabin does feel more cramped than the 777 or the 787 though, and aisles are noticeably narrow.Entertainment Screens were good quality and the selection was good. Far better than the tiny screens in old WTP, however not as good as the Thales system as it was harder to navigate.

Service

The crew simply can’t do enough. Constantly smiling and happy to get you whatever you want. We have all had good and bad ba crews, so I don’t want to draw a comparison as I haven’t flown virgin enough to know if this is standard. However it’s great to be served by people who seem to love their job and product.

The extra touches

Simply out of BA’s league. Prosseco before take off was offered very promptly and seemingly bottomless, the “wanderwall” is great, on a par with club kitchen and still well stocked after 6 hours. The crew have just come round offering an after dinner liquor and it’s the extra touches like this that make you happy you paid the money not to sit in economy.

Food

Meal choices of chicken curry or cottage pie not as good BA and not very well presented. On a side note I liked the proper salt and pepper pot on each tray though.

No menu cards either, which I think BA still do in WTP. I believe the next offering will be afternoon tea, which ba do well, so it will be interesting to compare.

All in all, this is a serious offering for a competitive price. From Gatwick in the future, I would certainly choose Virgin if the price was right.

With the 777 densification I would assume the new WTP will be launced at LGW, so some of this will become irrelevant, however I think there is a lot ba could learn here about how to make the experience feel a bit more special for very little extra cost.Coming back next weekend in Upper class, so will be interesting to compare to my recent experiences in CW on the 789.Total trip cost was £1200 each (no miles or any other deal used).