Had I bought a Coach ticket, then you would have a point. But I bought a First Class ticket. The VX website spends a lot of time detailing how differentiated the IFE and Seat are. When you pay for a First Class seat, and it doesn't recline, that is terrible. If all I can expect from First Class is transportation, why bother with paying over 4x the price of coach. I am not some upgrader. I am someone who regularly purchases First Class tickets. If VX wants to behave in this fashion, then fine, so be it. I will happily take my dollars elsewhere.
The sad thing is that this experience negatively tarnishes the Virgin brand, and I am now hestitant to fly Virgin Atlantic again knowing that this is how Virgin takes care of its customers.