Holidaymakers turn premium passengers

Virgin Atlantic has launched its upgraded Upper Class seat from Gatwick as the product becomes increasingly popular with holidaymakers as well as business travelers.

The first Gatwick flight to offer the “Suite” was the Orlando service on October 25, but it was not featured on the aircraft that flew delegates to the ABTA Convention on November 24.
 
The upgraded Upper Class product offers passengers a more sophisticated seat that converts into a flat bed and is topped with a padded mattress and duvet. The seat has won numerous awards for its design, which sees the seatback flip forward to meet the footstool making the longest flatbed in the sky.
 
Virgin chairman Richard Branson said: “We are very proud to be able to offer the Upper Class Suite to passengers departing from Gatwick less that a year after its launch.”

Passengers that can’t fall back on an expense account to foot the bill for their ticket have an alternative to economy – premium economy. And the airline is increasing the number of premium economy seats in its Gatwick aircraft from 38 to 58 on the back of buoyant demand. It offers more legroom as well as separate check-in and priority luggage.

 
The flatbed is featured on all Boeing 747-400 aircraft operating out of Heathrow and the airline is aiming to complete the Gatwick Boeing 747-400 fleet by the beginning of March next year.

 
Trying the Suite…

 
On a recent flight from Heathrow to Miami, TravelMole was fortunate enough to sample Virgin’s Upper Class Suite. The experience started with an hour or so in Virgin’s lounge where the usual features such as a bar and buffet are complemented by distractions including a hairdresser, massage service and computer games. The lounge is also topped by an airy conservatory that offers a relaxing environment for reading the paper or catching up with work.
 

All too soon it was time to board the plane, and take a seat in a busy Upper Class cabin. Although every seat was taken the service was quick and within minutes a glass of champagne arrived.

 After takeoff a delicious three-course meal was served, and the normal chicken or fish choices were replaced by options such as risotto and lamb shank. Passengers travelling with a friend could choose to eat together if they wished with one perched on the footstool and one on the seat either side of a generously-sized tray table.

 I polished off the meal with a massage from the inflight therapist and then settled down to a movie. Although the choice of movies was good, including cinema release, the system was not “on-demand” meaning you had to watch the films in rotation rather than being able to stop and start them at your leisure.

 The seat was the highlight. You actually need to get out of it to turn it from a reclining chair into a fully flat bed as the seatback tilts forward to join the footstool and convert into a bed. When topped with a mattress and duvet it makes a snug cubby hole, shielded by a screen, to catch up on some sleep. If sleep isn’t top of the agenda then the onboard bar was a sociable option.