Virgin Atlantic has long been a trendsetter in terms of business class products. It put bars in the sky, the fun into airport lounges and at one time offered onboard shoulder massages (you may remember the tongue-in-cheek ‘BA doesn’t give a shiatsu’ ads).
Its latest innovation, which could tempt you to use your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points for an upgrade, is The Booth, an onboard social space, which is currently exclusive to its Upper Class (business class) cabin on holiday routes that are served by its new A350s.
The Booth is a similar proposition to The Loft, which is the social space on the larger Upper Class cabins on more business-focused routes. Both give you the chance to stretch your legs and have a change of scenery when you’re flying long-haul. You book a time slot to use them once you’re on board.
Designed as a cosy corner, the Booth offers lounge-style leather seats with a table for two and two 27” touch screen monitors. The screens create a mood-setting backdrop showing content tailored to the route and time of day, such as a digital artwork from up-and-coming artists, besides views from cameras on the tail and belly of the plane.
Bluetooth audio jacks mean you can connect your headsets to the audio, should you wish. You can also play games in the space with complimentary themed playing cards.
You can choose to dine in The Booth rather than at your seat. Better still, you can enjoy a complimentary wine tasting or a cognac and chocolate pairing due to tie-ups with brands The Uncommon and Maison Delamain.
Don’t expect an additional bar; these are sadly now only available on Virgin Atlantic flights using Airbus A330 or Boeing 787 aircraft. However, we’re promised more exclusive experiences to come this year.
The Booth is part of the new upgraded Upper Class cabin on the A350s that Virgin is using to serve leisure routes. Among other design improvements, each suite now faces the window and has a 44’’ seat pitch, with seats converting to a fully flat 82” bed. They also boast the largest entertainment screens available on any Virgin Atlantic flight.
The new planes have a configuration of 16 Upper Class suites, 56 Premium seats and 325 seats in Economy. 45 seats will be designated Economy Delight, giving extra legroom, besides priority boarding and advanced seat selection.
The new-style A350 Upper Class cabin has so far been rolled out on the new aircraft on Virgin Atlantic flights between Heathrow and Orlando, with Barbados routes next for the upgrade and those to other leisure destinations to follow.
It’s good to know the new A350s are designed to be 30% more fuel and carbon-efficient than the Boeing 747s they replaced. They should also create less noise pollution.
Since April, Virgin’s full food service (cut down during the pandemic) has been back, and this has had a makeover in The Upper Class cabin. The new menu includes burgers, chicken curry and healthier superfood salads. It also sees the return of afternoon tea with warm scones.
Earning Virgin reward flights
Now that the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has been brought into the wider Virgin Red loyalty programme, there are lots of everyday ways to earn points towards discounted, or full reward, flights. You’ll just need to activate a Virgin Red account.
Of course, you’ll still earn Virgin Points when you fly Virgin Atlantic, but you can now also pick them up across all the Virgin brands, covering gyms, mobiles, wines, experience days, gaming and more.
In addition, several travel brands will help you on your way to Virgin reward flights, among them the IHG, Marriott, Hyatt, Best Western and Hilton hotels chains; Avis, Alamo, Hertz and other car rental companies; Eurostar, and airport lounge and parking company Holiday Extras.
You can also collect points when you shop online with some big partner brands like Apple, Argos, M&S, B&Q, Currys, John Lewis, H&M, Boots, Adidas and Nike. To maximise your collecting power, install the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club plugin on your browser, and you’ll get an alert every time you enter a website that could earn you points.
On the high street, the most significant tie-up is with Tesco, because if this is where you do your weekly shop, you can convert your Tesco Clubcard Points into Virgin points - 2.5 for each £1 you spend. If you’ve got your eyes on Virgin reward flights, our tip is to link the Tesco and Virgin loyalty schemes, so your points convert automatically.
Even this year’s much higher gas and electric bills could have some compensation, in the form of Virgin Points, if you’re a customer of Octopus Energy.
Booking Virgin reward flights
When you’re ready to book, head to the Virginatlantic.com Reward Flights page.
The price in points varies depending on the season you are travelling and whether it is ‘standard season’ (off-peak), or peak season at your destination. You’ll need to select Caribbean or non-Caribbean to find out.
Alternatively, if you’re flexible about where to go and want to travel fairly soon, you can search the deals page.
To make your Virgin Atlantic booking as a reward flight, input your destination and dates but set the search tool to ‘show price in points’. If you want to pay in part with your Virgin Points then set the search to ‘points plus money’.
For reward flights, you either book online or call the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to book. For part payment in points, you must book online.
You can make your Virgin Atlantic booking as a reward flight in any class, so long as you have enough points. Remember, though, if you’re keen on using The Booth or The Loft on your flight, check which routes they are available on.
The good news is that Virgin reward flights will now also help to advance your club tier status, just like a flight paid for in the usual way. This generous move, introduced in 2020, can help you towards Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse access and other treats.
