Virgin Upper Class: Bow-Chicka-Bow-Wow
A couple of weeks ago, I flew out to London aboard the much-buzzed-about Virgin Upper Class. I’m surprised it took me this long to try Virgin, but it was indeed worth the wait. Being a major branding sucker, I was pleasantly exposed to the consistency of the Virgin identity throughout the entire experience; there are very few brands that deliver that ‘oh-man, that’s Virgin’ experience in everything they do better than these folks.
Pre-flight and the Lounge at Newark
Lounges usually embrace nothing but drinks, peanuts, and the occasional edible ‘finger sandwich.’ Even British Airways’ first class lounge paled in comparison to the Virgin lounge in Newark, where I enjoyed a handful of treats before my flight. I actually went from a few pieces of sushi as a light snack to a big, fresh salad and a delicious bowl of pasta — an odd combination, but I had to try a bit of everything. Weirdly enough, WiFi in the lounge was non-existant. I have to guess it was down, but the ‘Sony’ sponsored movie room was pretty nifty.
The In-Flight Experience
No more than 5 minutes after boarding, I was offered a flight suit (a set of awesome pajamas I’m still rocking), and not much longer than 20 minutes after take off the cabin attendants turned my seat into a sea of scrumptious pillows, with a proper bottom sheet, and a down comforter that created a truly inviting bed. Even before sleeping, Virgin branding was evident — the earplugs were packaged in a black paper sleeve with the word ‘silence’ written in soft, lower-case Virgin typography delivered in gold, lowercase helvetica. In full disclosure mode, I must admit that I spent almost the entire flight sleeping. I requested not to be awakened, but before I crashed I did have a chance to play with all the gizmos, gadgets and in-flight entertainment. As I began to get sleepy, I asked for a second goose down pillow and completely checked out, sleeping almost six hours until the purple glow of the lights came back up. I was pleasantly awakened in order to have adequate time to take off my flight suit and prepare for landing.
With only a 5-minute glance at the in-flight entertainment system, it was pretty clear what I was dealing with. Virgin’s incredible positioning in music and entertainment gives them an unbeatable edge in the in-flight entertainment arena. Choices include dozens upon dozens of movies (probably hundreds), multi-player games, seat-to-seat messaging, and the like. Had I been on a day flight, I likely would have spent the entire time playing with the system.
If there were any downsides, as odd as this might sound, it’s that the flight was too short. There really isn’t enough time to get a proper night’s sleep, watch a few movies, along with enjoying the on-board, stand up bar in just seven hours. I do wish the seat had a ’tilt’, but I guess it’s almost impossible to have a completely soft lie flat bed that also delivers the ability to “tilt” this bed for better viewing of a flat screen.
Revivals Lounge at Heathrow
I’d never actually used the landing-lounge in an airport until I tried the Revivals Lounge at Heathrow. The main reason I stopped in was to grab something to eat since I’d slept through the breakfast service during the flight. What was meant to be a quick stop became an opportunity to take a hot shower, put on a fresh set of clothes, order some soft-boiled eggs (I’d just landed in England, after all) and take my time starting my day. Had I not decompressed after seven hours in an airplane, I would have been far less ready for my meetings that day.
All nuts and bolts aside, what made flying Virgin so refreshing was a combination of the brand’s wit, humor and dedication to no-questions-asked comfort. After all, I am a Jetrosexual, so why settle for anything less? I give Virgin the Bow-Chicka-Bow-Wow thumbs up.
